Which Country?
After the training, the next stop was Sue's
office. This meeting, along with meeting
with two of the Director's would determine where I would be sent. Bansko in Bulgaria had really been sold to us
during the training, as the place to earn the most money and without exception,
this is where we all wanted to go.
I was summoned into Sue's office. We chatted about the training and how it had
gone and then we got down to the serious business of discussing my placement
abroad.
Sue told me that she had originally had me earmarked
for France. I speak French, have worked
in France previously and knew the area well.
Plus my personality was well suited to working in France I was told, as
the company had a much softer approach to sales there. Sue was also aware of my ambition to
eventually move to rural France permanently.
Initially, being placed in France had sounded ideal. I love France and the thought of living there
again was amazing. Plus, the staff in
France were employed, rather than self employed (French employment legislation
dictated this) which appealed to me, as I still had concerns about MRI's
reasons for all the sales staff being self employed.
However, during training we had learnt that it took
much longer for staff in France to earn their commission and that the rate
tended to be lower. This means that
rather than expecting to commission to be paid after three months, because of
the processes involved, it would be more likely six months. This would mean living on a salary of only
€1000 a month for six months - far from ideal.
It also dawned on me that after resigning, if MRI reneged on their
promise to pay any outstanding commission owed, then six month's worth of
commission would remain in MRI's pockets.
Not good.
And so I did what I do well and sold myself and the
reasons I should be sent to Bulgaria. I
am quiet and pretty unassuming - characteristics that aren't usually seen in
sales people. However, I had proven
success in sales in my previous roles and had proved myself in what can often
be a cut throat business. I clearly
argued my case well, as Sue said that yes, she would recommend to the Directors
that I be sent to Bulgaria.
I was delighted.
Before the meeting ended, Sue asked if I had any further questions. Most of my questions had been answered during
the training, but I did have one very specific questions.
"If I do go to Bulgaria, what help will I receive
in ensuring that I'm working legally and paying taxes etc?"
"Your manager in Bulgaria will give you all the help
that you need. MRI want to make sure
that you're working legally too."
I didn't know it at the time, but this turned out to be
a whopping lie. Not only that, but
because of MRI's lies once I was in Bulgaria,
I was hauled to the police station in Bulgaria as an illegal
worker. But I'm jumping ahead. The full story will emerge in good time.
We shook hands and Sue wished me the very best, no
matter which country I end up in.
Meeting the Directors
The next stage was the Directors. I admit that I was incredibly nervous going
into this meeting. You had to be a very
specific type of person to become a Director at MRI and I wasn't sure that
they'd think that I was really the right kind of sales person for the job.
The two Directors I met were Mike Moodie and Rolf
Christensen. Mike was a cheerful,
smiling man and quickly put me at ease (a gift I later saw time and time again
with clients) and Rolf was more serious and rather foreboding looking. The next twenty minutes consisted of me
explaining to them both why I should be sent to Bansko in Bulgaria. This was no mean feat. Every new sales executive wanted to work in
this high earning region and I knew that Adam and Stuart would also be arguing
their case to be sent there - only one of us would be selling property in
Bansko.
It obviously worked.
At the end of the meeting they both looked at each other, smiled and
said "Bankso" in unison. I'd
done it. My dream of living a mortgage
free life in rural France was even closer.
And so, arrangements were made and flights booked. Stuart was to work in Portugal and Adam in
France. I knew that Adam was very
unhappy about this and in the end he chose not to work for MRI as a result and
returned home. He had a lucky
break.
Mike Moodie had recently returned from Bansko and had
told me that the temperatures there were freezing. I had only packed clothes suitable for a warm
climate, as most of the countries that MRI operated in had a Mediterranean
climate. I'd also learnt my lesson when
wearing my fur coat to the interview and I didn't want to be overburdened again. I requested that I fly to Bulgaria via a one
night stop off in London, so that I could pack some warmer clothes. I would be paying for the flights ultimately
anyway and I would still arrive in Bulgaria on the same day, so I could see no
reason why not. Surely I wasn't expected
to arrive in a ski resort with only light clothes? My request was refused and I was told that I
'd be able to buy clothes in Bulgaria.
Having already worked extensively in Eastern Europe, I knew that this
wasn't the case. I am (how to say it),
rather large chested and finding clothes to fit me in Eastern Europe I knew was
nigh on impossible. I explained this as
delicately as possible, not wanting to rock the boat. Again I was turned down. And so it seemed that yes, they did think
that it was reasonable for me to arrive in a cold ski resort without suitable
clothing.
Goodbye Spain, Hello Bulgaria
And so the day arrived for me to fly to Bulgaria. It was an evening flight and I was due to
arrive into Sofia at around 11pm. I
waved goodbye to Spain and settled in for the flight. I arrived on time and (thankfully) there was
somebody to meet me at the airport.
I was bundled into the car and we set off. Unfortunately the driver didn't have very
much English, so the journey passed in silence, with the driver occasionally
turning on some incredibly loud, banging rave music. Not the most relaxing of journeys! We drove for hours and hours. There was no street lighting and other than
the occasional headlight from oncoming traffic, there was little to break the
monotony. I was starting to wonder what
I'd let myself in for.
Almost four hours later we finally arrived. I was checked into a hotel and was simply
told "Be at Kempinski Hotel tomorrow 10am" and left. It certainly didn't feel like much of a
welcome.
I got into bed and quickly fell asleep, wondering what
my first day in Bansko would bring....
