2005-09-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

Paid Programming
Like most people in today's world, my paycheck doesn't quite cover the expenses of raising two teenage kids, so my wife and I went searching for part-time jobs to help fill the void. We were looking for something that we could do from home in our spare time. Spare time being anytime during the week before 6:00am and after 9:00pm, and ANYTIME on the weekend. Anytime, that is, that isn't spent shuttling our kids to work, hockey, church or other teenage activities. By some freak chance my wife stumbled upon an opportunity that a girl from her work told her about, that fit the time schedule that we were looking for. We are now officially trained and certified "Agents" for a company that serves as a call center for the popular sales tool described in your TV guide as "Paid Programming". That's right...the Infomercial! So the next time your up at 4 in the morning, and your driven by some unknown force to call and order the Ginsu knife set with a free food processor and a free subscription to the Ginsu Newsletter, you might recognize the voice on the other end of the line!
It's not a bad gig, even if the hours are a little strange. You just sit at your computer, wearing a telephone headset, and wait for the phone to ring. Because your logged into the company's webite, the product script and information pop-up on your screen and you just ask the questions and fill in the blanks. I've sold everything from self-curing medical books (the worst) to love songs of the 80's. We've even taken donation calls for the Red Cross and Salvation Army during the first few days following Katrina. Some of the products require a lot of "up-selling", which can be a total beating sometimes. The way that you have to word it, and the extent that you have to take these poor people to, makes me feel like I'm tricking them into buying something that they don't want. But hey, the things we'll do to support our family right? It's amazing how many people are up at 4:00am too. It makes me feel pretty good about my life. At least I feel like i'm providing a service to somebody, even if they are a semi-intelligent hillbilly from Mississippi that really wants the Popiel Pocket Fisherman for only 3 easy payments of $29.95.
We get paid by the minute (that we're on the phone), we make our own schedule (you sign up for the hours that you want), and get to work at home (in boxers and t-shirt). In my case I work in "My" room, which happens to be a bar, so what's not to like. We're still new at this and we're figuring out our strategy. As you progress, you can become available for more training that can qualify you for higher paying positions/opportunities. I'm training this weekend for a toy company gig, just in time for Christmas. Stay tuned right here and I'll keep you posted on our progress. uhOh, there's the phone. I gotta go....

2005-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

If you had asked me a year, hell a week ago if I ever thought about having a blog, I would have laughed. But here I am, starting one anyway. After reading my nephew's (he's a professional journalist) I thought that I would give it a stab. If nothing else it will be a way of keeping track of what I do every day. Stay tuned for my dose of reality.

Diforr