I recently began working for a company known as inner-link marketing of Richardson, Texas. After leaving the company about a week ago, and looking up more information online, ive found the web of deceit has been spun more than I originally thought, and found it necessary to make a report.
This is a fairly long report, and will include information from conference calls, inside training, and personal experiences. First I will go over the basic hiring format, which is where the scam begins.
As the format for many other quantum-based companies, I went in 1 day for an interview off of a free job search website. The website listed pay as being "30,000 - 34,000 salary" I did the first day interview, and later found out that the person I interviewed with was not even a manager, but was the assistant manager of another office. I did "really well" on my interview, and was asked to come back for a "day of observation", which is basically a full-day interview in which they convince you to work for them. When I asked about pay, I was told it was to be salary-based.
I went in the next day for the full-day, and was paired up with a "trainer" that was to help me for the day. I was told that during the morning I was to observe, and at lunch we would go over pay and the company structure. At lunch, the trainer told me that I was to make 300-500 a week for the first month as a "distributor" and then more after that as a leader. I was told that she personally has 2 kids, a 2 bedroom apartment, and lives on her own. I later found that to be untrue. The fact it was commission was never mentioned. The second half of the day, we returned to our venue, which I believe was a CVS pharmacy about 30 miles from the office. The day closed out and I went back to take a "written test" about my day. I got 8/10 on the test and was told that "normally we don't take anything under 9, but you did so well im going to recommend you". I was then scheduled with the owner of the company, Lance, for a final interview that night. I was hired on and was to come in the next morning at 7:45.
—wheres the ripoff? —
Note, I never once was told it was commission pay, and was still under the impression it was to be salary around 30k a year. As another note, I was part of a conference call specifically on how to "close" days of observation. One of the top owners told me and other employees to make sure never to say commission based. We were also told how to use the FUJI factors (fear of loss, urgency (must come in next day), jones effect (theres lots of other applicants), indifference) in order to "close" them. That threw off some red-flags, as when you are closing an applicant like a sale, it shows you will hire anybody. During that same conference call, we were told other methods to keep days of O interested in the job, and rules to make sure they stayed around (such as always drive them, so they dont have a car to leave in), as well as EXACTLY what to question in the car-ride so when you go back, you tell the owner what you learned about them so he can use that in the final interview to convince them (for instance, they have 2 kids, the owner will mention they are family oriented as a priority, etc).
So, I went back for my first day, and we stood around in "atmosphere" for about 2 hours going over basic sales technique and other information. I was told that if asked, we were to say "we are here on BEHALF of dare" and not "we are here with dare" and to make it seem as if we are dare, but make sure to say behalf. I was told if asked, to tell them 20% of the money went to dare. I was also told then that it was commission based, but the first 3 days was a GUARANTEED $50 per day. At this point, i was skeptical but decided to stick around for a little bit to pick up the sales training (not bad training in all honesty). We came back around 7pm and left the office at almost 8 (12 hours). My take home for the day was $18. I was told not to worry because it would go up to 50.
The week went on and I kept going to these events, putting in almost 70 hours a week, and watching my personal life begin to struggle by week 2. Friday of week 2 was to be my first paycheck, I got it in, and for a 70 hour week, it was 109$, before taxes. I knew that there had been a mistake, because i was guaranteed 50 per day.
—heres where it gets to be a real ripoff—
So I ask to talk to the manager, he says he doesnt have time, and later. Then later. Then later. Finally I tell him we need to talk immediately. We sit down and talk and go over what I made each day. At this point, my trainer has quit, and so there is no proof of her saying 50 guaranteed. We go over numbers, and find that even tho im not getting 50 a day, my paycheck was still short by about 50$ more. Even without the guarantee, or any form of math involved, there was no possible way to get $109 out of my sales. No way to miss a day of sales by accident, no way to make 1 of the days $50 even, nothing, the number seemed to be fabricated. So we find out that I had been shorted, and begin to get the exact amount. It was like 42$ and change if im right. Lance pulls out a calculator, takes that amount, and pokes numbers (i cant see the screen) to say hes figuring taxes on it. Comes back with like $29 (which is like 30%) and I say that taxes arent that high at all. So we actually calculate it, and find it to be like $35 im owed. He pulls cash out of his pocket to try to give it to me. Yes, cash. I tell him to not worry about it and just put on the next check, and he refuses and tells me cash is better.
