Complaint Review: CYDCOR - Universal Online Promotions - New York New York

im currently working in a chicago office known as jme marketing but that expanded from nyc which is run by nona black look her up on rip off report all this is conected to raf diaz 

This company posted a employment listing, and I responded. They sent me back an e-mail, that is below, asking me to send them my credit report. No serious employer requires you to get your credit report for them. Below is a copy of the e-mail I received from them, additionally, some of the names of the people are Sara Banks, John Davis, and Harv Stanely. Tue, Jun 30, 2009 08:22 PM Hi I'd like to personally thank you for applying for the Job opening I had the opportunity to carefully look over your job response and I thought was quit impressive. Knowing the job requirements, I believe you have the necessary skills to take over this job position immediately. Since we are establishing a new facility, We have 7 Positions open to be filled fast I would like to schedule a personal interviews with you. We have established our leading position in the Market for 9 year, and we have done that through recruiting outstanding and dedicated personale in our team. Before we meet up in my office I would like you do an important step of Credit Check that is REQUIRED by company policy in the recruitment process: Follow this link: http://www.alwaysyestocredit.com and enter your general information onto the webpage, including valid name, address, phone number etc. Follow ALL THE STEPS so you successfully sign up and see your credit score. After you have seen your credit score you will receive an email asking if you wish to share the score with your employer. Select Our Company Universal Online and say yes to the email confirmation to authorize the Credit Score to be shared with us. Alot of Big Companies are doing this Before Interview. you would know if you are activly hunting Jobs. Expect to see an interview invitation date within 2 days after you have successfully completed your Credit Check Step. We can easily reschedule time if necessary. I am excited to meet you in person The link again: http://www.alwaysyestocredit.com Regards Harv Stanley (Human Resources) ------------------- Recruitment Status ------------------- - Passed Resume Received - Passed HR Review - Passed Executive Review - Pending Credit Check - Pending Interview - Pending Drug test

I put my resume on Career Builder around 1:00 today and by 4:00 2 different people from "PMG affiliates" had called me saying how impressed they were with my resume and both had used the same "lingo" the first company said their name was Apex, part of Pearl marketing group and gave me the telephone number incase I were to get lost. About 10 minutes later I get a call from the same number from a different woman saying the same things as the first one, about how impressed she was and so on and so on!! Well I knew something was up so I began to ask several questions to which the woman seemed uneasy answering. I even specifically asked if this was business to business sales...she asid NO. So she gave me the phone number to her office it was the SAME number as the first call BUT a different company name!!!! And I finally said I wanted to check out the company website and she gave me www.PMGaffiliates.com ....and this is how I came across this forum and every other NEGATIVE article about this company and all the "sub"companies under it!!! My advice is to xtay away and not even go to the interview!!!

Word for word, your story sounds oh so familier.....Well it all started 2 weeks ago when I graduated from college. I was desprete for a job, so I posted my resume on a couple of well- known commercial websites. Really, I went to school to be a designer,and thats what I want to be. With choices few and far between, I realized I might have to do soemthing I dont like for a while, because I have bills to pay. While working a mundane job I thought I could continue the search for soemthing I wantd to do. I was thrilled when I got a call back from a marketing company, and interview the next day? WOW! I was so excited, and the secretay on the phone told me to dress business professional.(DUH!) I was expecting a nice little building....I drove past it once...hmm, did I have the right address? Yup. I pull up to a dingy looking building, inside it was nice. It had the "DARE" logo on the wall, Nascar, and even Child Protection Education of America. The secretary was answering the phones, and I could overhear her basically using the same script used on me the day before. So the 'business owner' calls me into this office, and sits me down at the end of a 10' long table.....hmmm, he must mean business I thought. Well, I am good at thinking on my feet, and he seemed to like me. "If you get a call between 5:30-7:30, you will be asked for a seocnd interview" When I got that phonecall, I felt pretty d**n special, after all, I was "6/22" that were chosen for a second interview. So the second interview rolls around....I go and 'observe' (driving an hour away, setting up a table at circut city and convincing people to 'donate' to the CPEA, while in return them receiveing a 'gift', because of a 'law' that requires a non-profit organization to give a gift to the people who donate). The conversation centered around getting to know me, and then learning their way of doing business. Learning the 4 "phases" of rank, as well as the "8 steps or rules", and even the "5 steps to a planned conversation. (Introduction, short story, presentation, close, REHASH: work smarter not harder, double your cash) I kept hearing the two guys talking about the amount of 'pieces' (gifts) they 'moved'. And I started to catch on a little. I started thinking, hmmm, well, how do these people get paid if they 'work' with non profit organizations? ....so people donate, lets say $20. they receive a 'free' gift, valued at $50, but, WOW you receive another 'free' gift.....so how do these people make all this money, and eventually get their own "campaign"? By constantly moving up and recruiting new people it allows people to be in charge of other people, quickly and get a hold of more peoples money, all the while making it seem like a legit non profit orginization.... I pretty much figured I would be better fit to sit at an office and answer phones at this point. I didnt want to waste my $80,000 education cohersing these poor consmuers to 'donate' to these 'non profit ' organizations....All these 'donations' must be what keeps the monetary prospect of this comoany going...These consumers go home, thinking they have done a good deed, when really all they are doing is funding a corrupt and cult like orginization. Once my gut started to ask questions, i pretty much knew it was wrong. After my 2nd day, or "day of observation" was over, i cordially shook my 'leaders' hand. i was 'invited' in to take a survey, (u know, the bridge to the third interview)but i declined. i told him i wasnt sure if this was right for me, and he just said good luck. my suspicions were confirmed when i came home and came upon this website... just for kicks i went back onto this career searching website, and typed in synonyms for "promotions" and "marketing". The same company, listed the same "entry level" positions, but in differnt context I noticed Differnt 'contact' names for every listing, but the same phone number.....This is what they call Rehashing....I just want to warn my fellow recent college grads, this is a scam, run fast, and far away...your smarter than this.

