Recruiter issues

[zacsmom]

Hi everyone.  My sons recruiter will never return any calls.  There is no one else that I can see that might be working in the office.  I realize he is busy however he has also forgot about appointments and then will call back weeks later only to apologize.  We live about 40 minutes from the office so it's not like its right around the corner.   In the meantime my son is torn between going to another recruiter or just sticking it out with this one.  Neither one of us want to appear as a complainer or troublemaker but at some point something has to give.  My son had very high scores on his asvab, no criminal problems whatsoever in his past-he's a good guy.  Only 18 and ready to get going.  The only problem he had was a medical problem that has already been addressed-it was a wart that had to be removed (of all the crazy things).  He had the wart removed and all apperwork resubmitted.  We recently learned that this recruiter is going through a divorce.  I feel bad for the guy but I would be fired if I disapeared off the face of the earth for weeks at a time.  I dont expect this guy to hold my sons hand but common courtesy wuold dictate that if you tell someone you will get abdk to them in 5 days and now its 3 weeks laster something is wrong.  I am sure the Navy would agree.  Any advise/suggestions/help?

[navywife'E ship9div16 PIR 12/3]

Hey there ladies! All I have to say when it comes to recruiters, unfortunatly there are some bad apples in the bunch. Make sure your loved one doesn't sign ANYTHING until they find a recuiter who goes above & beyond & treats their job with some heart & more than just a paycheck. Second. MAKE COPIES OF EVERYTHING! I cannot stress this enough, during my husbands recruiting process, he was in the delayed enrollment program for a year & we needed to move a few times due to finances, his original recuiter retired, lost paperwork, unanswered phone calls, his job was illegaly changed, forged sigantures etc. It seemed like NO ONE was willing to do the basic minimum when it came to their job. My husband was falling through the cracks & was determinded not to. He wanted to be in the Navy & wasn't going to take anymore crap & being passed around any longer. He went against the chair of command & called the Chief in charge, which was not looked well apon at all. I'm not sure others could have handled the troubles that we encountered. I now realise that we should have 'shoped around' for a recuiter with a heart, instead of my husband recuiting himself. When in doubt about ANYTHING Call 1-800-USA-NAVY

[zacsmom]

I cant thank everyone enough for their encouragement and support. Last night we attended a veterans day celebration and it just confirmed that this is the right path my son is going to take. Anyway, my son received a phone call from the recruiter last week. The recruiter said he didn't call because he had nothing to tell him. My son told him he had no hard feelings about the whole deal but wants an answer-what is going on with his paperwork? What else do they need? The recruiter said he "resubmitted" everything-whatever that means and would call him back the next day. Well its been a week and no call back. We have been told he cant switch recruiters but I have no idea why. If I was this much of a slacker my boss would have fired me a long time ago. I am very disappointed in the Navy that they are allowing this lazy person to represent the Navy. Short of my son calling back down to NRD again we have no idea what to do.

[harvard27]

When I first went to the Navy recruiting station, I talked to three different recruiters before going to MEPS for the ASVAB. I asked my now official recruiter how they select who became my recruiter. He said it was broken down by zip code, and since I live in his zip code wala. Maybe you'll be lucky and your recruiter will be promoted or transfered and your kid gets a new one! They have promoted three in our station since August. Even if you get a good recruiter, be prepared for the random call to come by the office for something with 24 hour or less notice. That's always fun, especially if you have to break plans last minute.

[zacsmom]

Thanks Tenn Navy mom! Yes we started this in May when Zac went down to MEPS and passed the ASVAB at that time. He still hasnt been able to sign the contract. As of this morning, office locked up and closed (of course) and Zac called the recruiter and so did i. I feel like such a pest but really-Zac can't get anywhere with this guy. He is NEVER at this office and on top of that, he tells us we live too far from him to come over and talk to us. Something is wrong with this guy.

