The pictured flyer on the campus community bulletin board advertises: “Part Time Work $14.00- $17.00 base/apt” This ad is readily accessible and was once featured on the board in addition to extra copies available to this day at the Student Life desk.

Nowhere on the flyer does it even state the name of the company or the type of work truly involved beyond “Customer Sales/ Service” and that “Conditions Apply.”

One would have to access their website to find out the true nature of the work.

One student’s experiences with the company, Shaina Pierce, 19, of Bensalem suggest there may be more to this company than meets the eye.

According to their website, Vector “allows motivated young people to learn the Skills for Life necessary to succeed at a high level in life, whatever their dreams may be.

Pierce was hired by Vector as a salesperson. Vector employs students to sell cutlery, kitchen sets and an array dining utensils from door to door.

In Pierce’s experience she was not required to purchase a starter set, though some experiences with the company require it. She worked there for close to one month and described experiences in which she was shorted commission on a paycheck. She was also told her orientation was paid and never received a check for it at all.

A friend of Pierce, who referred her to the job, also had issues with being paid.

She once received a check for the commission of sales on two sets, one valued at $200 and another at approximately $350. The check was for $2.45. Her friend was also once not paid at all for sales on other basic sets.

Pierce described many encounters with people in the offices as “circumstantial.”

The supervisors would describe “Julian Bradley,” an apparent employee as being one of the better salespeople. She was quoted in saying, “It just seemed off; they said he was able to purchase a Gucci school bag with his paycheck and he would come in wearing a Gucci bag. They also said he was able to purchase a BMW and then he would be seen polishing a shiny BMW during his breaks.” She described that it felt like “set up props” to advance their validity.

She also described experiences during her first meeting in which people would interrupt their meeting by walking in and saying things like “work at Vector” or “working here is great.” She described these encounters as seemingly staged as well.

Pierce, a graduate of Bensalem high school, said the company sent representatives to their graduation ceremony. The reps handed out flyers that said congratulations from Vector and urged them to visit the website and apply.

She said the company had a pre-written script to be memorized and regurgitated during each sale. They were taught to deceive consumers by cutting rope a certain way, which would not work, with the consumer’s own knife.

They then cut the rope with ease with the Vector knife, thus promoting the superiority of the brand. Pierce commented, “They taught you how to scam people.”

Pierce experiences certainly suggest that the company is illegitimate and maybe even a scam. This leads to the question of Vector and Bucks’ should a company like this be able to advertise at Bucks with such accessibility?

Who decides what is permissible to hang on the community bulletin boards and why do they allow a company such as this to readily advertise to students?

Matthew Cipriano, Director of Student Life at Bucks, had some information regarding these procedures. When asked about Vector, he immediately knew of the program and its pitfalls.

He stated that career services is now in contact with the company and sometimes allows them to set up tables at Bucks to advertise. He also noted that Vector asks students who work for them to do advertising as well.

He went on, “My philosophy is that they are a problem at times. They advertise in ways they are not allowed to do. They would go into classrooms and write on boards and put up flyers without permission.” He also stated, “I am not a fan of their practices.”

He said that for a time, due to this sneaky behavior, they were not permitted to set up tables or advertise here. They since, however, have regained good graces with the college by following the appropriate practices and procedures with less sneaking around. However, he does not deal with them directly anymore.

A flyer noticed on the bulletin board outside of the Student Life office, however, it is unknown if it was a flyer that was approved or not, since Vector sometimes tells students to just put them up. The flyer is not currently there.

Stephanie Weiser, a Sales Development specialist out of the External Relations department at Vector described the company as a group of “independent contractors.” That is, they work purely for themselves and set up their own schedules.

She said Vector is also a “direct sales” company. Direct sales, as defined on directselling411.com is described as direct face to face selling with consumers as opposed to traditional retail sales.

Stephanie said that Vector employees are paid either by commission or at a flat rate so long as they continue to show customers in their homes and file the necessary paperwork.

She quoted, “It is always one or the other weekly, never both.” In that way, Vector has a built in safety net if people at least attempt to sell the product.

She also told me that the managers of individual Vector branches are independent contractors for themselves as well. In that way, Pierce’s experiences could be unique to the branch she worked for, and not reflective of the company as a whole, which has an A plus rating on the Better Business Bureau.

On training, Stephanie said that “training is unpaid across the board at Vector.” Again, this suggests that Pierce’s experiences are probably unique to issues with the specific branch she worked for, not Vector as a whole.