re: Telemarketers - new HBO docuseries

CSB time:
I was involved in this in 91-92. I don't believe it was CDG, but it was the exact same playbook. I was a teenager and wanted to buy a car for my upcoming senior year of high school. We had no money, there was no other way I was getting a car unless I got a job. Saw an ad in the newspaper to make like $10 or $15 an hour. I can't remember but it was big bucks for me at that time. At first you just call people and ask for money and usually you get denied especially someone new at it. The guys that I worked with were basically like the guys I just saw in this first episode. I remember at one point the dude running the room kept disappearing into another back room. Once we became cool he offered me some crack. I did not take him up on it but I did start selling him a bag of weed about once per week

There was a flamboyant gay guy which was strange to me as I really hadn't met someone like that, up close and personal before, but he was actually really cool and started telling me the secrets of the telemarketing trade. There was definitely a couple of ex-cons. We were doing the Jefferson Parish Fraternal Order of Police among many others. At some point I started saying, "this is Officer..." and the donations started flowing and I bought my car within a few months. You start getting bonus money when you hit big numbers and at one point, I was #1 in the room for a bit. I only worked there for about a year but it was fricking wild and I made some pretty good money. We would set up a driver to go pick up the money that night that we got them to commit. They would put a freaking check and some folks put cash in the mailbox. This slimey dude would go and scoop it up and we got paid fast. I even remember getting a pink slip lead with my aunt and uncle and they donated. I felt terrible about it, so I told them after and gave them their money back out of my own pocket

shite is a total scam and terrible. They preyed on cons and kids to make them millions. I didn't want to watch the show at first, but once I finally tuned in I was waiting to see if they showed our building in Metry. We had to be affiliated or something because everything they're saying we did too.