Where to begin?
I was contacted by a company called Your Area Code about a possible sales position in the internet marketing industry. This is not, or was not, a MLM scheme by any means and the prospects looked great.
After a 3-day "training" session (held in a rented room above a FedEx Kinkos that they never paid for), the new group of salespeople was sent out with "leads" to go sell. There was to be no cold calling, etc. Needless to say, this was precisely the case.
You may be sitting there saying "well thats your own fault for getting involved with this" but the fact is, I was straight lied to... Repeatedly. It's not so much the inaccuracies of their "training" but the blatant disrespect and flat-out lies that their "management team" showed to myself and others involved.
I knew that a problem was brewing when nearly everyone being trained quit after a week, and those that stuck it out ended up quitting after "seeing the light". This light involved terrible business practices, deception of customers and employees, and failure to pay as per previous agreements. Here I was, a graduate of a top-20 university with a degree in finance and previous entrepreneurship successes, surrounded by dropouts and led by a team of misfits.
I was told that I was "special" and was placed on a per-week "salary" (via a telephone conversation... A major mistake on my part... Should have gotten that in writing) that lasted about 2 weeks. For the remaining month, I was working, not getting paid and getting annoyed by the disrespect of their "management". Since, I have ignored the company's requests to speak about it, as I am fed up with their bullshit, and have proceeded with filing claims against the company for unpaid wages and tax fraud, amongst other things (I anticipate to get nothing, as they have nothing, but money isn't an issue for me fortunately).
It wasn't just me either, I was contacted by no less that 3 other employees about not being paid and the outlandishly insane reasons for why the main man hadn't either contacts them or paid them. Ie "I left my checkbook in my briefcase at the hotel" "I was busy" "I told my secretary to mail it, did she not?" Oh, and the secretary is his wife...
Here is what I have to offer: Their "management team" consists of a felon former-vaccum cleaner salesman, a nursing school dropout, and a 40 year-old former construction worker-turned internet entreprenuer with 3 previous failures under his belt.
The only, and I repeat only, valuable asset to the company is the owner/developer of the concept who has a great vision and is unfortunately being greatly misled and managed by his coworkers.
Do not get involved with this company, bottom line. I am 23 years old and have more honesty, ethics, morals, financial security, and management skills in my pinkie than this entire sham of a "company".
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