Granton Marketing, DS-Max, And Extended Family... Pyramid, scam, door to door sales, ripoff, steal, lie, fraud, cult, waste of time. San Diego, Orange County, Any Town, USA, Etc. California and all others
If you haven't figured it out already. Yes, it is true, if you have woken up overwhelmed with anxiety from your current profession, a position with DS-Max might be the salvation you are looking for.
First, follow one of the plentiful ads that can found in just about any newspaper and practically flood any internet related job site. You know the ones that boast of expanding business opportunities, entry level, paid training, Fortune 500 Clients! What a dream come true, and what a great way to begin a career in Marketing.
Once your resume is sent, you can expect a call back soon so be ready to start! How can you be sure that you'll make the cut? Here's the secret. EVERYONE DOES! Excellent, so now get ready for your interview. Don't be shocked if you have much more experience, training, education, knowledge, intelligence, sales and or marketing experience then the individual handling the interview. They have Juice and you don't!
There will be much talk of the future, what path you will take and how you will, in 6-8 months be opening up your own office and making an easy six figure income. As long as you loose complete touch with reality, become a mindless drone, and have faith in the law of averages. But it will happen!
After the interviewer reassures you that he/she is making much more money then they will likely ever see, you will be offered a second interview. An entire day of observation to see what makes these cats tick and why there are so many d**n people coming in and out of the shell of an office you are sitting in.
Up until now, you might still be excited at the wonderful opportunity that is at your fingertips. Everything is coming together just as you had hoped and now this great job! But wait, what exactly do these people do?
Oh, they left that part out in the initial interview so you can absorb it all first hand on your, and oh, about 10 others' "Day of O." You'll arrive at the office and wait a while for your escort to grab you on their way out. "To where?" you might ponder. "Another office? A meeting of some sort?" No, just the field, and be prepared, if you drove to the office, chances are, your driving out into the field. And to all those who might wonder what one does in the field, there is only one answer. YOU SELL! Or try to at least.
YOU SELL? Yes, you sell, and that is all. Sell what? Sell where? Depending on what situation you fell into or which ad you replied to, you could be doing anything from ringing residential doorbells to soliciting at gas stations, any one and anything that has money. Armed with Cracker Jack sales training and reinforced confidence (from chanting all morning before you got to the office) your escort(s) will show you the secrets to slingin' coupons, crappy merchandise, or possibly office supplies.
SOLICITATION at it's finest. Door to door sales. Some things I picked up from some of the finest DS-Max representatives:
1. Everyone else hates their job; that is why they are not friendly to annoying solicitation and not looking forward to door to door sales tactics.
2. You are lucky; you get to be outside, talk to lots and lots of people every day. Hopefully 100-200. :) So Smile.
3. When selling in a multi-level building, (which entails attempting to enter/sell to every single office on every single floor) the key is to hop floors. Hop floors? Yes, start on lets say, the top floor 36, then go to 2, then back to 35, then 3, etc. Sounds silly, what's the catch? Well, hopefully not you. The reasoning behind this tactic to evade security which will most likely be called, ON YOU!
Although there is lots of chanting, hooting, and bizarre rituals; and although many, most, or all of the devoted employees live together, probably in one room; and although most of these same individuals have no friends outside the organization and lack any respectable social or family life; it is not a cult.
DS-Max is simply a second or third rate for that matter, pyramid structured, door to door sales organization. Preying on the unemployed and ignorant, DS-Max relies on an incredibly high turnover to spew out a few believers that will eventually ruin their own lives to make others a few extra dollars. Most offices are terribly unorganized, under funded, and unprofessional in every aspect.
I could continue with countless stories of fresh 'Day of O' hopefuls, some who actually stayed the entire day, some who couldn't speak any English. Yes there are many tales to be shared, but my point has been made.
If it has not, then put your walking shoes on, clear your throat, and get ready to chant and bond with your new family. You have a lot of merch to move and a lot of NO's to hear. And don't mind those NO SOLICITATION signs, those aren't meant for you!
Jason
San Diego, California
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on ds-max, dsmax, ds/max, granton marketing, cydcor
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Hiro
Sacramento,California,
U.S.A.
Leroy Patton is a ex-con that has spend over 18 years in prison and has made a life out of preying on the weak.
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, November 22, 2003
Wasted 8mo and $$$ from scam called ds max
My name is Hiro and I used to work with the Cydcor branch of Ds max. I worked in front of Walmarts and K-marts at a table playing on people's sympathy for missing kids to buy junk. Yes. junk... Things in a box for 1/2 price is what we used to call it. They claim to represent a missing kids organization called CPEA but that organization only gets 5% of the profits and they made us "the distributors" do all the free stuff like pitch safety to kids and parents and fingerprint them for free.
I got tired of calling people over to the table everyday so I switched to the clearance division of the company called "INNOVAGE". This was no better. I made a little more money at this branch but I spent it faster. I has to give the owner Leroy Patton some sort of security deposit everytime I turned in a check, which i never got back, I was forced to pay for other people's rent a car because Leroy told us he was short vehicles to get us to the field.
When I did not want to pay the car fee, he put me on a foot order for a week straight, a foot order is when you are told to walk down the street with a couple of boxes of junk in a box for 1/2 price and pitch everyone we saw. Beg,lie,cheat and steal is what they told us to do in order to sell the stuff.
