All I can list in this report is what I personally experienced through this corporation and what I assume is happening within this corporation today.
I started about a year and a half ago.in the interview I viewed a short video that showed the quick damage fire can do to a room. It also showed Mr. Brom talking about all of the opportunities that "FSI" could offer. I was then shown an incredible product, Halon 1211. From there, I was shown the five (easy... Yeah right) steps that I had to go through to become an Office Mgr.in the first step I was to sell $2,000 on which I would make commission. This was followed with a personal interview in which I was offered the Office Mgr Trainee position on the spot. I excitedly accepted the position but was then asked to pay $60 for a registration fee that would cover my background check. And upon paying the registration fee I would need to pay an additional $95 for a kit that I would need to demonstrate the product.
The Office Mgr acted reluctant when I said I would have to speak with my wife before making a big decision to invest money before getting paid. After a few days I decided to do it, and I paid the money. At training I had to sign a paper saying that I would work as an independant contractor, excluding Fire Specialist of any responsibility of my actions. This was where the biggest mistake of my life began.
In a week, I had moved through step one and had sold $2,000 plus in product (some of which was never delivered).in step two, I attended a small seminar at the corporate headquarters in which the VP (Lu Burch) told me I would need to sell an additional $1,000 to move forward. Thinking I would be able to make the $4,000 a month listed in the paper (and mentioned by every Office Mgr I spoke with), I thought this was a logical investment. Before receiving the "starter kit" that I needed to open an office, I and the other Office Mgr trainees had to pay $4,000 (Although FSI broke down the cost of everything, I decided to after I left. I paid $4,000 for what I could've bought for less than $1,000. The CPU is stripped and outdated and is not worth more than $600). But foolishly, I accepted.
I finished the training process and opened my office in two months. Ms. Burch, who was at that time the VP, helped me move into my office. I was quite surprised when I saw her pull up in her beat-up red Geo Tracker (not quite what I'd consider the mode of transportation for a VP of a "Five year old company with offices in 10 states who makes $100K a year"). I was responsible for all of the furnishings of the office including furniture, rent, phone bills, newspaper ads... Etc. The big problem began when I accidentally told the local newpaper "Fire Specialist" was the name of the company instead of my DBA name. They told me that there was a balance of $2,000 and couldn't reopen my ad until it was paid in full. I insisted that this was not the name of my corporation and denied any ties to them in order to be able to open a newspaper ad.
My ad was listed just as I was told to list it: "Office Mgrs Needed!!! $4K a month" As an Office Mgr, I realized that the $60 registration fee didn't go to a criminal background check as I was told when I was hired. $30 of it goes directly into the Office Mgr's paycheck (Oh yeah, while I was there, 3 biweekly paychecks bounced. Mr. Brom slyly lied his way into making me think I should still trust him). I also learned that $30 of the $95 kit fee is paid directly by paycheck to the Office Mgr. The Office Mgr makes 0 of the Office Mgr trainees' sales and E of their own personal sales (No wonder I was "perfect" for the job). Mr. Brom and the crew could say that I wasn't a very good Office Mgr, but I had many desperate employees working for me. Desperation doesn't sell products though.in a period of two month as an Office Mgr, I had not made more than $2,000 (not a month, but total). That couldn't even cover my bills and investments. Mr. Brom and the Mgmt kept telling me to hang in there and that it would turn out better soon. My failures didn't make me quit, however.
A website that I came across with a case in which the FTC filed suit against a man by the name of William Bailey. Mr. Brom admittedly worked with Mr. Bailey and spoke highly of him. Mr. Bailey has a short speech on the training video as well claiming to have hired Mr. Brom at one point in time. More than that, Mr. Bailey was scheduled to come to the month's "Leadership Seminar". You can read on the link below, but one of the verdicts was that Mr. Bailey (CEO - Safety Plus) was to have no participation with anything related to the likes of fire safety products. The case sounded like Mr. Bailey got in trouble doing the same thing Mr. Brom was.
The link is listed below:
www.ftc. Gov/opa/1995/04/safeplus.htm
I contacted the authorities (govt authorities, not the police), and they advised me not to continue my affiliation of Fire Specialist. I had to tell everyone who worked for me that I was closing my office. I lost thousands of dollars investing in this company that preys off of people who are desperate for work. Don't fall for the Gold Seal BBB membership. It's a paid membership and outdated.
Never pay money into a corporation in order to get hired/be paid. Anything in which the employer (their loophole is that I was an independant contractor) receives money from a "registration fee" is against FTC regulations.
However there is at least one upside to my experience.in order to survive in a "barely legal" business, one must cover their basis consistently without making any mistakes. But Mr. Brom and his cohorts aren't perfect, and they do make mistakes. This his how William E. Bailey got caught. This is how Al Capone got caught. And this is how Mr. Brom will get caught. Fortunately and unfortunately, there really isn't anything the government doesn't know about its citizens. I'm convinced that some federal organizations have their eyes on Mr. Brom and are waiting for that day that Mr. Brom makes his biggest mistake.
If I could make a suggestion, Halon 1211 is an incredible product. And the best way to drive a bad business out is by capitalist competition. If you're an entepreneur, I'd look into finding out if this product is marketable in an honest way. I think it might be profitable if run under the right principles. I have thought about doing this myself, but I signed a covenant not to compete upon being hired at FSI. I hope this is able to provide any potential interviewer with the information they need to make their own decisions about this faulty corporation.
0 comments