Complaint Review: Titan Advertising / DS MAX

I am a fromer employee of Titan in Cincinnati, and I must say that although there is some shady practices going on, especially with the interveiwing process, I was treated with respect and well taken care of. In the beginning I had no money and was often broke because I had a 3 week waiting period before my first check. (I was in a new division that paid weekly.)

The owners often gave me money in the beginning to keep me a float, although deep down I know it was probably to keep me in a juicy attitude, and keep me from quitting. But regardless of that, it was still cool. I did make a alot of money there, over 8,000 dollars in a few months. But the shadiness of the mother company 'smart circle' made me feel aprehensive, especially after I meet all the big wigs at a Rally. When I went there to this rally, it was like being at a cult meeting, seriously. Either you beleive the lie, or you are just a neg head.

Getting 'promoted' is a God they serve, and for most it is the gold at the end of the rainbow, never to be reached. I have seen many come in this business not make it, and I have seen some make it. It does happen, but you have to be good at 2 things, 1) the feild (e.i: selling) 2) keeping a crew motivated and teach them how to sell. pretty simple, but not really. lol. From my understanding Most of the people I have read on here pretty much stunk at the feild and that is why they did not make it. I was pretty good at the feild, what I was not good at was keeping a good conscience! I often felt dirty working for Smart Circle, but you would be amazed what making 200-300 dollars a day will do to make you keep your juice. But after the summer I could not take it anymore, I quit.

I feel bad for my owner because he was not such a terrible guy, and I feel Titan in Cincy was one of the better offices to work at. But nonetheless it is still just another arm of smart circle and they control them, just like they do every single office! The owners make you beleive they own their office, the only thing they own is the lease! Smart Circle runs the show, and all the owners know it! There is a real opportunity in this business but you have to be a great salesman and be dishonest somewhat. I was not willing to compromise with my conscience no matter how much money I made. Oh and by the way, I am sorry to all the days of 'O' I took out, you must of been thinking that I was so brainwashed! Which I was....

I responded to a job posting for Titan Advertising in Cincinnati, OH on Career Builder as well. I checked out there website and everything seemed pretty legitimate. I was interested in a Marketing position, so I submitted my resume. Within a couple days I received a phone call and was told they were in a hurry to fill the positions and the only day I could come in to interview was tomorrow. The woman told me that they tell all of their interviewees to bring a resume and dress professionally. I thought to myself - "Well, duh..."

Well it turned out I had another appointment which conflicted with my interview, so I called to reschedule. Now, remember I was told that they were only conducting interviews that day. But the woman that answered had no problem rescheduling me for the next day. I still wasn't clear, so I asked, "Exactly what position am I interviewing for?" She responded, "Entry-level marketing & advertising." I said, "Okay." (I still wasn't sure).

So, the next morning I just had a really bad feeling about my upcoming interview. I looked at Career Builder again and saw the multiple postings for Titan Advertising - it just sounded so desperate. I know I can be naive and my gut was telling me not to fall for it this time!

So, I canceled my interview. This was a couple weeks ago and since then I have been promoted by my current employer (an established and reliable 130 year old company) to a position that I love.

Thank you for confirming my gut instincts!

I responded to a job posting for Titan Advertising in Cincinnati, OH on Career Builder as well. I checked out there website and everything seemed pretty legitimate. I was interested in a Marketing position, so I submitted my resume. Within a couple days I received a phone call and was told they were in a hurry to fill the positions and the only day I could come in to interview was tomorrow. The woman told me that they tell all of their interviewees to bring a resume and dress professionally. I thought to myself - "Well, duh..."

Well it turned out I had another appointment which conflicted with my interview, so I called to reschedule. Now, remember I was told that they were only conducting interviews that day. But the woman that answered had no problem rescheduling me for the next day. I still wasn't clear, so I asked, "Exactly what position am I interviewing for?" She responded, "Entry-level marketing & advertising." I said, "Okay." (I still wasn't sure).

So, the next morning I just had a really bad feeling about my upcoming interview. I looked at Career Builder again and saw the multiple postings for Titan Advertising - it just sounded so desperate. I know I can be naive and my gut was telling me not to fall for it this time!

So, I canceled my interview. This was a couple weeks ago and since then I have been promoted by my current employer (an established and reliable 130 year old company) to a position that I love.

Thank you for confirming my gut instincts!