There was supposed to be no sales quotas as a independent distributors but when I did not hit the bell, $80 in profit, (sell over $400 in merch to get $80) he made us go mandatory night merching which meant i had to go to every bar, club, jimboys, tacobell, in the sacramento area to sell just enough to reach my bell or they told me I would not train until I reached the goal. They told me I was there to train and build a crew. I had a very nice girl on my crew who was about to get promoted to leader/trainer status,(phase two of the pyramid) the owner Leroy told me he was going to fire her because she looked too good and was distraction to the office. Leroy accused her of having sex with everyone in the office and finally after weeks of harrassment, she quit.
I still keep in touch with her because one of the good things in this business is that all of us that has and still work there has gone through the hell so we get to be pretty close friends. I finally quit when Leroy told me I was going on a foot order again, this time in the rain. I just looked at him like he was crazy and walked out. I feel sorry for the guys and the gals that still work there under that b*****d.
Leroy Patton is a ex-con that has spend over 18 years in prison and has made a life out of preying on the weak. anyone who answers a ad that claims to give out postions as a clerical, warehouse, and customer service really means sales sales door to door in the sun or the rain. Job lookers beware!! ask them if this a subsidiary of ds max, cydcor, gratton marketing, innovage, and etc.
Erik
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Wake Up Anthony, Granton Marketing, DS-Max, they think anyone that walks away from the company are quitters bound to spend there lives rummaging through trash cans
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, November 21, 2003
Who said anything about failing? Even better, who said that we couldn't "do" it? By "doing it" are you referring to going door to door selling rejected Wal-Mart merchandise to unsuspecting housewives? So is takes a "certain caliber to achieve it" to go door to door for 6 days a week. Please, even girl scouts go door to door I hate to tell you but its not exactly rocket science. The problem with people who are currently involved with DS-Max, granton, cydcor, ivonage, ect. ect, is that they think anyone that walks away from the company are quitters bound to spend there lives rummaging through trash cans for food. Quite the contrary Anthony, normally it's the people that stay with DS-Max's "opportunity" that end up scraping to make ends meet. Countless lives have been ruined by DS-Max's unethical business practices and brainwashing tactics. Not to mention the thousands of people a day that get ripped off by your crappy products. You're "business" is a sham Anthony, deal with it. I also hope that you don't truly believe that you are running your own business. Did you get to pick what city you went too? How about what product you sell? Sorry Anthony youre a puppet because when thing start to slow down (and trust me they will) we'll see who's calling the shots when your regional manager shows up with a new "owner" to "help" you out for awhile.
I hope that you wake up soon... because the longer you are involved the worst the nightmare becomes.
Good Luck,
James
Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Sorry Anthony, you are out of your league... Your response is so typical of DSM
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, November 21, 2003
Your response is so typical of DSM, you attack the things you know little about. You also do so in a manner that best befits a child looking forward to the second grade.
I am not trying to be insulting, but your post is entirely illegible. I can only gather that you are pro-Granton. Your "insults" are very typical of the type of people who wish they could attain more in their lives.
The truth is, your owner didn't get the city of his choice, nor the company name of his choice. And, perhaps the bitterest truth of all, is that your owner makes little more than a 9 to 5 "cow".
I implore all of you who beleive in this system, to take a good look at the car your owner drives, at the home your owner lives in, at the number of suits your owner wears in a week. Is it really that much? Probably not. What do you think your owner makes in a year? What has he/she told you he/she makes in a year? Does it add up?
Anthony
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Corporate America doesn't disclose the real issues at hand
#8UPDATE Employee
Fri, November 21, 2003
Here is the situation,
Human Beings are negative by anythiny that challenges their people skills. The granton/DS Max thing is a performance based business which is exactly told to people in my office, Chicago at least. I really don't give a s**t to defend anyones opinion, but I have worked for Starbucks as a GM and had my own company. The opportunity is real however the business brings to face personality flaws people have such as the under performer Jason and friends that bash something they couldn't do. Of course you are pissed, you failed. Owners don't treat people or tell them any of your little discrepencies.
Corporate America doesn't disclose the real issues at hand such as lay offs and downsizing or what they really feel about their employees. Granton franchises are hard work and countless effort. It takes a certain calibur to achieve it, and by the way, the lack of intelligence of what a pyramid scheme means only reinforces why these under achievers couldn't accomplish the task at hand. Nobody is ever guranteed anything in this company, however if you are a real intense and intelligent human being at what business models offer and their infrastructure, maybe your website and its complaints would be justified. Thanks for motivation to know that no seniority is the real deal in Granton, cause you were passed and dropped.
Best Wishes
Chris
Fullerton,California,
U.S.A.
AMD's Get screwed too at Granton!
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, August 20, 2003
Jason and Bethany, I may have signed restaurants for you guys. This organization (cult) doesn't care about anyone. A couple AMD's like myself have broken free of the Granton bondage, we pay our poeple twice as much, and they can legitamately advance to an AMD, thats part of the program. The Granton DS MAX concept is great, but the execution was bad , very bad. It is very MALIGN. We only do restaurants and we're taking the service to the next level, we write the reviews, print full color, everything.
Bethany
San Diego,California,
U.S.A.
what you wrtoe was very accurate and well writen.
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, August 07, 2003
Hey Jason..it's Bethany for Cooks office, now I don't know for sure if this was you or not?
I'd love to see how you are doing.
- Your thankfully ex co-worker
P.S. If this is or isn;t the right Jason, I have to say that what you wrtoe was very accurate and well writen.
Todd
Pomona,California,
U.S.A.
Perfect Jason
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, March 19, 2003
I've said alot on this sight - don't want to take attention from you. Your response is great. I was working in San Diego a bit. What office were you out of? Good luck to you.