I had a nice conversation with Treshaun Troup in Denver. He was kind, clear, and provided a clear road map for what his D&T connections does in communities across the U.S. Keep up the hard work Treshaun! read more

Reading through ALL these reviews... very interesting! I have a slightly different experience with these folks. A very soft spoken, polite guy knocked on my door . He had all his ID and name tags on, was well dressed and told me his name. It matches the names of team members listed on the official website. He didn't try to sell or offer me any magazines though. He told me he was a ex offender and training under his head manager , trying to get enough donations to pay for his real estate license. He said he earns "points" for each donation, and gets paid based on the amount of donations received. I didn't feel he was lying to me... but curious why he didn't offer me magazines if that is part of the sales pitch? He also gave me his personal Venmo if I wanted to help him. Hmm... read more

Update: while I had a very pleasant interaction, and liked our sales rep, the more I looked into it the more it seemed like a legal scam. I requested a refund within the three day window and received it. read more

This young man came to the door with the "story" and was very nice and polite. Once we got to the buying part and I said I wasn't comfortable handing him my check or calling into a number on his phone, to give them my credit card information, then all of a sudden he became angry and aggressive. He also accused me of things I'll leave out. read more

I felt extremely pressured by the salespeople, and thought that something was amiss when they had to call two different people handling their PayPal and Credit card transactions. They presented it as if I would be donating magazines to a nonprofit institution, and when I said "I work at a nonprofit" they said "oh I know what that's like it's the same for us" as if they also worked at one. Then I read the back of the slip which was like "they are not permitted to represent themselves as nonprofit employees" I paid with PayPal, so I could cancel easily. I asked questions about their relationship to the corporation, and the magazine vendors, and the nonprofits, and got very unclear answers. After they left, I looked at my paypal and realized the person whose email they gave me didn't even have a PayPal account. So I immediately cancelled my payment. If you're a legitimate business, you should have all these systems set up. I understand small businesses can be underresourced and it's not uncommon for them to have less well run systems, but I did not feel that this was a legitimate business. So I immediately got my $$ back on PayPal. read more

This is a scam. I wish I had read about this company sooner. While the sales person was kind and friendly, I got the feeling that he would probably be doing a lot of walking and talking to earn very little. But in the moment, I was persuaded to purchase magazine subscriptions and now I'm kicking myself. I am worried now that they have my check with my name, my routing and account number... Don't fall for this. I was able to contact D&T Connections and they assured me once my check was received, they would shred it and that matter would be resolved. read more

Tonight around 7pm a man came to the door representing D&T connections. I was in another room but he talked to my wife for about 20 minutes with one of the usual stories about trying to make a better life for his son until she finally got her checkbook out. I've been approached by these types of salesmen before and am not very trusting of them, so I came out and politely told him no. He instantly changed his tone and got super aggressive. I again told him we weren't interested and he started cussing us out as he walked away. My young children (2 and 4 y/o) were standing beside me as he dropped the F bomb and told me that karma was gonna bite me in the a**. read more

You looked to this web page just to find something negative and give the salesperson a LAME Excuse on why you are not going to support them You ought to be ashamed of yourself HELP THEM IF You can you never know when God is testing you with an Angel just give the person the benefit of doubt and trust that you are helping them MAKE A Difference not a sorry excuse read more