I was called the other day to set up an interview. I had made it for today at 2:30pm. Amia was really eager to get me in there. A little bfore 1 while I was getting ready to go, I thought to myself, why does that name sound so familiar. Well, because I wasn't sure, I signed on to ripoffreport.com and looked them up. OMG, they were affiliated with Higher Image, a company that got me a few years ago. So, I decided to do some homework on them. When I called them before I cancelled my interview, I had asked them what they did and what responsiblities were going to be. Lisa, the one who answered, said that they advertise for the Reds, Cyclones and other teams as well as golf courses. So here's where the homeowrk came into play. I got ahold of a few representatives of the Reds, and guess what, they never heard of them. HAHA, go figure. So, I called back and Talked with one of the managers there and he said that Titan Advertising was an affiliate of Circle something, circle concepts or something similar. Sorry I forgot the whole name because I was so pissed and yelling at the guy to hear everything. he did say circle soemthing. So, I emailed the lady from the Reds again and asked her if that name sounded familiar. We'll see when she replies, by guess is no. I just emailed someone at the Cyclones so we shall see what they have to say as well. I will report back to you when I get the news.

When most people start with this so~called company, there's no surprise that they are confused. This happens because everything these people tell you...is lies.

Stephan has the right to make any assessment that he chooses to...at least here in America he does. Also, when he says what he says, he is speaking for many, many people who have gone on before and will continue to get in, be disillusioned into thinking it's the best thing that has ever happened to them just to eventually wake~up and realize it's probably one of the worst.
A rose by any other name is still a rose. Just as a scam such as dsmax in America is a scam in Canada, Australia...or anywhere else or by any other name, Innovage, Granton, Cydcor or whatever they come up with next on their quest to stay one step ahead of the IRS and other government scrutiny.

As the numbers of people that they've screwed over continues to increase and those people find this site and the one called dsmaxtheaftermath.com which I really hope doesn't get deleted out of this post because that site holds this one in the highest esteem, it is my hope that one day dsmax will have one last name change and that will be Bankrupt, due to monies paid out to the people who were stepped on on their way to what they think is the top and Felons, due to finally messing with the wrong person or group of people!

Josh for you and your families sake, I'm glad you got out. You're one of us. We're the majority. We're the lucky ones.

Well, Stephen from Albany, New York. You may have ad a bad experience with DSMax in the US, but here in Ottawa my experience was very great. The manager I worked for at Titan was a great person at that. She never tried to brain wash me and I did not seek counseling once I left the company. I did quite well there and yes because of the long hours and my family I was unable to stay. I don't believe you have the right to make such an assessment on a company such as Titan, based on your experience with DSMax in another country, none the less. Yes, there are shitty owners/managers out there but this young lady was a pleasure to work with. We parted on great terms and have remained friends. I hope that you can get your facts straight about Titan next time!!!!

first of all, vocabulary has nothing to do with anything (really lame shot by the way).. i am also a university student-film and english double major.. i am a fantastic writer, maintain a 3.8 gpa, and i have no problem saying the word f**k (very nice touch throwing in your educational background-as if that somehow makes your post more relevant? what was the psychology there? LAME!) cursing has nothing to do with his complaint against this company, and your cheap attempt to draw attention away from the point by focusing on that aspect is clever (i'll give you that), but lame.. very lame.. swearing does not make his complaint any less true.. end of story..

secondly, you were not there.. you have no idea whatsoever if he is lying or not, and college student or not-just because you say something doesn't make it so.. grow up! i worked for this company personally (and just for your information-titan doesn't truly exist- it IS ds-max, and that is a verifiable FACT) and i absolutely believe him.. i know the types of people who work in management.. i have worked WITH them.. i find his story a lot more feasible than yours (did you just happen upon this post? try this-type in DS MAX in the search field on this site-and let me know how many results come up! ;) i assure you it is a LOT)..

see, HERE are the facts smart a*s:

this commpany is one of several names that DS MAX has used, because the name DS MAX had a TERRIBLE reputation and they need to HIDE THEIR IDENTITY to lure new victims into their game..

they use FALSE ADVERTISING in classified ads, posting job descriptions that are totally inaccurate, misleading, and that is called LYING..

they promise a base pay, and there is NO BASE PAY.. ahem-that is LYING.. pay is inconsistent, grossly inadequate for the amount of time and labor required, and the tax practices are shady at best..

