08448841111

Hi, There have been no posts on this subject for a while and just wanted to make some observations as DSD seem to be hiring again.

I am suppose to have an interview with DSD next week. Honestly I was just looking for a temp job until I start a new job in a couple of months. To give you a little bit of back ground and without sounding arrogant, I am seriously over qualified for this type of job, as I am sure many others are, my CV is very specific and I have been told on several occasions that I am over qualified even for International Sales Manager positions. I have run my own Multi-million $$ company and feel I have a good grasp on what feels right and wrong.

As I said I'm bored and on Garden leave for a few months so wanted to keep busy.....as soon as I got the reply saying I had been accepted for an interview and that my CV had shone through, I knew something was up....the wording of the email did not sound right, coupled with the fact that the interview time was an open slot and to turn-up anytime I started to get really suspicious.

The advert stated "sales/delivery driver" van provided 200 - 400 per day. no mention of basic salary or what you would be doing. The first thing I did was look at their website, their prices are extremely high and in my experience no frozen food can be that exceptional, when you break it down to portion size you could  eat out at a reasonable restaurant for about the same price.

I have read all 8 pages of comments on this forum, and the simple fact is you never know who is writing the comments...could it be slander, could they be lies of course it can, BUT read the comments of DSD themselves, again you have to pick out the facts between the BS. They do NOT provide a company van, you have to lease it, you are self-employed and the products are given on consignment which is just a slightly more fancy term/word for "sale or return" which means you have to buy it in the end and the goods will go out of date if you do not sell them.

These 3 points written by DSD are proof enough for me that not all is correct, this is not the way a reputable company employees people. You are basically a door-to-door salesman responsible for your own costs....very much like Will Smith in "the pursuit of happiness".

I have no doubt it is possible to make a living selling DSD products, I also believe it would take a certain kind of person and would be extremely hard work.

The reason I have taken the time to write this post is that I appreciate that not all can read between the lines, not all can consider all facts and some are blinded by smooth sales pitches.

I will not be attending the interview as I feel it is a waste of time. We all have to make our own decisions. Please remember that my comments are based on my opinion only, I have not worked or had any direct dealings with DSD I am simply deducting my conclusion from the various comments both for and against DSD.

Remember you have no van provided, you are self employed you are basically  a customer of DSD, a middleman, a distributor of their products. If this is something you are happy with then go for it. I wish you all the best but know what you are walking into, read the contracts carefully and take your time, sleep on it discuss it with your partner before you part with any of your valuable cash.

Just wondering why comments on DSD have gone quiet
Any thoughts?

...because the competition have run out of profile names to use lol!

Have you ever set up your own business  l think not  it would cost you  a small fortune
This is an ideal opportunity for anyone wanting to work for themselves with minimal start up  costs and low risks  as long as you are willing to work hard you will earn good money

I went for a interview today it's just a scam

I had the opportunity to work for DSD  for approx 3 months. They are evasive when you attend the interview and deliberately omit information about the rental of the van and other charges . The training provided is inadequate & basic and is in my opinion deceptive and flawed  because it's designed to mislead customers to attend the van to purchase Fish & meat products at prices above and beyond the supermarket.  There is also relabelling  of boxes.  You also have to purchase the stock & dry ice on a daily basis to protect your products.  There is an opportunity for you to earn money but you have to work extremely hard with excessive hours and little or no support from DSD because your account has to be cleared on a daily basis.  I have now parted company with DSD  and have been told that I have to wait for approx 60 to 90 days for monies owed to me by DSD.  MY overall experience working with DSD as a contractor was not pleasant and I'm thankful that I no longer have to associate myself with a company that treats people very shoddy who are promoting and marketing their brand name and product.

I replied to an ad recently, and was called to an interview where I met a guy called Stuart.  He seemed like a fairly decent sort of chap to me, he explained a bit about what is involved and then invited me to go along and sit with a driver for the day and get some training.

I have had a lot of jobs, all over the world, and I can tell you this:  Opportunities to earn decent money do exist, but never without the need for some commitment and hard work.   If I have to pay a deposit to lease a van then that's OK and seems fair enough to me, but if I am laying out money then I'd expect to be able to earn money immediately after doing so.

