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Together EX EMPLOYEE TELL ALL Innovative Concepts Dating Service EVIL COMPANY cheated employees and screwed the customers even more Overland Park Kansas
I was desperate for a job & responded to an add placed in the Kansas City Star for a dating sales position. The add stated "$35,000 in the first year" & "women do well in this business".
I called the company, Together, and was set up for an interview the following day. The first step of my interview was to fill out an application & take a personality test, which happened to be the same test they use on their clients.
I was told that I would make $700 - $1000 a week (base + commission) and would not be required to work more than 42 hours per week. Sounded good.
Although I had absolutely no sales experience, I got the job & received my training book & was to start working in just 2 days. Before my first day, I was to memorize word-for-word the first couple pages of the sales script. The 1st week of training was terrible.
My hours were not discussed with me, my schedule was not discussed with me, my base and commission was not discussed with me, my benefits were not discussed with me, payday, how I was paid, pretty much everything was not discussed with me.
I was thrown a bunch of confusing papers & told to sign them while the manager stepped out to smoke. When he came back in & I started to ask him what it all meant (after I so stupidly signed them), he said he would get to that later - right now we're going over what you learned last night.
I was told that I would get copies of all those papers that I signed, but never did. In just 4 days, I was to memorize the entire book of their sales script. I was spending 3 - 4 hours every night after work memorizing.
My hours for training, after I had to ask each day, were from 10am. - 5pm. On my 5th day, I was thrown into an 'interview' with a client even though we hadn't even covered their closing script yet.
My red flags were already going up, especially after I learned that everyone in that office except for the 3 'big wigs' had only been there 2 months tops!
So, my 2nd week on the job I was working 1pm - 8pm or later. After many attempts of asking for a schedule, I finally received one. They considered me trained even though we still hadn't gone over the closing process & I started interviewing clients.
Part of their script is to tell prospective clients that all the members are free of violent felonies & drug & alcohol problems. I realized that I was lying to these people after I interviewed a convicted felon with an assult & battery charge & they were going to sign him up, although he was too smart to buy into their scam & walked out the door.
I did sign up a 22 year old man with a DWI conviction. Together makes NO attempt to check up on their clients or do any sort of background check - they take their client's words for it.
So, you could be matched up with a convicted rapist & as long as that rapist doesn't tell Together of his conviction, neither you nor Together would have any idea! I don't think they would care even if they did know about it, as long as they made their money.
"Cryers are buyers" was a common slogan around the office. As a 'counselor' I was to get to know each prospective client & ask them personal questions about their past relationships & what happened - trying to get them to cry about it or at least get some sort of emotion out of them. I had to establish their need for this service.
"So, your friends set you up once & that person didn't turn out to be your type, so obviously your friends don't know what type you are looking for, so they are never going to find you the right one."
"So, you've been to the bars & met a lot of people, but they never turn out to be the one, so that obviously isn't going to work for you either!"
Why keep trying something that isn't working for you? We were to break down every way there is to meet someone & establish that that is never going to work for them & that they can't do this on their own. Make them cry!
After sucking emotion out of lonely people, I was required to 'qualify' them. This is where I ask them a bunch of financial questions - job, gross income, credit cards (limit & balance), checking & savings accounts (bank, branch, balance). This is just a ploy to see how much money you have to give them that day to sign up.
If you don't have enough money in the bank to pay your bills, but have an available amount to borrow on your credit card, then we are to push that. "You CAN afford it - you have $3,000 available on your credit card!" And if you don't have enough on your card, then we can call up the company & have them up your limit (maxing you out)!
So, my 3rd week, I finally got a paycheck & finally found out that I was making $10 an hour, but was only getting 30 hours a week (not the 40 - 42 I was told at the interview). I had sold a couple new members but only received 1% comission on them because they took the payment plan versus paying in full. Still no schedule.
I had no idea what hours to work or even what days I had off, but assumed it was always 1 - 8. Then they call me one morning to say that I was supposed to be there at 9:30 am even though I was never told this nor had a schedule been written up that I could look at to know this.
During my 3rd week, I was started on calling 'lost sales' aka people who came in for an interview but didn't buy.
