KSW MKSW Marketing - Titan Marketing - World KSW Marketing - Titan Marketing - World Acces Marketing - Ken Weinraub THEY ARE DOOR TO DOOR SALESMEN, NOT SPORTS MARKETING FIRM. The entire application process was based on pre-meditated lies throughout the company. Cherry Hill New Jersey

This complaint is regarding the circumstances of my hiring as a summer employee at KSW Marketing and my termination after a single day in its employ.

1.)
When searching for a paid marketing internship, I found KSW Marketing through CareerBuilder.com. Below is the exact introduction to the description of KSW Marketing as I found it on CareerBuilder:
Entry Level Sales and Marketing Sports and Entertainment
Company: KSW Marketing Group
ATTENTION: SPORTS FANS!!!
KSW MARKETING GROUP, INC. is a promotional marketing firm looking to fill entry level sales and marketing positions.
F YOU LIKE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT THEN LETS GET STARTED IN A CAREER!!!
oKSW Marketing Group, Inc. has just experienced a tremendous overload of clients in the sports and entertainment industries. We provide innovative promotional advertising campaigns for all types of local and national clients. Our client base includes professional sports teams, golf courses, local and national restaurant chains, hotels/resorts, and other entertainment groups.
oKSW MARKETING: CONNECTING SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WITH CAREER OPPORTUNITY!

2.)
The job was advertised in Philadelphia, and as can be seen from above, was advertised as a sports marketing firm. I called to set up an interview, where I was informed by MADDY DANESI (receptionist) that the position was actually located in Cherry Hill. When I asked whether there was an office in Philadelphia, as advertised online, she said there was no such office.

3.)
I took a bus to the offices of KSW Marketing in Cherry Hill for my interview. The main lobby had at least 5 or 6 other interviewees when I arrived. On the wall there was a large flat screen TV with ESPN playing, and large posters of sports teams were plastered all over the lobby very clearly. This seemed to support the notion that KSW Marketing was a sports marketing firm to any interviewee in the lobby. After handing in my resume I waited until the President of the company, KENNETH WEINRAUB, invited me into his office. After travelling all the way out to Cherry Hill from Philadelphia, I was surprised when this interview lasted no longer than five minutes. In Kenneths words, your resume really tells me everything I need to know about you. This is just an opportunity for me to put a face to the application and explain the job to you. However, Kenneth did not explain the job to me he merely told me that the best way to reach management position is to interact directly with clients. At this point, he still gave me every indication that this job entailed sports marketing. I was invited back to a second interview.

4.)
The day of my second interview, I was assigned to accompany one of the employees, ALYSSA BOYLE, to Home Depot. I was surprised that we were not staying in the office, as no indication was given that this second interview would be off site. However, I was informed that this second interview would be an all day practice day on the job. Therefore, I was told to free my schedule from 11 AM to 8 PM. On the way, she described to me how the company deals with their top clients, and told a long (and as I later learned, untrue) story about how the company made millions of dollars for the New York Yankees through various techniques. We stayed at Home Depot all day, approaching customers and offering free consultations on Kitchens and Decks. Ms. Boyle and I successfully gave away two free consultations. Ms. Boyle explained the law of averages, stating that one out of every 25 people approached will agree to a free consultation. As the day in question was a particularly rainy Friday, very few customers came into the Home Depot, and we were well within the law of averages as described by Ms. Boyle. Obviously, I was perplexed by the notion that soliciting customers at Home Depot was somehow related to Sports Marketing.

5.)
I returned from the full day at Home Depot with Ms. Boyle, who assured me that every day was different and exciting: be it working on site with clients such as Home Depot, or working with sports teams such as the Yankees, Phillies, Eagles, etc. Upon my return I and other interviewees (who had all been assigned to different Home Depot locations) was given a quiz on various aspects of the day, such as the meaning of direct marketing, the law of averages, etc. I was the last interviewee left in the lobby as all the other candidates were called into Mr. Weinraubs office. When I was called in, I was congratulated, and told that out of approximately 125 candidates I was the only one to receive an offer to work as a marketing representative for KSW. This, I later learned, was a grossly outrageous misrepresentation. However, at the time, based upon these representations by Mr. Weinraub, I undertook considerable effort and expense to situate myself in Center City, Philadelphia so that I would have the means to commute to Cherry Hill via public transportation, as I did not have access to a motor vehicle at the time.

