[quote=Webster]

Jones is #1 place to work in…

Drum Roll please…

http://www.hawaiibusiness.cc/hb42005/default.cfm?articleid=2

Jonestown Envy, read it and weep.

I’m at a loss to understand a) how this would translate into ANYTHING good for anyone on the mainland, and b) given that, why anyone outside of Hawaii would even care, let alone be envious?

Fool,



I’m at a loss why you would take the time to read my posts. But you do.



Who says I’m on the mainland?



BPD

I read your posts simply for the amusement value and nothing more.  And the humor value of your stupidity is even draining out.

Fool,

Some reading for you:

http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2000/dowjo nes.html

Who started your firm?

That's a different Edward D. Jones.

Nice try though.

So if Jones is such a terrible firm then why have they grown so quickly under such terrible management?



http://www.edwardjones.com/pdf/COM-101D.pdf#search='edward%2 0jones%20hawaii’



A difficult question to answer, huh.



BPD

candy bar,

To explain your firm's "rapid growth" P.T. Barnum said it best about suckers.  You may wish to explain why your firm's "burn rate" of new applicants is probably only second to Primerica.

When I started with Jones our revenues / net earnings were 1/20 of Edwards. Today our revenues are higher. I know, I know terrible management, low net worth customers, yadiyada, yadiyada…



Just because YOU didn’t make it at Jones doesn’t mean we have a high “burn rate”. Too bad you got caught in the fire in 1984.



BPD

Primerica touts that it has over 100,000 reps.  It’s forerunner (A.L. Williams) started sometime in the late 70’s I believe.  Using BPD’s logic of “growth=superiority” I guess we’d all have to say Primerica is the best firm in the industry.

[quote=Duke#1] Using BPD's logic of "growth=superiority".[/quote]

To quote my favorite BSD vet, close but no cigar.  BPD actually said that Jones "revenues / net earnings" and rapid increase of same were evidence that its management is not as bad as you claim - i.e., that profitiability=superiority. 

So, if you want to stick with the analogy thing in your posts, a more accurate statement would be something like this:  Using BPD's logic of profits=superiority, company x, which is very profitable (and has been rapidly increasing its profits) must be superior.

Actually, now that I have bothered to spell it out, I can see why you fibbed on the logic.   

[quote=Webster]

Fool,

Some reading for you:

http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2000/dowjo nes.html

Who started your firm?

[/quote]

Sweet ...

And if you say FGIC insured fast enough, that little old lady will be convinced she just bought a 30 yr gov't backed CD from the Bank of GMAC.

Jonesnewbie,



It’s amazing how many of you Jones Bashers or should I say Jones Failures have Jones in your screen name. Just can’t get Jones out of your head, can you?



I don’t think Prime America or whoever you are talking about has 100,000 offices.



BPD

Jonesnewbie,

Ever notice how many of your firm colleagues seem to resort to name calling whenever they can't come up with a witty retort? Of course Primaerica doesn't have 100,000 offices, a number of them have become EJ brokers....

CJ,



JonesNewbie is not with Jones.



I don’t understand it either, why all the Jones Bashers (a.k.a. jones failures) have Jones in their screen name. If you cut them they would probably bleed green too. They just don’t want to admit it.



BPD

[quote=BigPayDay]

JonesNewbie is not with Jones.

BPD[/quote]

Ummm... yes I am.  BPD, relax, take a couple of deep breaths, think some happy thoughts, and then go back and reread the posts.  The post where you accused me of being stan was actually a response to Stan.  And the post in this thread was actually defending Jones against a typically lame attempt to compare us to Primerica.

Newbie, I wasn't trying to compare Jones to Primerica -- they're in two very different classes of firms (with Jones being the much higher one in my opinion), so excuse me if that's what you thought.  All I was trying to say was that growth of a firm doesn't necessarily equate to quality of a firm, anymore than the growth of anything or of any company doesn't necessarily equate to its quality.

I'm not a former Jones IR, so I don't share the passionate negative feelings of former IRs.  My b/d (RJFS) has a ton of former Jones IRs and those I've gotten to know are very good quality reps who benefitted from starting out w/ Jones to get trained & build a book. 

There's good & bad to all b/ds.  The primary negative feedback I've heard from the former IRs I've gotten to know is about the old technology, lack of fee-based business, & relatively limited product lines.  These are things you probably would rather have changed yourself.  Again, no firm is perfect.

The most passionate negative feelings though (which is probably why you see so many of these on these forums) relates to the feeling like they were somewhat hood-winked at Jones.  They came in as neophytes and fell for the Jones cultural mantra that "Jones is the best", "the Jones way of doing business is the only way to do business", etc.  They felt so isolated within that culture (or cult as some would say) that they didn't realize there is a lot of greener grass in our industry.  That's why you hear so much about drinking the Jones kool-aid.  I think in good measure they're angry with themselves that they didn't see the light of reality sooner.  I remember one guy saying that if Jones had not been so adamant in preaching its culture & praising itself, that his feelings would be much more positive about the firm.  He related to having some god-like hero on a pedestal (sp?) who's so self-righteous, and then you find out he has some serious warts that he's hidden.  You feel duped, and that fallen hero is now garbage in your mind.  In reality that hero may be no lesser a man than another hero who was open in acknowledging his frailty, but that second hero is going to remain a hero to you because he was willing to put himself out there, warts and all. 

PS: Primerica I’m sure doesn’t have 100,000 offices, but they do spout out that they have 100,000 reps.

[quote=Duke#1]

Newbie, I wasn't trying to compare Jones to Primerica -- they're in two very different classes of firms (with Jones being the much higher one in my opinion), so excuse me if that's what you thought. 

[/quote]

WOW, a Jones post that is both insightful and unbiased.  I feel the need to respond in an equally civilized manner.

[quote=Duke#1]

The primary negative feedback I've heard from the former IRs I've gotten to know is about the old technology, lack of fee-based business, & relatively limited product lines.  These are things you probably would rather have changed yourself.  Again, no firm is perfect.

[/quote]

I agree with all three.  But the only one that would really give me pause about my decision to go with Jones is the lack of fee-based.  The limited product line doesn't have much affect on someone at the newbie level, and (frustrating as it can sometimes be) the dated technology is not much of a hindrance to building a business either.

[quote=Duke#1]

The most passionate negative feelings though (which is probably why you see so many of these on these forums) relates to the feeling like they were somewhat hood-winked at Jones.   

[/quote]

I think that is a dead on statement.  To become so disillusioned, you must first have been illusioned about the firm.  Maybe it is because I have worked at "the firm" type companies in the past or maybe it's just that I am more cynical by nature, but I never bought into the hype up front so I am not disappointed by the actual product in the end.

YES, NUMBER ONE FIRM ..IN DISHONESTY TO THEIR LOYAL CLIENTS,

THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE REALLY PROUD OF, ISN'T IT...