I was contacted by Nate Ebeling (he never spelled his last name), who said he worked for KC Premier (also never spelled) and had received my name and mobile number from a current employee. He stated that they were quickly expanding after their company (which does business in 22 countries) opened a Kansas City office a little over a year ago. (That would have been mid 2006.)
I asked about the business, and he said they worked in health and fitness. I couldn't imagine anyone I know working in such a field, much less recommending me for it. He then clarified that it was office work, and that they were the middleman between product distributors and clients, and that the office helped people develop fitness programs and wellness programs.
He told me that he had four openings in the office, that it was a small staff, and that I had been recommended because of my experience and communication skills. He asked me almost immediately if I was in school, if I was working, where, etc. He even asked if I would say I had good communication skills, ignoring the fact that I was suspicious and asking him questions that were obviously making him uncomfortable. I wasn't interested in divulging my personal information and continued asking him for a bit of info first.
His first response was that it was illegal to give out employee information, and the name of the referring employee was personal information. I didn't think this was true, so I pressed a bit more. He told me he had transferred from Ohio to help get this office going, and had been with the company for about a year. He told me that he went to college in Columbus and started with the company there. He said the Kansas City office was expanding so quickly that they were forced to ask employees for word-of-mouth referrals in order to keep up with their hiring needs.
Though I repeatedly asked for specific information about the business and the positions, he never gave me any. He had no job titles, no duties, and said they were hiring trainers, to train new employees to deal with clients. He said that was why they needed people with good communication skills and surely why I was recommended by my "friend".
I asked about these 22 country locations, and he said he of course wouldn't list them. I asked about locations in the US. He said there were 19 locations in the midwest alone. I asked for those. He again said he wouldn't ramble off a list of locations. I asked for a few examples.
Nate told me that the company had 3 offices in Michigan, 3 in Ohio, one in Des Moines, one in Omaha, and this new one in Kansas City. He said the headquarters of their parent company were in San Jose, CA.
He wanted to set up an "corporate interview". He said that "the executives" would tell me the name of the person who recommended me and gave them my telephone number. He also said they would "discuss compensation" and all the details of the work. At one point I told him that I was a bit nervous about the vague information that he was giving me after a cold call, he said he had lots of referrals and he had a long list of people to call rather than talk to me if I wasn't interested. He had a sudden agitated and threatening tone, though it was his fake spunkiness that tipped me off in the first place. When I said I just wanted more information, he instantly returned to super-friendly spunky guy.
I again asked how many people worked in the office. Though he originally said it was a very small staff, he now said he had no idea, partly because he hadn't been there that long and hadn't even met everyone. He said there were a lot of part-timers, but all together, he estimated 40 to 50 people.in one office? Yes, he again said that there were a lot of part-timers.
So I set up an interview and got a physical address of an office in a business park next to the railroad tracks in KCK. He offered to do it on Saturday, saying the executives preferred weekends when possible. He told me that after my interview, he would be there as well and would go over everything with me. Although he gave me an address, including Suite AE, he said that since the office was on the second floor, to go to the receptionist at the entrance and tell her his name and that I was meeting with him. (Why not ask for the KC Premier office? Why not just go to the office, as I have an appointment? Why not talk to their receptionist, or one of those 50 employees?) He even said, in a paternal and possibly condescending tone, 'Now, this is a business atmosphere, so business attire should be worn for the interview.'
After I hung up, I tried to find more information online. Of course, there was nothing. I called him back, and got his voicemail, which just said 'You have reached Nate Ebeling, I'm not available, please leave me a very detailed message and I'll get back to you.' Equally spunky, but no mention of any company. Why would a recruiter call people on his personal cell phone? He had already mentioned to save that number and call if anything came up before the interview.
I left a message saying that I was unable to find any business listings and needed to find out a bit more about the company before the interview. I asked him to call me back and, if he got my voicemail, to go ahead and leave a message with a URL, the address and contact information for the company headquarters in San Jose, and the main business contact information for the KC office. I mentioned that he only referred to the business as "KC Premier" and that I assumed that was not (coincidentally) the name of the company worldwide.
When he called back, I let him leave a message. He said he was sorry he had missed me, but had just gotten out of a meeting. He responded to my message by saying that the business name was it was in fact KC Premier, but that this was an independent business with no connection to the other offices. He said the San Jose headquarters was the headquarters of the parent company, Symmetry Direct. He said there was no website, as everything was done on a one-on-one basis. He also said that there was no business line, as they didn't take calls from clients. He told me that his phone was a vonage line and that that was why it wasn't listed. He told me that the parent company may have a website, but that they were the product end of the business and that it wouldn't explain what they do in the office.
I searched for Symmetry Direct, and even the URL of their name.com redirects to another URL with "dll" in the name, which made me very uncomfortable. I searched for the address and only found other businesses in the office, and a listing for Action Staffing in the same suite from 1999.
I called him back and gave him the legal disclaimer to not contact me again and that if he or anyone from his company contacted me again I would consider it harrassment. (I am on the Do Not Call registry, I wonder if that applies for pyramid schemes...) He kept interrupting me with indignant 'Why?'s and when I told him after I finished that I was legally required to tell him those words, he said nastily he would be sure to tell my friend what I had said, then brightly told me good luck and hung up.
I found SymmetryDirect.com online, as well as two pages hosted by Ann Seig, (someone who fell for a pyramid scheme and now divulges their tricks). I also found a 'complaint' report on Majestic Innovations, another 'independent' SD office in Michigan. The most revealing site I found was http://www.go-symmetry.com/home-business.htm, which offers preferred customer status as well as jobs. This last site lists 1 800 231 7277 as the number to call to sign up with SD.
I can see that the changing names of these independent offices makes them hard to track, and the other complaint claims that SD filed a complaint to have their name removed from search engine results. I don't know enough about that, but hopefully I will not be contacted again and won't have to deal with them ever again.
E.C.
Kansas City, Kansas
U.S.A.
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