6.)
After being offered the position, it was advertised by three employees that it paid an average of $20 per hour. These employees were: MADDY DANESI (receptionist), ALYSSA BOYLE (high level employee - aged 18!!), and KENNETH WEINRAUB (President). No indication was given to me when I accepted the offer of employment that, for the first three days, I was to be paid a mere $50 per day. I only learned that at the conclusion of my first and what it turned out my last -- day of work on Tuesday, May 27th. Inasmuch as my performance that day answering questions, observing Ms. Boyle, and taking a summary examination was cited as the basis for my hiring, it would appear that the company was more than satisfied with my efforts.


7.)
At the start of my first day, I SIGNED A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT. This contract WAS NOT an employment at will contract, meaning I could not be fired without cause or warning. I was then told that KSW Marketing deals EXCLUSIVELY with the home improvement market thus, they did not have ANYTHING to do with sports marketing, despite the advertisements online, the decorated lobby, and the words of the employees and president. For my first full day, I was assigned to accompany one Ms. Boyle once again to the New Jersey shore to engage in direct door-to-door marketing efforts on behalf of Power Windows and Siding. During the course of our day trip to the New Jersey shore on the 27th, Ms. Boyle and I solicited potential customers for in-home service provided by Power Windows and Siding. She and I were successful in satisfying the law of averages as described by the company signing up one out of approximately twenty-five customers. (We signed up a second customer who subsequently canceled.) I was very disturbed by the unethical behavior exhibited by Ms. Boyle when someone she solicited was uninterested in the promotion. If a homeowner answered the door and immediately signified that he or she was uninterested (as many did), Ms. Boyle pretended to be from an electric company, saying Im not selling you anything, my company is just doing work in the area and were letting you know we are shutting off your power for the day. This was done maliciously, and on many occasions. Ms. Boyle viewed it as humorous, and justified this by claiming that they had been rude to her by not listening.

8.)
Ms. Boyle spent more time than she was supposed to on site that day. At the conclusion of my first day, I had worked 11 hours for what was advertised as an 8 hour day. After being driven back to KSW headquarters, I was informed that the salary was not what had been represented when I was offered and accepted the position. Before I left the building around 10:00 PM, Ms. Boyle reviewed my schedule for the coming week and informed me that by the start of the next week I would be working individually. She excused herself to meet with Mr. Weinraub, and I was done for the day. At the bus stop on the way home, I received a call from Ms. Boyle, where she informed me that I should not report back to work the following day. Nothing negative was cited by Ms. Boyle about my performance for the day indeed it would have been difficult for her to make any pejorative comment about my performance. In addition and even more puzzling, less than half an hour before I was told I was being terminated, Ms. Boyle had informed me about my work schedule for the remainder of the week. I was given no explanation whatsoever about why I was fired, other than an incoherent mumbling by Ms. Boyle that I was overqualified. At this point, the bus arrived, and I asked Alyssa if I could call her back in a half an hour to learn what the reasoning for my termination was. She agreed that she would be available to pick up the phone.

9.)
Incomprehensibly, no further explanation was provided. Thereafter, I attempted to contact both Ms. Boyle and Mr. Weinraub for an explanation on five occasions. I called Ms. Boyle three times over two days to no avail. I then called the main office of KSW, where I spoke to the receptionist, Maddy. When I finally had the chance to speak with Mr. Weinraub directly, he claimed that he had no idea why I had been terminated, or even that I had been terminated to begin with. He indicated that he would talk with Ms. Boyle that day and tell her to call me back to explain what had happened. To no great surprise, I never heard back from you or her after that. I also asked to be compensated for the days work I put in to the company. Mr. Weinraub sounded incredulous, asking you want your one days salary? When I said yes, he said Ms. Boyle dealt with that area. This claim was clearly false, as Ms. Boyle is only 18 years old and has been with the company for just over one month. It became clear that Mr. Weinraub was brushing me off and not accounting for his actions.


10.)
As the president of KSW, Mr. Weinraubs complete disassociation from the matter and deflection of full responsibility for the decision to an 18 year-old woman, is not only reprehensible, it is also not believable. However I was less concerned about hearing back from Ms. Boyle, who clearly had no hiring/firing authority within the company, than I was from the individual who actually runs the company and is responsible for its actions. His conduct was inexcusable.

IN SUMMARY - DO NOT APPLY FOR A JOB HERE! IT IS NOT SPORTS MARKETING, THOUGH THEY WILL TRY TO GIVE YOU EVERY INDICATION THAT IT IS. YOU WILL BE A DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN, BOTHERING PEOPLE AT THEIR HOMES.

Anonymous
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.