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Report: #428877

Complaint Review: Dialogue Direct USA - Chicago Illinois

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  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Chicago Illinois
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
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  • Dialogue Direct USA .dialoguejobs.com Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.

Dialogue Direct USA, The Dialog Group, Dialogue Direct Inc. Charity Organization, Fundraising Org. Employer, Jobs Fulltime/Part-time Chicago, New York, Mesa Arizona, Boston, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, Europe, Austrian, USA Illinois

*Consumer Comment: Dialogue Direct raises more questions than $ for Charity

*Consumer Comment: Legal Really?

* : The Truth about DDirect Inc.

* : The Truth about DDirect Inc.

*Consumer Comment: Question

*UPDATE Employee: DialogueDirect, Inc.: Getting the facts straight

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Please check this company out completely in your country or state where you live. This is a warning that this may be or was a legitimate company but something fishy is going on. Here is a brief discription of the company from it's website:

DialogueDirect is part of The Dialog Group, a leader in the fundraising industry providing services of superior quality to non-profits across the globe. While primarily focused on the creation and execution of face-to-face campaigns, the Group also offers an array of fundraising services including direct marketing, telemarketing an consultancy services.

OUTDOOR STREET FUNDRAISER

Our face-to-face fundraisers - 'Dialoguers' - work on the streets of their home city, raising funds for our charity partners. Their role is to promote our partners' latest campaigns and encourage the public to offer their support through regular monthly gifts. We do not accept cash or one-time donations; our goal is to register long-term donors through a sponsorship.

WHAT WE OFFER Employee

$600-$1000/weekly
Full/Part-Time/Summer/Seasonal Hours Available
Comphrehensive Benefits Package (Medical, Dental & Vision) after 90 days
Paid Vacations
401K Plan
An Opportunity to represent Leading Non-Profit Organizations
Significant scope for Career Progression within the Company

I was at first very happy about the job opportunity, no experience necessary, work full or part time and the pay and the benefits are unbelievable!

But then I contacted the company, I became somewhat suspicious when they were a bit nervous about their exact location and certain questions. In order to know their exact location you must first make an appointment for an Interview. Also most non-profit Organaization usually cannot afford to pay well with good benefits. If regular "for profit" businesses are finding it hard to pay for benefits like medical etc. then how can a non-profit pay so much weekly plus benefits?

So to calm my fears, I checked with the Better Business Bureau. I could not find nothing about Dialogue Direct except a home improvement company with the name, Dialogue Direct and not a Charity or Fundraiser Group.

I thought this to be a little odd so I checked with the Illinois licensing Dept. and found nothing. I did find a strong presence on the Internet of web sites about Dialogue Direct. But still I needed confirmation that they are legal in the State of Illinois. I called the City of Chicago information number who connected me with the State of Illinois Attorney General Office who connected me with their "Charity Trust Bureau of Illinois" department. They found that material was submitted to the State of Illinois for registration but that registration material was REJECTED!

So in the State of Illinois these people whom claim to be a part of Dialogue Direct are operating illegally. So I did some more research on job scams and found out that illegal companies are hiring people to work and end up NOT paying the employee for work done and closing up shop.

So if they are not legal in Illinois how can they pay me $600 to $1000 dollars a week plus benefits? Also the question arise, will these people hire innocent people to scam other people out of their credit cards or other personal information?

This is a big let down for someone who has not worked in a while. I was really thinking my prayers had been answered. But I am also glad that I followed my gut feeling and checked this company out.

Even when you try to find work please be careful. If it sound too good to be true then most of the time it is!

Tammi
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/26/2009 05:44 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/dialogue-direct-usa/chicago-illinois/dialogue-direct-usa-the-dialog-group-dialogue-direct-inc-charity-organization-fundrais-428877. 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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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
6Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#6 Consumer Comment

Dialogue Direct raises more questions than $ for Charity

AUTHOR: HeatherD - ()

POSTED: Friday, February 21, 2014

I find it interesting that one of these seemingly pro-Dialogue Direct comments is a word for word exact match to a comment made on a different site, citing concerns about Dialogue Direct's business practices.

Anyway...

I have recently had the opportunity to learn about Dialogue Direct's business practices first-hand. Although I am not now, nor will I ever be an employee of Dialogue Direct, I have been through their "Orientation" and learned their "pitch". I have sitting in front of me their Compensation Structure, dated 05/01/2013, and the numbers just don't add up.