Thank goodness for my boyfriend and his obsessive google searches. I came home from my 2nd round interview last night extremely excited...my day of "observation" went great, and I was offered the position right then and there after getting back to the crappy office in Midtown Manhatten. I did not accept the position right away even though I was being forced to, but after lots of thinking (I can own my own office in 6-10 months!!) I had decided I was going to accept. My boyfriend thought the whole thing was shady, but I am gullible and told him to shut up. After bragging about my job offer, he so kindly googled "Universal Online Promotions" and came up with this site as well as others. At first I was angry that he was raining on my parade, but after reading all of the posts I realized that EVERYTHING about the interview process that people had submitted was DEAD ON... like minute by minute, bells and gongs, a "trainee" tagging along, friendly people coming up to me and starting conversations with loud music in the background... it was insane the similarities. I called my father who is a business owner and was skeptical about the whole thing...he read over this site and told me he actually knew someone years ago that accepted a position in something like this, ended up opening his own business, and losing all of his money on it. This is an old scam for gullible people who want the big money in a short amount of time. I will readily admit I was gullible and if it weren't for my boyfriend's google obsession I'd probably be starting with Universal Online next week. (If Raf had his way it would have been today). Raf is a complete bullshitter. Although I knew he didn't even graduate college, he conjured up this bullsh** story about how he was a "pre"? stockbroker at Merrill Lynch and he knew he wouldnt be promoted to broker for 10-15 yrs (Lie, my brother did it in 3 years)...and how this job opportunity just grabbed him right out of Merrill Lynch and now he is making a ton of money and living the good life and he is only 26. Everything was bullsh*t. If you do your research you could call him out on probably 3 lies that he will tell you in an interview. Straight out lies. There is nothing good about Universal Online, or any of its branches of marketing companies listed anywhere on the internet. I will not detail my interviews or my day, because everything has been posted on here is exactly what I experienced. I just hope future interviewees got as lucky as I did and found this website before they got suckered into the whole thing. Maybe this should be taken further.

Thank goodness for my boyfriend and his obsessive google searches. I came home from my 2nd round interview last night extremely excited...my day of "observation" went great, and I was offered the position right then and there after getting back to the crappy office in Midtown Manhatten. I did not accept the position right away even though I was being forced to, but after lots of thinking (I can own my own office in 6-10 months!!) I had decided I was going to accept. My boyfriend thought the whole thing was shady, but I am gullible and told him to shut up. After bragging about my job offer, he so kindly googled "Universal Online Promotions" and came up with this site as well as others. At first I was angry that he was raining on my parade, but after reading all of the posts I realized that EVERYTHING about the interview process that people had submitted was DEAD ON... like minute by minute, bells and gongs, a "trainee" tagging along, friendly people coming up to me and starting conversations with loud music in the background... it was insane the similarities. I called my father who is a business owner and was skeptical about the whole thing...he read over this site and told me he actually knew someone years ago that accepted a position in something like this, ended up opening his own business, and losing all of his money on it. This is an old scam for gullible people who want the big money in a short amount of time. I will readily admit I was gullible and if it weren't for my boyfriend's google obsession I'd probably be starting with Universal Online next week. (If Raf had his way it would have been today). Raf is a complete bullshitter. Although I knew he didn't even graduate college, he conjured up this bullsh** story about how he was a "pre"? stockbroker at Merrill Lynch and he knew he wouldnt be promoted to broker for 10-15 yrs (Lie, my brother did it in 3 years)...and how this job opportunity just grabbed him right out of Merrill Lynch and now he is making a ton of money and living the good life and he is only 26. Everything was bullsh*t. If you do your research you could call him out on probably 3 lies that he will tell you in an interview. Straight out lies. There is nothing good about Universal Online, or any of its branches of marketing companies listed anywhere on the internet. I will not detail my interviews or my day, because everything has been posted on here is exactly what I experienced. I just hope future interviewees got as lucky as I did and found this website before they got suckered into the whole thing. Maybe this should be taken further.

Thank goodness for my boyfriend and his obsessive google searches. I came home from my 2nd round interview last night extremely excited...my day of "observation" went great, and I was offered the position right then and there after getting back to the crappy office in Midtown Manhatten. I did not accept the position right away even though I was being forced to, but after lots of thinking (I can own my own office in 6-10 months!!) I had decided I was going to accept. My boyfriend thought the whole thing was shady, but I am gullible and told him to shut up. After bragging about my job offer, he so kindly googled "Universal Online Promotions" and came up with this site as well as others. At first I was angry that he was raining on my parade, but after reading all of the posts I realized that EVERYTHING about the interview process that people had submitted was DEAD ON... like minute by minute, bells and gongs, a "trainee" tagging along, friendly people coming up to me and starting conversations with loud music in the background... it was insane the similarities. I called my father who is a business owner and was skeptical about the whole thing...he read over this site and told me he actually knew someone years ago that accepted a position in something like this, ended up opening his own business, and losing all of his money on it. This is an old scam for gullible people who want the big money in a short amount of time. I will readily admit I was gullible and if it weren't for my boyfriend's google obsession I'd probably be starting with Universal Online next week. (If Raf had his way it would have been today). Raf is a complete bullshitter. Although I knew he didn't even graduate college, he conjured up this bullsh** story about how he was a "pre"? stockbroker at Merrill Lynch and he knew he wouldnt be promoted to broker for 10-15 yrs (Lie, my brother did it in 3 years)...and how this job opportunity just grabbed him right out of Merrill Lynch and now he is making a ton of money and living the good life and he is only 26. Everything was bullsh*t. If you do your research you could call him out on probably 3 lies that he will tell you in an interview. Straight out lies. There is nothing good about Universal Online, or any of its branches of marketing companies listed anywhere on the internet. I will not detail my interviews or my day, because everything has been posted on here is exactly what I experienced. I just hope future interviewees got as lucky as I did and found this website before they got suckered into the whole thing. Maybe this should be taken further.