I know many Yelpers are reluctant to read long reviews, but PLEASE read and heed my advice on this one! I am a national account sales director with a Fortune 100 corporation, and even I was taken in by the swag of the gentleman who came to my door tonight with D&T Connection, Inc. His name was John Thompson, and he lives in Spencer, Oklahoma. That was the first red flag; I live in New Orleans area, and the company's HQ is listed outside Atlanta - come on, y'all... The guy was genuinely sweet-natured and I was not threatened or pressured AT ALL, but the materials given to him were bunk. Weathered sales pages, etc. and he was not fully aware of the spelling of a lot of the products - I know... D&T helps with "literacy" initiatives.... I even asked again if he had ties to the area; primarily because with my position I told him I was able to offer him a base of $45.5k + actual commission, knowing his brief criminal record. Not whatever pyramid shit they have going on at D&T. After a long and very forlorn look on his face, he said he couldn't because he lived in Oklahoma. I then asked how the hell he ended up knocking on my door. His answer : "It's where our sales supervisor assigned me while we're here." - again...come on y'all. IT GETS BETTER - his phone rings, and it is said supervisor (entire convo was audible to me as I was sitting next to him on my porch). Supervisor asks if he is still working, he says he is and is with a customer. Supervisor continues to "remind" John to get the full 3-year commitment, or "don't bother coming to the meet up until you do." WHAT. THE. HELL. Bottom line is this poor bastard seemed to be at the whim of a crooked organization preying on ex-cons who probably want to legitimately turn their lives around, but instead get recruited at the debrief gates by these jokers who then get headhunter fees for their services. The main takeaways - the person / persons coming to your door are, by my estimation, less than 5% of the issue. I offered John $200 to take with him and make up whatever story he wanted about not closing the deal, on the condition he didn't tell the sketch wad on the phone we had the conversation. He declined, saying it "would come back on him negatively and he just needed to hit him quota for the day (no reputable sales firm has a DAILY quota, BTW). I then wrote John a check from a shell account I use for minor expenses (and cancelled about an hour later), and notified my banking institution to stop check payment and flag the payee should any other account holders in my area get had. This company does 2 things VERY well: 1. Exploiting otherwise decent folks with extremely limited post-institutional (penitentiary) employment opportunities into "growing their selling and professional skills" 2. Training (tricking) those same people into thinking that they are part of an altruistic organization and relaying that narrative to people in target sales nets. Steer clear folks. It's not totally the fault of the people knocking on the door, but the ones pulling their strings. read more

I like the people but you can tell something is off with this company. BBB reviews are very poor. D&T Connection allegedly hires young people who have been in trouble and need a fresh start (their words, not mine) and go door to door selling magazine subs at a premium and you can only pay by check. The salespeople technically are not allowed to say it provides a benefit to them, but that's always the story they lead with when they knock on your door. If it really helped them I would consider it a donation. But it appears this company does NOT treat its employees well. And there's no documentation on their site about how it recruits people to give them a second chance. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/trapped-into-selling-magazines-door-to-door/388601/ read more

These people are freaking crooks. I have never been more frustrated with a company and there services. The staff at this company is completely incompetent. The state and federal government should shut this place down. Next time I am in GA, I will stop by there office to tell them how I feel. Moreover, if I have another one of the sales people come to my house, I am going to spray him or her with water (in the face). Maybe even tar and feather. ARRGHHH! You try to get magazines and instead you get sh*t. read more

just so you know: they're back in the neighborhood. Very persuasive style, drawing evilly on your sympathies as a nice person. Even if you don't give them any money-- which seems from other reviews to be a horrible HORRIBLE mistake-- you will waste much more of your time than you ever want to spend, just trying to say "No thank you." They aren't listening to you. And even if they don't scream at you to f* off or call you an *sshole, you'll feel icky after the encounter. Recommend that you follow my sister's good advice: keep the chain on the door, say loudly and firmly, "I'm sorry, WE don't ever do business on our front porch. Not ever. If you would like to leave written materials for us when you leave, we will read them tomorrow. Good evening!" And shut the door on this unpleasant encounter. read more

An African American young man came to my door this evening at 9pm with the story that he was just trying to sell subscriptions to help his young daughter and get paid. He was dressed in khakis, a button down shirt, and tie. He thanked me for opening the door for him, and said that I was treated him better than others in my midtown neighborhood. He introduced himself and asked my name, and called me Miss Debbie when I told him mine. He asked my profession and how my day was. He seemed friendly. Until... ...I asked him how much money he made, he said 40% up to 60% of the price of the magazines, which I mentioned really wasn't much. That it seemed he should be getting paid more. When I told him that I was uncomfortable giving him a check with my banking information on it, he pulled out a bunch of receipts and checks of other "customers" who he claimed recently bought for him. I looked through his binder to see the company name, and I started to ask him to leave information about this so I could follow up. That's when he started to ramble in a weird way. Something about how I wasn't treating him right, that he only asked that I "pay it forward" if I see someone else in the neighborhood like him. When I told him I couldn't buy from him tonight, he walked down my steps, mumbling something weird, and laughed a strange laugh when I told him to have a good night. Creepy feeling left over. Don't open the door to these folks. Nothing bad happened, but I'm glad it didn't, and I should have just spoken to him from behind my screen door, and told him, as one of the other posters here recommended: "I'm sorry, WE don't ever do business on our front porch. Not ever. If you would like to leave written materials for us when you leave, we will read them tomorrow. Good evening!" read more

