Avon

Unless you lot have been living on the dark side of the moon you must have heard of Avon. No - not the tyres or the river - the cosmetics firm. I have had many forms of employment over the years from lollipop lady to Tupperware lady - even a post lady - but I never thought I'd become an Avon Lady. Following my wonderful trip to Australia last year I returned home broke and jobless. For one reason and another I didn't look for full-time employment and decided to take little odd jobs.

THE ODD JOB

My pregnant daughter was already working as an Avon lady and I noticed that she was struggling to carry all the brochures around and had even more problems with delivering the goods when they arrived. I had the idea to help her out and earn a little bit of cash myself, I would become and Avon lady too, we shared the rounds and I took her in the car saving her the problem of lugging the books and cosmetics around on foot.

I had an 'interview' with the area manageress, a very nice, if a little stressed, middle-aged lady. She told me that I didn't have to pay for the brochures on the first two campaigns but I would be charged an 'Admin charge' of £5 for the first two months. I was somewhat surprised that my 'free' brochures only numbered about 25 yet I had a round of about 125 houses. In 3 weeks I was to deliver the books - collect them - take out the orders - re-deliver them - collect again etc. etc. until all the houses were covered. Fine in theory BUT...people do not always leave the books out...some people throw them away...some people are not home, so not all the books are returned. It was virtually impossible to deliver to all the houses on my round.

Once I had collected all the orders (about 15 out of the 125)they were put on a main order form and left at a drop-off house nearby. The order was delivered to me the following week.

When I received the cosmetics I had to sort them into bags (which I had to pay for)and deliver them to the customers - once again - it was a problem catching people in, then they wouldn't have the cash so I would have to come back a few days later. Then there are the people who change their minds - they refuse the goods - so I have lost earnings and have to arrange to send the goods back. I do so love those people.

And so it goes on - a new campaign every three weeks - sorting - delivering - collecting - etc. etc. etc. And how much did I earn as an Avon lady? My average earnings for the three campaigns I worked was £30 - that's about ten quid a week - hardly enough to cover fuel.

THE PRODUCTS

Avon cosmetics are an acquired taste. In general they are middle of the road. Some customers won't use anything else others won't touch it. Some have used the same lipstick or bubblebath for years and don't want to change. There are plenty of special offers in every book. It's not just make-up either - from Bob Nudd fishing videos to bras and knickers you can purchase a vast array of products.

The only person who loses out on the deal is the Avon Lady - ME! Avon themselves are raking in the cash - the customer has a doorstep delivery but poor old Avon Lady has to spend untold hours filling in order forms - delivering and collecting - come rain or shine - always with a smile (through gritted teeth!) So next time you hear the 'ding-dong' of the Avon Lady, please don't tell her the dog ate the book - it may just be the last straw.

Just one more thing - Avon support breast cancer research through their 'Avon Crusade Against Breast cancer' campaign which has raised £7.6 million since 1992.

To contact them...

Avon Cosmetics Ltd
Earlstrees Road
Corby
Northants, NN17 4AZ

Telephone 0845 345 8444

WWW.avon.co.uk

Just one more thing - It is useful to have someone in the house to try out new products on - my daughter left home a month ago and my 18 year old son won't act as a model for lipstick - now where's MRANDREWSJK?......darling, come back....no-one will know....(tee-hee!)