Hi. I started working for Safety Enterprises 3 weeks ago. I quit Monday, May 18.
I was homeless and desperately needed a job. I saw the ad on craigslist.com. A woman named "Kassy" had an ad saying that a receptionist was needed. The pay was $150.00/week. Not much, but it was better than nothing. I called her and asked if I could come in for an interview, and she agreed. I got the job right away and started the next day. Before I left, however, she briefly told me job description, and to my surprise I found out that I would be reading from a script to every caller, asking for their name, etc. Etc., and "scheduling" them in for an "interview". I thought that this was weird, but it wasn't until my next day that it got weirder.
My first official day of work, the "regional manager" was there, Andy, who apparently wasn't a "real" manager because he kept going on and on about how nice Kassy's office was and even told someone about it on his cell phone. (as if he had never seen a real office before or his really sucked because he made such a big deal about it). I was instructed to tell every person that called the same thing:
"We are a national corporation involved in the fire and safety industry. Due to some corporate expansion, we are looking to open offices in Indiana and surrounding areas. Right now, we are in need of managers to run these offices for us. At this time, we do not require you to have any experience. Our training is comprehensive. We are hiring both full and part time positions. Our top managers earn well over $4000 a month. If this sounds like something you are interested in, I would like to get you in here for an interview to meet with our office manager..."
At first, I didn't see anything wrong with it. The office was bare and empty and Kassy told me that she had just moved in. As the days went by, though, I began to get very uncomfortable.
I was told to lie to callers about not knowing the job description and if they needed money upfront, etc. I was told several times by Andy and Kassy not to answer any questions and to firmly say that the manager could answer all of your questions just come in for an interview. (I was told to schedule up to ten people for each time slot for their "interview") People were not aware that they would be having an "orientation" in which Kassy told them about the "training program" to be a "manager". Basically as a new hire, they were required to pay $165 for a "training kit" - which I've seen and is not worth that much money. They would then be required to sell $3000 worth of fire safety equipment. After that they were awarded the opportunity to meet the "President" who was a "really down-to-earth millionaire". Then they would have an evaluation. And become a manager.in which case they would then be paid to recruit more people. This is what makes it a pyramid scheme.
Ex:
John Doe is the president.
He hired Tim and Sam.
Tim and Sam hired Jessica, Kristina, Lois, and Frank.
Jessica, Kristina, Lois, and Frank hire Bob, Thomas, John, Kevin, Michael, Jake, Britney, Sara, and Austin.
Bob, Thomas, John, Kevin, Michael, Jake, Britney, Sara, and Austin hire...
You get the point.
The whole company is very deceptive. The job postings are designed to offer as little information as possible to get people to call in and I was allowed to give only the scripted information to get people to come in so that they could potentially be won over during the "orientation". The "paid training" was non-existent to very little, Kassy often lied and pretended to be the receptionist on the phone and said she didn't know anything when, she was the office manager. The "refundable deposit" for safety equipment was "refundable" only in the sense that you "essentially earn it back three ways": by selling or some kind of program contest reward. Which is NOT a refund.
To make a long story short, I got really suspicious when an angry caller called and asked tons of questions. Followed by a lady I perceived to be a lawyer who called and typed everything I said. (I heard the keyboard clicking while on the phone with her). She booked an appointment and scheduled an interview and gave me a callback number for the manager to caller her that had an extension. When I told Kassy all of this, she said she wasn't going to call her because she was "typing sh*". If they were being investigated I knew something was up. I made a mental note to look this company up on usacomplaints.com when I got home but forgot. The next day was my payday. I waited all day for her to pay me and didn't ask because I didn't want to seem pushy. She brought up that she might be raising my pay, but when I asked her about it later she made a joke and didn't answer. At the last minute she informed me that she would be paying me "under the table". Fishy only for the fact that she didn't tell me until the last minute. This is something to discuss at hire. When the day was over she proceeded to shut down and pretended as if she didn't remember that today was my payday. She wrote me a personal check and it was then that I found out that I wasn't actually employed by "safety enterprises". I was employed by her. Her company was called Burke and Associates.in other words. You never work for "Safety Enterprises". You are an Independent Contractor from the start and you can make up whatever name you want for your own business. All of this was too much. My check was only $300, and either she couldn't afford to pay me or she didn't want to. Either way, being a single mom, a full-time college student with bills to pay and neccessities, worrying about whether I would be getting paid by a company that is apparently not ligit was not something I needed to go through.
If I were you, unless you are the type of person that wouldn't mind your own business in which you get paid to hire people and contribute to the pyramid, then stay far away from them. If you are, please just be honest about it and let people know what you are doing. This is really a moral issue. More people than you think wouldn't mind at all being part of something like this. The deceptiveness and lack of concern is what makes it icky and a scam because you aren't being truthful with your "employees". For those of you who would like a real job with a real company with a real guaranteed honest day's work and salary don't waste your time.
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