A nice young woman came to my door at about 5pm tonight. She proceeded to tell me about how she is a working mom and was raising one child on her own and refused to go one welfare. She was very adamant that she would never accept a welfare check. Then she handed me this laminated packet of her "resume"which was in itself poorly constructed and weathered. She continued to talk about her point system that when we buy magazines they make a small commission and points help her "feed and clothe her child". I was interested until she explained to me that i have to buy 2 magazine subscriptions at the cost of $54 and was very brief about what the money was for....which I later found out was not for a charitable organization. I work in social service, more specifically I work at a homeless shelter. I am very aware of the programs in the city as well as resources. I had never heard of this place and was rather worried that it was located in Georgia. After I explained that $54 was not within my price range, she was very dismissive. I told her about a few programs in the city that would be useful to her, and even invited her to our computer lab to perfect her resume, but she explained "I can't take a day off, I have to feed my kid". Okay sure. I'm just not comfortable with this whole situation and working for this for-profit company is not the most realistic and reasonable place for those looking to better themselves to be. read more

Horrible. This company preys off of the weak and does not deliver. Same tactics as above: sob story, commit to help, then comes a huge price tag, some deception, and non-delivery. I paid for one magazine and got another, completely unrelated crappy one. Checked the receipt and they wrote down my order right and fulfilled it wrong and late. For $111. Never buy the sad story. If they come to your door and you want to do something nice, feed the guy, but don't buy anything. read more

Had another one of these "representatives" at my door today. Seems like they come around every 6 months or so. It's a variation of the same pitch. Either ex-con trying to do right, single mother with starving kids or just someone who has been a victim of some perceived social injustice. The latter is what I had today. The woman that came to my door started in on one of those "trap pitches" where they try to involve you in a conversation you can't get out of. She told me her name was Latonya and asked if I'd heard of D and T and not thinking about it (because I don't really care) I said no. She then went on to ask my name which I wouldn't give her. She protested that saying " I was nice enough to give you my name" To which I responded, "You could have made that up but let's cut to the chase, what are you selling?" She got ticked off and just stormed away mostly because I wouldn't play her game I guess. She walked away mumbling obscenities in between a few angry "God Bless You" rants. Must be a variation on the serenity prayer only for salesmen. Pretty sure God already blessed me because I've got enough intelligence to recognize the scam. Anyway, I called after her saying, " Great Sales tactic!" Don't assume I'm just a nasty a-hole either. I will extend every courtesy to anyone on my doorstep but when I hear this kind of pitch coming I shut it down. In fact as I see it, I'm actually doing them a favor by not wasting their time. I'm still courteous and don't scream or otherwise demean the person but to them the only expression of courtesy is a sale. Well, I guess I'm not that courteous after all then... What others have said was my experience as well. You just feel uncomfortable afterward. I'm all for helping out others but not under high pressure sales tactics or a perceived threat. The worst part is that the only reason I answered the door was because there's been burglaries and theft of property in and around my neighborhood and most of it happens because the crooks case houses by seeing if anyone is home during the day. I'd rather be a hard target than get surprised. read more

Yikes! Too bad I can't give it a less than 1 star. I was also ripped off by someone sent by D&T Connection. I fell for the sobbing story and I thought I was helping those who really need help but instead I got tricked! This deceiving company "train" their sales rep to tell lies and use people's trust and sympathy to rip them off. D&T, how dare are you sending people to my door to steal money from me! Now I really regret that they have my personal information like bank accounts, address, etc. Next time when I see someone from this company, I will call police directly. There are more complains from other frustrating consumers: http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/D.And.T.Connection.Inc.404-209-1170/review/list read more

I'm giving this business 3 stars even though I had a similar experience as the other reviewers here. BUT, when I called the number on my receipt to cancel my order, I was helped immediately and the customer service rep apologized for the misrepresentation of the sales person. The guy that came to my door had the classic sob story many others have already described, and he said this company was giving him a chance, but that he need points to get paid since they don't pay him hourly. I totally bought it until I read all these other reviews and realized he used the same tactics on me! I was not interested in any magazines, but ordered 3 thinking the money was going to a good cause. After he left, I read the back of my receipt which stated that "Salespersons are prohibited from making statements that they are employed by or for the benefit of any charitable or nonprofit organization..." The front of the receipt also stated you can cancel the transaction prior to the third business day after the transaction date. So, since I didn't want any magazines to begin with, and since the money would NOT be helping anyone, I called first thing this morning to cancel. The woman was very friendly and apologized for the misrepresentation and said they would mail my check back to me and cancel my order. I'll update this if I do not receive my check back/if it's cashed. read more

