Complaint Review: Tri-Universal

Tri-Universal AKA Triad Promotions, Quantum Division, DS-Max, Ropa Promotions, CPEA. MLM, Multi-level Marketers. Harmony Hunt.

According to the Secretary of State, their corporation number is C2649136. The corporation's paperwork was filed 4/23/2004. Their address is listed as 5 Cedar Creek, Bear, DE 19701. The agent for service of process is Harmony Hunt, and their address for service of process is 10741 Sherman Way, Suite 1, Sun Valley, CA 91351.

So I'm unemployed, going to school full-time. BUT, I'm a highly trained technology specialist who used to manage a team of folks for a large entertainment company. I'm working on a business degree and looking for management level jobs.

I saw a "management trainee" position listed on CareerBuilder.com, which up til now I have considered a reputable website. The ad claimed they would train prospective employees in human resources, marketing, etc. Since it seemed like it fit in with my major in business, I thought I'd give it a spin. They were willing to pay about $30K a year, which is a third of what I normally make in information technology, but I thought, hey, sometimes you have to start in the mailroom to become an executive. So I agreed to come in for the "interview".

The lady I spoke to on the telephone, "Veronica", was unavailable that day, and I interviewed with "Alex" and "Amanda". When I arrived at the business location, there was only street parking. The office was located at the front of a business park near the airport. The name of the company was stuck on the front window using peel and stick lettering. I had also been to the company's website, and it was amateur at best. Now, some of those things raised my hackles a bit - as a computer professional though I've seen people pay through the nose for a crappy website, and I've worked for cheapskates before who spent little or nothing on their store-front, so it wasn't that unusual. I was slightly put out that they insisted that I come in that day for the interview but I can understand some urgency exists in hiring new employees when you have a lot of work to do. So I went in.

The interview lasted about half an hour, with "Amanda" making all manner of scribbles on my resume and application and "Alex" sitting in on the interview but not actively participating. I was told to go home and wait by the phone for a telephone call between 5pm and 6pm to see if I made the cut for the second round of interviews. Again, this didn't seem like a big deal. It was more than I'd gotten from some companies I'd interviewed with where they said they call me back and never did. Tri-Universal called at about 5:30pm and asked me to come back. When I told them one day during the week wasn't good, they were flexible and asked me to come in on a different day of the week. I thought that was a good sign.

For the second interview, I was asked to return with a second copy of my resume, and to wear business attire. I was told that I would be spending a "day in the life" of one of their representatives as they handled daily events. I wore the same outfit from the first interview to the second, which is an outfit that is very comfortable for me while still looking business-like.

I was paired up with "Marliese" and "Joanna". "Marliese" told me we were going to Marina del Rey to visit with clients. Okay, if its marketing, then I thought we would be going to offices to meet with clients. I packed myself along with a box reading "Toys for Tots" in a small car with these two ladies, and off we went to Marina del Rey. To Albertson's in Marina del Rey, just off Washington and Lincoln. There we went in to talk to the store manager, to let them know we were there. Not knowing where this was going, and assuming it really was a job interview, I smiled, made funny small talk with the ladies, and did my best to be the most personable candidate available.

We then went out to the car, and retrieved a table, the Toys for Tots box, and some other boxes of stuff. The table we set up outside one of the doors. The other boxes had Christmas-y decorations, tablecloths, and a bunch of toys. Getting curious now, I asked what the toys were for. Marliese explained to me that some people didn't have toys to put in the box, and that we brought toys that people could exchange with her for their "gifts" and put them in the box to make sure that every kid got something for the holidays. And she explained that anyone who "bought" a gift today would actually be getting two gifts for the price of one, because today we would be "matching" each gift dropped in the box.

As soon as the table was dressed, Marliese went into her spiel. She told prospective "donators" that she had toys available for them at 44 bucks, 33 bucks, 22 bucks, or 11 bucks, and that what most people were doing were picking up a toy and putting it in the box right there. The toys were pretty lame and looked like somethings you could get at the 99 cent store. Funny things started happening once money started flowing in. First, there wasn't any clear definition of which toy was going for which amount of money. Second, Marliese would wait until the "donator" had walked away from the table and she would then take the toys out of the box that she had just put in, and then sell them a second time!

I couldn't just get away at this point! She had my stuff in her car, was watching me like a hawk trying to get me to engage "customers" in the process. I had no way to get home and didn't want to leave without my belongings, so I played along to be able to get back home safely. I couldn't wait to get out of the car, couldn't wait to get out of the office once I got there, and was thankful that I'd told them that I had made plans to be someplace else right afterwards or they might have held me after for a "meeting" which the rest of them went right into, ringing a bell and carrying on.

Marliese and I went to lunch where I ate practically nothing, and I listened to her go on and on about the "opportunity". I asked her if everyone had to supply their own table, and table dressings, and was told by her that she liked to "dress up" her own table a bit more than anyone else, so she used her own holiday decorations. I asked her how we got paid, and was told that 1/3 would go to her, 1/3 would go to the company for expenses, and 1/3 would go to the client. I asked her what I would need in order to be able to get from point A to point B, that is, out of the "field" and into management, since this was a "management trainee" position. I was given a vague answer that some people "get" the field right away and can move up in a week, others take six months. Marliese also glossed quickly over "building a team" and "managers overrides" over new trainees.

Marliese herself claimed to have been doing this for seven months. Joanna was a new trainee, she claimed she'd been on the job for one week. While Marliese was in the restroom, I asked Joanna if she'd actually made any money at this, and she said yes, that everybody got paid every day. I spent the entire day trying not to get sick as these two ladies kept working people for their cash and watching my every move. I made two trips to the restroom during the day, both times afraid that I would come back and find them gone with my stuff. On the way to leave, I thought that they had actually left me when I couldn't find the car.

I could have called for help at any time, but I was basically up a creek without a paddle. They had my stuff, I was miles from home. If I lost my laptop or my schoolwork, I would have a hard time replacing either one of them. I keep thinking too, that they could have done something to me physically while I was out there and no one would have known for hours until I was missing after 7pm. They didn't warn me ahead of time that I was going to be on my feet for 8 hours, and to wear comfortable shoes. They didn't warn me ahead of time that I was going to be outside all day at a location next to the ocean, and to dress for the occasion. First of all, I was sick on Monday and stayed in bed the entire day. I didn't need to be outside all day, and being in the sun all day with the medications I take is putting my health at risk. Second, I had a car accident in May and my back was aching badly by the time the day finished. They showed no concern for my physical well-being, or anything else.

Now I find that they have been doing this to other people all over the United States. Well, I'm going to the office tomorrow, and I'm going to get back every piece of paper with my personal information on it, or I'm going to have them arrested for kidnapping. Oh yes, and I think I'll bill them for my usual $50 hourly rate for services.

Help stomp out rip-off artists like these by coming forward with your story today!

Katherine
Sylmar, California
U.S.A.