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Dollar Store Services DRSS, Discount Retail Store Services, Party Store Developers, Mailbox Center Developers EX-EMPLOYEES TELL ALL Las Vegas Nevada
THE TRUTH ABOUT DOLLAR STORE SERVICES-DRSS-DISCOUNT PARTY STORES –MAIL BOX CENTERS
We were let go from the company about November of 2014. We waited till our unemployment was finished before giving out this information. We will be 100% truthful even thou it will show that we are also low life. Even when we knew the truth about DRSS we stayed and lied to clients about the most important details because we were told to follow policy.
Let’s start in the dollar store division. We were told to tell prospects that they would get 20%-25% discount on all the products they bought from their connections. At 1st we all thought this was true. I have opened about 35 dollar stores and my friend has open about 20 dollar stores or mail box store combined. These discounts are 100% false.
Merchandise is the most important part of the store. If you cannot get great products at a reasonable price then you’re out of business fast.
From our research our clients tell us that about half of the dollar store products sit on the shelves after the store opens and the items that do sell will cost about 85 cents each plus freight. Freight is included on all opening orders and then may be negotiable. The company tells you the average cost of merchandise is about 54-55 cents. This may be true on the opening order because your store is filled with mostly junk and some good selling brand names. They even say on their web site that they save you 20%-25% on merchandise. THINK ABOUT IT-YOU’RE BUYING MERCHANDISE CHEAPER THAT DOLLAR TREE??--IN THEIR PARTY DIVISION THEY SAY YOU ARE BUYING PRODUCT 35% CHEAPER THAT PARTY CITY??-YOU HAVE TO BE INSANE TO BELIEVE ALL OF THIS .DRSS even records all conversations and they know their reps all spilling this garbage.
Reference’s-HERE IS A BIG JOKE-reps are told only to use new stores as references because they are still excited about opening a new business. As of late 2014 DRSS had opened about 3200 stores but only had about 425 opened at that time. We had to change our cell numbers because too many of our clients were calling and begging for help. GOD couldn’t help these store owners.
They tell you that your dollar store location should generate about $185 per square foot per year in business. Even if that was true and it is not, you can’t keep the doors opened when your markup is about 15%.-20%.
FINANCE-If you use their suggested financing you will be getting as many as 8-20 credit cards and told not to cash them until you get instructions from them to liquidate the cards so you can pay DRSS and your new landlord. The next month your FICO score just dropped to about 500 not the 700 plus you had. Your credit is now almost worthless. If you pay cash or use your 401 you can say bye to your money. I CAN PROVIDE YOU OF MANY STORE OWNERS THAT CAN TELL YOU THE SAME OR JUST READ THE COMPLAINTS LISTED ON RIP OFF REPORTS. The credit cards may give you a grace period of no interest and your DRSS finance rep will convince you that you will make enough profit in that time to pay off the credit cards before your free interest rate is up. No store has ever ACCOMPLISHED THIS FEAT. Think about this. If you get $70,000-$100,000 on credit cards and your free interest is for about 1 year, your payment will be about $6,000-$8000 per month to pay them off before your 15%-20% interest rate starts. Only a few stores can even sell that amount of merchandise a month. Maybe if your store was over 5000 feet you may sell that much. Most store are only 1000ft -2000ft in size. There lucky, very lucky to even last one year. READ THE RIP OFF REPORTS.
They will tell you that a store will average $185 per foot each year. Let’s take a small store, maybe 1000 square feet. At these low numbers you should generate $185,000 in business your 1st year. Your average mark may be about 25% if you are very lucky and you won’t be. This should generate about $46,000 per year in profit. If your rent is only $2000 per month and your loan payment is just $5000 per month that alone comes to $84,000 paid out in the 1st year not counting insurance, utilities, pay roll and so much more. The numbers don’t lie. You take in $46,000 gross profit and payout at least $84,000 in the 1st year. You’re short about $38,000 plus all the other overhead each month. Your next step will be close the store and probably file bankruptcy later in the year. The larger the store the larger your loss will be.
COMMISSION-
We all make commission from your store. Sales reps, finance reps, site location reps and real estate department reps. DRSS has their owned licensed Real Estate company that will also take a very hefty commission when completing the lease. Many clients have told me that they could get a better location on their own for almost 40%-50% lower. We all have the same goal. Get your store open and make our commission. One good thing I will say about DRSS. The owner does try to find a viable site where you may have some hope of survival. One problem with this is there a list of shopping centers that have banned DRSS from getting sites for your store. The shopping center owners or reps have had too many DRSS stores close in the past.