Weeks continue, and I begin to realize the flaws in the business. Supposedly you reach owner in about 6 months, yet with an office of about 40 people (between inner-link and another quantum company that sold FW-1 wax), in my entire time, not 1 person had moved out. Mathematically, in 1 months time, 1/6 of those should have become owners. Not 1 person did.in addition, I looked deeper into the scheme and saw that distributors got 35% commission, and when they became a leader, their pay increased (according to what i was told) yet they take out trainees every day and SPLIT that 35%, so how did their pay increase?
—TEAM nights—
Every Thursday night, we would go out as an office to somewhere fun and the owners would cover the costs. One such occasion we went to Main Event (bowling/arcade) to go bowling. To pay, Lance pulled out the envelopes from THAT DAYS SALES from his pocket and paid with them. The only other trainee at the time that was there quipped "oh? 20% goes to dare?" and me and her both laughed. Lance replied that it did, and he would figure the math later. I later found out that 20% does NOT go to dare. Ive heard 2 different stories on this, one is that 5% of all product goes to dare, the other is that 20% of ONLY dare-branded merchandise goes to dare.
So the next week I quit, and offer a 2 weeks, but am told not to worry about it. As of right now, im still owed 2 weeks of pay, and nobody at the office has answered my phone calls all week. Ive called upwards of 100 times and am left with a recording saying "due to our high call volume, we are unable to take your call" which is also a false statement.
—the events—
When booking events, they are booked under the impression we are to be giving free safety information and items for child safety. One location I went to was the Wiggly Play Center, of which the manager was very friendly and was ill-informed that the company was to be doing free items. I was asked to sell outside instead of inside like originally planned, but he decided to let the week finish out.By the end of the week, I was offered a job with that location for my customer service skills, but had to decline it due to location/pay. Each time in the morning I went in and informed Lance about how the manager was ill-informed and was angry and probably didnt want me back, and 3 days in a row i was told that our event coordinator had talked to him to clear things up.in reality, he had never been talked to by our event coordinator after the first day, and let me stay there only because I didnt really care about selling the items, and rather was having more fun being friendly with the little kids.
Ultimately, this company and others like it web you up in the thought of promotion, and you stay cheerful because everybody else around you is cheerful, and you are afraid that if you are not, you will not get promoted. This is a complete lie.
For those that are thinking of prospective employment, I offer a few words of wisdom. Only take the job if you are willing to work long hours (60-70/wk), for minimal pay (200-300/wk max). You must be willing to endure this for about a year until you make owner, at which point you must be willing to relocate, and perform the same schemes to get recruits for your own office. They promise high pay as an owner, but id like to note, that my owner just moved out of a 1 bedroom apartment for 490 a month (im moving into same complex), into a house that is in a run-down area. The stories of top leaders and owners living together because they dont make enough money are true.
For those that have quit the company, feel free to leave feedback, and please post facts only. Each of us have our sour tastes, but make sure its informative and complete information. Please avoid posting things like "i hear ya bro" as that offers no information.
For those still employed, hopefully the job is for you, but ask yourself if you have any doubts at all about it. Furthermore, in a car ride or at an event with your leader, talk to them, be honest about any issues you have, and ask them their TRUE feelings about the company. DONT be afraid you wont get promoted or will get fired, because on a full commission job, you showing up 1 day a week and selling only 50 bucks is ok, because they STILL make profit off you. You read people for a living now, read that leader and tell if they are being honest. Decide what you want to do, and be careful not to fall in over your head.
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