Complaint Review: Modis

I recently visited the Modis IT recruiting agency in Syracuse, NY, for an interview with Susan Duenkel. My girlfriend was present with me upon arriving, as I was driving her to run some errands afterward. At all other employment agencies I've been to there has always been some sort of waiting room, so I figured this would be the same and it wouldn't cause any issues. 

Now before you say you should never bring someone along - it was over 90 degrees outside and I did not want her being stuck out in that sun for who knows how long, and there was nowhere else to wait but in their office's lobby. I'm also jobless, so running the car's A/C for 30+ minutes or driving 40 minutes back home to pick her up and driving back out is like burning money at this point. In addition, she is disabled with Cerebral Palsy, which is visible due to a gait and deformed hand, and she can't drive. Given the circumstances I thought they would be accommodating and understanding. 

Upon arriving Susan took a look at me, asked my name, then looked at my gf and asked "who is this" with a condescending voice. Before we could even talk she said "this is unprofessional and rude and disrespectful to me. Wait here." and stormed off to her office. 

We sat there in disbelief,  discussing what happened, when another employee came in and said Hi, and seemed friendly enough. After 5-6 minutes Susan came out and called me into the office. Before walking back she took another strange look at my girlfriend. I noticed nobody else was there except for her and the employee who walked in (nobody was at the front desk (at 2PM... odd?) , and her office was toward the back so it was obvious nobody else was there).

As if a switch was flipped she was nice to me when I was taking a seat, then when I tried to apologize she interrupted me and again repeated it was "rude and disrespectful to bring someone here like this". I finally got a chance to explain and she said "You should have left her in the car". When I tried telling her how hot it was outside and there was nowhere else for her to wait she told me "She is a complete distraction to the entire office sitting out there, in 17 years I've never had someone like that here", and that she couldn't wait here. 

At this point I was in her office sitting for at least 3-4 minutes, and all she did was prove how completely unprofessional she is. Suffice it to say, I said what was on my mind and stormed out. 

I find it hard to believe in 17 years of recruiting she has never had someone wait while an applicant was interviewed. Stuff happens, and sometimes it is hard to avoid. I've seen it happen in the past while being group interviewed, and even had a similar situation pop up for a candidate while I was on the hiring-end of things. I cannot help but think this entire issue was due to my gf's disability, given her comments and dagger-like glances. 

After getting out to the car and driving to our next destination I decided to call their corporate line and file a complaint. The representative who I spoke to, Jennifer, was very kind and understanding. She asked if I had contacted the manager myself, and when I told her no she said she would recommend doing so, but that she would also take a report.

I told her I understand having someone wait there is unorthodox, but this could have been handled better. Jennifer told me she agreed and she couldn't blame me given the circumstances; and that accommodations should have definitely been made. She said she would let the branch manager know right away so actions could be taken. 

After a couple of hours we got back home, and I tried calling the office to hopefully get a hold of the manager. According to the person who answered (Who's name sounded like Debbie, but I'm not positive) there "was no manager". When I told her employee relations asked me to contact the office's manager she again told me there was no manager and disconnected the call. 

I called the corporate line back right away and left a voicemail to try and get the manager's name. I still haven't heard back. 

So in the end there's nearly 20+ positions which were listed for the agency that I will be unable to apply for due to the recruiter's unwillingness to make accomodations for people who are just trying to get back up on their feet. I truly hope this post gets a higher-up's attention and Modis will do the right thing and make sure this never happens again. 

In the mean time, we are seriously considering filing state and federal complaints - since we feel this was very discriminatory.