This is a legitimate company, and it even currently has an A+ from the Better Business Bureau (as of November 2014), but if you want to donate to charity, find a charity. D & T Connection has a checkered record. D & T Connection salespeople sell magazine subscriptions door to door in cities across the US. Their sales pitch is to make it seem like an indirect form of charity for the salespeople, who are trying to meet a quota of points to earn money to support their children etc. (which is not necessarily untrue). The company itself is not actually a charitable organization in any way. If you feel good about your sales person, buy a magazine and have it sent as a "gift order" to a local institution (e.g. the YMCA). Although many of D & T Connection's sales people are terrible (you can read all about them here and elsewhere online), sometimes you get a really pleasant, articulate one, and it is indeed hard to say no. That's part of the game, of course. So think about it before you give in. It is the dilemma of helping the working poor by contributing to an exploitative company... To their credit (and somewhat incredibly in my opinion), these salespeople do not accept offers of personal handouts just to them. It takes three or four months before any subscription you order arrives, and there are lots of complaints online about missing magazines or refunds that never come. Then again, the BBB notes six resolved disputes with people over the past few months. Buyer beware! read more

I have noticed a lot of negative reviews. Well, I actually got my magazine order. It took nearly 3 months to receive it. D & T Connections was in my Modesto, CA neighborhood in late March 2013. My D & T salesperson asked that I allow 90-120 days for delivery. The 90-120 day delivery was also printed on my receipt. I was beginning to think that D & T Connections took my money and ran but I began to get my magazine subscription last week. read more

These mf are straight scams! I was personally a victim of their so called business. Us sales ppl were treated like slaves! Those that didn't meet quota was forced to ride in the back of the van and was call all types of names. There were people stacked on top of each other on the last bench seat in the back. The most I've see was 7. Then driver would drive fast and go over speed bumps at an accelerated rate purposely. Donald was ok in my book, but his witch wife Tekeba Swift should be under someone's jail. I have toooooo much to say in this, but will leave it at that. Salesmen was treated poorly and managers got rich! Simple! read more

Creepy. Got me for 51.00 via check. Came to my house just before dark & I was alone. Asked to come into my house. Creepy. I live the mountains and NO ONE ever comes door to door around here.... Asking for money to help ex druggies by selling magazine subscriptions. Called the police & cancelled my check after reading YELP. Thank you Yelp. read more

The 'agents' that knock on our doors, often late at night, always make me fearful of my safety as they are always peering into my house or commenting on my car in the driveway. They are persistent with their scripted sob stories - the woman who haggled me tonight went like this..."I was beaten by my husband, my kid has Cerebral Palsy as a result because he sat on me when I was pregnant, (CP is the result of genetics, not because of a beating in utero), I became a prostitute to feed my kids, I was in jail for drugs.... " the whole Point system is ridiculous and meant to confuse and frustrate you so that you'll agree to anything to get them off your doorstep. Do not fall for their sob stories or the pitch that they're trying to feed their kids or that the money will go to charity. These are strangers from other states, who often have criminal records and drug issues, period. The company they contract with that drops them off in your neighborhood does NOT do background checks. Some of these low life's were caught on camera in my neighborhood today opening packages on someone's porch. Just google D&T or DNT magazines and read how many times their agents have robbed, assaulted, or even murdered the person answering the door. read more

I may be a sucked, but the guy who presented to me was (as far as I can tell) honest. Yes, the magazine pricing was dramatically over-priced, but if this helps the lad get enough experience to find something better, then so be. I have no problem with this once in a blue moon. read more

The same story here as mentioned in previous reviews. Someone knocked on my door this dark & rainy evening and my kids waved through the window. Shame on me for thinking it was my husband coming home from work...I opened the door to find a complete stranger who unloaded his sob story, nearly identical to all the stories in the previous Yelp reviews here, and guilted me into buying a three year subscription to be donated to a local woman's shelter. I knew it was a scam but was honestly terrified by the way he was looking into my home, asking me about the artwork on my walls. I panicked and would have given him cash if I had $51 on hand. Instead I wrote a check and am kicking myself knowing he now has my routing & account number in his ex-con hands. This type of solicitation should be illegal. I feel sick about the entire interaction. read more

