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Thanks to Pacesetter Corp. and their attempted legal action to shut down this site, we have now started asking each author to swear, under penalty of perjury, that everything stated in their story is true. The author of this story has confirmed that everything stated in it is true. Also, someone seems to have posted this story on the misc.consumers.house newsgroup, so it can be read there as well.

From:    Private
E-Mail:  Private
Subject: I was a trainer for pacesetter!!

I write this to put closure to a part of my life that almost cost me my life and Marriage.I worked for the Pacesetter corp in the south east.I was in the alarm buisness and was looking to move up into a higher paying sales job.I interviewed with Pacesetter and was immediatly put into sales training.It is a 10 step program that is out to nail the weary.I was very good at selling the product because I believed what I was selling was the best product on the market.I did not know any better because I had never investigated prices of windows,siding and other things.I became an assistant mgr quickly and was to train others on how to get the sale.I will tell you what I know, Bare with me as this was an extremely painful part of my life.The sales system is set up on a ten step program. First you must prepare.Drive up to the house having your weapons ready.When you get out of the car look towards the house and wave.This was so that if someone was peaking out they would think you saw them and would feel awkward if they did'nt answer the door.You were suppose to find something to talk about when you pulled into their house,bassboat,landscape,dog anything.The warm up was to take atleast 45 minutes.This is in their training program!You are not to talk buisness even if the customer was directing you to their window or siding or whatever.If you started talking buisness before this,you were giving up control in the house.Then once you got done talking about everything under the sun you whip out a video.It is harley Schrager thanking you for letting us visit you home.The big owner!!Then you pull out this big blue flip chart and tell the amazing storie of pacesetters beginning and the wonderful company you are looking at.Blah,Blah,Blah.Then its off to the inspection.Every home needs work and you are taught to show these dramatic problems that if not taken care of now will cost you thousands later.Scared yet!Then it is off to the product demo.I will speak more on this later.then a nice preclose.Does this sound familiar.Mr and Mrs Jones I think we both agree that its not a matter of if yuor going to have siding installed,its a matter of when right?Well thats why We made this special trip to see you tonight.You see we at pacesette dont have jobbers that bring us buisness.It'smy responsibility to keep a constants flow of orders coming into the company and there are 3 reasons this is so important.1st the people at the factory.These are craftsman with families that put out a great product and we have never had layoffs and aren't going to start now.2ndly and a little closer to home is my installers.These are guys I work with.I know their families and kids.I want tokeep these guys working.We don't want to lose these great installers they are the best in the buisness.And the last reason Mr Jones is this is what I do for a living.This is how I feed my family.Simplyput folks I need your buisness and I will do what ever it takes in order to earn your buisness tonight while I am out to see ya instead of putting this work off to a later date.Let me ask you a question.If I can do three things.If I can show you price that you are going to love.If I can show you a payment that won't take bread and butter off the table that will be affordable.and If I can show you a way that I can save you a tremendous amount of money!Would there be any other reason why I could'nt earn your buisness tonight while I am out to see ya!! This is the preclose taught word for word to pacesetter reps.Every customer heres this.It is the guilt pre close to make you say why sure you could earn my buisness.Then you are taught to put out your hand and shake theirsnand say thanks folks,I appreciate it.Then the long awaited hard close.Sart out high and sit on it.We taught several manipulating closes to tongue tie even the hardest customer.Closem ,Closem, Closem!! I taught this course week after week after week. Let me first apologize to the people I sold.Forgive me for I did'nt know what I was doing.God has made me pay for what I have done.I have been stricken with anxiety disorder.Panic attacks and fear of death everyday I wake up and anti deppresents are my life now because of the stress and anxiety at the hands of pacesetter.We were sent out of town one week in town up to a 100 mile radius and one week to a drive town away from our families in some sleezy motel with a perdium of sixty dollars to cover our expenses.We spent our own gas money and would have to room together in these one horse towns to prey on people that did'nt know any better.We carried fax machines to the motel to fax in our sales at night.The sound of that fax machine going off in the morning with our leads for the day in backwoods usa.We were taught to look for that clear handled storm door on houses.To go up and knock and ask the person how their door was working like some quality control person then try to sell them on what ever product that they did'nt have of ours.Our cars were pilled with window samples,siding samples and cabinet refacing samples,door samples.And the worst of all storm windows.We were taught to go to window leads and tell the people they did'nt need windows.Their windows needed help but not replacement.We were taught to switch them to strom windows at $400.00 a piece.I have put storm windows on windows that you could push out of the house with you hands.Put them over rotten windows.Storm windows are your bread and butter we were taught.We preyed on the uneducated.Taught to look for thye people that did'nt want us at their home.We went over tremendous scrutney over every appointment asked why we did'nt sell them and what we should have done diffrent to have gotten them and blamed for not following the steps when we did'nt sell.The roads were long and to all the little kentucky towns elderly,and uneducated.You were had before you answered the door.We were paid commissions and then had them taken away when the installer did something diffrent when he got there.No vaseline for the customer at pacesetter.The worst one I ever had was a flooring lead.I sold a lady a laminate kitchen floor for a small kitchen for almost $10,000 dollars at 15.9% interest.I am sorry lord.Please forgive me.I was a snake in the grass for you Pacesetter and you almost cost me my life.You did cost me my Morality.Phil and Harley Schrager will burn in hell for what they have done to people.I just hope they did'nt take me with them.This is the truth!!Pacesetter is a scary place that you should stay away from.Don't bite the apple.The snake is lying.Please don't use my name in this column,but please post it.Maybe I can help someone instead of hurt them and the Lord might forgive me if I make some sort of restitution.Thanks for this site.It needs to be here.

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