So much has been written on this website about Cydcor and DS-MAX, that there's little left to say. But I want to take a minute here to describe my experiences to shed light on what these companies really are and what it's like to work for one. Hopefully it will help someone and maybe convince them not to work for a Cydcor company.
Cydcor is the parent company of about 200 independent marketing companies that basically recruit college students to work for them, selling door-to-door. The marketing companies all have different names, because they are "owned" by different people. They are basically franchise offices, but the managers didn't buy them, so Cydcor still controls the offices, the local branch managers just own the liability. What Cydcor does is provide clients (like AT&T, SBC, Verizon, Quill, First Horizon, Innovative Merchant Solutions, etc.) to the little independent marketing companies, who then go out and sell the clients' products.
I worked for SAS and Gibson Rose for about 1 year. To be honest, for the first 6-8 months, I was fairly happy. The hours were long (7 am - 7 pm), the work was difficult, and the pay was 100% commission (for everyone - the employees, the assistant managers, and the managers all make 100% commission only. There are no salaries.), but I felt I was making pretty decent money (about $600-1000 per week), and felt like I was progressing.
But as time went on I began to realize some things that concerned me about the company. First of all, ANYONE can work for them. If blood pulses through your body, they will hire you. They do not look at resumes or care about previous experience. If someone wants to work for them, that person will be hired. This is because the manager makes money off of what his sales reps sell. It breaks down like this: If a Cydcor employee sells some SBC service to a customer, SBC pays Cydcor about $100. About $40 of that goes to the sales rep. Another $40 goes to the local branch manager. And then the remaining $20 goes to the corporate office. So the more sales reps that the manager has, the more money he will make. So much for feeling like a valued employee, right?
The second thing that bothered me was that you have to pay for everything. I put about 35,000 miles on my car during the year I worked for them. I paid for all the gas, all the meals, and most of the hotel rooms that I stayed in during business trips. I was told that this was "no big deal" because I could write the expenses off when I filed my taxes at the end of the year. Which was true, but the upfront expense is huge. A typical day would consist of driving to my territory (about 1 hour away from the office), pounding the pavement for 8 hours, and then drive back. Some days I would make some money, some days I wouldn't. You can imagine how much that costs, though. I was regularly spending $150/week on gas. Most companies that people work would expense these types of costs to help their employees out, but not Cydcor.
The third thing that bothered me was that the company is somewhat cultish and intentionally misleads young people. They preach the same phrases and notions over and over again. They tell people that with determination and hard work, that anyone can make it to manager and make a lot of money. The facts are this: 99% of the people who work for the company never become a manager. Of those that do, over 50% fail.
There is potential to amake money as a manager, but most managers don't. The people who really make money are those at the top: John Wigguns, Brandie Rucks, Avie Roth, etc. And I think the responsible thing to do would be to let potential employees know this in advance. This is an entreprenurial company that can have its rewards, but at great risk. For example, I was working so hard, and became so brain-washed into trying to become a manager, that I lost contact with family members, with loved ones, and with friends... I ran up large debts on my credit cards because my work expenses (gas, food for other employees and interviewees, etc.) were taking a huge cut out of my paycheck. But I was willing to go into debt because I felt that once I made it to manager, all would be solved.
What the Cydcor offices do is dangle a carrot in front of hardworking, naive, young college grads. The truth is that the profits they quote aren't realistic or probable. They sell ideas like retiring early or becoming a millionaire. And a couple people have made that happen for them, but it's not likely. It's basically like those infomercials that are on late at night, with people telling how they made all sorts of money, and at the bottom of the screen it says something like, "Unique experience.individual results will vary." Cydcor should be required to tell people that!
Not to mention that the work is s*it. You are outside in all sorts of weather, going from business-to-business, selling phone service or credit card service or shipping service or whatever. And at first I tolerated it because I thought it would only last a few months, and I was excited about the idea of being a manager and making money. I was told when I first started that most people become managers in 8-12 months. That is completely untrue. Most people never make it to manager.
Right now, there are 2 Cydcor Offices in the Bay Area. The managers names are Randy Bernard and Rich Robertson. They are not evil guys, but they are misleading the people who come for an interview with them. I encourage anyone who is offered a position from one of those men to turn it down. Or, at least ask a lot of good questions, and decide if working long hours, for 100% commission, with chances of being promoted to manager about as good as winning the lottery, is worth it. Working for Cydcor didn't enhance my resume or make me a lot of money; what it did do was cause me to go into debt and to lose the respect of my friends. I did learn a few sales skills, but nothing special.
I'd welcome any feedback, so if you have any comments, please respond. I lived the Cydcor life for quite a while, so I know a lot of stories and I've got information to give if anyone has any questions. Good luck!
Anonymous
Bay Area, California
U.S.A.
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