High Flight Management One Source Marketing Don't fall for their lies! Oak Brook, Illinois

High Flight lies about who they are and what you will do. Don’t waste your time unless you want to be a door-to-door salesman who solicits people to buy cheap cosmetics.

They called me back morning after I sent my resume. Thirsty?

I initially had trouble finding their office because their name isn’t listed on the door. It instead said “One Source Marketing.”  

All I heard while waiting was the receptionist making phone calls scheduling second-round interviews.

Thomas Hart, 25, the CEO of High Flight, finally emerged and led me to his office. As I made my way around the first cubicle wall past the receptionist’s desk, I noticed how barren the entire room was. There were scattered boxes on the floor and little else. Thomas’ office was similarly empty.

Thomas told me much money I could make within eight months. He said it’s hard work, but gave me anecdotes about previous employees who went from entry-level to $400,000+ salaries within a couple of years.

Thomas said the company was owned by Larry Tanenbaum, the owner of the NHL’s Maple Leafs (I later researched this and was not able to verify any sort of connection between Tanenbaum or High Flight’s parent groups, so I can only assume this is a lie). He also name-dropped a few of their alleged clients, like Home Depot, but kept returning to a cosmetics line, Makeover Essentials.

I told Thomas I was uncomfortable in a role where I’d be pitching  products, but it didn’t deter his enthusiasm. He said he was once shy as well, but he liked what he saw in me and wanted me to come in for a second interview the next morning. He said the makeup sells itself and you don’t even need to know much about it, which is in direct contrast to their stated goal on the website, which says their staff learns the ins and outs of a client’s company to help them promote their products.

 The next day when I showed up for the interview, the receptionist had me sign a form stating they weren’t required to pay me for the training. The form had a different company name on it.

The receptionist was again making calls for interviews.

A woman named Linda interviewed me, outlining how High Flight works. I didn’t want to leave a job I had to work for a smoke-and-mirrors company. As the old saying goes, if something seems too good to be true, it is.

Linda, who like Thomas seemed nice and similarly-aged, told me the six-day training program pays $300. I just signed a form stating they don’t pay.

After training, you become a “Brand Ambassador” where you supposedly make $400-$600 a week minimum. The descriptions for this job were vague. “Territory Management.” “Effectively Represent Clients Brand and Image.” “Client Service Standards.” What the hell does that even mean?

Between one-and-three months you become an “Account Executive” and the pay jumps to a minimum of $700-$900 a week. You “run campaigns,” “conduct interviews” and “manage small groups.”

From there you jump to salaried positions as an “Assistant Director” and “Director of Operations” where you open your own office. All of this happens in a 10-month window.

I asked about the retention rate. She said it’s low because it’s hard work. She even mentioned someone quit High Flight to work a minimum-wage job. Who in their right mind would quit a company where you supposedly make six figures within one year for minimum wage?

“How can you keep opening offices and sustain business?” I asked.

She gave me a rehearsed line about how they wanted an office per million people. Thomas later said the same thing, almost verbatim, when I asked him.

Thomas later revealed as an aside that the company owns Makeover Essentials. I suspected talk of all the other supposed clients they had was complete bs and they instead pushed this cheap makeup line to people.

I discovered more red flags in subsequent Google searches. Nowhere on any documents or on the website did I see Thomas’ full name listed. Via Internet searching I found out he was arrested for a particularly heinous crime that says a lot about his character. He had told me that a few years back he worked for a nonprofit Christian group, but what he was really doing was getting arrested for punching a woman and stealing her outdated technology.

Linda also told me she only sees herself at her position for another six to seven years, but if there’s so much money to be had, why would anyone want out? Because they are basically door-to-door salespeople. They create fake job listings to get people to interview.

Research it. Use the keywords “Thomas Hart,” “One Source Marketing” and particularly “Makeover Essentials.” There are companies like High Flight all across the U.S. They shutter and re-open under different names to avoid negative publicity.

They didn’t care I’d be leaving a good job to work for them. They were still peddling their bs with promises of fortune. They offered me the position but I never even called back.