WebsiteDesignz WebsiteDesignz.com, Stephen Fitzsimmons Failure to Pay Employees Internet, Internet

This report details my negative experience working for Stephen at WebsiteDesignz. I am a highly-rated freelancer on Elance with hundreds of successful projects, a 4.7 star rating, a 97% client recommendation rate, and 31% of my clients returning for repeat work. These are some of the highest reputation stats you'll find anywhere on Elance. I routinely work with clients to turn huge profits for their businesses. That was my goal with WebsiteDesignz, too. I was given a number of fake promises on the phone and in writing: 1) A FAIR COMMISSION SCHEDULE. There are three reasons why commissions are a pipe dream. First, the project planning job is SPECULATIVE WORK. You only get paid  for the projects you complete if Stephen lands the contract. Second, much of the work is based on modifying existing projects, which earns no commission. Third, the workflow is so low that the minimum quota will never be met. Every employee I spoke to was promised commissions, yet no commissions were ever paid. 2) BETWEEN 40 AND 80 HOURS OF WORK PER WEEK. I cut many existing clients to take this project, but was asked to go home early most days, resulting in between 20 and 30 hours. 3) PAYMENT EVERY TWO WEEKS. My first check was two weeks late. My second and final check is six weeks late and I do not expect to receive it, because four other employees are six weeks late, too. The employer does not keep cash on hand with which to pay employees. 3) TRAINING. The training I received was generally good, but there was far too little of it. Six weeks into my employment, I was still unable to create even the smallest of projects. I spent a total of five minutes training with Stephen, and that was the best training I received during my entire employment, but 95% of my training time was spent simply watching employees do their work. When I recommended that I could train myself by taking on archived projects, building them from scratch, and comparing them to the final versions, I was ignored.

Let's talk about what needs to change at WebsiteDesignz before YOU, the prospective employee, accept a position here. 1) Remove the commission schedule and work for higher hourly rates. I was fine taking a 75% hourly pay cut to work here, anticipating commissions and a good resume builder. In my previous job, I worked 80 hours a week and got a lot done, so I was basing my salary expectations on hefty commissions. The hours and commissions never materialized. Don't make this mistake, your hourly rate is all you can expect to receive. 2) Remove employee redundencies. If there is another employee doing the same job as you are, don't take a job here. You'll be splitting the hours, workload, and stepping on each others toes the entire time you are here. You'll also be expendable. 3) Stephen should develop and codify a training plan for all positions. It should be in writing and sufficient that, after studying the training materials, the employee is ready to start working at a high standard. 4) Require that hours be paid weekly via auto-pay. Do not allow your payments to fall weeks behind like many employees have.