One of the drawbacks of living in a detached house instead of an apartment is you get door to door solicitors. I'm usually good about shooing the away, but my partner can sometimes be too kind. He listens to their pitch and then has me deal with them. Gee thanks! I have no problem being mean though. NO is my favorite word. No, don't get me wrong, if a kid comes to the door selling ANYTHING--I buy it. Raffle tickets, chocolate--I'm game. I remember selling raffle tickets door to door when I was 11. Alone on my bike, riding around our country road hoping that someone would spring for a $1 to buy a ticket. Times have changed, but I have never forgotten how terrible it was to do that. When adults come to my door, it's a different story. Today there was a nice young lady giving us her story about being a single mom. First of all, don't tell me about being a single mom. Been there, done that. I know all about not having money, what I had to do for work, etc. Thus, her story about having her child just before graduating from high school struck me as odd. Most high schools these days will allow their pregnant students to home school, etc. in order to graduate. My high school in the middle of no where even had a pregnant student program--and that was before fire was invented! She said she was just about to get her GED. Hmmmm, that test isn't that hard. Why the delay? Anyway, it wasn't her sob story that turned me off but the whole song and dance about points, magazines, and the so-called customers in her folio. The idea was I was supposed to buy a magazine subscription and then donate it to a "worthy" organization who could use it, since of course, I didn't want magazines. That sounded weird to me. I also had visions of the Boys and Girls Clubs getting 10 copies of the same magazine sent to them. That didn't make me feel like this was an efficient experience. To cut to the chase, I requested information be left with me so that I could make an informed decision on my own time. I've done telemarketing and that's what NO ONE wants to hear. They want the sale NOW, not on your own time and definitely not without getting your credit card info. Suddenly things changed with this woman. IF I didn't buy some magazines NOW, then she wouldn't get paid. Sorry, but that's not my problem. I have my charitable organizations I donate to. I'm not getting wrapped up in your scheme. I think I need to tell my partner to just not open the door in the future. I'm getting tired of dealing with folks like this! read more

I signed up for Newsweek with these folks. It began to arrive within a month. No problems. read more

CHECK RETURNED AS PROMISED! I agree there are better ways to make a donation. I did fall for there story, and gave them a check Thursday night. Friday morning I had buyers remorse, called there 800 number, was told they would return my check. I had my check in hand the following Wednesday. read more

Just wrote a check for D&T last week for $35.00. I signed up for one year's subscription to Shape magazine. The subscription was $24 +$11 for the cause so $35 total. Just checked my account this morning and somehow the check I had given them said $435. I am a student and in no way shape or form would I write a check for 435 for anything let alone a magazine. I will be going to the bank and claiming it as fraudulent. I can't even believe someone that I stood and talked to at my own house would do something like that. I hope that all of these complaints come of something. read more

Got a knock on the door on a weekday afternoon here in Los Angeles from a young woman who eventually gave the name D&T Connection. Pretty much from the moment she opened her mouth I was pretty sure this was a con of some kind. She definitely had a "patter," with lots of jokes and flattery. She claimed she was from inner city Los Angeles and claimed that she was in some kind of "work credits" program where if she earns enough work credits she gets a full-time job. I wasn't really clear on how going door to door counted as "work credits" but ok, she goes on with her spiel. She asks my name and shakes my hand. Part of her schtick was to ask questions that to disagree with her would make you sound like an asshole eg. "Would you say that you've had to struggle through hardships to get where you are?" "Wouldn't you agree, ma'am that you would support programs designed to help young people have a chance to overcome struggles to find success?" "And wouldn't you agree that people deserve second chances?"... etc. This is conversational manipulation 101 and even more evidence in my mind that whatever is going on, it's not what she says it is. My responses to all these questions are pretty much "Uh, sure." Then she shows her "credentials," a laminated piece of paper with her name and the name D&T Connection at the top. She represents D&T Connections as some kind of charitable organization based in inner city LA, which is obviously not the case. I'm waiting for her to actually ask for the money that I figure she is going to ask for and she finally pulls out a list of magazines and I tell her I'm not interested. Then she asks if I'll just contribute money to her anyhow, again, something to do with her "work credits". Once I said no to this she asked me to explain to her the reason why I did not want to "help" her. I was pretty much speechless at this point trying to figure out a diplomatic way to tell her that her whole spiel and patter sounded like a con and that I just didn't trust her. While I'm standing there trying to figure out how to say that she gets really bitchy and walks off yelling and accusing me of not caring about helping people. Of course, her nasty response after all the flattery and false friendliness only made me feel better about not trusting her and deciding this was a sleazy con. Googled D&T Connections after I came in from the front door and I see that they are just as scammy and sleazy an operation as I suspected. That'll teach me to open the front door to a stranger. Honestly I usually don't but we've been getting a lot of packages requiring signatures at the moment and I thought it might be a delivery. I do feel sorry for the young people who get caught up in these door-to-door magazine subscription gangs, from what I've read about them I don't imagine she was really happy with her life, but I do not want my name or money going anywhere near her or her company. read more

