The company NEW AGE SOLUTIONS which sells BODY CHOICE NUTRITION supplement hires in-store demonstrators to push the product. I was one that was hired to give out samples at a Costco's in Avon, OH on October 21 for a 6 hour demo.
I reported on time, signed the Costco log that morning, signed out that afternoon when the assignment was completed, and did all that I was required to do. I then turned my timesheet in to Body Choice on time, plus I documented the mileage as I was supposed to do, because I was to get reimbursed at 41 cents per mile, which came to $7.38 plus my hourly wage. There was no dispute over how far I traveled as all one has to do is look at the map to see where I live and how far away the store is.
Today, January 14, I finally received my paycheck, minus the mileage. I had to email, call, email, call, email, call and I kept getting the runaround for months.
Their reason for not paying me was that Costco said I had not showed up for the job. It was very easy to check this out though.
The day I did the demo, I wore a black cowboy hat with feathers on the front, which the assistant manager and all the Costco demonstrators that work exclusively for them, commented on. The hat drew people to my table as it stands out and that is the reason I wear it... To attract people to my table.
Every time I called or emailed about my pay, Karen Reeves, who does payroll, told me that someone named Charles was checking into it and would get to the bottom as to why Costco was saying I wasn't there. Charles (don't know his last name) had taken over the region and my understanding is that he is the one responsible for giving the OK to cut the checks.
But it was the same story every time I called or emailed... Charles was checking into it.
If, in reality, Charles had REALLY been checking into it, he would have been able to find out very easily as to if I was there. All he had to do was check the store log for my signature OR just speaking with the assistant manager (who was on duty the day I worked) or ANY of the demonstrators who worked that day, would have confirmed to him that the demonstrator with the cowboy hat made quite a stir in the store, thereby confirming that indeed I was there. But unfortunately, Body Choice/New Age Solutions instead chose unprofessionally to play games by making excuses.
I was persistent though and called at least once a week and emailed frequently to get an answer. This should not be. If a person does their job, and it is easily confirmed, then the demonstrator should be paid without a hassle. I am lucky to get a check at all so not getting the mileage they promised is a small thing in comparison as to what could have happened had I not been persistent.
I am not the only person who got the runaround. A friend did some demos for Body Choice too and she had to keep hounding them for her check. Also my sister who also did demos for them is now having to hound them for her last check. She last worked for them in November. I hope she continues to be persistent.
A company should NOT take 3 months to pay for a contracted job. Nor should a demonstrator have to beg to get her pay.
I eventually talked with Karen Karlan who was instrumental in getting my pay. She is a credit to the company, however, Karen Reeves and Charles are not. I never did get to talk with Charles and Karen Reeves started to get impatient by my persistence. Maybe she was hoping I'd just go away and forget about getting paid?
I work for various agencies and I am now dedicated to reporting any company that tries to cheat me or any of us demonstrators out of our pay. Most agencies are on the up and up but every once in a while, a company tries to get away with stealing services. Make no mistake, when a company hires someone to do a job and that job is done, and then the company doesn't want to pay without being hounded to death, then they are guilty of trying to STEAL a service! What would have happened if I would not have pursued this?
We demonstrators work hard and do a good job for the agencies we contract with and when one comes along that cheats us, we now have usacomplaints. Coms.com to turn to, a place to let the public know about shoddy behavior, thereby saving someone else a headache.
Beware doing demos for BODY CHOICE because you will have a hassle getting paid. I was counting on their paycheck for Christmas money since I did the demo in October. Fat chance. So unless you have plenty of time to hassle, email, call and cajole for your paycheck, think twice before working for this company! And, since this company is shady when it comes to paying their demonstrators, I would not ever buy their product either.
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