Champion Marketing misleading, shady, door-2-door sales Fairfax Virginia

This report goes out to all of you wondering if Champion Marketing group is the one for you. I can probably tell you its not. I will give you a step by step of the procedures and you can make that call for yourself.

I went on my first interview with this office in Fairfax, VA and was told nothing but general facts about how many clients the company has and what "kind" of marketing they do...meaning they do promotional marketing. Again, nothing specific.

I was told that if they brought me in for a second interview, that would all be discussed at that time in addition to salary, etc. I sent my thank you letter and received a call about the 2nd interview the week before Thanksgiving. I currently attend Duquesne University and plan to graduate in two weeks time. Therefore my schedule pushed the 2nd interview until the week after Thanksgiving.

Mind you, I don't live up the street from their office. I traveled four and a half hours each way for this 2nd interview; still having no idea as to what I could expect regarding salary and the ins and outs of the job.

I was invited out the night before my 2nd interview for "group night" which was hyped up to be this party-fest. Now, I am not sure how many of you out there have worked for companies that may have something called "group night" but to me it sounded as if the company took the employees out for a night of appreciation. But my interpretation may not have been realistic...it certainly ended up not being reality.

About half the employees went to a mexican restaurant, ate food, and then individually paid for their drinks and food...then the night was over and everyone went home. Since I was invited I made it a point to be down there early enough for this "real fun time"...indeed it was not and was a total waste of time.

Dooms Day: The Day of my 2nd interview

I arrived at the office (which I will agree with a prior posting on...there are two other company names on the floor sign so it appears shady from the first moment) on time at 11am for my "Day of Observation". Still not having been told what to expect and I confirmed two days prior to coming down to VA and saw them the night before. I was teamed up with a "leader" (who was actually really nice) and sent off out the door to go sell. We exited the building and I was asked if I had a change of shoes. Of course I had not, sorry, when are heels not appropriate for a job interview?? Oh right, one that makes you stand out in the cold all day without a seat or water for six-seven hours straight!!!

So we were on our journey up to the location, and in the car I am being explained to what they do (finally). They sell coupon books, yes ladies and gentlemen, I went to an accredited university to obtain a dual degree with nine years prior work/management experience and I get to solely sell coupon books! Jackpot!! Right? Definitely not! Quite the opposite.

So we quickly take a "lunch" when we get up there and then set up the tables outside in the cold to start hounding people to buy these coupon books. This was about 1pm or so that we set up. By 7:15 we finally packed up and headed back to the office. The leader had shoes for me to change into (thankfully being as I had on stilettos) but I was not dressed appropriately to be outside in the cold on my feet all day. That should have been my indication right there that there was something not right and very unorganized with this company. This kind of information should be critical as a reminder to the interviewee. I did however sell four books and a card, so I made $65 for the day (at least it will fill up my tank for part of my trip down/back).

We make it back to the office and I had to fill out a questionnaire reflecting on what I learned for the day...but 60% of the questions my "leader" never went over with me so I guessed. Then the leader met with the boss and I went in to meet with the boss after her. The "ladder" was explained to me...this is basically a tier of promotions that after 6-months will lead you to opening and running your own branch. Sounds glorious right?? Yep that what I thought too.

The money varies with each level and nothing is mentioned about gross or net...is this guaranteed? Under table? Then benefits, they start about two weeks after you are there and when asked what the average cost would be to me I was told it depends on the plan but from around $60-85. I then proceeded to ask about vacation time....well there is no such thing. You can take time if you need it but if you take it within the beginning stages, your weekly pay rate is pro-rated to reduce your take home. Oh and did I mention this is a Monday thru Saturday job??!??? Yep, sorry about that.

So if I am making "X" amount that may sound like a good pay, you have to divide that by the 8-9 hours per day on your feet over a six day week (in lieu of the typical five), thats not really as much as they make it out to be. When you take all of that into consideration, that pay is NOT that great...or even good.

Oh and by the way, when you make it to stage 2 as a leader, you will be required to travel some around the surrounding states...be prepared to pay for those expenses out of YOUR OWN POCKET!! No corporate account or reimbursement in site. They didn't tell me that, which makes them shady; my leader nonchalantly mentioned that to me during conversation. In addition to that, my leader also mentioned that only $0.50 per coupon book goes to the charity (NWBA), which is their biggest selling point to get the book sold!

If this sounds like the job for you then by all means, but just beware of the bigger picture. How much do you really have to put out of your own pocket? Therefore how much are you REALLY making? And is selling coupon books REALLY what you want out of life? Not so much for me.

Mislead
Somewheres-ville, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.

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