Highlight NY, Jambas Promotions, Quantum Events, Heather SCAM! Company name changed from Jambas team promotion to Highlight Promotions Glen Cove New York
As a recent college graduate I like everyone else went job searching. I became aware very quickly of all the scam companies out there....Dynasty Promotions, cutco, NY promotions, and Jambas Team Promotions especially. I recieved an e-mail from a company called Highlight NY. They were looking to fill 9 positions. Some management, some marketing etc...
I went for my first interview with Heather and she seemed very professional and very nice. One of my questions to her directly was "are you affiliated with any companies like Dynasty promotions or New York Promotions" she said she had not heard of either and could assure me everything that Highlight does is on the up and up.
I was asked what my desired salary would be. I told her i just graduated im not looking to get rich quick, I realize i need to work my way up. She said Entry level starts at 30,000 a year. Fine, that seemed normal.
I was told to wait by my phone and if i were chosen for a second interview i would be notified between 4 and 6. I was called back for a second interview the next day. Glen Cove is an hour and a half from where I live, this was not an easy trip. I showed up for my interview and found 4 other people besides myself that were there for the same thing.
We were each pulled into a room separately for introductions. Each of us left with two other people from Highlight NY. We signed a form stating we would not be paid for anything we did or sold that day.
I was told over the phone to dress in what I wore for the interview. Which was dress slacks, suit jacket, and a sweater. I was told that I would be going to an event to see what the company was all about. Fine, seemed a little odd but didn't think much of it.
I was quizzed by someone who had been with the company for 9 months about my marketing experience then was given a brief lesson about marketing. It wasn't until we were 5 minutes away that I was told where we were going.
We went to a Home Depot in a not so nice area and represented a Missing Children Charity known as CPEA. I was pretty pissed because while I was told the "event" would not be glamourous, i did not think i would be soliciting people. What we sold were flashlights that made halloween noises, safety calendars, and t-shirts. They also had fingerprinting for children for an Amber Alert ID card which was nice.
What put the icing on the cake was when the girl i was with told me to call a credit card in for a sale made (or contribution as she put it). She had given me her phone, and she dialed the number and handed it to me. I dont know why i thought this was odd but it struck a negative chord in me and i looked at the number she had just called right before hanging up.
It read "Jambas". My heart sank and i knew i had been scammed. I had read about this company numerous times and had i known Highlight and Jambas were one in the same i never would have continued on.
I asked "why the name change" and i could tell she became very uncomfortable. She said it was because of something someone said on ripoff report. They stated that Jambas Team Promotions takes 95% of the contribution and 5% goes to the charity. Which is true, she stated. Highlight NY also takes 95% of the contribution and 5% goes to charity, so no difference there.
I do not believe that for a second, there is no way a company would change their name because of what 1 person said via the internet. They probably changed it because everyone associated Jambas with SCAM.
That wasn't the only thing, the girl i was with handed me a white binder containing some info about the company and some of their clients. One of the clients in the binder was D.A.R.E. which is represented by NY Promotions but apparently not Highlight/Jambas. I asked the girl with me if NY Promotions was affiliated with Highlight NY. she said "kind of, we are all part of a company called Quantum Events"
Heather, the hiring manager and apparently owner of Highlight NY told me she had NEVER heard of NY Promotions. Lies. I cannot believe i was scammed even when i told Heather I did not want to work for a scam company. You would think that would give THEM a red flag not to call me back for a second interview!
I went to lunch with the girl i was with (she was very nice and i dont want to badmouth her because she is not the problem here, hence me not using her name) and asked about salary. She gave a bit of a jumbled response and in that response said 30,000 a year for entry level. So I said ok so what does the weekly paycheck look like.
She said 350 a week. So i said is that with or without taxes being taken out? she said "without". Now to me, 30,000 a year is around 600 a week Gross pay. Net pay maybe around 500. This gave another red flag.
