Success Express Sales Inc. Magazine subscription sales that seller claims to gain points to win a college scholarship Gig Harbor Washington

I was one of the magazine kids and a scam we are not.... Being a magazine kid i learned alot aboit business, goals, people, and success. I've noticed some reports of ex mag agents where they believed they were treated badly in all honesty, no offense to me they sound week. Yes the magazine companies are helping young adults brighten their future, yet they also are helping young adults learn about business... Someone stated they were awarded when they did a good job yet they felt punished when they did bad... Honestly when we do bad we believe in "A better day tomorrow".. from a business stand point if you close a deal you will be awarded for your success, but when you mess up u usually get grilled to do better or luckily a nice pep talk, but when you don't make sales all week then you randomly hot a 5 sale day as a junior manager i would have given 5 dollars to u as well, but when the next day i notice you went back to your no sales i will feel disrespected. Because i know you can do it but you just dont have the drive.

Another situation is the statement about here's your sh*t, i font know if this was your case but i seen magazine kids like this before, you hate the job you start to think its a scam, so u keep bringing it up to management, then you have enough so u quit. No one should be spoken to the way you were but to tell someone to their face that the job they love that consumes there life is a scam and you hate it is disrespectful so i woulda been upset as well...

Alot of these ex mag kids who wrote how they felt as if they were in a cult or trapped... To be honest i felt the cult and the trapped thing before the cult feeling is because we are like a family so we do have a special bond (not saying family isa cult) and the trapped is actually silly because there's nothing actually stopping you from quitting and going home, the only reason i felt trapped was because when i thought about going home i knew i was going to miss my mag family and new lifestyle.

Magazine companies brings Young adults together from all around america and lets us sit back and see the real side of america not by tourist attractions or rumors but by speaking to the people. Yes we do happen to speak to military families because we are big supporters of the military it was said that after establishing that you didnt have a job and your husband was away the magazine kid still attemted to sell u a magazine. Thats because it is still a contest, and aparently you did want to help the kid win, but instead of calling the number on the reciepts, the better business bereau, or even doing some research you made someone believe you were helping tgem out and they were that close to winning but you really stopped the check.

Lastly i did have the feeling what if this is a scam, but after a while those inquisitions started to fade away. But before i started traveling with the magazine kids i had a couple knock on mu door i supported one and honestly i didnt get my magazines, neither did i get reciepts or an organizations name, then i had some more kids came by and selected espn, rollingstone, and shape and i did recieve magazines then i had two more kids who stopped by and offered me an opportunity to be in the contest, and now that im home i still recieve the slam and car & driver magazines so a scam i know for sure success express sales is not. But there are some scams out there so if u decide to help a magazine kid remembet to ask for reciepts and on the receipts you should see a company name and address (not PO box) and phone number ( not starting with 1-800)

Hey. I'm out here working hard. Some kids out here lie and say whatever they can to make you help them win. But the truth is that this is a CONTEST! Five Thousand Dollars. A Trip To Europe....the experience of traveling and meeting new people. This has all really broadened my horizons. I've been around, and I've seen the prizes given out and the awards presented. I've learned a lot about life, hard work, and the value of a dollar. As in all circles of society, some choose to abuse their position.....but that does not make every other citizen of the same position just as bad.....I've learned and matured out here.....And I've been honest every step of the way.

This is my second response to all of these allegations against Success Express.  All of you who are wary of this company should be. 

I see many rebuttals from "Washington."  I wouldn't be surprised if this is the same Washington I knew when I worked for William "Bill" Gillespie's company.

Washington was a top seller.  I got the impression he was Gillespie's right-hand man.  Looks like that's still the case.

I see that Washington's rebuttals are all carefully worded, as you might expect from a snake.  Don't buy his "truth."  The upper management hides behind the kids.  They say they're upholding the law, and in some cases that may be true.  So they put pressure on the kids by letting their true desires trickle down.  Kids learn what is expected of them through hushed whispers.  That way, it's the kids who take the blame.

