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Report: #1036644

Complaint Review: Power Play Marketing - Bingham Farms Michigan

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  • Reported By: EB11111 — Canton Michigan
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  • Power Play Marketing 30150 Telegraph Road Bingham Farms, Michigan United States of America

Power Play Marketing Specialty Publishing of Michigan Ticket brokerage disguised as a legitimate advertising opportunity Bingham Farms, Michigan

*UPDATE Employee: Clarification

*UPDATE EX-employee responds: ELS --- You're Busted

*UPDATE Employee: Jeff Nellett - Soooo verbally abusive!

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I am currently employed at Power Play Marketing, and I'm one of several trying to get out of the company.  I am definitely one of the top selling sales reps, so I'm not writing this as a disgruntled individual who blames a company for my failures.  I thought I was hired to sell advertising into USA Today's Special Edition Magazines, but in reality the job consists of selling free tickets to sporting events and concerts to decision makers in sales positions at mid-large size companies, which automatically come with every ad purchase.  The magazines themselves aren't audited by USA Today, so you don't have any statistics to back up the quality of the publications, which is completely unheard of in the advertising world.  You are given very vague statements on circulation that you're allowed to mention to prospective clients over the phone, but the company is very adamant that you not put anything in writing because they don't have any proof that the magazines sell, let alone who reads them.  Even our Vice President of Sales acknowledges that the magazines aren't the best compared to competing publications, but he forces you to push the free tickets as a way to "stimulate demand."  I have a few clients who've renewed, but a majority of them don't because they blew most of their marketing budget with me, and saw zero return.  Half of them have told me that they went out looking for the publication in the major retailers in which I promised the magazine would be, and they couldn't find it.  If the magazines were so lucrative, USA Today would actually measure them, so clearly they just see them as a nifty way to make a few extra dollars on the side with little effort.

The Vice President of Sales, Jeff Nellett, is absolutely psychotic.  He will have what you think is a private conversation with an employee, and the next minute he's bashing that same individual behind their back to one of his 3 favorite sales reps.  In addition, he makes fun of certain reps in the office repeatedly behind their backs, and sometimes even in his morning sales meetings to the entire office.  There's one girl in the office who's a very sweet girl, and tries very hard to be successful, but isn't the brightest crayon in the box.  Nevertheless, Jeff will tell other employees that he knows she's not very bright, but admires her effort.  He's verbally abusive, dishonest, and constantly threatens your job, even if you are selling, but not to the level that he wants to see.  In addition, he will routinely threaten employees with decreasing their already meager base salaries (the average starting salary at this company is $30,000), when he does decrease someone's salary it's usually by $5,000-$10,000, which is a huge chunk of cash to the 20-somethings who make-up the majority of the office.  Also, he will find a variety of creative reasons why he won't give you the raise he promised even if you've met the requirements he asked of you in order to receive more money.

Lastly, the HR policy is so vague that not even Jeff fully understands it.  Simply put, don't miss a day of work.  Of the 10 days off that you accumulate during the year, you have to save at least 5 of them in order to have the day after Thanksgiving off paid, as well as the days at the end of the year in which the office is closed from Christmas through New Year's, so essentially you only have 5 sick/vacation days.  The HR policy has changed 3 times since I've been here, and it's all stacked against employees who've been with the company less than a year.  It's horrible.

If you are considering interviewing with this company and you're straight out of college DON'T DO IT!  If you have a degree in Marketing or Advertising and you're straight out of college DON'T INTERVIEW BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT GET TO USE ANYTHING YOU'VE LEARNED!  If you're an experienced advertising or marketing professional, RUN FROM THIS COMPANY!  There were people who've worked here since I've been here who've come from advertising backgrounds, and they've all left.  The environment is hostile, Jeff Nellett is a horrible manager on a major power trip, and the product you're selling is second-rate at best.  It's a ticket brokerage disguised as a marketing firm......DO NOT INTERVIEW WITH THIS COMPANY IF YOU HAVE ANY SELF-RESPECT OR INTEGRITY!  

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 03/21/2013 08:40 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/power-play-marketing/bingham-farms-michigan-48025/power-play-marketing-specialty-publishing-of-michigan-ticket-brokerage-disguised-as-a-legi-1036644. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#3 UPDATE Employee

Clarification

AUTHOR: LCo. - ()

POSTED: Monday, May 27, 2013

I am a current employee. I have been there for almost three years. I in fact actually am one of the top reps of this specific office.

Here's what I know: This job is a sales job. I have had various positions in sales throughout the majority of my career thusfar. Sales are tough, frustrating, irritating and you encounter a myriad of personalities. That said, it's a job, career and profession, and if you act like a professional, more than likely you'll be treated as one.

Strangely, the complaints that have appeared on here are mostly of those who didn't treat the position like a "real job". They made excuses for poor performance and lacked the accountability to own their mistakes and move forward in a positive manner. Instead, and as is widespread across the field of sales, these were simply cases of those who were in a profession not suited to their personality, character or nature. Simply put, it was a bad fit for both the company and the individual(s).

