Marketing Concepts | SPECIFIC INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT WAS FOUND TO BE FALSE/DEFAMATORY BY A COURT.  OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE JUDICIAL PROCESS, THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION THAT WAS FOUND FALSE/DEFAMATORY BY THE COURT HAS BEEN (((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))) | Employee Scam in West Palm Beach, Florida

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I found a job working for Marketing Concepts on Craigslist over the summer. The Craigslist ad offered management opportunities, so I sent my resume in. I arrived for my first interview and there were four other people there waiting. I met with someone whose job was to decide if I would be a good fit at Marketing Concepts, or Team MC as they refer to themselves. I was granted a second interview, and that time I met with Panni Verma, the owner of Marketing Concepts. Panni told me there would be two weeks of training and they would be training me to become a manager. He told me I would be making a large amount of money, and would be paid for the two weeks of training. He also explained that they represent AT&T, Verizon and an office supply company called Quill.

After this, I was taken out "into the field" by Kokila Alahakoon, who would become my team leader. He explained how the most effective mode of marketing is door-to-door meetings. We drove in a packed car and were dropped off at a shopping center. We went from business to business trying to make office supply sales. He did not make any sales in that time. 

After this we went back to MC and we met with Panni again. I was offered the job that evening, and I started the following week. When I arrived on Monday I was led into a team meeting where everyone was standing around in a circle giving each other pep talks, praise and talking about how much money each person makes. We also played games, which were supposedly "team building exercises" (like, Charades and Scattergories). 

I was assigned to go out in the field with a corporate trainer, where they drop you off in a location and promise to pick you up at 4:30. You lose about 2-3 hours off your morning in the meeting where you play games, so we would usually get out there by 10:00 or 11:00 A.M. Once we started going around I started realizing that the job was really a sales job, and not a management position, as was promised. He explained that in order to build effective leadership the company starts all new employees on sales jobs, and then you slowly progress and can be promoted until one day you can be an owner. At around 4:30 we had to go back to the office for a second meeting (called Bell Party). Everyone would have to sit in a circle and ring a bell to celebrate their accomplishments in the field. On top of this, every week they had a mandatory team night where you had to get together with the other employees outside of work, regardless of whether or not you had a family at home that you needed to spend time with. 

(((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))). (((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))). I was told I would be paid for my two weeks of training, and I received one hundred dollars less than other employees who also started at the same time as me. (((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))). 

According to the formula that the company uses, a person should be able to make a good amount of money off of sales commissions, as well as rise up in the company by following a basic checklist. My paychecks would range anywhere from $50.00 to $150.00, which was sometimes less than the gas I burned out in the field in one day. Additionally, while I was being trained, my trainer used to jump in during my sales pitch to take my sale, allowing him to get commission from it while I did all the work. 

During my time at Marketing Concepts I was promoted once to Corporate Trainer by following the checklist. This promotion is the stepping stone between being a salesman and being an assistant manager. Once you are a corporate trainer you are to start building a team so you can manage other people. Although I was a corporate trainer for the majority of my employment at MC, I was never given new hires to train or begin developing, so it was as if I never got promoted, although I was now required to attend a second meeting after Bell Party every night. I was also required to attend mandatory business trips out of town, where I was required to drive my own car and was not reimbursed for gas expenses. 

(((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))). (((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))). Kokila told me that Panni would be stepping down and Kokila would be put in charge of the office and he would be promoting me to assistant manager, but this never happened. Panni was allowed to continue running the office (((REDACTED BASED ON FINDINGS VIA COURT ORDER))). 

Although there is a formula for making money and rising to the top, somehow it just never seemed to go according to plan. I was shown that if I was able to make 8 sales a week, with all the extra bonuses, I could make $1,000 a week. However, I would make more than 8 sales in a week, and still never see a paycheck with bonuses or any amount even close to $1,000 a week. If you are looking for employment, do not go to Marketing Concepts. It is a huge scam.