I actually responded to an ad on this Universal Online on Monster.com. Of course it doesn't say Universal Online, the add seems more like a real job. I actually had an interview for tomorrow the 11th in Midtown Manhattan. But thanks to my suspicion and also doing a search and finding this site, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. When I called the phone number given to me by Universal Online, I spoke to a nice girl on the phone. But I can tell in her voice it was a BS job, because it sounded too easy to me. This rip-off here with Universal Online reminds me of the time I went on an interview to Primerica. A similar rip-off spot that tells you, you are going to make a lot of money in insurance. They give these uplifting speeches and at the end the guy asks for $250. Plus they are lying about their affiliationship with Citibank, using their signature logos and colors. I caught on to this scam right away. I was supposed to go back the next day and I totally stood the guy up. It goes back to the old school... If it sounds too good to be true, I'm telling you, it is. LOL.

I actually responded to an ad on this Universal Online on Monster.com. Of course it doesn't say Universal Online, the add seems more like a real job. I actually had an interview for tomorrow the 11th in Midtown Manhattan. But thanks to my suspicion and also doing a search and finding this site, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. When I called the phone number given to me by Universal Online, I spoke to a nice girl on the phone. But I can tell in her voice it was a BS job, because it sounded too easy to me. This rip-off here with Universal Online reminds me of the time I went on an interview to Primerica. A similar rip-off spot that tells you, you are going to make a lot of money in insurance. They give these uplifting speeches and at the end the guy asks for $250. Plus they are lying about their affiliationship with Citibank, using their signature logos and colors. I caught on to this scam right away. I was supposed to go back the next day and I totally stood the guy up. It goes back to the old school... If it sounds too good to be true, I'm telling you, it is. LOL.

I actually responded to an ad on this Universal Online on Monster.com. Of course it doesn't say Universal Online, the add seems more like a real job. I actually had an interview for tomorrow the 11th in Midtown Manhattan. But thanks to my suspicion and also doing a search and finding this site, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. When I called the phone number given to me by Universal Online, I spoke to a nice girl on the phone. But I can tell in her voice it was a BS job, because it sounded too easy to me. This rip-off here with Universal Online reminds me of the time I went on an interview to Primerica. A similar rip-off spot that tells you, you are going to make a lot of money in insurance. They give these uplifting speeches and at the end the guy asks for $250. Plus they are lying about their affiliationship with Citibank, using their signature logos and colors. I caught on to this scam right away. I was supposed to go back the next day and I totally stood the guy up. It goes back to the old school... If it sounds too good to be true, I'm telling you, it is. LOL.

I actually responded to an ad on this Universal Online on Monster.com. Of course it doesn't say Universal Online, the add seems more like a real job. I actually had an interview for tomorrow the 11th in Midtown Manhattan. But thanks to my suspicion and also doing a search and finding this site, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. When I called the phone number given to me by Universal Online, I spoke to a nice girl on the phone. But I can tell in her voice it was a BS job, because it sounded too easy to me. This rip-off here with Universal Online reminds me of the time I went on an interview to Primerica. A similar rip-off spot that tells you, you are going to make a lot of money in insurance. They give these uplifting speeches and at the end the guy asks for $250. Plus they are lying about their affiliationship with Citibank, using their signature logos and colors. I caught on to this scam right away. I was supposed to go back the next day and I totally stood the guy up. It goes back to the old school... If it sounds too good to be true, I'm telling you, it is. LOL.

I recently started working for MC Marketing Solutions in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Another Cydcor office in the Philedelphia area. The whole thing seemed fishy when I had my first interview. 15 minutes for them to find out i had "people skills" (well no s**t, I know how to talk to someone) only to find out i had been selected to come on the second interview which is an all day event. We walked around door-to door selling Quill office supplies and took about a 15 minute lunch break to discuss the "career opportunities" i would have with the company. You would think that being on a 9 hour interview they would atleast pay for lunch, but no i was able to grab a slice of pizza. However, despite the red flags flying up I accepted the position thinking that I had a great opportunity to make a lot of money and develop my career. My first two days of training I have made absolutely no money and all my questions were given BS answers and quickly dismissed. When asking about gas mileage I was told that I would receive all of the money back at the end of the year after filing it on my tax returns. However, this is completely untrue, you don't receive hardly any money back at the end of the year (I know, I talked to a tax accountant). I have only worked there a couple days and can already see that this is a scam. The "culture" within the office is completely misleading. At the end of the day everyone meets to discuss what went well for them and what their goals are while everyone chants and screams about the sales they made. The bell ceremony, where you watch about 4 people ring the bell because they are the only ones out of about 20 that actually made money that day, is a weird cult thing where you run around high-fiving everyone and clapping. It also wasn't till my second day that I even heard the name "cydcor" mentioned, and after googling it i quickly began to realize that this company is not legitimate at all. One of the top managers actually just quit because he wanted to follow a "different career path", which is interesting because if your under 30 years old and making over 100,000 dollars a year, then why on earth would you want to start a different career path? Our manager Shane said that it has nothing to do against MC Marketing, well I find that hard to believe, considering they are now changing the name of the company. I am just lucky I found out before actually putting a lot of time and effort into this company. The shame of it all is that the people working there are all very genuine, nice, friendly people who have been sucked in to all of the talk about being successful and making loads of money. I should have known the first time my manager told me i would be making 100-150 K within 6-9 months of working there. Best of Luck to anyone involved in Cydcor. Jan Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I was almost sucked into this whole scam. I had been called in for an interview and met with Nadine who is the President of this company. My first sign should have been that she wasn't so professional looking and her interview was too much of a breeze. But, I went along with it, the next red flag should have been when she handed her business card, she was using a personal hotmail account not a corporate email account (fishy). I was asked to come in for a second interview the next day but I was unable to do so they set me up for the next available day after that. I came in an met with a young man and the manager named Paris who is a speed talker. Anyway after meeting with them I was hired. I almost gave my job a two week notice to go with "Supreme Holdings Group". Something told me to do some extensive research. I tried to get some information about the company before I had my initial interview but I couldn't even find a website which should have been my first and only alarm. The night I was hired, I was determined to find out something about this company. I was really hoping to find something positive to confirm that leaving my job was the right decision. I'm glad I sat up all night and searched and searched because I finally found something that lead me to other links which expose this company along with others under the same umbrella. I'm glad I put the extra energy in and didn't fly off the handle and quit my job so quickly.

