My wife and I signed our baby, Ethan, through Signature after my wife did a small amount of research. Their affiliation with SAG and AFTRA lulled us into a false sense of legitimacy. After seeing another bad report (http://w3. Usacomplaints.com/reports/ripoff147731.htm) on them here, I'd like to share the delightful correspondance that ended our relationship with this agency:
Ms. Hoffman,
I'm curious how a person such as yourself excels in a business relating primarily to people. My wife and I decided modeling would be an interesting avenue to look into for our son. Of course, a parent will always believe their child is the cutest and such, but with the amount of attention we received over his first few months, and encouragement we were given by friends, family and strangers, we decided that we would look into the matter a bit further.
After looking at a few local agencies, my wife decided that your agency's affiliation with SAG would be beneficial. She went to the orientation, paid a minute tithe for this web image, and off we went to wait to see how things would go. After all is said and done, I find your response to be outrageous, and would like to offer you a few points of advice from someone else who has a lot of experience working with people.
First of all, for a few dollars you upload the child's image to a relatively unattractive website. The "weekly" maintenance it receives is preposterous and the fact that you charge anything at all for updated pictures is amusing, since the primary goal of any reputable agency would be to profit via their portion of contracted fees. Having a part-time webmaster in a business where image is a primary aspect of day to day operations seems atrocious. The fact that it took not one or two but three weeks for Ethan's image to appear also stinks of unprofessionalism.
After the initial upload of the picture, parents are basically told, "don't call us, we'll call you, " and the only correspondence are random bulletins that are not well written.in fact, a simple spell checking would elevate the level of professionalism greatly. While I don't think either my wife nor I expected any immediate opportunities, some positive feedback and/or professional correspondence would've been nice.
The email my wife initially sent is copied below and I'm curious what you find so unprofessional about it. Neither of us is a star-crazed parent with dreams of our children going into acting. We both work respectable jobs and were hoping for an opportunity for our youngest boy that might allow him to develop additional social skills and possibly put some money away for college of his own accord.
Your, again for lack of a better word, extremely unprofessional and insulting response came as a complete surprise to both of us. I don't see where my wife insulted you personally, however you took it upon yourself to become defensive and insult her. This is utterly unacceptable!
In the end, I can see our family is not a fit for you or your agency. Hopefully we can find another agency that has a warmer and more welcoming environment. Perhaps our lesson learned here is to request a meeting with other parents whose children have been offered contracts and learn about their experiences with the agency.
I've taken it upon myself to copy Ms. Roxanne Chaisson, Executive Director of the Phoenix Chapter of AFTRA as well as Mr. Don Livesay, Executive Director of the Arizona District of SAG. It is my hope that they will not take lightly your insulting attitude. It is further my hope that one of them may be able to recommend a local agency that is willing to work with us and help us to build something for our child.
Most Sincerely Yours,
Jesse
*From:* Terri Hoffmann [mailto: xxxxxxxx]
*Sent:* Wednesday, October 18 6:58 AM
*To:* xxxxxxxx
*Cc:* [email protected]
*Subject:* Fw: Talent Representation?
J..., Well this letter is certainly a nice note to start my day with. After reading your letter, I don't think you are in any position to discuss unprofessional correspondance. I won't even dignify the other issues you discussed. We have a sloid 30 year presence in this business. I will forward your letter to the other SAG agencys (so they are aware of your interest) There is nothing unusual about an infant not getting work (I covered this in orientation) size is always the first criteria for clients.
In Ethan's case, I think that your obvious hostility and negative enrgy will be the deciding factor in his future in this business. I'm sorry for Ethan, as he will never have the opportunity to discover whether this is what HE wants to do or just his mother living thru him. I wouldn't wish you on my esteemed collegues but perhaps you can find a non-SAG agency that will really take you for some tidy fees. This letter officially releases you from your contract. Terri Hoffmann
Terri,
My son, E... W..., has been under contract with Signature Models and Talent for over four months now. I paid the $75 website fee (which is absolutely ridiculous), and the only sort of communication since then has been a barrage of unprofessional emails that don't even apply to me or my son.
So, my question is this: will my son ever be hired for a job, or is this just some scam? I honestly expected more from a SAG/AFTRA franchised business. I know my son has the looks and the personality to be a wonderful model/actor, and if I have to leave Signature to find someone who can utilize his talent, then I will.
Please let me know if I need to begin looking for new talent representation.
Thank You
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