You don’t have to believe me. Go on line and look up all the stores they have opened in the past 5 years on You Tube. Then Google those stores and talk to the store owners if they are still open. Look on DRSS own web site and Google their store owners and see what they have to say. If they are still open.
Party Stores and Mail Box Centers. They got so desperate for a good reference they even hired a current mail center owner in Las Vegas to come in and call prospect Mail Center owners and tell them about his store. For some reason he did not last long as a sales rep. At this time his store may still be open. I think he is one of the few success stories that DRSS has. But if his store was doing so well why did he need a job at DRSS.
More about store references. They pay their stores to be a reference if a prospect calls you and you say good things about DRSS. New store owners will say good things the first few months. Once they start complaining they will come off the reference list. DRSS does have a few successful dollar stores over the years. Most of them will tell you once they found their merchandise on their own they had a chance of actually stay in business for a few years.
I could go on for days telling you the horror stories that clients have told me or the other reps had shared with me. DRSS will of course defend themselves. They will show you how rip off report is a scam web site. It may be but ALL the people complaining about hundreds or thousands of businesses can’t be just making it up to help Rip Off Report. Thousands of individuals make complaints on Rip Off Report about hundreds of larger companies than DRSS. Since DRSS is a small company they only generate a few complaints. Most of their complaints are true but one is exaggerated. I wonder how many complaints DRSS would get if the 3500 store owners that have open a store with DRSS knew about Rip Off Report? DRSS even blocks access in their building so most employees cannot look up the complaints on Rip Off Reports. Most of us were not aware off all the problems at DRSS until after we had been there for a while but most of us still stayed scamming clients because we needed the job. We both have to be honest. If we had not been fired we would still be working and scamming at DRSS or Dollar Store Services or Mail Box Centers or Party Store Developers. We have talked to many ex-employees of DRSS and they all say about the same things. We knew we were scamming clients but we needed the job. One guy we know worked there for 6-7 years and he knew what was going on but still defends the company even after he was also fired last year. He is either an idiot or a psychopath. No one in the company that we have known really wants you to fail but there was nothing we could do about it. They told us about 80% of all small startup business fails in the 1st two years. DRSS will not tell you this number because you would never open a store with them. If 80% is average with all new business I wonder what DRSS numbers would be. Maybe 95% failure in the 1st two years??? Maybe even more than 95%, we can only guess because DRSS does not give out those numbers.
Can we prove all that we have reported in this complaint? Probably not but we know are numbers are close. Are we mad at ourselves for working there? Probably not. We were scum doing this to clients. Are we mad at DRSS? Maybe a little angry but also relieved. My blood pressure was off the charts when I was working there and now it’s about normal for a person my age.
I could leave you a phone number or email address to contact me but I think other complaints have email addresses in them from actual store owners. They can tell you 1st hand.
I wish you luck and hope some of you found this report before buying a store from DRSS. DRSS will call us liars and afraid to say who we are. We all signed non-compete contracts and could possibly be sued by DRSS for telling what we know. Why is the FTC not knocking on their doors? They may be but DRSS is broken up into many smaller companies for tax benefits and may be under the radar. Also store owners may not have complained enough to the FTC. We don’t know but DRSS is not a franchise so they don’t have to follow all the same rules of dis closure.
GOOD LUCK-Even if 1% of this is true you should run. In this case we think 100% is the truth.
6 Updates & Rebuttals
Voice Of Truth
Alabama,USA
Agree Completely
#7Consumer Comment
Wed, April 27, 2016
Initially, you are told "Funding" and "Loans." It is only after they believe they have sold you on this opportunity, that the actual "Funding" is revealed as credit cards, HOWEVER, even after being told credit cards, you are told 4-5 credit cards, not 8+ credit cards.
We were unsure about moving forward after finding out credit cards would be used. After, several telephone conversations we decided to move forward, anyway and proceed with "Funding Approval" as they call it.
Now, let us move on to the comments from the owner on the original post.
