First off, I want to say that this report is not in any way intended to lambaste either Zane or Melissa or accuse them of being the devil incarnate. Personally, I think they themselves are just as much victims of this scam as their employees.
I'm also not making this post to complain of the long hours or hard work. I didn't quit this job because I “couldn't hack it” or because I'm lazy or unmotivated. I quit because managing a door-to-door sales franchise is not exactly my dream job. You know, I wouldn't even say this job is hard. I've canvassed for charity before and I'd say that it's harder to convince someone to give you money for nothing in return.
I've also dug trail and done conservation work. I'm no stranger to hard work but I'd say this job isn't hard. Door-to-door sales doesn't take an awful lot of intelligence or talent, just the persistence of a bulldozer (hence, rhino?). I'd say it's tedious, repetitive, boring, maybe even a little demoralizing. You're given a formula and told to follow it. Anyone can do this job. The question is; do you want to?
I'll skip over the hiring practices at Archetype because it basically fits the description of every other complaint concerning the hiring practices at Cydcor/DS-Max. The ads regarding the job are misleading (at best, sometimes they're just flat out lies) and the true nature of the business is kept secret until well into the interview. Basically, if you have a pulse and no severe physical defects, you'll get this job. You'd have to have to intelligence of a grape to not get this position. The turnover rate is something like 99.99% and they're constantly looking for fresh meat to replace the ones who toasted.
My main issue with Archetype is that it is part of a wholly unstable business structure. Multi-level marketing is not a sustainable business model. It relies of the steady influx of new people to occupy the bottom tiers of the pyramid. There's a reason it's often referred to as a “legalized pyramid scheme.” It's only legal because it hasn't been made illegal yet.instead of relying on new members investing money, it instead profits on new members bringing money into the pyramid through sales and recruitment.
The fact of the matter is, only the ones at the top of the pyramid really make a huge profit. They sell you the dream when you're hired that within a few months you'll be making hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, the FTC states that most people involved in MLM schemes make less than $10,000 a year while the DSA (Direct Sales Association – neither Cydcor nor any of its affiliates are accredited by the DSA, btw) states that most people make less than $3,000 a year. That's not enough to live on.
The only reason Cydcor has been around as long as it has is because it hides behind the ICLs. Every office is independently incorporated under a different name. This is to protect Cydcor from liability. The “owner” does not actually have any control over the way the business is run. All the business costs are covered by the owner but Cydcor still gets a share of the profits.
Cydcor provides the owner with the service or product and Cydcor can take that away if the rules are not followed. This is why it's so annoying to hear the managers refer to themselves as “entrepreneurs.” They're not entrepreneurs or visionaries. All they did was follow the rules like sheep and choose a name for “their” office. This, by no means, makes them “entrepreneurs.” Franchise manager, at best.
The offices do not consider market saturation, either. They repeatedly send out representatives into territories that have been canvassed over and over again already by their reps and by reps from other offices in the area. Honestly, the sales strategies of these people are those of a bulldozer. They rely of “The System” like it's friggen scripture or something. Hello? There's more to “marketing” than the Law of Averages. Oh, and just to clear things up, this is not a marketing position. Marketing is sales but sales is not marketing.
This job is sales. Point blank. If you ask me, this is actually the worst kind of sales. A middleman is created where none is necessary. This whole industry is not a necessary one, people are entirely capable of changing their phone service and buying office supplies if need be. Cydcor affiliates claim that this form of sales (D2D and B2B) is new and innovative and that it will soon make all other forms of advertising and marketing obsolete. The truth is, before TV and billboards and the internet, how do you think products were marketed?
This form of sales is archaic and simply does not belong in this culture anymore. Back in the fifties, before the internet and whatnot, direct sales was and effective way of exposing people to products and services they would otherwise not be aware of (vacuum salesman, anyone?). Now we have TV, the internet and billboards strung up beside every highway in the country. Door-to-door salesmen are unnecessary and frankly, annoying as h*ll.
Excuse the rant. Long story short, working at Archetype will be like working at any other Cydcor/DS-Max/Granton Marketing/Cobra Group/Smart Circle/Innovage ICL.
1. Long hours with no base pay. Morning and evening meetings are mandatory but not paid. Most likely, you'll be raking in far less than minimum wage when considering the number of hours you work.
2. Be prepared to cover all work-related expenses. Gas, car maintenance, food, etc. None of this is reimbursed. You're told that you can write this off on your taxes but as a W-2 employee, don't expect a huge return if any at all.
3. No company provided benefits. Some woman came in while I worked at Archetype and she apparently was signing people up for health insurance. My co-worker who signed up with her later said that he never heard anything on the matter every again. I'm assuming the whole health insurance thing was either a means to quell people's worries, a legal front (since all full-time employees are by law required to be offered health insurance from work), or it was deducted from your already miserable paycheck.
4. Really unpleasant work. This is my personal opinion. If you're someone who really enjoys selling office supplies door-to-door for a measly commission, this is the position for you.
5. Atmosphere. Clapping, yelling, chanting, dancing, ringing bells. You know the drill. It's dumb.
6. No life. You won't have time to have friends outside of work. When you're not putting in your daily 12 hours, you're out at the bar with your co-workers or playing softball or watching the game at each other's houses. Hell, you might even be living together.
Altogether, this is just a really pathetic excuse for a job. You're just a glorified door-to-door salesman. The probability of actually being promoted to management are slim and of actually succeeding as a manager, even slimmer. I read somewhere that every year DS-Max opens 150 offices and closes down 145. I also wouldn't want to associate my name with a company like Cydcor or DS-Max. They've been the target of legal and tax controversies for years now and I wouldn't want to be in the ship when it finally sinks.
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