I totally agree with the Jay - Cape Cod, Massachusetts. And Jay, I too know about Raf's best friend who left the company after being an owner because I worked for him. He was a great guy and a great boss. It's unfortunate that Cydcor is still in business. If you ever want to talk about it feel free to email me. I'm one of the few who made a bad decision to work for one of Cydcor's subsidiaries 5 Point Marketing. I became close with the owner there and found out the true workings of Cydcor, especially that of Mr. Diaz. From what I understand he had a criminal record before joining Cydcor. After finding out some horrible things that went on with Cydcor (aside from the business practices) I too left the company for better things in 2003. For anyone looking to interview with them I just want you to know I worked with 2 of the TOP leaders in the Nation! I know because Cydcor releases a monthly newsletter to the owners to help promote growth. These two guys were great with consistent sales for the campaign we were on around the $800 per day mark and neither of them came even close to Assistant Manager. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. I just hope people spread the word and they get shut down and I hope their clients realize the bad press and dump them.

Can I just express how grateful I am that I decided to research this company and found this website? I was scheduled for a first interview today at 2 pm. The whole thing seemed odd to me from the very beginning and I knew nothing about them, I'd just checked out their website. I want to thank these postings and this website. Thanks for saving me a lot of aggravation. God knows I didn't need that. Looking for a job is hard enough.

DSMAX assumed a new name but same LOAD OF S*#T....TWICE in the company & really know what i am sayin... i worked in N. houston office when it was ds max in 2002. Had baby thought id try again now in "05... Ds max is no longer and i questioned the fact but the only response i get is it "dissolved". LIARS..... They are now existing under the name ... INNOVAGE!!!!! I will agree to any suit against these low life scum eating scam artist etc......ive been more than lied to in thin company and now i have a complete book of new lies from innovage.. BS... i smelled the fishieness when i walked in for my 2nd interview w/ the new co. INNOVAGE... no one can give straight answers to the facts that i know.. i threw this up at them and still a bunch of BS.... time to get even and then some... it has only begun!!! this goes especially to you J.C. of Bradley Clarke & assoc of dallas tx.. you little irish punk! your pot of gold turns out to be no more than fools!!!!

The previous post is about one of the owners in Ft. Lauderdale, Rob Reger. This post will be about the other owner there, Stefan Mainhart of Apex Marketing and Promotions. I am not sure which one you work for, but it really dosn't matter at this point. If you are on here defending either of them, you need to get some real answers. First, I will tell you to search Apex Marketing here on the ROR, also check out DS MAX The Aftermath. I think you'll find some helpful and interesting information. Stefan Mainhart is a lying, manipulative b*****d who will say and do anything to keep you there, selling crap to keep the $$ coming in. I worked for him for over a year and I can say with no apprehension that he is the worst person anyone could ever work for, EVER! They get you to buy into the system and blah, blah, blah. You have obviously bitten hard. You think 28% is a HIGH commission??? Come on man, I have not worked there since jul. 03, I am in sales and I make 70% commission, plus salary, plus residual income at my current place of employment. There are so many other sales opportunities out there that give you an actual shot at making real money. I know what Stefan made when I worked for him, he told us all the time. Double his best week in Philly and I still make more money than him each week, easily. I did it without having to sell my soul to Cydcor, kill my body walking 5 miles each day, COLD CALLING, listening to the bullshit meetings and atmosphere for HOURS every day (while not getting paid), and best of all I actually love what I do. Oh, before you spill out some canned response...I had to bust my a*s to get to this point and I do work quite hard! Don't believe the hype that there is no other career out there other than "the business" where you can find success. Ask yourself a few questions. How much did you pay for the last road trip you went on? And dont give the bullshit excuse that the manager offered to pay for it if you "hit your goal" companies can expense travel. Well, at lease legitimate companies can. How much do you spend each week on gas, food,car insurance, bills, rent, laundry, fun(you do remember what it's like to have fun don't you?). Add all of these things up and your 28% commission isn't so hot anymore. I fooled myself for too long, living in misery and debt. Get out while you can. These people are snakes and will only do you harm. That's it, I'm done.