Representatives DO tell you how much you will make per sq. ft., per year, make comparisons to other stores yes, they NAME stores and, they also tell you, the credit cards WILL be paid off before interest kicks in. You can refer to your "Literature and what your sales staff is INSTRUCTED to give" all you want, these are things that are said to us, when your people are trying to seal the deal.
The original poster did not claim the "Minimum Payments" would be $6,000-8,000, he/she simply stated the payment REQUIRED to pay the balances off before interest kicks in would be $6,000-8,000. Do the math, this is not a lie as you claim!
We also asked about a bank loan after being told about the credit cards. We were told "Credit Cards are your only option. You should be happy, this eliminates the need for a bank." How was that OUR decision?
We started looking at spaces, when we were waiting for the final credit card approvals to come through and, we were yelled at for seeking out a location. We were told "You can't look for a location! WE look for the location! WE find the best location for you!" Now, since, you want to keep referring to "Your Literature", YOUR LITERATURE states YOU, AS STORE OWNER approve the location.......the look and feel of a large franchise, while leaving you in total control of your business......soooo, why were we yelled at for seeking a location?
Being yelled at for trying to take part in our own store really took the excitement out of opening a store.
This was going to be OUR business and, we should have been able to participate in any and every aspect we chose to! Seeking a location was part of the excitement and, when we couldn't even do that, the excitement was gone and, the fear from the debt we were about to accumulate set in.
The final approvals actually turned out to be denials so, between being yelling at and only receiving enough in credit cards to open the store, we chose not to move forward. Being yelled at by your staff screwed you out of our money and kept it on our cards! BRAVO to you and your sales staff for that one!
Let me clarify the funding received for those still having questions on this one. We received enough in credit cards for store opening and nothing more---We had no money to buy food or pay our own bills! How were WE supposed to survive? Consider this when making your decision on whether to move forward.
Making the decision not to move forward is when it really got fun! Mention a refund and everyone in the company calls you trying to talk you into moving forward. The person you were dealing with is no longer with the company so, this wasn't documented and that wasn't documented. Then, someone else will tell you the person you were dealing with had a death in the family and has been out of the office for that. She didn't document this or that so, we can't verify. No one has been monitoring her emails so, that's why no one has gotten back with you. Excuse after excuse.
Once, they know you are not going to move forward your calls and emails are ignored. It was only after contacting the BBB that I finally started receiving phone calls. They will not email you. They don't want you to have written proof of anything, so, it will be phone calls that you receive, at this point.
During these phone calls, they will tell you, you will receive a refund but, in their responses to the BBB they fight giving a refund. And, amazingly, once they are responding to the BBB, they suddenly have the emails that they didn't have two weeks ago. Ultimately, after fighting and refusing to give up, we did end up getting a refund.
The sales person we were dealing with called us in October 2015 and asked if were still looking to open a store and offered us a discount. Ummmmmm, I DON'T THINK SO!
And, I wouldn't be so smug about the "Lack of Complaints." Many people just don't want to bother with it, others are ashamed that they allowed this to happen and, many more don't realize these websites exist! The complaints that you do find all pretty much have the same complaints......GOOGLE AND BING, PEOPLE---DO YOUR RESEARCH!
Texas Client
Texas,USA
Time to be honest DRSS!
#7Consumer Comment
Sat, August 22, 2015
Being a client of DRSS, I will most certainly call you out on A few of your rebuttals towards your ex employees.