I did not stick around for the entire time, after lunch i had someone pick me up and left, not wanting to feed into this scam anymore. The other gentlemen i was with was unaware he would be making less than 350 a week. He, like me assumed 30,000 a year meant around 600 gross pay a week. When i informed him of what went on at lunch he wasnt happy and will be looking into the situation.
Do not go for an interview with this company if you are looking for a marketing position. There is no marketing initially. I didn't stick around long enough to find out what happens later but the girl i was with had been with the company 9 months and was still doing sales, the same thing i was doing on day one. I dont even want to call it sales, it's soliciting. You could tell the people at Highlight NY were all trained the same way, they were like robots. Cultish even. Not for me, be aware if you decide to interview for this job.
Anonymous
Suffolk County, New York
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
anonymous
United States of AmericaEx Employee - Report is TRUE
#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, April 28, 2011
As an ex employee of "Highlight" I can assure to all that this original report is all true. From day one, I was skeptical, and nothing ever seemed honest. I can assure you that it is possible to make some money here, but you have to be prepared to sit outside every day and sell the most useless products. One of the keys to being in sales is having faith in the products you sell, and I can assure you that I would never buy any of the things sold by highlight.
Also, nothing is ever "sold." They are a "promotions" company, "promoting their clients products."I wouldn't waste another minute of my time there, and I'm very glad I left within the first month. ... and yes, they absolutely try to brainwash you, thinking everything is real and legit.
may flowers
United States of AmericaPyramid structure - brainwashing - no $
#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, May 12, 2010
I agree with everything stated in the above article. I got hired at Jambas right out of school - I started the day after graduation and was very thankful to have a job. I was with "Jambas" for about 7 weeks, I got "promoted" after 2 weeks only to find out I would then be conducting interviews and DECIDING if that person got hired or not. They make it appear as though Heather is doing the hiring but it really is the person you are out on a shadow with for the day since they will be the one who has to pay you the first $50 of their sales per day while you are starting out before you too get "promoted." You have to drive all over long island, up above new york city and also stanton island - your own gas, your own miles, your own space for both your trainee and all of the stuff you have to cart with you - table, banner, the stuff you're selling. My paychecks continued to dwindle down to only about $50 to $200 per week depending on how much stuff I could get people to buy from me. I started feeling more and more uncomfortable and began letting the people I was interviewing know to RUN the other way. I needed to stay there until I found another job so I toughed it out the last couple of weeks until I could leave. I was most hurt because I thought Heather was my friend as with the other girls there - they really really do a great job of being so down to earth and they even offer to advance you money and try to make you very comfortable. Bottom line is it's a lot of empty promises and it's a pyramid setup. There is NO getting around that. They will tell you it's not but it most definitely is - as soon as your first couple weeks are over you DO pay the person below you directly out of what you make. I definitely learned a lot from the whole experience but it leaves a very bad feeling in my stomach and I would highly suggest STAYING AWAY! You'd be better off working anywhere, carwash, fastfood restaurant, whatever than here. It is not reliable money at all and it is SO stressful. The hours get longer and longer - my days were turning in 12 and 14 hour days by the time I was 7 weeks in. 0 mins ago by may flowers 0 Votes Oh and everything is just mind games - they had me tell the person I was interviewing with to move their car around back if it was in front or around front if it was in back - just to maintain dominance and show them I was in charge. There were motivational meetings/trainings for 2 hours every morning - you're not allowed to sit down during this time but you have to take notes for a lot of it. You also do a lot of practive pitching of tshirts and other items over and over - it IS very motivational and the team feels very close - they DO get in your head - they put down most other career choices as not being enough money and they talk about how great Jambas/Highlights is - they make you believe the stats they tell you and are very persuassive - and like i said before - down to earth, friendly, energetic - i generally enjoyed this all at first until I caught on. Now I feel dumb for not catching on sooner. You also need to look energetic at your table all day so you are not allowed to sit down while you're out at a home depot or the beach or a grocery store or wherever you are. Sometimes you have to stand in the sun all day or outside in the cold. Sometimes stores will be nice and let you stay inside but you have to ask and it's a big "to do".