Well David I don't know what kind of fantasy land you are in in the Ft Lauderdale office but if you work for Rob Reger and the Pro Marketing Group I'm not suprised you are so fooled. The real fact is that your office and many others trick interviews into coming in for an interview. From day one the company is lying to employees how legit is that? If the company were that honest/legit then why don't they write honest career ads? Why don't they tell people on the FIRST interview that the job is business to business sales for several months,or much longer, on straight commission. Put that in bold in the career builder ads and see how much of a responsse you get. However they won't dare do that because the company is not completely honest and no one would come in or help keep the pyramid going for Pharoh Reger. I feel very sorry for people like you. What a lot of people working for the offices fail to realize is the ads are not at all true to the letter. I didn't realize it until I left and saw them online later on and realized what I had gotten into. Career ads about Miller Beer and False MSN reports don't tell potential interviews what they need to know. I wasted 3 mos in the West Palm office before I went broke. Come to think of it when I went on my interview I had no clue it would be door to door sales on straight commission. I am not writing this cause I didn't make it or because I'm bitter. I left on my own terms and don't regret it at all. Sure running an office is not as costly as running any other busines because this kind of business is not legit. The company doesen't invest anything in their employees except placing career ads for their second interviews and the owner really makes money those new people generate from sales so really you are lining the owners pockets and hurting yourself by even taking out second interviews. My advice to you is go to career builder and read the ads your office places. Look at them as an interview who knows nothing about the company and ask yourself if the company is 100% honest. Look at the ads without any bias at all and if you can look yourself in the mirror and say they are doing the right thing then more power to you because I couldn't. Don't use half truths but see if the ads tell someone what the actual position really consists of in detail. If you compare your companies career ads to others then you will see the differences immediately. Any legit company lists the job specifics in detail including: salary, SPECIFIC job description and expectations of employees.

How is the purtported $100/day/rep a verifiable fact? And the 400 managers all making big money. And that Raf has 11 successful and growing offices. Where do I go to verify these statements? Let's make it simple. Just name the 11 "successful and growing offices." Make sure that they are still open ones.

Thank you..This site saved me before I even went to the interview.. Now I can spend my monday looking for a real job.. Thank you eveyone.. Here's a Copy of my LEtter i sent in responce. Dear A-- M-----n, I find my self to be a educated individual. I prepare for a interview, educating my self on the business that I will be interviewing with. I must submit this letter to you as a declination of my interest in the position and a cancellation of my appointment Monday. As a result of the information I have reviewed from the personal experiences of your former employees and business partners. The letter below provided as an example and the also included internet links as an example of what I was able to find regarding your business and its practices. My recommendation would be that you take the time to visit Google.com and Type in the name of your business. The Result of the Search is that there is no positive press on your business. Not one page. For this reason I recommend you develop a internet website that can at least provide Your side of the story or even more importantly Provide a public view of your business. I am available on a out of house contract basis. With over 13 Years of Internet Development Experience I would be able to facilitate this website. I however as a result of the overwhelming negative commentary and business reviews regarding your business must decline your offer for an interview. Thank you for responding to my application. Joshua Patterson

I work out of the Fort Lauderdale office of PMG Affiliates, one of Raf Diaz's offices in Florida. I am not going to tackle everything written above, although I have read most of it. First of all, I would like to pre-empt my response with the "I am not brainwashed" comment. I think for myself, and I have made every decision on the way on my own based on verified facts. 1. It is true that when you open an office it isn't all peaches and cream. It isn't a free ride once you get there. Owning an office and operating a business is and will never be "easy". However, since the cost is so low, it is much easier than operating any other small business... period. 2. The commission of 28% is MUCH higher than most commission programs, to a point where most are simply laughable in comparison. My office makes on the average $110/day/rep over the year for each month. This is a verifiable fact. I am not aware of New York's success as far as a per rep average. 3. There are over 150 cydcor offices, with each one having at least 1 assistant manager. Approximately 400 managers in all making big money. All it takes is time and dedication. 4. Lastly, referring to #3... there are a variety of offices and a variety of managers. I can honestly only speak for my office since that is the one in which I work. Abuse of the program by management to get people who do not deserve it is definitely a possibility... but a bad manager. I do recommend this: if you are not happy with the management or the team with which you work --- get out and try another campaign. And I have met Raf, he is an awesome guy. I don't know about his office, but since he has promoted out over 11 successful and growing offices already, I imagine he's probably a good office to work for. Again, all of this is verifiable... learn the facts. And if you have any questions from someone with a different perspective (a different office for one thing), please feel free to ask.

I worked for the company for about 2 years and have a lot of things to say. None of which I would like to divulge in a public forum. I think we should unite and see if there's something we can do to either expose these injustices, or straighten out the company for future employees. Email at [email protected] we can figure something out.