One of the salespeople came to my house last night at 7:00pm (during dinner) and my father answered the door and listened to him give his spiel. After listening politely to his explanation, my father apologized and said that he couldn't afford to give a donation at this time. The salesman snapped and called him a "fucking asshole" and started berating him. I was so offended that someone would come to MY house and interrupt MY dinner only to attack MY father, who is the furthest thing from an asshole. It was incredibly upsetting, and looking back I should have called the police to deter him from doing the same to my unsuspecting neighbors. read more

Agree with other reviews, a legitimate business but manipulative tactics that nobody should encourage. It would be better, even for that guy on your doorstep giving you his sob story, if the company would just go out of business. Save yourself the stop payment fee and hassle. Donate to cause like Family Independence Initiative or Delancey Street. read more

Let me add another bad story to D&T Connection. I asked for more information as to how how getting "points" for selling me magazines will help him in his role as a director to "get kids off the inner city streets". I didn't recognize any names of my neighbors on the list on his clipboard despite "most of my neighbors" buying 3 to 6 magazine subscriptions to donate to Childrens Hospital and other worthy city causes. I guess my reluctance was too much for him to handle - he slammed down my pen (he did not have a working one) and stomped off hurling several f-bombs my way. I prolonged the agony for a few seconds, after fielding his cursing, by questioning his "youth guidance" skill set. I didn't write a check, but the whole incident left concerned enough to report the incident to the police. read more

I was interrupted during my dinner by a very nice young lady. I listened to a very sad story, so I donated some mags to a good cause. However when the woman drafted the check it was for $191.00. I was like WHAT? So I went ahead and wrote the check but after reading the reviews about this company, I put a stop payment on the check. read more

Boy I had a completely different experience this evening than many others who have posted here. A very personable young girl ( well she's 36.. Which to me is still a kid) knocked on my door .....I really don't like it when people breach my two gates unless they are delivering something or are friends/family...however, I was not busy so didn't ignore as usual. After she told me why she was there, I was hesitant because I've been a victim of door to door magazine sales in the guise of " helping" who ever they say they represent. I began listening politely because once I allow someone into my space I want to treat them respectfully, and I was prepared to be polite and listen enough but not let her go on and on . In any case she was so friendly and guileless that I went ahead and subscribed to one magazine..... If I was gullible, then so what...she definitely has a career in sales if she wants it..and I wish her good luck! read more

I just had the nicest young man come to my door from this company. He was quite the salesman and when I offered to just give him a donation he declined. He also did sell me on 211.00 worth of a magazine I didn't really want but assured me that he would get 75% to help his family. Again, I told him this was just my good deed and I'd rather just write him a check. He again was and upright salesman, was polite, took his job seriously and said that some people make the rest of them who are really trying look bad. I don't really care that much if I receive the magazine, which I'm sure I will. I'm just happy someones out there trying to help the people who really don't get much of a break most of the time. read more

Answered my door, don't know why at this point. Young Black guy gave me a whole story about getting out of jail and trying to do the right thing. I could order a magazine or 6 or 12 and send them to a VA or local children's hospital, funny he didn't know the only major children's hospital in our area. anyways, I asked the guy to come back in one hour, said I would check it over with my wife and do an internet check to make sure all was legit..........then he threw all his papers down on my porch, at my feet and slapped himself in the face, twice and hard. I was bewildered by all this, everything had been fine besides his CON style sales approach and aggressive tactics to this point. Seriously, I thought I was going to have to mix it up with this fella, I backed up closed the door. He shuffled off my porch and commented about me being a white guy with multiple explicative names. Anyways, called the local police, kid just seemed uneasy and maybe mental. Maybe I need to quit answering my door, what the hell is the world coming too? read more

