First they were very pressuring in trying to convince me to join as a prospective Associate. They advised me that the fee for joining was about to increase in a matter of days. The Fee's increased but it was a few months later before it appeared on their web promotion site.
Second they promised to remain with me and insure that I had established a confirmed client list. As well they promised to provide sound reliable prospective leads. The leads were nothing more than a list of contacts from a phone book business listing. Almost every contact was difficult and most unreceptive to my approach.
Third, my initial contact Alan Hofman promised me the opportunity if I signed on to represent the company with some new water purification tehnology. While it was verbal he was mose anxious to get a Canadian distribution set up and I was asured to be provided with the first opportunity to be that person.
I had started discussions with a municipality about the idea and they expresed interest. But Alan never returned my calls, it was then that I first began to suspect something amiss.
There were representing themselves to me that I was only the second Canadian to be considered for the offer. The first was an ex military person and his business was so successful that he moved to the U.S. To conduct his business. He was never able to be contacted.
I expresses concern with regard to customs and excise taxes with regard to import and export legislation. They made promises that they would provide all assistance with this regard. They stated that anything not covered by the Free Trade Agreement thay would provide any necessary assistance for me to compile and go through any documentation to import or export items into Canada. When I completed the training program, I asked to be provided with the training on this documentation. They suggested that I need do all my business in the U.S. As it was too difficult to be competetive in Canada because of U.S. Pricing on supplies.
I worked hard for six months on this business and was not successful in obtaining a client to do business with me. Most were apprehensive to do business with a supplier in the U.S. And their business being in the U.S. Through a broker who was based in Canada. That is those who did not laugh or hang up once they found I was Canadian. I realy did not blame them. Othrs when they heard W.T. A they were not iinterested in doing business.
When I finally got a client interested in doing business they were interested in boing a purchase of a significant volume of a name brand item that was listed. They needed to have an endorsement from the manyfacturer that it indeed was their product which was being sold as surplus. I could not get any assistance in having this accomplished.in fact my mentor told me that that was an unusual request and was not the norm. I suggest that if that is what the client needed then that is what they needed to get for me.
After that I quit asking for their assistance.
In short once they had my money, I was on my own.
I am not very happy as I have invested about $15,000 Canadian to get this bussiness off the ground to comply with what they required and to date have not made one sale.
John L.
Garson (Sudbury), Ontario
Canada
0 comments