You think Raf is bad (although i have met him once and he is a bit slimy, not as slimy as Jonathan Stephan from Indy and Chris Auwarter from Westchester NY) They're all bad. And unfortunately all VERY SIMILAR. Bastards. I previously defended Cydcor, Com Quest Marketing, Northside Marketing and CarterMorris Inc all over the internet, before and after i quit, thinking back on it all now i just feel silly. Looking back at it now i am beyond relieved that i quit and i look back at my time with Cydcor as a waste of time and energy, and there is still alot of amazing people working for them and its a shame because its a waste of talent as well. (You guys rock and i love you still and i wish you the best and hope you find what you're looking for without getting corrupted like our owners- i don't write this to bash you, you) are all hard workers and amazing people who i'll never forget- i give you credit for still plowing along through it all) I learned some simple sales skills that you can learn from a book, and though i made my share of money it wasn't worth it as i even cheated my own relatives by switching them to a service i thought and was told by my management was cheaper and better for them. So i must have screwed over a large number of people that i previously thought i was helping.When i brought it to my manager he informed me that he had no idea why the bill was like that. Nice. These people have no morals whatsoever and karma is a b***h. To this day i still regret that i hadn't looked up Cydcor on the internet earlier and saved myself the trouble. I'm not going to lie, i made a lot of money, but it's just not worth it in the long run. People may say "oh, you just couldn't cut it", i know, i said the same thing, but i DID cut it., i made a lot of money and i was very good at what i did, i was a leader and all that jazz, but i look back at it all with total shame. I should have thought things were shady when they told me i would have to pay for my own gas to and from the field, that i had no choice but to drive coworkers into the field and even home, that i should pay for my "day of o"s lunch, that saturday meetings were mandatory (although they were repeats of things we went over a million times), that we need to withold information about cydcor from our "new guys"... and the best... that we have to 'build break build" our new guys on our teams. I learned that when i became a leader and i look back on my leader breaking me and how i was in tears until he built me back up again. I was also told "why the hell not, we should hire them cuz they're hot". My boss dated his staff. Regularly. And loved checking porn where we all could see in his office. Smooth. Like sandpaper buddy. Girls were sexually harassed and nothing was done about it, the guy continues probably to this day to work there while 2 girls quit because of him. A coworker was told he had to have visiting road trip people stay at his place because it "would be a good learning experience"- the people were at his house before he had the chance to say no. We were told our friends stressed us out and they didn't understand and they'll be working at Papa Johns while we have our own office. I call bullshit on that. And one guy was even told his answering maching message on his personal cellphone wasn't professional enough and to change it. Oh yes, and boots my coworker had been wearing for 3 weeks in the field were suddenly not professional enough after she claimed a coworker had made unwanted advanced to her. All of a sudden it was "would Brandie wear those boots? I dont think so". Ummm sure buddy- We aren't Brandie Rucks, if you hadn't noticed. This mother of three that begam working with me thinking it was a legit marketing job ended up not getting a paycheck for 5 and a half weeks after being promised one after two, then got offered an advance of $100 just to get her by. Three kids on a hundred bucks for 3 weeks plus just does not work. The topping on the cake was watching our dear Avie Roth rip into my coworkers telling them that they don't know their goals so maybe they should rethink their job and they dont know their team members well enough (after only knowing them for a week) and you've been here for 4 months and you're not in assistant management...why? Maybe you should rethink your career oppertunities. These poor kids who ate slept and breathed Cydcor looked like they would burst into tears. It was their Siddartha telling them they sucked. So sad. Check out this website and you'll understand Cydcor and its little subsidiaries like Northside, CarterMorris, Pinnacle, Com-Quest (NY-Chris Auwarter, Jonathans promoting manager)Marketing Endeavors (GA- Brandie Rucks, Chris Auwarters promoting manager), etc... http://wolfram.org/scam/cydcor.html they are all the same, they just have different owners. check out www.cydcoruniversity.com as well for proof that they all go by the same crap, or just notice the similarities between: www.cartermorrisinc.com and www.comquestmarketing.com and www.marketingendeavors.com .... its actually kind of amusing! Or you can yahoo search for "DS-MAX the aftermath", that page is informative as well.... I'm just glad i can look back at it and laugh now, and i hope you all check this out it might save you the pain it caused me.

I was "brainwashed" for a very long time by Cydcor. There is nothing good about this door to door company. All the owners are like a bunch of used care sales men. They are desperate for success. I have ruined my credit and lost a shitpot full of money in my Cydcor adventures. It should be called sickcor. The fact is the owners are so inexperienced that they can't teach anyone how to get promoted. I got very far in the company and speak from experience. With all the info I know about Cydcor, If I were to open my mouth all the dominoes would fall. My best advice to you is if you want a decent life and want to actually make money and not spend it then get the hell away from Cydcor as fast as you can. Life as a manager sucks.

Raf Diaz, the "owner" of UOP is a moderately successful individual who got there by lying, misleading, and scheming the thousands of people who have come and gone through the doors of his many offices over the years. He preaches the "system" as if it is a fool proof way to achieve success. The reality is that you have to be a fool to believe any of the crap that comes out of the mouths of the "leaders", owners, VP's, etc. I worked for him in Boston then with another owner in Philly for over a year and a half. I was duped by them, they got me. but after way too long a time, I came to my senses. In the time that I was there it became quite clear to me that the whole system was a joke and if you make it in the business all you have done is come upon a streak of luck that will most likely not last too long. If Raf is such a great teacher and leader then why is it that most of the managers he promotes out wind up losing their offices, quitting, or having to crawl back to him to get "retrained"? The manager I worked for in Philly was being retrained by Raf in Boston when I started working there. I made the decision to go to Philly and help start his office with a few others. It wound up being a terrible mistake. This guy was a complete A-hole. He cared not about anyone or anything and his actions proved this time and time again. The final straw for me was when he failed to tell me that a family member called for me a few days before to inform me my grandmother past away...I missed the funeral and he never even apologized. These are the types of things that happened time and time again with this individual. Mental and emotional abuse with many people in the office. Needless to say all but one of the original crew that went to open his office with him literally fled for their lives to get away from this individual. One of Raf's best friends had an office in VA and quit because of circumstances I can't discuss in this forum. Another had an office in Boston and couldn't cut it there. I knew most of the people he worked with up there and they were sharp indivuals. They all quit, they all up and left. Now he is being retraind by Raf in NYC. There are a few others as well, but all of them reached the goal...to own their own business. And all of them now are struggling with the remains of a crappy office, are not in the business at all, or are shamefully being trained once again to run an office of their own. What does this say of their fearless leader? Of the business itself? It says that to make it in the business you have to screw over as many people as you can in the shortest period of time so you can get out with your very own business. It says that the people who make it, really don't know how to run real businesses or deal with people. they are so pre-occupied with getting fresh meat through the door that they lose all sense of what running a successful business is truly about. Honesty, integrity, moral behavior, and accountability for ones actions. The people that work for Cydcor and DS MAX and whatever other names they operate under have none of these characteristics. They preach dishonesty, they sideskirt what the business really is...a trap for people who don't know any better...people who are impressionable and need a job. I'll finish with this...anyone who is out there considering taking a job with any of the door to door sales offices within the ds-max organization should run like hell and not look back. you may find some success at the end of the cydcor rainbow, but at what cost are you willing to obtain it? and even if you do obtain it...it won't last long, so beware.