My mom fell for the "oh poor me" line, ordered a People magazine subscription for $21.00, wrote a check for $21.00, and the "salesperson" altered the check to read $121.00, and it was cashed for $121.00! LUCKILY, she saw the "error" on her bank statement, and called the company. She e-mailed them a copy of the altered check, along with the sales order. They refunded her the $121.00 very quickly. She's also reporting it to her local police department. Totally disgusting. Hope they fired the creep. read more

I just had a polite conversation with an amicable D&T sales person, who said he was from New Orleans ( as am I). He did not feel the slightest bit threatening to me, but he balked slightly when I asked him what part of town he was from. When I questioned him further, he mentioned real neighborhoods, so he at least knew the city, whether or not he was really from there, and he had on a Saints bracelet. My thought was that he may have been incarcerated there, and felt awkward about disclosing that. He did disclose that he'd gotten into trouble there, and that he had taken up with D&T because no one else would hire him with his record. I don't think he entirely believed that last part. I wondered whether he was snapped up by an unscrupulous company taking advantage of people recently relased from jail, or whether he was just part of a random small scale scam, but I showed him respect, and his apporach was impeccable, even as he did his best to secure a sale using their standard questions. I also considered whether he was profiling houses with leading questions re: what i did for a living, but these are the identical questions mentioned in other reports, so I'm not sure. Reports of more aggressive behavior from other reps makes me suspect that the company IS scouting newly released prisoners, and that as sales reps, they are falling back on the best skill set they have to make a sale or secure extracurricular benefits, as well as experiencing lots of frustration at their situation- which quite frankly, I would probably feel, too, being herded around like cattle for hire and being told to dance like a monkey for peanuts- and without credible paperwork to back it up, and in neighborhoods where people will mostly clutch and run at the mere sight of their tatoos and color. I would HATE being there, and probably take it out on the folks standing there with all the priveledge, looking at me like I am a piece of shit to be feared. Not exactly a platform for a hopeful new beginning, is it? My advice? Start by respecting the person at your door, while maintaining your right to make your own rational choices. Look them in the eye and give them genuine responses and genuine empathy for being in what must be a highly discouraging role of schlepping magazines for a questionable company- you can't control their response, but you can offer respect and empathy. (The company supposedly helps the reps with interpersonal/ work skills such as presentation and eye contact- and once you are looking them in the eye, it's a lot harder to give a quick brush off- the company knows that, and trains them to do this.) Still, know that you have the advantage in the situation, and that you can calmly say no, regardless of their response to that. Trust your instincts, but don't just give in to knee jerk anger at them as the enemy, or to fear of the unkown. I gently and genuinely explained that I would be happy to research the program and then possibly order, giving his name for commission points, but obviously the system (if it's not a total scam) is not set up that way. I was prepared to ask him in a most friendly way- with full eye contact- whether he would advise his Grandma to write a check to a total stranger at the door in exchange for a little peice of paper with an address on it- but I didn't need to. He got it, I got it, and I hope he knows that his skill set is worthy of a much better position than the one he was in today. Don't let D&T take advantage of them and us- be respectful despite the shitty circumstances D&T is breeding. read more

I have had three GOOD experiences with individuals coming to my door over the past few years. All salespersons were upbeat, positive, friendly. None of them claimed that the money would go to charity. They explained it was a business and they were earning commissions (pretty low in my opinion) and getting room and board until they earned enough points to make more money. Even though it didn't seem like fair pay to me, all 3 said that NO ONE else would hire them because they had been in trouble with the law, or with no education. I questioned the latest salesperson very thoroughly and it sounds like she understood that it wasn't a good situation, but it gave her some work. Too bad they have to leave town to get work. All were VERY persuasive in wanting me to buy something,. They would NOT take any money donated to them or charity. Only thing taken was a bottle of water on a hot day. All were honest about how long it would take to get my magazines. It did take a very long time, but this is stated on the receipt. And out of the 6 magazines over the years I have ordered, one of them was NEVER delivered, but I didn't bother to call and complain. One of the more recent experiences I got a letter from the company apologizing that the mag I ordered was no longer available. I called them and they changed my order with no problems. I read more