Anonymous
United States of AmericaIt surely is a scam.
#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, December 07, 2009
My story is the same as stated in the original report. At the time that I was working with the company, employees like myself, were sent to what were called "leadership conferences," which took place all over the country. We would be sent all over creation only to find out we weren't being paid for it. Wouldn't a legitimate company pay its employees for taking business trips? In my time working with Highlight NY, it cost me far more money to work there than I was actually making. It was a heartbreaking realization. I think it's a crime.
oceanclub
United States of Americayes it is a scam
#6General Comment
Tue, November 10, 2009
I did not work for this specific company but I worked for a similar company in Oklahoma City called SW Global Promotions. I had just moved to Oklahoma and had no job. The ad looked great. No experience required-great earning potential and so on. I was amazed that these people called me less than 24 hours after I submitted my resume to them but didnt really think much of it then. The woman that called me told me to dress "business professional" because I would be interviewed by the "executive vice president". First off, the place was very hard to find and when I walked in, there were 3 others there for the same thing. The so called executive vice president looked like he was fresh out of high school and he asked me if I liked to make money and have fun doing it, which I thought to be very odd questions for an interview. I explained to him that I did not want to work on commission and had turned down a job offer because it was 100% commisson. If he was the least bit ethical, he would have ended the interview there since the job is commission only but he didnt tell me that. The interview wasnt very long and it didnt seem like a real interview. He told me that only a select few would be called back for another interview (the truth is everyone gets called for the 2nd interview) That afternoon, I was called in for a second interview and was told I would be paired up with one of the "account managers", who turned out to be a young girl probably about 19 or so who had only worked there for about 4 months. We left in her car and went to the other side of town to a Walgreens. Along the way, she was asking me questions like why I wanted to work, what my goals were, and so on. We get to the Walgreens and set up a table with all the cheesy merchandise and try to sell it to people going into and out of the store. It was here that she told me the job was striucly commission, 35% of what we sell that day but 50% if we work on the weekend. I was livid but I kept my cool. I stood there for about 3 more hours and then the girl asked me what I thought so far. I told her I wanted to leave and she said I couldnt because we rode in her car and I would have to wait until she left. I told her either she takes me back to my car or I am calling a cab to come pick me up. There was another girl with us and she told her to hold down the fort while she drove me back to the office. On the way back she told me I was wasting a great opportunity. I didnt care. This quantum marketing seemingly owns hundreds of companies just like this and there MO is always the same. It is disgusting.
MetsFan31
USAThis is NOT a scam!
#6
Tue, September 01, 2009
As someone who is an employee of the company I can tell you the truth about this place. I've only been there a few months. I too read the SCAM stories about this place, but unlike most I don't believe everything I read. I decided to check this place out. In order to see if this story was true I needed to at least work long enough for one pay check. The company does several marketing campaigns at once. Every single thing with the company is legit. The reason they say you make about $30,000 a year is because...
1) You determine how much you make by your sales.
2)As long as you do what is needed to get into management, once there you make more money. It takes about 6-9 months.
I've seen it happen 1st hand while there. What bothers me is that one bad review from someone on an interview has hurt Heather's rep so bad that the company name needed to be changed. As for NY Promotions, I've actually been to that office in Deer Park. They are a division of a larger company that Highlight is also part of. They do the same things we do...market and promote quality/proven products that cost less than anywhere else. Why do they cost less? The same reason you buy things so cheap in BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club...we get it in bulk. As for the charity and DARE thing, I don't do that campaign, but I know for sure that a portion of the procedes do go to charity. If they were to say that ALL the procedes go to charity then it would be a scam. The situation with the credit cards is rediculous. Why would we carry around these expensive electronic devices to run CC's when they can be stolen? We call our office and have the cards run that way. Then they give us the approval code to inform the customer that the card went through. I know this b/c I've had the opportunity to run these cards for ppl in the office.