SHINGTREEINTERNATIONAL Aka QUATUM Aka INNOVAGE Aka DSMAX Commission Sales - working 7:30AM to 8:00PM - Mon to Sat - Deceptive Charity Sales Oakville Ontario

I thought I was helping charities when I saw this report by nbc10:

http://www.nbc10.com/news/14894324/detail.html?subid=10101521

Its a brainwashing cult with daily chanting, mind control and being a thought cop. People have lost their friends and family working with them:

http://groups.msn.com/DSMAXTheAftermath/crewbuilding.msnw


Its a total scam - they're pushing hard to recruit in Canada. lots of ads on monster and many free job sites - they use fake names to recruit, lie about the $$ you'll make and isolate you from friends and family. I've seen this happen to too many people including myself!

The interview continued for another 15 minutes, with Jon Quao being extremely vague about what exactly the position entailed. Coupled by the fact that there were numerous other victims waiting in the lobby, the interview ended with me being told that I would be contacted later, if I was chosen for a second interview.

I received the call-back, I was told to come in for an all-day interview, which would give me an opportunity to determine if the work would be the right fit for me. I was not given any other information other than the time off arrival, to dress professionally and bring something to take notes with.

Upon arriving the next morning, the same scenario as most other stories involving Quantum affiliates occurred. I am in the lobby with a small group of applicants called back for second round interviews as I was. In the next room, we could overhear loud chants and cheers going on, behind a closed door. When the door opened accidentally, someone who saw us looking in closed the door so we could not observe.

I found this to be about as rude as when several employees including Mr. Ball walked by us and refused to even acknowledge us. What also raised another red flag was a form we were made to sign, basically explaining that we waived a right to commission for any and all products sold today. After talking with the other applicants, we all shared the same concerns, as the receptionist seemed to give us a curious glance, as to what we were discussing.

We are each eventually called into a separate room, one-by-one, and paired up with a trainer. After this, the trainees were separated into different groups and left. My trainer gave me a brief overview of what we would be doing today (promoting the DARE program, however not mentioning the location or specifics) and we went outside. She insisted we take her car and carpool, allowing her an opportunity to ask some questions and provide background on the company. I was uneasy about this, but wanted to display a good attitude, so I agreed to it. Big mistake. If you experience the same thing, do not under any circumstance get into the car.

The drive began. After asking me some questions and emphasizing at the end of the day that only one of the applicants was going to be hired, we arrived at a Wal Mart and set up a table outside. I noticed merchandise including puzzle books, ID Cards, sunglasses, t-shirts, candles, etc. being displayed. After this was setup, the public scam started.

The representatives would encourage people to come over to the display, imploring them to take something from the table to support the DARE program. If someone did not have enough cash for the items, they stated that they could accept checks and credit cards, as well. On top of that, I was amazed that they were actually charging tax for all of these items.

As the day went on, I was explained The Rule of Averages, as everyone else who was conned into this, seemed to experience. I was also explained the 5 Steps of the Sale Process: Introduction, Short Story, Presentation, Close, and Rehash. I was then explained that for each of the items, only 20% actually went to DARE, while 35% went as a commission to the rep, and the rest went back to the office. Although, after researching this, I have seen others say that in reality, the t-shirts are the only item that qualifies to have 20% donated to DARE where as DARE actually receives no proceeds at all from the rest of the items!

Finally, it was time for lunch. I thought the courteous thing to do since I was donating them 9 hours of my time was to at least offer to pay for my lunch. No such luck. After lunch, I was given the presentation of the company. I was explained what the positions were, how everyone started at the bottom no matter what their experience was, what the pay was for each of the positions, what some of the vague responsibilities were in each of the positions, and so forth. When I asked about the company benefits, the question was dodged.

Then, I was asked if it was something I would like to pursue. Emphasis was placed on the fact that they were only looking for people who absolutely want to do this for a living. When I said that I 'wasn't sure', it all went downhill from there.

The scamming continued in the afternoon. Small children were lured over with stickers, with the hopes of getting the adults to fork over money for their junk. Prices began to fluctuate on certain items. Teens were told that prices for shirts was $10. Certain adults were told $15. Every sale came with the same pitch- 'this same _____ would cost 'x' amount of dollars in the store, but today we have it for $___, just because we are helping out the DARE program. All the while, I wasn't given the time of day by these people because I didn't seem to sure if this was right for me.

Needless to say, I didn't stick around for the rest of the day and had someone pick me up. Then, there was the aggravation of going back out of the way to get my own car, and then having to go home. What a complete waste of my time this was.

Ex ds max-er
Toronto, Ontario
Canada