DS-MAX, Cydcor - Granton, Peak Ten, Top Flight, Pro Advertising
Deceptive company Anytown

For those who don't know, the door-to-door sales company you work or interviewed for may fall under the umbrella of DS-Max, Granton, or Cydcor. These companies are ruthless and completely devoid of respect for their employees.

The three most significant violations commited by DS-Max on a daily basis are:

1.) Lies
2.) Brainwashing
3.) Refusal to accept responsibility

LIES: DS-Max companies attempt to lie to you before you even consider employment with them. If you were to check your local newspaper's employment section or monster.com you would likely find several ads for "Advertising, " or "Marketing, " that tout management opportunity and ask you to call (insert person's name). First of all, these companies, no matter what they say, DO NOT PAY YOU TO ADVERTISE. DS-Max employees are 100% commission compensated door-to-door salesmen - nothing more, nothing less.

When interviewing and working for DS-Max the lies are abundant. The owner will lie about, among other things: 1.) An average income for the distributors (employees) - the fact is that these statistics are usually not kept, and if they are the data is collected in a skewed manor to produce a favorable number. 2.) Their own income (usually expressed as "six-figures") - if you ask them to provide proof they won't, citing that its not professional to request such a thing and that they certainly couldn't show you their bank statement. 3.) The number of owners in the DS-Max system - this is another number that is not kept track of or verifiable by an independant source. One of the reasons is that the number constantly changes; for every person that "makes it" to ownership, there are just as many that are folding. 4.) They "own" their own business - in reality, they only own the business cards.

"Ownership" in DS-Max earns you the right to submit a list of company names to be decided upon by DS-Max. "Ownership" moves you to a location determined by DS-Max. "Ownership" means that your campaigns are given to you by DS-Max. "Ownership" means that DS-Max can close you down at the drop of a hat. "Ownership" means that you still have an upline that makes money not only off of you, but also the people you hired and trained. "Ownership" means that you operate the way DS-Max wants you to.

These are the basic lies, likely found in every office. Between each office there are plenty more though. And while many owners can be charged with only the basics, the levels to which some owners will sink seems to be unrestricted.

BRAINWASHING: Through attending Rally's, Conventions, etc. It is obvious that many practices are not only exercised company-wide, but they are encouraged. The purpose of these practices is to keep employees motivated, which is understandable. However, the extent to which these practices are exercized in DS-MAX undoubtedly creates a "brainwashed" condition.
Many companies have morning meetings to get everyone on the same page and to layout the goals for the day. These meetings usually last only as long as is necessary to get the proper information relayed. DS-Max on the otherhand, has "meetings" in the morning and evening which usually take up 2-4 hours a day in total. They consist of chants, cheers, and various verbiose methods of explaining the same basic principles (5's and 8's - ideas as simple as punctuality and such). The meetings also serve to reinforce the idea of the opportunity for ownership and early retirement. Stories are told about the founders of the company, VP's, and distributors who made it to ownership within two months - and how they are all "awesome", and that everybody should strive to be like them. Then, at the end of the day, after eight hours of door-to-door work, all the reps gather
at the office for another meeting called "atmosphere". The idea of atmosphere is to stand around and talk about how great your day was, no matter what happened to you. Negativity is strictly forbidden. Non-business related topics are also forbidden. Anyone caught straying from the "suggested" topic or attitude is promptly removed and dealt with one-on-one.

Basically, on average, a DS-Max distributor will spend about 3 hours more a week in meetings than the average college undergrad will in class. What's truly absurd about this is that the curriculum never changes at DS-Max. Its always 5's & 8's, success stories/opportunity, company history, or monitored and controlled conversation. If this repetition in a group environment doesn't lend itself to programming, I don't know what does.

REFUSAL TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY: This will become apparent when/if owners or distributors respond to this post by exhibiting the first two violations; they will lie about the way they operate and "pass the buck" to some "other owners", and at the same time they will use several DS-Max philosophies or phrases that have been imprinted in their brains.

If you would like further examples of these violations, feel free to visit www.dsmaxtheaftermath.com.

James
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.

Company: DS-MAX, Cydcor - Granton, Peak Ten, Top Flight, Pro Advertising
Country: USA
State: Nationwide
Address: Worldwide

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