I was handed another script & was told to go by it word for word. I could not believe the horror stories from these people that I was calling concerning the way that they were treated!
One man was even physically and verbally assulted (pushed up against the wall & called every name in the book & then physically pushed out the door)! When I asked what the person looked like that did this to him, I found out that it was the OWNER! This was by far the worst story that I heard, but not at all the only one!
I believed every word that these people told me because I had already been yelled at about how I was not pushy enough & how I should've called people stupid, & treated them like children when they didn't buy. So, after these poor people on the phone tell me of their horrible experiences at Together, I was told to tell them that we had a management change since then & that things are totally different now - come back in!
So, I was pretty much fed up at that time with this company! I felt like I was selling my soul - working for such an evil & manipulating company - lying to people on a daily basis & their horrible ethics & abusive client relations.
So, on the 1st day of my 4th week (still no schedule) I was told by the receptionist that she was sent home on Saturday because she 'looked like s**t'.
I was having a bad day on the prior week & was also flat out told that I looked like s**t, but at least wasn't sent home for it! Then I found out that for the 3rd week that I had already worked, I was getting paid $5.15 an hour OR comission - whichever was greater!
So, my check that I still have to receive is only for $206 before taxes! Isn't minimum wage $5.50? I wasn't even told this - not before I worked it OR even after I worked it - it was all layed out to me on a very confusing payroll worksheet that was put on my desk.
Luckily, I'm not that stupid & figured it out & walked out the door. I haven't been there for 3 days now & Together hasn't even attempted to call me. I'm pretty sure that this is their plan - don't keep anyone there too long to figure their scheme out! I wish that I would've caught on sooner because I feel like I was totally conned - maybe even more so than their clients!
Do not work for this company & do not become a member!!!! The whole place reminds me of the movie 'The Devil's Advocate'!!!! Hopefully this will keep others from going through what I went through. If only I had known of this website before I started!
very unhappy x-employee
Kansas City, Missouri
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Chris
Santa Maria,California,
U.S.A.
Just a Suggestion!
#5Consumer Suggestion
Sun, July 15, 2007
And this holds true across the board: Never accept a job unless the pay and hours are spelled out up front! That's just common sense! If they keep saying you'll find out later, I've got news: It'll be crappy! And probably illegal according to wage & hour laws!
M
Kansas City,Missouri,
U.S.A.
It is a bad place to work
#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, July 15, 2007
I have worked for two dating services and that was enough. Yes, the owner would always say "buyers are criers." It was all about money. It is true that they do not do any background checks. It was that way with both companies I worked for. Before I knew what was going on I really liked working there, but once I figured out what was going on I felt guilty about it. Eventually I got fired becasue my numbers were so low because I just did not feel right about it. I found out that the company did not pay over time and I ended up getting part of my over time hours back, but he did not pay the other half. I called what I believe to be the Labor Board up and they said there is nothing they can do if they don't pay it.
I just feel awful for all the people who come in and buy because they just don't have the matches that they pertend to have. I would recommend that someone try a online personals then them.
Asia
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
AMEN SISTA! ALL dating services are run this way! Some are even more blantantly shady than this one! EVIL! EVIL!
#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Tue, December 09, 2003
Your very well DETAILED outline of what happens behind the scenes NEEDED to be told!!! Thanks!
Everything she said is 100% true! ALL dating services are run this way! Some are even more blantantly shady than this one! EVIL! EVIL! EVIL! BEWARE EVERYONE!!!!! You aren't trusting your lovelife to experts who care about you....you're trusting it to nasty people you wouldn't have anything to do with if you knew them personally--let alone open your hearts and personal info to them!!! They're all crooks--some have even SERVED prison time for being scam-artists already!
Karma
Blue Springs,Missouri,
U.S.A.
I forgot to add another lie
#5Author of original report
Wed, March 05, 2003
We were also required to tell all clients that Together had to outsource to another company the personality testing to get their scores & that it costs $199 on top of their membership fee (which is from $1999 to $4695). This was another lie, as soon as the new member left the office, I personally calculated their personality test scores & wrote it on their profile card & put it in their folder. NO OUTSOURCING of any type is done here!!!! Lies, lies, lies!!!