Dayton Toyota Automax Recruiting and Training Hiring Scam, South Brunswick, New Jersey

When I receive the e-mail which looked like it was from the dealership, inviting me to interview for a sales job at Dayton Toyota, I was excited.  I replied to the e-mail and set up my interview day and time.

When I arrived I met my interviewer, Bob Stevens.  He was pleasant and energetic and seemed to like me.  He said that he was not employed by the dealership, but that he was paid by the owner to recruit and train his sales staff.  The "interview" went well, he said I would do very well here, and he invited me to attend a couple of training sessions on the following two days so I could "make sure it was for me".  If it was, I would be making $400 per week plus commisions for 4 weeks of on site training while selling, then after 4 weeks my salary drops to $210/week plus commisions.  I was excited to be in a new job.

I arrived the next morning pretty excited about my new gig.  But as I watched the others file into the conference room for training, something was fishy.  First of all, there was about a dozen of us.  The dealership looked like it had only about 6 sales people downstairs and it didn't seem logical that they would be hiring 12 more sales people.  Also, not to be mean but there were a couple of people that did not look like they were cut out for automobile sales, particularly because they hardly spoke any English or spoke it very poorly.  This is not a heavily-weighted ethnic area.  One of the guys was from Nigeria.  Another was from Panama.  There was a single mother about 25 years old.  There was a poorly dressed old guy.  We looked like the Delta House plege recruits in "Animal House".  I put it out of my mind and prepared for my training.

It was during the noon break at the first session that the scam reared its ugly head.  Bob pulled us into the hallway individually for a few moments to let us know how we were doing.  He said I was very good and that he would be recommending me highly to ownership for the job.  I was a bit floored because I was led to believe that I already had the job.  It was then he informed me that I would have to pay a $350 fee for the training session. I asked why I had to pay for the training session if the company was going to pay ME $400/week for 4 weeks while I was in training anyway.  He explained that it was for him and that he was leaving on Friday.  I was incredulous.  I asked him if I paid the fee, did that mean that I had the job?  He skirted around the question by responding "you have nothing to worry about".

I pressed him on it and asked him if I would be offered the job by management before I had to pay the fee.  He repeated that I "had nothing to worry about".  I asked him how many people they were looking to hire.  He said about 5.  At this point I realized that Bob could not be trusted.  There was no way this place was taking on 5 more sales reps, and besides, if they wanted 5 why were there 12 of us there?  I aksed him, "What about the other 7 people in there who don't get the job?  Are they out $350?"  He replied AGAIN "you have nothing to worry about.  Besides, a few of them will wash out when their drug tests come back because they're probably smoking weed.  Then a few more will bounce out because their background check will turn up a DUI.  You have nothing to worry about."

Well Bob, I DO have something to worry about.  You never pay for your own placement and/or training.  That's rule #1 when you accept employment anywhere so my scam radar was clicking like a geigercounter and the red flags were flying at full mast everywhere like I was at a regatta.

Secondly, I didn't reply to the original e-mail because I wanted to know where I could get auto sales training for $350.  I replied because I was told that there was a job opening I could interview for and I interviewed for it.  Then I was led to believe that I was hired by the dealership and was to begin my training, only to find out that I was not in fact hired for anything and that I would OWE $350 on Friday.

I can't believe that Dayton Toyota or any other car dealership would jeapardize its reputation by being an accomplice in this scam.  Preying on vulnerable people who are looking for a job by luring them in for an "interview" and passing them on to "training" and then banging them for a quick $350 is reprehensibly dishonest at the very least and probably fraudulent, although I am not an attorney.