Phoenix Advertising Inc., SMART CIRCLE SE Model and Associates Highly Illegal and Unethical Business Practices!! Houston, Texas

I became involved with these 3 companies simultaneously. Phoenix Advertising (run by Sean Garner), SE Model and Associates (run by Dot Shauck), and Trinity Concepts (run by Mayank Jha) occupy the same suite and all conduct similar "marketing" campaigns which consist of selling random things at Sam's Clubs and various gas stations.

They all require "employees" to be on commission-only pay. Several companies do that, so no big deal if you can handle it. The problem is, that these companies will frequently forget to submit payroll, or don't submit it on time. It is frequently inaccurate, and will rarely take steps to correct it. Whatever is on your paycheck is what you are expected to take, even if it is wrong.

One "manager" Dot Shauck has purposely left employees off the payroll, made an excuse that someone else messed it up, and promise to have a check mailed. She has made employees wait several days, and in some cases weeks and months, before she has paid them. In some cases, she has told employees that she would just pay them cash, and again made them wait. She has also asked employees to hold onto their checks for a few days, and not cash them, so that they will not bounce.

Dot Shauck has also falsified background checks that are required by the company to allow an employee to work. If she "likes" that individual, she will just place them at an event under a different representative's name and badge number. Not only is that completely unethical, but I also believe it's illegal. It also opens her company up to liability if for some reason an employee does something wrong at an event.

She has also commited numerous types of fraud, by writing employment and income verification letters for employees that state incorrect pay types and amounts. For example, for an employee that applies for Medicaid, she will state that the employee's pay is well below what they are actually making.

In this instance, she is actually doing the employee a favor and is trying to be nice, but the problem is, she does not write the letter herself. She makes her "administration" staff write the letter and forge her signature to it. That way, if she's ever caught, she can claim she had no knowledge of it, have that employee fired, and let them deal with any legal ramifications.

Dot Shauck has also hired employees "under the table" just so that she does not have to report their income. And she does not have to report that she pays these employees well BELOW minimum wage. She pays them cash, and if they complain, she just terminates that employee and claims to have no knowledge of them having ever worked for her. She will also change an employee's pay rate with no notice and choose to pay them a lower amount than the agreed upon amount when they were hired.

Another manager, Sean Garner, allows paperwork to be entered into the computer at rates that are different than an employee is taught, so that their paychecks are frequently lower than they should be. When confronted, he shows the employee what is in the computer, but does not allow them to study the paperwork to make sure it is actually accurate and representative of what their commission SHOULD be.

He also frequently threatens employees with termination if they do not meet certain expectations even though their "employment contract", also known as an IDA, states that no quotas can be set on an employee. He has brought employees to tears with his behavior and is in general a horrible manager to work for, although much better than working for Dot Shauck. I was actually thankful that I didn't have much to do with her.

The third manager, Mayank Jha also threatens employees with termination for the same. He has also admitted to smoking marijuana. His "administrator" (whom I do not have a personal problem with and choose not to use her name), has quite a large need to gossip and has told several people in the office about that. He has also conducted illegal vehicle searches without asking the owner for permission.

In short, these 3 companies are not companies you would want to work for. They lie, cheat, steal from employees, commit horrible business practices, and are completely ok with how they treat their employees. I worked for them for just a few months, but it was enough to make me absolutely sick to my stomach!