Personally, I do not appreciate the unprofessional manner in which they have chosen to discuss their issues. First and foremost, the allegations aren't accurate, nor do they portray clearly stated facts. They're emotional attacks on the reputations of those who work hard and excel with this specific company. Secondly, they are choosing to utilize a platform that doesn't accurately portray the viewpoints of both parties, and instead ripoff report has been used as a tool to initiate a smear campaign.

Thirdly, while I can appreciate that the job market is difficult for some, getting a position you simply "don't like" is not reason enough to blame the employer or your direct superior.

Lastly, there's absolute transparency in terms of the position and clear expectations are set forth regarding the job difficulty. This is a position that most will find difficult, frustrating, or in some cases unbearable. Yet, for those who see the opportunity for what it is--it's a blessing. This is just a difference of opinion.

From my perspective, I can say that this job was and is at times difficult. That said, it's worth it.

I can truly sell, and am nicely rewarded for my abilities. I am thankful for the medical and dental benefits, a boss who believes and encourages me, and the ability to have no limits in regards to reaching my financial goals. I am also thankful to have had the opportunity to go through the tough times, because now that I have put the time in, and worked hard, I am reaping the benefits.

-LCo.

 

 

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#2 UPDATE EX-employee responds

ELS --- You're Busted

AUTHOR: Trats30 - ()

POSTED: Friday, May 10, 2013

I am an ex-employee of Power Play Marketing (I resigned), and the above statement written by ELS seems to have been written in an attempt to portray me as the author.  Whoever you are, I'm not sure what I did to offend you, but I recommend you spend more time focusing on your job before you lose it.

As far as what is written about the company, it's true that hospitality packages come with ads in the magazines, but that is something that all reps and management are completely transparent about.  There is no hidden gimmick, and if the client can't accept it or would prefer not to, the issue isn't pushed, so there's no extreme sales pressure.  Just because I chose to go a different direction in my career, doesn't mean that the company is a scam.  People change positions for a variety of reasons, and even if they were uncomfortable with the way a company operates or how they were treated, this certainly is not the appropriate venue in which to express those sentiments.  PPM isn't for everyone, and that's ok, but as is the case in any sales position, you determine your success or failure.

Regarding the use of Jeff Nellett's name, I have to say that the original author clearly didn't take into account that this is a permanent listing, and can do a tremendous amount of harm to one's personal and professional reputation.  Jeff has a family, and if one of his children or his wife were to stumble across this that would be awful.  Jeff and I definitely had our moments, and while I don't always agree with his management style (most people don't agree 100% of the time, it's called "life"), I would never trash him in this manner.  The person who wrote this clearly has no moral center, and must be carrying a tremendous amount of resentment.  This is purely business, so if you can't handle professionalism, or you really put that much stock into what Jeff thought of you personally, then you probably need to reevaluate yourself as an adult because that's wildly immature.  

I'll conclude with a message to the author who was trying to cause drama by steering those who know me from the company to speculate that I had written this: you're pathetic.  Even moreso because your first line was "I'm a top performer," so you were also trying to incriminate the three people whose names you and I both know, but I won't name because that's innappropriate.  Being terminated or let go from a company is an unfortunate experience that I've been lucky enough to not encounter, but if that's why you wrote this you really need to get over it.  I can assure you that it won't aid in your career advancement, and will probably land you in a psychiatric facility one day because you're unable to deal with the normal stresses of life.  

-Steph E

 

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#1 UPDATE Employee

Jeff Nellett - Soooo verbally abusive!

AUTHOR: JulzC803 - ()

POSTED: Monday, April 29, 2013

Everything above is 100% true.  I still work here only because I can't find another job, but I'm miserable.  I've been a victim of Jeff Nellett's threats to my job, and he's also decreased my salary when I thought I was doing fine in terms of my sales.  He has sworn at me repeatedly, he makes me cry practically on a weekly basis, and he does the same thing to everyone here, except for a few people.  

I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled, and I was so afraid to miss more than 1 day of work that I actually came in when I was in a ton of pain, and ended up getting a post-surgery infection because of it.  Jeff didn't care.  He told me that unless I got a sale in less than a week, I would lose my job.  Never mind that I had gotten multiple sales 2 weeks prior, and was having a hard time, he wasn't there to help.  On top of that, when I got my paycheck after missing ONE day for my surgery there was more money missing than there should've been (a couple hundred dollars less), and when I went to talk to Jeff about it, he had no idea why and didn't make an effort to contact HR.  I tried contacting them, and they never called me back.  

Worst of all, other people in the office have told me that Jeff calls me names behind my back, like "dumb" and "stupid," and he's even worse to my face.  If I come to him for help, and make a suggestion he doesn't like he will scream and swear at me like I'm not even human.  He does the same thing to other people, and it's horrible.  I can't believe that a man in his 40's could be so rude and cruel to employees in their 20's, since that's how old most people here are.  I've had more anxiety and fear in this job than in any other, and it's all because of the environment that Jeff creates.  You would think that someone humiliated him when he was younger in such a terrible way that he feels as though he needs to take it out on his employees now that he's the boss.  

The second I can find a better job I'm out of here, but I hope that someone will read this, and it will help them avoid this company as I wish I had.

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