[ChrisAmo]

I just want you all to know that there are some really good recruiters out there. My son's was absolutely terrific, he even came to the house to pick up some paperwork that had been forgotten. I thought at first it might be because my son was older and the recruiter knew he'd better not mess with him, but I heard from a mom in the neighboring town that her 17 year-old son had just as good an experience. I know there are really bad recruiters out there, but I hope they're in the minority. I feel sorry for all of you who've had a bad expereince, I wish someone in authority would look into this problem and do something about it.

[MsMaria68]

My son just find out about the 'lies' the recruiter told him once he got to BC, he's so frustrated!! Im too!! I know he is really dessapointed and piss. And I don't know how this is afecting his performance. He got the flu over there and he may not graduate on Dec 3rd, plus he hurt his back, but he didn't mention he reported it. I just have to wait till next week or more for him to tell me if he got medical atention and how bad is it!!! OMG waiting a week for news it's just horrible can't take it!!

[Labmom39 (Lori E.)]

After reading some of these comments i am thanking the good Lord that my daughter had an honest and upright recruiter. She joined up where she was going to college. I was so angry with her that I did not get involved with the whole process. She was DEP for a year and was waiting for a spot in the Nukes program. I did not meet her recruiter until I took her to see him before she left for boot camp. He was a great person and he was totally honest and forthright with her and was available to her throughout her time in the DEP. I am so thankful that she did not have a dishonest or disinterested recruiter,

[Laura]

Call the main number for the recruiter's office. Ask to speak to the recruiter's commander and voice your concerns. Your contact won't be viewed as getting him in trouble. It will be viewed as getting him back on target. Keep in mind that recruiters generally don't ask for recruiter duty. They are assigned to it. Some are better at paperwork than others.

Also, we had the recruiter come to our home. They get allowances for time and travel. I fully support my son going into the Navy but I told the recruiter if you want my son then you have to come and get him. Impress me in my own home, on my turf.

He came to the house, we had a great discussion, and we made arrangements for all of us to go to the recruiter's office to sign my son into the DEP pool. (He is 17). Good luck!

[davysnavywife (Groton CT)]

I totally agree. Find another recruiter....seriously. My husband had several issues like this in the beggining with not getting phone calls returned etc. The bottom line is the recruiter is the one that pushes to get them in so if they aren't helping find someone that will. Good luck!

[branchonelove]

Contact MEPS and ask to be assigned to another recrutier. There used to be a time when you would have to "duck" recruiter calls because they needed to make their "quotas". But with the current economy, the military is one of the best and most stable jobs going with benefits etc. There will be a waitese days (6 months or more) but at least he will be sworn in and in the DEP delayed enty program); rather than waiting to find out if his paperwork has been processed at all. A co-worker of mine did the same with her daughter two weeks ago. In fact, they got so tired of waiting that they went to an Army recruiter and had everything completed in a week. Her daughter doesn't leave for six months but she has a commitment.

[navybluemom]

So glad I saw your site. There are good recruiters and not-so-good ones. My son's was the latter. If it had been up to my son's recruiter, he would not be in the Navy today. We politely asked the not-so-good recruiter who my son reported to one day when we had had it with him, who he reports to. So glad we did. From that point on, we dealt with the chief above him. For us, it meant the difference in my son being rejected to getting through the process. My son has been in the Navy now for almost a year and has done remarkably well and loves the Navy. If it were left up to the not-so-good recruiter - my son would be leading a different life perhaps. Good luck!

[lisalove8465]

I would make a one time 40 minute trip to the office and tell someone in person... they must have someone that can help you or reassign you to another recruiter..That really makes me mad that they aren't helping you... I have one for you: my son signed up for the Navy, not officially, until he gets sworn in when he leaves for boot camp.. he went through all of the MEP stuff and learned all the things he needed to know.. but recently he has had a change of heart and doesn't want to join, so he went in as a man to tell the recruiter in person, and the recruiter told him that HE WOULD PERSONALLY MAKE SURE THAT HE WOULDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO GET A JOB AT MCDONALDS!... can you believe that! one of our Military men saying that... unbelievable!