Let me just start by warning you this is going to be a LONG report filled with anger and truth, so please take the time to read this... It may potentially help you! I have broken it down into three parts: employees, salon owners, and Misc... Enjoy!
Part one: for future, potential employees
I worked for Ad Efx for a little over a year, and let me tell you: it's a job filled with lies, deceit, broken laws and broken promises. First off, when you come for an interview, Aaron lies to you and says your doing "presentations to bussinesses". He doesnt tell you that your selling door to door or harrassing people in parking lots. Then you spend a whole pay-less "day of observation" watching your "trainer" trying desperately to sell these coupons to make a living. Or watching them get their sales by noon than getting drunk at a local bar/restaurant. This is where you find out your an independent contractor and it's only commission. I was pissed off to find it was sales, but i figured i'd give it a shot. Boy do i regret the day i ever started there!
To begin, you have to come in to the office every morning from 7:30 am to 9:00 for these bull shit meetings, which you DON'T get paid for! If you wanna make people come in that early, you must consider them employees and you must pay them... It a law... Look it up! Then your forced to recite a bunch of crap like "Fantastic, terrific great" and talk about the same shit every day! You have to yell and scream in unison, like a frickin cult. The only thing missing here are the cyanide and sacrifices. Then they send you out to go make them money! Sometimes, if your real lucky, they send "day of observations" out with you (new people who, like you, waste a day watching you sell salon coupons). When you get in the car, you have to tell these poor souls that it's a commision based job and its all sales. Then they get pissed off because they were told it was "paid training and $16/hr afterwards"! So you feel bad all day dragging this poor person around who is already pissed off, so it kinda affects your day! Believe me i have dealt with it like 100 times!
Then you get back to the office to settle up your sales! Where you do all the work, you only get 16 a sale and they get 31! (the prices could of went up since i have been there). If you didnt do your 10 or more sales and ring a "bell", you are verbally harrassed and made feel like a piece of crap for not doing so. If you do 10 or more, they slap you high five like they are your best friends! By the time you leave there, it's like after 6pm, making it a 12 hour a day job where you sometimes make shit for working in overworked areas. They act like there is no bad territory or bad promotions... But believe me, there are.By the time you get home, you wanna hang yourself. But after a good's night sleep, your back the next morning being their sheep. It's a living nightmare.
They say your an independent contractor, but you have to report every morning and every evening to the office, and to them. They train you and tell you when, where and how to work.
Part 2: attention salon/spa owners who are considering utilizing ad efx's services
They will come into your salon and try to contract you. They tell you they have amazing sales reps (half who are alcoholics or drug addicts that lie) and that they will potentially get you 500 new clients for your salon. Then they show you a sample package that may look like this: Visit A-facial, decollete massage B - haircut C - highlights D-massage or manicure. Then they tell you that you have to do the services for free, but the whole point is to get the clients to "upgrade". It's nothing but a rip off. Why should you do all the work and they get all the money? That's ridiculous! Then you have angry people coming in your salon because their sales reps told them they get a "full head of highlights" or "a fullbody one hour massage, when in actuality, they are only getting a sample of it. And if they want those services they have to upgrade (this is where you supposedly get money). Dont get me wrong - the concept is great! But hopefully salons will start smartening up! I mean why let this company make like $20,000.00 off you for nothin?! Print up your own coupons, hire some high school students and send them out to do the promotional sales! This way, you get money from the certificates as well as building clientle! Don't let them get you!
Part 3: misc.info and facts!
-They are rated F by the Better Business Bureau. You can see this on www.bbb.org. (Hey Aaron - maybe you should take that BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU MEMBER sign down from your office wall considering that your NOT even a member of the BBB!)
-They are breaking a multitude of independent contracting laws! The sales reps are treated like employees, not IC's! They need to pay them for those morning meetings, as well as offer them benefits! They are doing this to work around the IRS and taxes... They will get caught. For more info., go to:
http://www.edd.ca. Gov/taxrep/ee-ic. Pdf (scroll down to Attachment I... The document is called INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR/EMPLOYEE STATUS DETERMINATION ELEMENTS-COMMON LAW).
-No matter what they tell you, your a solicitor.
They train you to go into offices and disregard the "no soliciting" signs. They train you to sell in Target parking lots and plazas and malls. What they dont train you on is the state solicition and sales laws! Did you know that not only does each sales rep need a sales license, they need one for each city they sell in! And they don't wanna pay the money! Penalties can include fines and other court costs!
(look online for laws in your state).
-They dont care if your sick or if your mom died - if you cant come in to make them money, you mean nothing to them! As an IC, you have the right to take off any day you want and work when, where and how you want! It's the law... Look it up!
-They are verbally abusive, manipulating, degrading and demeaning. They get inside your head and mess with your mind! If your sales arent good, they make you feel like your nothing! I know of at least 8 people that have left that office crying because of their verbal abuse! I know people who have been scared to come back to the office if they didnt do well in sales that day. They would become nervous and cry because they were scared about how they'd be treated when they got back. They talk negatively about their employees to other employees. They get into peoples personal lives, which is none of their business. They dont respect peoples privacy. It's bad.
-They send you out on these "road trips" where you sell in other cities and states. You have to pay for your own food, gas and hotel stays. They give you what are "road trip bonuses" to help reimburse you for your expenses. But you only get those if you do 100 sales for the week and you only get like 150 bucks. The week of food, gas and hotel is normally almost 300 dollars!
-They are not even a public company! They originated in Canada and then ventured into the United States. These Canadians are unlawfully capitalizing on the American market! And they are proud of it!
-They have changed the name of their company so many times! It always includes AD EFX in the beginning, but they always change the rest of it. I think it was once AD EFX promotions, then AD EFX marketing ideas, etc. Could they be running from potential law suits against them? Are they running so they dont have to return money to innocent, duped customers?
Well, I hope I was a little help to anyone being a part of this institution. I'm sure I missed a few things, but I know I covered pretty much every corner of what is known as AD EFX. It is all truth that I wrote! I am a kind and caring person who doesnt want anyone else to be hurt by this company, whether it be emotionally and/or financially! I should of warned people over a year ago. Better late than never.
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