Semper Velocity Managment Using Deceptive and Controlling Tactics Lincoln Nebraska

Semper Velocity is a door-to-door sales company that misrepresents the nature of the job, the expectations of employees, and compensation. They also use manipulative and unethical tactics to retain employees.

The deceptive tactics start in their job postings. They post on recruiting sites with multiple different job titles (e.g., marketing specialist, salesperson, etc.) that obscures the fact that everyone is hired into the same position. They "promote from within," promising you'll get experience in office managment, but the management mostly consists of recruiting more people. They also post under different names on Indeed and ZipRecruiter, respectively "Semper Velocity" and "Semper MGMT" (both are listed under the same address and use similar wording in their posts but the ZipRecruiter posting mentions a Bachelor's degree and the Indeed post does not).

Promotion to the next level of leadership is contingent on how many people you can recruit and promote. They're not an illegal pyramid scheme (although they do encourage employees to break a local ordinance by praising people who continue knocking after dark) in that they don't ask for payment up front, but they're about as close as you can get to a legal pyramid scheme.

I was also told a lie in the interviews. My recruiter heavily implied that working on Saturdays was optional, when it's not. One of my coworkers said he was told this same thing by another recruiter, and in general this company provides its employees with very specific jargon to use, so it's not an accident. They also say the day ends at 8 but you're required to return to the office, and leaders have to stay later for meetings, so you end up working about 60 hours a week.

I was told the base pay was $400 a week but was paid $300. I was also told I'd get paid for two half-days for training but I was not. In a piece of preemployment paperwork, it said I would make at least minimum wage but I was paid an average of $4.50 an hour, with a paystub that said the job was commission only so it doesn't specify your insanely long hours, which could easily hit over 60. They also don't tell you that when you get promoted you no longer get base pay.

They try to take your money away from you however they can. If you don't submit your sales on time, $25 is taken off per day you're late, and you only make $100. No one told me this, so I didn't get paid for my sales. If anything happens to your tablet while you're in the field, you owe the company $1,000, and this is highly possible when they force you to knock doors in pouring rain. Leaders are also not reimbursed for gas despite the extensive travel involved. Many of my coworkers were struggling financially, including ones who made many sales.

Aside from the deception, the owners and leaders use obvious manipulation tactics to create dependency, undercut confidence, and isolate you from your loved ones. They'll alternate between compliments and making you feel like you can't be successful elsewhere. I remember they singled out a newly promoted worker and said, "There's nothing special about him, and he still made sales." 

They target very young people. Aside from the owners, I think the oldest person there was in his mid-20s.

Other things I thought were inappropriate and created concerning power imbalances was that one of the owners invited an employee to move in with them, who lost his apartment due to the lack of income security. One of the owners, mistakenly assuming I was under 21, also made a comment about how on company vacations (i.e., trips to Smart Circle's R&R event in Cancun) I would be able to drink because the legal age is lower in Mexico and because the company "has fun."

The long hours and 6 day work week give you little time to sleep or spend time with people outside the business. Leaders repeatedly made odd comments about how your friends and family won't understand and to leave relationships if they don't support you working constantly. I was questioned a lot on how my spouse feels about the job. It felt like they were trying to preempt any criticisms I had about the job. They also pry a lot about your motivations, dreams, and ask you detailed questions about your finances. I had to make a budget with my "upline" and was asked about debt and money spent on medications.

Owners did not act responsibly in a situation where an employee was assaulted, refusing them to remove the house from their system.