Washington implies that no kids are allowed to enter communities that state: "no soliciters."  Then why is it that we were often dropped off at these communities?

One of my trainers, while we were at a house waiting for the residents to answer the door, actually ripped the "no soliciting sign" off the door. 

When the woman came to the door and pointed to the sign, it was gone. 

My trainer acted like he didn't know what she was talking about.

"What sign?"

This didn't help us sell magazines, but it did show my trainer's desperation.

I'm sure Mr. Washington will tell you that this is not allowed.  But the kids are under such pressure to sell magazines, they will resort to extreme tactics. 

Let me guess.  Mr. Washington will say, "I can't be held accountable for the bad seeds."

Yeah, I remember Washington.  Here's one of his tactics:

I must have been with the group for a week.  For the first time, I'd had a good day selling magazines.  He rewarded me.  He got up in front of the assembly of kids and said how great I was.  Then he handed me five dollars out of his pocket -- his money -- to reward me.

Well, the next day, I didn't do so well.  Washington got up in front of the group and berated me.  Say (paraphrased), "Man, I gave you five dollars of my own money.  This is how you repay me?"  I guess the five bucks he'd given me wasn't a reward for doing well on the previous day.  By accepting it, I was promising him I'd never have another bad day.

Over time, I began to feel that I was working for scam artists.  Or cultists.

There was one bad day in particular when I'd accidentally moved into another kid's territory.  She FREAKED out on me.  Complained.  Yelled.  Called me nasty names.  SCREAMED. 

Later that night, Washington had a little talk with me.  I told him it was an accident.  I apologized and promised it would never happen again. 

He replied, "You're a game player aren't you?  Yeah, I can tell.  You're a game player.  I can read people.  Like right now . . . you're about to cry, aren't you?"

I was about to cry.  I was hundreds of miles from home, working for criminals. 

The funny thing is I bet Mr. Washington doesn't remember this incident, specifically.  Probably because he's played the same GAMES with other sales kids.  I'm guessing he's done it so much, I could be anyone out of hundreds. 

Think back, Washington.  This was about twenty years ago. 

In all fairness, it's possible you're not the same Washington I knew.  Maybe that was some other Washington.  Are you the same Washington who liked to tell us how great you were, despite your heritage?  "Look at me.  I'm black.  I have all the cards stacked against me.  But I still sell magazines."

Ghosts of the past, Washington.  You and Gillespie will pay for your crimes. 

William "Bill" Gillespie preys on kids.  He got me twenty years ago when I was 19 or so.  His organization brainwashes you, pumps "positive" thinking into your head, designed to make you seem like a happy kid in a magazine sales contest.  But the moment you make a mistake (don't meet your sales quota), he berates you and makes you feel like dirt.  It's worse than high school.  You're either in or you're out.

It's all about peer pressure.  Mind control.  You're force-fed spiels.  If you sell magazines, you're praised.  If you have even one bad day, you become an "unpopular kid." 

He is not running a contest for kids.  He's running a sweat shop.  Even more accurately:

It's a cult.

We were told to do whatever it took to get people's money.  I doubt anyone ever got the magazines we were selling.  It took me a long time to figure out I was part of a scam.

Once, while working for Gillespie, I got the flu.  I was made to feel like a bad person for getting sick.  Although I'd spent the whole night throwing up, no one believed me. 

When I finally had had enough, I asked to quit his company and be sent home.  He  drove me to the bus station.  The entire time, he berated me, calling me a loser and a quitter.  He bought my ticket home, threw my bags on the ground, and said, "Here's your s**t," and stormed off.

The word "evil" was invented to describe this man.  He deserves to be imprisoned with hardened criminals who will "repay" him for all he's done to his kids.

When a sales kid comes to your door, don't buy any magazines!  But do understand that these kids are under tremendous pressure to sell.  Many of them don't know they're part of a scam.

When I realized it, I quit the troupe.  And what did I get for it?

"Here's your s**t."

Avoid his company, The Success Express.

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