Vertrue, MemberWorks Ripoff Former employee with information Hanover Internet
I was an employee of a company that dealed with MemberWorks, now known as Vertrue. The company that I worked for was called Hanover Direct, Inc. They own many catalogs, namely International Male, Silhouettes, Improvements, Home Focus, Gump's, Domestications are just to name a few. We were instructed to take orders and then attempt to talk consumers into "upsells" essentially increasing their order cost for our own profit. The idea is that one item might complement another, and you might want to buy it. Consequently, every business is looking for ways to make money. Memberworks pays most if not all of the 800 numbers necessary to keep the company active. That along with payouts adds up to about $50 million a year.
My job was to directly interract with the customer and attempt to sell MemberWorks' programs (simple escapes, connections, homeworks). We were instructed to read a script, but try to make it sound appealing and "sexy" to try to get you to agree to look over the "information packet." We were also supposed to actively listen to the background chatter going on over the phone and try to use sounds we hear to entice you into buying (i.e. a crying baby may make us want to say "this would be a great way to help save money as a parent")
However, where most of you on here are wrong, we were always required to explicitly state that you MUST call to cancel charges, and that a certain amount WILL BE BILLED after 30 days. YOU ALWAYS HAVE AN OPTION, but skilled "salesman" will make it appear that you have no option. If we do not explicitly state the terms and conditions, basically the charges and trial period terms, we could potentially be fired. Why would any person in a company risk their life in order to scam you? I'll tell you...we get commission...that's right, that ugly c-word. For every program that we sold, we got an extra dollar added to our check. Not much, but for that minimum wage job and several "accepts" in an hour, it really adds up. Some of the top sellers in our company have doubled their paycheck just on their sales techniques.
There are some people that will do anything to get this money, and this is where the true ripoffs occur. If you need any further information on the subject material/contacts etc, contact me. Although I do not work there anymore (due to not wanting to sell...I was fired for low numbers) I still do have inside contacts and friends that work there. Let's bring this company down!
Anonymous
Hanover, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Bob
Princeton,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
Sales and america
#2UPDATE Employee
Wed, February 23, 2005
Well, i'm sorry you don't like the system. The fact is, the consumers have a choice. There is always a choice, and the FTC exists for that very reason. When done correctly, the system works just fine.
After all, being sold something you don't want over the phone is no different then being sold something you don't want in a store. The latter happens to be the more accepted form, but the fact is that the telemarketing industry is here to stay. As is this company.
It isn't that I think they sell wonderful products, or even that they use the most honest techniques to sell them. But they do not mislead, they do set out the terms, and believe me, they fire the people who don't read them. After all, the financial liability for any prosecution would far outweigh the short term aquisition of a customer.
You're upset cause you felt it was a scam, I tell you it isn't, The scripts are carefully crafted so that people know what they are geting into. Do some employees cheat that, yes, but the company isn't responsible for employee greed.
There is no company that doesn't use sales methods to help their profits. After all, what is advertising but a sales technique? The reason that Vertrue and it's subsidiaries have been around for so long now, is that they aren't doing anything wrong. You may think they are, and that's your problem, but the fact is that they aren't stealing anything from anybody, just getting them to agree to pay for something that they probably wouldnt miss if it was there or not. Either way, I think I've made my point clear, if you don't like the telemarketing thing, I suggest you go work as a fireman or something. But for those of us who realize it's just business and who do read the scripts, and still manage to sell ok, let us keep that.
Lastly, of course you were fired for not wanting to sell...your job was to sell things. If a carsalesman didn't sell a car in a year, you think the dealership would keep them? So I'm sorry you're bitter, but the point is if there were no commisions, then the business wouldn't work, it's the same in all realms of sales, right up to large distributors of goods, they all get commission. So, if you don't like commision, go work at best buy, and tell me if you think non commision sales is better. I'll tell ya right now..it isn't. Cause getting 7 bucks an hour regardless of what i sold there, well , that didn't motivate me to sell. In other words, stop complaining.