I interviewed with the Merl Group in the spring of 2009. I went for my first interview, and the second. During the second day interview, I "shadowed" a lady who had only been with the company for a few months. She really bragged up the company as we drove to our locations. She had one appointment set up with a new client. We signed him, but stayed too long so the meter ran out. She asked me to put money in the meter - I paid it. I'm really not sweating 2-3 dollars!
We visited a few other customers that day. One customer was one that she had been working with for a while. Others were just cold calls. The downtown businesses being called upon did not want to see us. They made mention of being visited before and stated that their bills and services were screwed up after signing up previously. The "account manager" tried to reassure them by showing her AT&T badge, but did not make much headway. Of the few customers that did sign up, I realized that all were getting the same services. They all had to add an additional service - the same additional service. I realized that not all these customers needed these new services nor did they understand the changes that were being made to their accounts.
Upon returning back to the office I met with Steve and possibly Peter - a dark haired, lanky man whose name evades me. The meeting went well and they said they would call the next day. I went home and just had a terrible feeling as I thought about the day's events. The next day Steve called and I ignored the call because I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. He left me a message. I spend the rest of the morning calling AT&T and Staples/Quill to inquire about their connections to the Merl Group/Cydcor. My mom started calling as well. An associate at Quill told my mom that Merl Group/Cydcor is affiliated with Quill, but they are not employed by Quill. He refused to state whether the company was in good standing with Staples/Quill, however, he said Ma'am, as a Quill employee I cannot give you that information, however, I will personally say that if it was my daughter I would tell her to run as far she can. I returned Steve's call later that afternoon and turned down the job. I sited being unprepared and other various reasons, however, I knew something was up by the questions Steve asked me. I cannot remember the exact questions, but it was as if he was afraid I had actually done my homework and researched the true business operation they are running. He did ask if I had heard anything negative. I told him I had not because I knew it would do no good and I did not feel like wasting another second on the scam.
I am now posting this because I feel guilty that I did not say more about it before. I didn't take much notice to it after the fact, however, when I found out that one of my friends took a job with J9 and was ripped off I knew I needed to say something and support all the others that speak the truth here. As with any job, do your homework. I am so glad I did!
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