[anigbrowl]

“It’s not illegal to change a business name,” said Lisa Dilg of the Detroit BBB. “I don’t know how it’s legal, because it’s like hiding. But because it’s not illegal, there is no way to find out if the companies have been changing names and popping up in BBBs across the U.S. looking like they have no affiliation to each other.”

This is a weak point in America's business culture, and there's an opportunity to engineer it away. Fictitious business name applications (and changes) take place on a county-by-county basis, and there are ~3000 counties in America, all with their own set of records and their own administrative systems. Varying rules by county and state make it really easy for businesses to hide from consumer scrutiny. Indeed, I think part of the reason that people feel 'government' sucks is not that we have too much government, but that we have too many governments and it's too easy for bad actors to work this system...or rather the >3000 slightly different systems that are very poorly integrated.

[notahacker]

A joined up public database to track connections between company names and founders might be useful, but it certainly wouldn't stop corrupt organisations from marketing themselves as to ordinary people offering legitimate solutions. An organization with a reputation for being as laughably easy to buy off as the BBB isn't the answer either.

I actually assumed the article would be about the Southwestern company, an organization whose reputation for exploiting its self-employed staff is known on the other side of the Atlantic, but still recruits from the university campuses that haven't banned it. But they've been enlisting college-age kids to sell books on doorsteps under exactly the same name since just after the Civil War and they pay their BBB dues...

Some of these companies are dirtier, but the problem with "self-employed" remote salespeople whose lives are controlled by the company is deeper than knowing who the entities are, since neither the crews nor the people that actually persuaded to buy the merchandise are likely to do the research. That's the part where more protection is needed

And I say this as someone that did a self-employed remote door-to-door job in consecutive summers with the same company back at university whilst having other options.

[sixQuarks]

I sold books door-to-door in 1996 for Southwestern company. I don't know if they're a different kind of company today, but I must say it was one of the best experiences I've ever had.

Yes, it's true that you have to work 80 hours per week, in a town where you don't know anybody, and where you don't have a place to live (you actually have to knock on doors and find a place to live). I mean, it sounds crazy on paper, and over 50% of people quit, but if you can make it through the summer, you really learn a lot about yourself and what you're capable of.

[yitchelle]

Its all about getting outside of your comfort zone and doing something totally different. It forces you to made decisions that you would have to never make, and also to see the ramifications of those decisions. Kudos to you for experiencing it!

[sixQuarks]

Another interesting thing I learned first-hand is that you never know what someone else is capable of (don't judge a book by its cover).

One of the top performers the summer I worked was a raver-type guy that looked like he was strung out on meth and mumbled when he talked. The guy was incredible at selling door-to-door, blew the doors off everybody else - not necessarily because he was a natural salesperson, but because he worked his ass off. I shadowed him one day to see how he did it, I learned so much about life that day. Another top performer was a quiet girl that seemed very shy.