I mistakenly took a position with marketing dynasty in knoxville after graduating from ut in may 2003. i thought that this would be my first "real job" i have worked sales in the past and I have been payed only commision so I didn't have a problem with that part. My problem is in the way that campaigns can change to benifit the company. I got sick and i had to work in the office a couple of days a week to continue working that is where i found out what really goes on with cydcor branches. After finding out that our campaign commision structure had changed from being decent to nothing but crap. I began do dig a little and i found that the campaign had not changed to lower our commisions but the branch had changed to take a larger cut of the commisions, it changed from 50% percent to 70%. I also found out that anyone who sumits a resume or calls to inquire about an ad will be given an interview and form there they will also be given a second interview. I this person is stupid enough to last to the third interview they will be offered a job. I also found out that the hiring process is illigeal in that they use age dscrimination, and gender discrimination. I was told by my manager to respond to resumes that didn't have any experience before 1990. i was also told that for people applying for the admin position that they had to be between 18-24 and not have a college degree. Oh and they had to be a "hot" single female. I have a degree in HR i know what i sillegeal and what isn't. all of this is illegeal. the list of illegeal business practices is so long that i can't go throught tham all. I do have proof of all this if someone is intrested.

If you can find it, you gotta love their website! All show, no go! What a bunch of meaningless garbage! Try GOOGLIZING "Universal Online" and "Raf Diaz". Good luck! Use very common words and terms to try to mask yourself. Clever, no? Cydcor? The first time I ever heard of them was when my team "leader"/PROSELYTIZER (look it up, Raf!), accidentally dropped the word when I was lunching with him. It was kind of funny that he slickly changed the subject without ever missing a beat. I almost forgot about it until a friend (guardian angel) with my best interests in mind turned me onto this site which made things all too clear. Whatchya hiding, Raf? Hey, Raf? Do you really know anything other than greed and slick propoganda methods? I really loved your "Impact"/Quote of the Day speeches! Did your momma buy that book for you? Hmmmmm....at least you know how to cleverly mask a multi-level marketing scheme, so you must have some level of business savvy. But, enough of Raf for now. Onto the meat and potatoes....THE HIRING SCHEME! Open up the Sunday NY Times "Help Wanted" section, peruse the columns, and see that "Entry Level AD AGENCY/Management Training" posting. Looks attractive to a young college grad or hungry young adult looking to make it big in THE big city! WOW! What an opportunity! So, you send in your resume, land a 20-25 minute interview with Raf who pumps up the Company, himself, and you. Raf then politely thanks you and tells you that if you don't get a call between 6:30-7:30 that evening, it was nice meeting you and good luck with your pursuits! You go home feeling pretty good. The interview went great, this is an up-and-coming company and WHEN you will be hired, you WILL make a difference! You eat your dinner confident that your phone will ring, and it does! They want you to come back tomorrow dressed for success for your "second round" interview/Day of Observation. You are PUMPED! Dressed to impress, you go to their midtown office early the next morning, see a lot of people hi-fiving each other, hear some pretty decent rock and roll music, meet your dynamic young "team leader", and automatically FEEL a part of something great. You also sign and date a waiver explaining that the Company will not be responsible for any costs that you will incur this day. No biggie! Let's have fun! You are feeling really pumped about the environment as the hi-fivers excuse themselves for their morning business meeting. You are WILLING to GIVE UP a little bit of YOURSELF if they give you the chance to join their "team". You really hope that this day goes well! The meeting is over and your "team leader" is ready to meet you outside. He or she comes down with their "trainee" who started the previous day. The "leader" tells you that although you are important, it is the "trainee" who is going to get most of the attention this day. This is YOUR day to observe, ask questions, and see if they are good for you, and HOPE that YOU are GREAT for them! With notebook and pen in hand, you whip out your Metrocard, swipe it through, and off you go into YOUR future (er, the Bronx)! Even though the day is long and the road is hard, the pain and swelling in your feet is replaced by the thrill of the possibilities that lie ahead. You have questions, but are asked to politely hold them off until lunch. About 45 minutes before lunch, the "team leader" asks you to write down the three forms of advertizing (print, radio, and television) with their adavatages and disadvantages. WOW! This is MY moment to shine! I'm going to knock their socks off! This is going to be GREAT! Lunchtime rolls along, you buy yourself a slice, go over your notes, and show them how brilliant you are! Your "team leader" likes your stuff and decides that you are worthy of the "Lunchtime Breakdown" which shows you how far you can go in the Company. They explain that even though you will start at $300 to $500 a week, if you do it right (pay your dues, learn, and teach), you WILL make upwards of $80,000 within a year as a manager complete with you own office running your own team! How cool is that! The day winds down, you head back to all of the mad, exhillerating energy that is rush hour midtown Manhattan for the evening meeting, open the office door, and are ASSAULTED by VERY LOUD music, harder hi-fives, and people RINGING bells and BANGING gongs! Except for the questionaire that you are filling out, you FEEL as if you just landed in Las Vegas! Yeah, this is SENSORY OVERLOAD, it's a little annoying, but it's SEDUCTIVELY FUN! Your "team leader" excuses him/herself to talk things over with Raf, at least three smiling people come up to you, INTRODUCE themselves, give a SHORT STORY about their day, PRESENT three things that worked for them that day, CLOSE by asking you if you have any questions, and quickly REHASH their story. How cool, friendly, and PROFESSIONAL! These guys are the real deal! Your "team leader" comes out of Raf's office, takes you outside the Company's office for a second to tell you that despite the fact that he/she fought for you, Raf is "on the fence", but if you want to stick around, you are more than welcome to, then excuses him/herself. What to do? The guy is thinking about you, you don't want to leave and be just another nobody in his life! Heck! You stick around, smile, be super friendly to everybody, and pray that Raf notices you from behind his pane glassed-in office. "Phil! Can I see you for a minute?" This is it! This is your last chance to join this wonderful group of young, vibrant people if you only can somehow convince their leader! Smile, be sincere, be tough, and don't screw up this opportunity! This is TOO GOOD to pass up! Raf drills you with questions about your day, about your "team leader", and about you. Then he tells you that all of that is "well and good", but now it's time to "cut through the bullshit". He explains that his only reservations about you are whether you have the heart, the drive, and the humility swallow your pride and "intelligence" so that you can learn from others who will eventually teach you how to teach others in a true managerial aspect. Feeling that this is THE make-or-break moment, you plead your case with every last ounce of energy you can muster, Raf smiles, extends his hand, and asks you how soon you can start. Telling him as soon as possible, he pulls your "team leader" into his office, tells them the "exciting news", and you are escorted down with your "team leader" who is all smiles and congrats. I DID IT! WOO h*o! LOOK OUT MANHATTAN! IT'S MY TURN TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF THE "BIG APPLE"! That's the interview process. While it READS somewhat shady, it comes off smooth and professional. If any of you are saying to yourself that something looks frighteningly familiar about the process, think back to your boring 10th Grade American History class. Remember that little Austrian paper-hanger who was mouthing-off with his cronies during the 1920's and 1930's about how it is the individuals' sacred responsibility to give themselves to the greater mass? Better yet, remember how all of those individuals WILLINGLY followed? I'm not saying that Raf Diaz is Adolf Hitler and that his employees are good little Nazis looking to impress the will of the masses/potential new employees. They are far from that, thank goodness! What they are doing, though, is very similar to what Hitler, the Nazis, demogouges, cult leaders, and religious proselytizers of all ilks do in order to gain converts. They root out those individuals who are desperately seeking something greater than themselves or are desperately looking for something that they feel is lacking in their lives/souls, seize on it, razzle-dazzle them, hook them, then indoctrinate them. What their Sunday NY Times ad should read is, "Feel lost? Confused? Small? Insignificant? Want to make it BIG in the BIG APPLE? Want to impress your friends and family? Want to put that top-notch college education to work? Want to work in GLAMOUROUS MANHATTAN? Call Raf Diaz at Universal Online Promotions, Inc., CYDCOR, pmg-affiliates, or whatever the heck we are calling ourselves this week!" PATHETIC! I'm just glad that I never made it as far as the week-long "business trip"/INDOCTRINATION/BRAINWASHING phase! Thank God for my guardian angel! As far as the rest of the rebuttals, every single one of them rings true. Be careful! I've never seen a company more fitting for this site!