Children International spent 11% of their total revenue on fundraising in 2013*. Let's say, for argument sake, that all of that money was spent on Dialogue Directs (hence forth refered to as DD) marketing efforts. Per DD's compensation structure, If I sign up 10 donors a week, I earn $760 for that week! Not to shabby right? Well, with 10 doners @ $28/month for 2 years. I have made the charity $6720 (over the 2 year period, assuming 100% of the $28 goes to the charity, which DD adamently says is the case). Remember, according to Charity Navigator, Children International spends 11% on fundraising... that means that, of the $6720 I brought in for the charity, the charity will pay DD $739.20. How can DD pay me $760, when they only made $739.20??? Not to mention the "Bonuses" and "Profit sharing" aspects of the Business model.

Anyone working for DD can look at this Compensation structure, get out a calculator and see that the numbers just don't add up. It just doesn't make sense.

One more thing... While on Charity Navigator, I compared stats on Children International with 2 other well known and reputable charities that I currently support. I discovered that in the 2 charities I support on a regular basis, the salaries of the CEOs of these organization comprises less than 5% of the organizations expenses. In contrast, the salary of the CEO of Children International is 30% of their total expenses. Something to think about.

 

Sources: *charitynavigator.org

 

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#5

The Truth about DDirect Inc.

AUTHOR: SamB600 - (USA)

POSTED: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

I am an employee of this company but my views are not those of dialogue direct inc. any of its employees, management, or affiliates.



That being said.  Here's the real situation with the company.

Dialogue direct is a FOR PROFIT fundraising organization that strictly adheres to a self imposed code of conduct.

In terms of legality:
They are registered with the better business bureau and covered by the necessary required licenses and permits to solicit publicly for donations in all of the major markets represented. In field, each employee has a registered photo id badge on display at all times and has a copy of their license with them as well.

Currently they have signed an exclusive contract with children international, a kansas city based charity that can be researched more extensively by checking out their website at www.children.org

Employees are not paid on comission, they are paid hourly, and offered cash incentives for incremental goals.
The break in communication more often than not happens here.  Because some people, as aptly expressed feel that dialoguers are too pushy and agressive when approaching people due to the fact that they're fueled by a hunger for money.

In my personal opinion, and in my experience, this is not true in 99 percent of all cases.

Dialoguers are "aggressive" and "pushy" because most of them truely believe that they can take the moral high ground when it comes to child sponsorship.  Which in my personal opinion is completely legitimate.

If your main issue is the fact that they're persuasive and they employ sales psychology as a technique to gain support for a good cause, it's futile to be angry at that fact.

The figures speak for themselves.  Not only does it work, but it works very well.

Imagine being seven years old and having nothing except sub standard food and unclean water on an alternating daily basis.  Then one day out of the blue, a faceless investor half way around the world decides to give you everything you've been praying for.  What kind of person do you think that creates?  It creates a grateful altruistic human being.  Not only that, but a grateful altruistic human being with a vocational skill set, ready to work.

The reason why we're pushy is because we believe.  So cut us a break.




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#4

The Truth about DDirect Inc.

AUTHOR: SamB600 - (USA)

POSTED: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

I am an employee of this company but my views are not those of dialogue direct inc. any of its employees, management, or affiliates.



That being said.  Here's the real situation with the company.

Dialogue direct is a FOR PROFIT fundraising organization that strictly adheres to a self imposed code of conduct.

In terms of legality:
They are registered with the better business bureau and covered by the necessary required licenses and permits to solicit publicly for donations in all of the major markets represented. In field, each employee has a registered photo id badge on display at all times and has a copy of their license with them as well.

Currently they have signed an exclusive contract with children international, a kansas city based charity that can be researched more extensively by checking out their website at
(((Redacted)))
Employees are not paid on comission, they are paid hourly, and offered cash incentives for incremental goals.
The break in communication more often than not happens here.  Because some people, as aptly expressed feel that dialoguers are too pushy and agressive when approaching people due to the fact that they're fueled by a hunger for money.

In my personal opinion, and in my experience, this is not true in 99 percent of all cases.

Dialoguers are "aggressive" and "pushy" because most of them truely believe that they can take the moral high ground when it comes to child sponsorship.  Which in my personal opinion is completely legitimate.


f your main issue is the fact that they're persuasive and they employ sales psychology as a technique to gain support for a good cause, it's futile to be angry at that fact.

The figures speak for themselves.  Not only does it work, but it works very well.

Imagine being seven years old and having nothing except sub standard food and unclean water on an alternating daily basis.  Then one day out of the blue, a faceless investor half way around the world decides to give you everything you've been praying for.  What kind of person do you think that creates?  It creates a grateful altruistic human being.  Not only that, but a grateful altruistic human being with a vocational skill set, ready to work.