REFERENCE - FINANCING - COMPLAINTS - I was a reference for your company for a few months. I was also discovering things about your company. I felt that it was in my best interest to share this information with your references. I advised them not to finance with lines of credit. DRSS told me when I financed that I would receive a loan. They NEVER stated that it would be 9 credit cards. I believed that & as these credit cards began coming my way, I still believed that there would be a loan & that the cards would be used torwards working capital & utilized upon my discretion. With a credit score of 765 that would tell you that I was a responsible individual & not a negligent individual by maxing out 9 credit cards. I even asked about a business plan. I was told not to worry DRSS was taking care of my business plan. Why didn't you just say that I wouldn't need one because I would end up with 9 credit cards & that would be my financing? Because you KNOW that you would have lost my business. EXACTLY CORRECT! That's DECEPTION! I shared that information with your references. I also told them how my credit score dropped from 765 to 500. One day, I was contacted by Christina Olmos who no longer works for you and her exact words were "can you please stop telling the potential clients about the credit card thing because your scaring them away." Wow! Is all I could think of. As long as I was souping your company up it was gravy. however, telling the truth was scaring them away. Why didn't y'all tell me the truth? In response to Christina, I asked to be removed from the reference list if I couldn't be honest. Had you viewed my financial condition properly, you would have seen that my credit was outstanding, my bills were paid on time, I did not have much debt & YOU SHOULD HAVE APPLIED FOR A BANK LOAN AS YOU PROMISED ME! DRSS never communicated types of loan(s) as you put it. I even asked for a SBA loan & was told that the loan trough the bank that you go through would be much quicker. YOU SHOULD HAVE STATED THAT THEY WERE CREDIT CARDS! Complaints - Great record? Stop the madness! It cost roughly $2000 to have negative complaints removed And know of at least 20 of your clients that's VERY pissed with DRSS, yes, I have a list so let's not be so confident with your company's so called excellent track record. Why not take ALL the videos down of your store closures & see how that minimizes the look for your company. DRSS, why not inform your potential clients about your clauses in your contracts as well? Let them know that once they sign the contract and find out what your really about, they have signed away their rights to take legal action against you for your deception and fraud you put them through.
Those employees accusations "are the TRUTH!" I actually commend them for speaking up and being honest about DRSS and even placing themselves line of fire.
Taken Advantage
san francisco,California,
USA
HaHaHaHa!!!!! This is too funny , James , the owner
#7General Comment
Sat, July 25, 2015
James,
Your lining your pockets with all our hard earn money and don't give a sh*t about families loosing their homes and claiming bankruptcy so of course your going to write this rebuttal because you don't want the gravy train to end.
Listen anyone reading this I have all my documentation from the over priced build out to the merchandised purchased by DRSS that had a lot of .80 to .85 items to the low end junk that dollar tree doesn't sell and sits on your selves.
Please don't listen to James (THE OWNER) he needs you to believe him because he enjoys crushing people' lives while he itakes those $60,000, $90,000, $100,000 what ever big cashiers checks he gets and laughs to the bank, goes home, kicks back and looks at his bank account and laughs again.
Guess what your days are numbered and the JOKE WILL BE ON YOU!!!!!!
my name is Martcia Calvillo and my e-mail is samps10@yahoo.com and I have a growing list of Dollar Store owners so please e-mail and join us.
If you are a Mailbox, teen store or party store please joins us too. I am sure you had a similar experience
We need to get our lives back to where they were before handing all our money over to DRSS and celebrate after taking the BIG BULLY down.
REMEMBER I HAVE DOCYMENTATION THAT SUPPORTS WHAT I AM SAYING AND DRSS DOESN'T
James
Las Vegas,Nevada,
USA
RESPONSE TO RIP OFF REPORT OF PAUL AND DOUG DATED JULY 3, 2015
#7REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, July 24, 2015
RESPONSE TO RIP OFF REPORT OF PAUL AND DOUG DATED JULY 3, 2015
This is the company’s response to the posting filed by Paul and Doug, former sales representatives who were terminated due to dishonesty. A law suit against them is being prepared to combat the false, libelous, slanderous and other allegations made against the company and by extension the 80 hard working employees who focus every single day to make the dreams of our clients a reality.
The following response is in order of the posting. #1 - “lied to clients” is found in the last sentence of paragraph one of the posting. #2 – 20-25% discount on product is found in the 2nd sentence of paragraph two, and so forth…
Tree so their accusation is again a pure LIE.
We look forward to discuss this posting and our answers, please contact John LaFronz, General Manager of Dollar Store Services at ext. 134.
James Wichert
Owner
justice
South Carolina,USA
I affirm this report
#7Consumer Comment
Sat, July 11, 2015
I just wanted to say I can confirm everything in this report as I am a recent store owner. Within my first month of business I discovered product not moving, a lot of it, pricing that was incredibly off as it related to the cost of goods and my average cost was over $.80 when I factored in freight and MANY margins were only at 10%-15% and I discovered several products that were priced below my cost when they came and setup the store. I can also attest to the credit card "scheme" they use. You are setup to fail. Those are strong words but it is my experience. I would love to get every penny they scammed me for back.
Samps
San francisco,California,
USA
Thank you
#7Consumer Comment
Mon, July 06, 2015
thank you so much but I would love to talk to you i was a store owner that lost everything my number is 916-606-8700 thank you