I participated in the interview process and one day of training at COR Concepts, now in McLean, VA. Please google Cydcor and Ds-max, the parents companies to this multi-level marketing scam. I quit after my first day.
Those of you who have gone through the process will see familiar stories. Submitting your resume and receiving a call-back within hours, a 5 minute first interview that doesn't allow time for you to question anything, and the 9 hour long day of observation schlepping door-to-door in the car (and therefore at the mercy) of a COR salesperson. And, of course, at the end of the day you take a bogus quiz and get an immediate job offer.
As others have said, do not be fooled into thinking this is the prestigious opportunity it will be presented as. These companies do nothing but recruit and hire salespeople under the guise of "management positions". They interview every day and their turnover rate is greater than 90%. I really encourage you to read the other consumer complaints on Cydcor to convince yourself of the eerie similarities among everyone's experiences.
That said, I would like to give a few specifics about COR Concepts. First, COR has recently re-located to northern Virginia from Philadelphia. This is the same COR Concepts that has been negatively reviewed on this site several times. Be aware of their ads on job sites like Monster and craigslist; they are posted nearly daily and you should be able to find one on the Washington DC craigslist right now. Look for "ENTRY LEVEL TO MANAGEMENT" in the header.
Besides the typical shady dealings of Cydcor affiliates, COR had some personalized smarm to add to the mix. First, there is the off-putting duo of president Gabrielle Corcoran and vice-president Melody Herman, Gabrielle's Best Friend Forever. The two mid-twentysomethings look—and act—like the type of girl who was not quite pretty enough to make it into the ugliest sorority. Melody has the typical Cydcor schtick of blasting inappropriate club music in the office. Gabrielle admitting to hiring her because they were totally, like, best friends. Both Melody and Gabrielle would benefit from learning how to dress and apply make-up appropriate to the office (and to flatter their bodies).
I went through the interview and one day of training before I quit. During the 2nd interview, Gabrielle bragged that she was taking Melody out to see Dane Cook and that "the company was paying". She bragged about it to her employees, obviously trying to inspire them. I found it to be completely obnoxious to flaunt unethical use of the company's funds, especially considering her severely underpaid underlings don't get compensated for the hundreds of miles of travel they do per week to generate money for Gabrielle.
As is typical with these affiliates, I was offered the job and not allowed to take any time to think it over. This did set off a red flag for me, but I was sorely in need of money and figured I could always quit if I didn't like it. Another red flag was that I was not allowed to set a start date for one week later, but was heavily pressured to come in the next day "as a show of good faith". I managed to gain "permission" to come in just for the morning meeting and then have my actual start date be a week later, but I did not appreciate the pressure put on me. I was too desperate for a job to realize that it was actually THEIR desperation on display by this behavior.
I'd also like to mention company policy re: sick days. You are not allowed to call in sick; you must report to work for morning atmosphere and then your health will be evaluated by Gabrielle, who will determine whether you can work or not. I'm sorry, but as an adult college grad I was not about to have my basic autonomy over my health tromped on by Gabrielle, who possess the dangerous personality combination of being both immoral and a complete idiot.
Like I said, I stayed for one day of training before quitting. I therefore got to attend morning atmosphere. Again, as is typical, there are no chairs and all 20 employees have to stand for a couple of hours before walking continuously for 8 hours in the field. The frat-party atmosphere was completely unsettling and turned me off. Although there were definitely bright people there, a few of the employees who gave their little high roller speeches and read sickening glurge designed for motivation sounded like they couldn't read past the fourth-grade level. It was embarrassing.
Speaking of embarrassing, Gabrielle managed to make an ass of herself again by droning on and on about her "fabulous Gucci paint job" on the office walls. Because the paint colors are Gucci! And Gucci is RITZY. Therefore, Gabby must be rich, right? Isn't that awesome?
Because the Gucci walls are so precious, Gabrielle does not allow you to touch or lean against the walls. I can see where she's coming from—no one wants to conduct a meeting with employees acting noticeably bored. But when you are whipping your employees with a physically strenuous work day in terrible weather conditions, give them a break if they get tired of being on their feet after 12 hours. If the Gucci was too precious, try the Dutch Boy instead. It definitely would be more suited for Gabrielle's actual social class.
That's my story. I had suspected from the beginning it wouldn't work out for me, but felt it was worth a shot. I have to say that the guys I trained with in the field were very nice and did not hunt me down after I quit. I hope they get out of there some day soon and rise to better things.
Those of you in the DC area, please be warned that COR Concepts is another Cydcor / Ds-max clone and YOU SHOULD NOT PURSUE A JOB THERE. All of the complaints re: pay only by commission, 70 work weeks, paying your own gas and cell bills, shady business trips, lack of benefits, etc. Apply to cor concepts. They treat their employees unethically and should be avoided at all costs. You deserve better no matter who you are. Go and find it.
Justine
Herndon, Virginia
U.S.A.
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