the ritualistic practices involved with this company are embarassing, peculiar, DISTURBING, and reminiscent of cult behavior and practices.. it is creepy and actually kind of scary to witness these rituals..

there is a documented history of SEXUAL HARRASSMENT within this company.. in ALL countries, in ALL states, in ALL areas of operation.. it is not one or two offices-it is a LARGE majority.. i witnessed such harrassment personally and it is one of the main reasons i LEFT this "company"..

for a college student, you aren't as intelligent as you try to sound (capitals at the beginnings of your sentences and good grammar don't make you intelligent ;) but nice try!).. i know a lot about marketing and sorry to burst your bubble, but face-to-face interaction with "clients", is not what this job offers.. let me just make it perfectly clear for anyone who isn't sure-THE JOB IS DOOR TO DOOR SALEMAN!!! ok? clear? simple enough? that is not what a marketing executive would describe as a "face-to-face".. how many wealthy marketing execs do you have knocking on your door on a weekday afternoon looking to sell you coupons for a f**king oil change? hey i know! none.. ;)

if you are such a brilliant college student, then why are you in school?? if you found yourself such a sure fire, rock solid gateway to success and wealth, then why even bother with a degree? you seem to be certain you can work with this company, get rich, have no problems, and all without a degree.. why bother?? f**k college and go work for DS MAX (yeah, not titan-DS MAX)? why not? it's a great company right? it's a great opportunity right? it's a great job right? oh wait, no, no, and no.. sorry, forgot who i was writing about for a second..

i have worked for this company.. i know dozens of others who have worked for this company.. i have read the complaints, read the websites (wow, whole websites dedicated to getting over the psychological damage this company does to some people), and talked with the ex-employees.. this next bit is for anyone thinking about a job with DS MAX..

THIS COMPANY IS s**t-YOU WILL MAKE NO MONEY-YOU WILL NOT PROGRESS INTO MANAGEMENT-YOU WILL BE A DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN-YES, A DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN-YOU WILL WORK 10-12 HOUR DAYS, 6-8 HOURS OF WHICH YOU WILL SPEND ON YOUR FEET WALKING THE STREETS OF ANYWHERE THEY SEND YOU-YOU WILL HAVE TO SPEND YOUR MONEY TO ACCOMODATE TRANSPORTATION/GAS/ETC.-YOU WILL ENDURE EMBARASSING AND RIDICULOUS RITUALS-YOU WILL BE TIRED ALL THE TIME AND HATE YOUR JOB-IF YOU ARE A FEMALE YOU COULD BE EXPOSED TO SEXUAL HARRASSMENT-IF YOU ARE A GUY, YOU WILL WITNESS THIS AND IT WILL BE NURTURED BY MANAGEMENT'S LEWD AND DISRESPECTFUL REMARKS AND "JOKES"-wow this is a long list... ok, i'll shut up.. i think you get the picture.. just do what i said if you have any doubts and run a search for DS MAX and you'll see the MASSIVE amounts of complaints against this pathetic excuse for a "company"..

and finally, i have NEVER met a single person who enjoyed working for this company, or who has been successful to any degree with this company.. i am fairly certain that people in the company post the "positive" replies defending it.. they do just what this last person did-post extraneous garbage that does not have anything to do with the intial post's complaint, issues, etc.. when they are called on anything, they take cheap shots, they twist the truth, and they misrepresent the company the same way their ads do.. DO NOT BELIEVE IT.. they are probably paid to write these replies..

in all honesty though, for people like me who have worked for the company and know the truth, their pathetic attempts at defending DS MAX are very funny.. they are always good for a laugh (especially when they do that ridiculous ritualistic dancing s**t).. :D haha.. you know what i'm talking about.. ;)

Wow, Doug sounds like your education went to good use with the choice of vocabulary you used through out your statement. I was a summer student that worked with Titan Advertising and loved my experience.

I am in my 3rd year of university majoring in marketing and when someone says direct marketing, visiting people at their place of work or at home, it usually means that it is indeed face-to-face marketing. I was very well trained through out the summer on how to conduct an interview and at no point is anyone ever told to lie to the person that they are interviewing.

I think that Titan is a very professional and respected company and I think that it is immature people like you Doug, who just have a bad day and will make up garbage and lies to justify your crappy attitude.