If you think about it, no employer would take on inexperienced staff for an immediate start, then just hand them the keys to a van.  At least not without a lot of fuss and background checks etc, all of which take time.   Also, a lot of people want to earn money but do not want to do the work.

Anyway, I promise that I will post an update here once I get started and actually earn some money.  I have learned to take people as I find them, and judge things myself.  Its always worked OK for me,

Any news on an update? As I'm going for an interview tomorrow

Hi SB, here is my update as promised.

I did the training, which took 2 days.  I can honestly say that at no time was it ever suggested that I should target old people of use pressure tactics at all, if that had been suggested at any time I would have turned on my heels and walked away.

My training was really very good.  I went out with the national trainer and he started by showing me how to approach potential customers and get them to come over to the van and look at the products.    In fact, at first I must admit that the prospect was somewhat daunting but the trainer is very professional and clearly very experienced.   I followed his example and by about 3 in the afternoon I felt totally comfortable in getting customers interested in looking at the products.   In fact, it was good fun.   I never had to lie to any customer or deceive them in any way.  It is a sales job so I had to learn to be confident in my approach, but in a  totally ethical way.

Next I had to learn to show the range of products to the customers and help them choose which product(s) to buy.  This is a bit more involved, and does require practice.   What is evident though is that just about every single customer is very impressed with the products, and its easy to see why.  For me, I must say that I thought initially that the prices are actually a bit high.  However, having actually been and checked the price of competitive products in Waitrose and in M&S, I'd say the price is actually very good considering the quality.

Honestly I do not understand why there are so many negative comments on here.  All the people I have met so far are honest and hard-working.

I did get a new van, exactly as promised.    I have been out and made sales already and I am very excited to be part of the team.

I will warn you in advance about one aspect of the job that you need to be aware of.  It is actually hard work, its well rewarded hard work and can be enjoyable, but if you are looking for a job where you just work 9-5 and drive around in a van all day then this is certainly not for you.  It's fun though, being outside and meeting new people all day is so much better than working in a factory or an office.. I know as I have done all that.

My best advice is go for the interview and make your own mind up.   If you are offered training then take it, its possible that after the first couple of days you may decide that its not for you, but if you do not try then you will never know.     You will not be offered the position until you have been out training for a couple of days, and its true that you will not be paid for those training days, but it will give you a good opportunity to see what its all about first hand.

Good luck with the interview.

My Advice is to stay well clear of DSD....
They are Scammers and will exploit you and rip you off.... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED STAY WELL AWAY FROM DSD...DINING SOLUTIONS DIRECT.....!!!!!

What a stupid comment

Oh man I was happy  before I read all of comments. Thanks I ll cancel my interview for tomorrow

Is that Italian/Portuguese slimeball still at Scottish depot? Anybody meet him?

He kept on saying to me ," I LIKE YOU"

God above..

I have been doing the job myself for quite some time now and agree with what you say. At first it was a little daunting, however with hard work and commitment it's working for me!!
I have many customers who love the products and consider them good value. My main target for potential customers are those with disposable income. It's not for everyone, the products or the job. If people don't buy, generally I don't care, just find someone who does. I pick up many new customers on a daily basis who 'had a Fishman before'. Proof that the demand is there!!!
At the end of the day it's a sales job, a numbers game. You don't need to sell to everyone , and that's fine

How much does it cost you though ?
Van hire
Ice
Insurance
Stock account
Fuel
Id like to know as im thinking of persuing a carreer with dining solutions direct

Im happy to tell you what you need to know
The hire of the van will cost you £100+vat the ice they sell you to keep the food frozen will cost around £60+vat insurance is around £30 you pay £50 to buy the food from them and you will spend around £100 on fuel making your running costs around £340 a week

My advice after a very short stint with these monkeys would be to steer clear, you might sell enough to cover the running costs but you might not, want to take the risk ?

84-year-old and excited at the prospect of fish being delivered to my door.   Now realise all was not right.   "Jon" kept pushing expensive Salmon dishes which I turned down twice and lo and behold it was in my order.   Unfortunately I was distracted by having a tradesman in the house.  Know now so will NOT be reordering in 12 weeks time.   Will stick to excellent frozen fish from well-known Companies.

Phone number "not available"

Think his name was Nuno. I remember him. He told me he liked me as well!

Ahem. F-ud