The Merl Group,The Merl Group 'not so corporate' scamming the corporate Indianapolis Indiana

A Job with the Merl Group...please see other complaints...this is an add-on!

Maybe I should feel grateful this company only wasted a week and a half of my life, but being duped SUCKS. So oddly enough...I don't really feel gratitude (although thanks for confirming suspicions, all ex-employees).

Most of the complaints written about above, I experienced in a mere week and some change.

1. On the first day in my 'new' territory I was yelled at and kicked out of numerous places--yes, quite literally! I heard the response--"someone was just here this morning, on Friday, or there have been people in our store 4X's in the last two weeks, not to mention the relentless phone calls from all you AT&T guys". These being 7-8 out of 10 responses we got in the business we entered. My manager tried to explain that it was a girl--whom like me only stuck around for a few days--three months ago. Right...and what of the stories from customers that described the cars these salespeople were driving, or the hair-do of the woman that was just in THAT morning?

--So yes, (you the 'account manager/door-to-door phon-ie salesman) are soliciting harassing, and abusing AT&T customers. And yes, you probably do deserve their wrath!!! Merl Group, the least you could do is be honest about the fact that you are NOT actually AT&T employees, merely a marketing company hired by the same 'corporate world' you so begrudgingly attack in your pep rally's. You might actually save AT&T some customers!

2. The whole bit about managers stealing the sales peoples' sales. Sold! I believe it. On a friday out training with a manager we made $8 on 1 application. I'm still a trainee, I'm not supposed to fully understand how everything works right? We return at 20-25 after 5pm. All sales, to be reported in time for the morning meetings/and for the announcements of 'high rollers' the following morning, have to be in by 5:30. Monday morning, oddly enough we (manager and I) were high rollers. We supposedly made a couple hundred dollars in sales. Weird, because I'm pretty sure i was there and that was not the case. I questioned said manager and his response 'i went out after you dropped me off'.

Really? Cause I'm pretty sure YOU DON'T have a car and I've been driving you to all of your sales for the last two days. And I thought bells and the evening meeting started at 5:30. So right, maybe you did borrow someone else's car, drive to a business (not in your territory, because that's muncie and that would be a little far fetched hun!), pitched the business, wait on the phone with Edge for the minimal 15 minutes you're put on hold, filled out the 8 pages of paper work and made it back for bells to report the sales. And all in 10 minutes...very believable indeed!

At the time, I asked how he made that happen without a car. He then said "don't worry about it" followed by his charismatic salesman smile.

So where did this $200 in sales come from. Perhaps the ridiculously high turn-over rate means all the sales and revenue from the two weeks prior to an employee quitting is pocketed by the managers?! Maybe all those supposedly 'failed' applications reported to the sales staff, really didn't fail. And maybe the buck fifty promised to you for training for three days is pocketed for all of those employees that don't make it a full two weeks. Wow management that must feel good!

Note to sales staff: I strongly suggest you pay a friendly visit to those you've duped into purchase unnecessary services to be certain whether or not they did actually go through, in order to see whether or not YOU are being cheated on your pay for duping AT&T customers! Hmmm...lets think about that one for a minute.

3. You know the very clever concept of 'SLAMMING' the company educates you about? The condition were illegitimate companies (i.e., non-AT&T companies) get a business' phone information and make dubious charges on the account? Well I ask you to consider exactly what it is you salespeople are doing...and who actually pays your bills.

Just to recap, in most cases you're adding unnecessary charges to phone customers bills AND you're not being paid by AT&T. So what's the difference?!?! Do you know? Or do you only know what you've been told?

Here's why I ask: In a store a customer decides to call up AT&T, she isn't quite clear on the concept of pro-ration. I encourage her to call services and ask them about it. Why not right? It's only far that she understand and feel comfortable with the year+ contract she's about to sign her name to (which of course she is not notified about at the time of signing). My manager attempts 'very awkwardly' to convince her otherwise. "I wouldn't call mam, they're going to tell you that we don't work for AT&T and then they'll tell you that this is not legitimate because they want to sell you services instead."

What? Wait....I wanted to kick us out after that too!

So what happens? Yep, the woman calls and goes irate. I finally get the phone to talk to the agent...'Who are you he demands/who do you work for'. What's your number...etc.

Now all of a sudden some AT&T dude has the last 6 digits of my soc (my supposed h-code) and is going to potentially report me for fraud when I have no idea what's going on. The AT&T guy is yelling, the customers yelling. And I'm really confused about what it is I'm doing.

Turns out what we were attempt to sell to this woman--the supposed package we're quoting doesn't exist. We're about to inflate the phone bill of a tiny family-owned quiznos in a deserted strip mall, to nearly 300 dollars while adding a phone line. They didn't need 4 phone lines--it only rang once in the 1.5 hours we were there! They were already overdue on there account...meaning within less than a month they would have a phone bill for over $500, should they not pay the over due balance beforehand.

Ok well that about sums up the week at Merl Group. I'm not really angry...mostly I keep waiting for an obnoxious tv host to pop out and say I'm on some stupid reality tv show where people are tricked into doing REALLY stupid things. So don't waste your ammunition or rebuttal on suggestion I'm disgruntled, angry, crazy, etc. I'm not. I'm also not a fool, a quitter, or a morally base individual. So nice try. I wish you all the best...but seriously consider the following:

Grow-up, get a real job, stop deluding yourselves, and suspending your moral judgment for paychecks that don't amount to much. You will wake up with the miserable realization that you've forgotten what a 'good person' really is! And probably won't have much of a career to boot! Oh and stop wearing those hideous suits...all of you. You look exceptionally cheesy and you're merely reaffirming the slimy salesman stereotype. Honestly! I'm sorry you were not admitted into the corporate world, but 'attempting' to dressing for it isn't really helping you get there when you're still a door-to-door phone salesman!

Cheers!
Brittany

Oddly Enough
Indianapolis, Indiana
U.S.A.