The reason why we're pushy is because we believe.  So cut us a break.

<font color="red"><a href="/whyedited.asp" target="why"> CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report. </a></font>



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#3 Consumer Comment

Legal Really?

AUTHOR: Hlj - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, August 10, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2009
AG dings Dialogue Direct for deceptive donation tactics
SEATTLE If you're running a for-profit company that passes itself off as a humanitarian charity while operating outside of clear, legal boundaries, you might not want to solicit staff members of the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

That's exactly what happened, according to attorneys at the AG's Consumer Protection Division, who today filed a complaint against Dialogue Direct, Inc. (DDI), a New York-based company that offers face-to-face solicitors for hire.

According to the complaint, DDI is not legally registered to solicit charitable contributions in Washington state. The AG's Office also accuses DDI of failing to make legally required disclosures to potential contributors and giving the strong impression that its paid solicitors are volunteers or employees of a registered charitable organization working on behalf of children.

The state has pretty clear rules for anyone who wants to raise money for charity: tell people who you work for, where your operation is based, and who they can call to make sure you're on the up-and-up, said Assistant Attorney General Shannon Smith. Dialogue Direct is breaking those rules and misleading those who might think they're supporting a worthy cause.

Smith added that the AG's office has received complaints about the out-of-state company and that staff members from the AG's Office have been approached by DDI solicitors. Those employees noticed that the supposed charitable fundraisers were not clearly providing the Secretary of State's Office contact information as required by laws governing solicitors.

After several written requests from the Secretary of State's Office, DDI submitted their registration materials on Tuesday, July 21.

The Attorney General's Office has asked King County Superior Court to declare that DDI violated the state's Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices, and violated the state's Charitable Solicitations Act. It's also asking for a permanent injunction preventing DDI from engaging in unlawful conduct, and for civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation.

The Attorney General's Office acts in concert with the Secretary of State's Office to crack down on fraudulent charitable solicitors and to inform the public about questionable organizations that pose as charities. In May, the two offices teamed up to tackle badge charities that improperly suggest they aid police, firefighters and veterans. In June, the AG's Office issued a consumer alert about Pierce County businesses claiming to help the homeless while failing to register as actual charities or being able to show that funds collected are used for charitable purposes.

In addition to listing officially registered charitable solicitors, the Secretary of State's Office publishes an annual report on commercial fundraisers that reveals the percentage of donations they return to their charity clients. It is available online at www.secstate.wa.gov/charities.

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#2 Consumer Comment

Question

AUTHOR: Caitlin - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Sunday, June 21, 2009

What Charities have you worked with? If you are a legit company you should be able to answer that... And I am curious to know because I work with a few non profit organizations myself. And why is it that your location is so secretive? Doesn't that detract from interest in the community?

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#1 UPDATE Employee

DialogueDirect, Inc.: Getting the facts straight

AUTHOR: Daniel Mandell - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, June 02, 2009

I am the general counsel and vice president of DialogueDirect, Inc. I am responding to the concerns of Tammi in Chicago, Illinois.

Tammi suggests DialogueDirect, Inc. is not a legitimate company - and suggests that our work is a scam. This could not be further from the truth. Let me assure Tammi and all who have read her report that we are indeed a legitimate company. We are seeking out and hiring new employees - while offering all the benefits mentioned by Tammi. DialogueDirect has successfully raised funds for charitable organizations for several years. This is not a scam. Such a suggestion is a disservice to those seeking employment, our employees, the charitable organizations that we work for, and to the thousands of individuals that have donated to such charitable organizations.

As Tammi noted in her report, DialogueDirect is an outdoor face to face fundraising firm. Our fundraisers, known as "dialoguers" promote the causes and raise funds for charitable organizations. Our goal is to register long-term donors, who provide monthly donations directly to the charitable organizations that we work for.

DialogeDirect, Inc. started in the United States in 2002. We are part of the Dialog Group, an organization that has been providing services to non profits around the world, for well over a decade.

If you are looking for a job - I suggest that you check us out. DialogueDirect, Inc. currently operates in eight cities in seven states around the country. We are a registered fundraiser in every State that we work in, including Illinois.

You can reach us on the web at www.dialoguejobs.com. At this site you can see all the cities/states we work in and apply for a job. As Tammi noted - there is no experience necessary - and we offer a comprehensive benefits package that kicks in after 90 days as well as the opportunity for advancement. Please don't take my word for it - or Tammi's - check us out for yourself.

Dan Mandell
DialogueDirect, Inc.
New York, NY

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