The Southwestern Company Difference Blog
Purpose of site:This site has a three-fold mission: (1) to differentiate between legitimate direct sellers and disreputable ones; (2) to educate various audiences about door-to-door safety, and (3) to educate homeowners and consumers about the dangers of traveling sales crews.
Southwestern Comany enjoys more than 150 years of history to draw on when it comes to “doing the right thing.” Whether it is ethics in door-to-door sales or teaching the youth around the world life skills to help them achieve their goals, Southwestern Company has long been a leader in the direct selling industry.
Summertime Door-to-Door Sales: Know the Difference
The Southwestern Company wants you to know your rights and how to protect yourself. While most salespeople are legitimate, there are some people who use this method to scam the vulnerable and prey on the elderly.
Education and awareness are key factors in understanding the “good guys” from the “bad guys” and protecting consumers and the community.
Definition:
What are Traveling Sales Crews?
“Traveling sales crews” are most widely known for selling magazine subscriptions on a door-to-door basis, although they may sell cleaning supplies or other goods or services. These rogue groups travel from town to town, often in large passenger vans and are dropped off in neighborhoods or apartment complexes to scam and peddle subscriptions. They are consistently absent on a regular basis from their permanent and established place of residence. They are not in one place for an extended period of time because they are often dodging local law enforcement because of their unethical tactics in attempting to obtain sales and refusal to obtain local solicitation permits.
Young people, who may even be minors or runaways, are lured by vague newspaper ads or pulled off the street to participate. They have no control of their money and are often verbally and physically abused if they attempt to leave or do not hit a sales quota. Some crews even have an “enforcer” which maintains order through intimidation practices such as violence. These crews have little to no training and some “crew members” and “crew leaders” have been involved in serious crimes and have criminal records.
The “traveling sales crews” live in dingy motels in which the top sales person for the day may be the one to sleep in the bed. They often party late into the night and drug use is rampant. Ties with friends and family members are often cut-off.
This is a horrible sector of the often misunderstood, but entrepreneurial, door-to-door distribution channel.
Commitment:
Southwestern Company Cares
Southwestern Company, with local and state law enforcement and legislators around the U.S. have come together to protect legitimate direct sellers, the consumers they sell to and the communities in which they work.
Southwestern Company and consumer-friendly organizations and advocates such as the National Consumers League (NCL), the Direct Selling Association (DSA), the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) and the Better Business Bureau work tirelessly to ensure the safety and rights of consumers and businesses alike are protected.
Southwestern Company follows and promotes the guidelines set forth in the Direct Selling Association’s Code of Ethics.
Southwestern Company educates families and youthful recruiting targets of “traveling sales crew” companies by distributing awareness materials. These can be found on the “Resources“ tab at the top of this blog.