I worked for Universal Online for about 3 months. I realized the lies in the first week but stayed there making as much as I could until I found a real job. It starts out with a superficial interview that serves no purpose other than to find out if you are willing to come back the next day to observe (in other words walk with somone all day for no pay). And it ends with holes in your shoes (from walking so much) and holes in your wallet (from paying everything out of pocket such as metro-cards and cell phone bills). You do get promoted on ability. The ability to con other people to join the company. And then you get promoted again based on the ability of those people you hired to con even more people to join. Then there are those wonderful mornings where everyone yells trying to pump each other up and use typical manipulation techniques to make people feel as if they really belong to a group. And then in the evenings you are supposed to find out from the team leaders what worked for them in their outings and how you can apply it to your efforts. Wow, real management training. Rafael Diaz (or Raf as he is known to his friends) stated that he was a stockbroker before starting with Universal. But when you look at their website, www.pmg-affiliates.com, it makes no mention of that. I had asked him were he worked at as a broker but he would always avoid the subject with comments like "Let's concentrate on the present" and "it doesn't matter what I did, but what I'm doing now". There were a few good people there, but they were deluding themselves with the belief that "I will open up my own office within 6-9 months". Bottom line is that they don't have to worry about treating employees in an ethical or legal fashion because as soon as someone quits, there are 10 more people lined up at the door responding to their ads for "sales, marketing, pr cross-training management program". I was a broker before I worked there and am now in sales at a telecommunications consulting firm. You'll never make money and you will never learn sales/sales management or pr from this "company"

I totally agree with you Kindra, Jim, Steve, and Todd. I too was nearly cheated out of commuting and stuff like that before quitting. I'm from Westchester, so imagine having to pay $16.00 round trip and then using Metrocard to go to Queens on training days all for what??? A lousy 28% commission. What got me attached to them was the ad I read from them on Monster.com. 40,000/year it said in the program. Yeah was I fooled. I was hired yesterday but decided it was so not for me. I left before I could be brainwashed and forced into attempting to pitch at get this...corner markets, which I call bodegas. 1st day of training I was like why would any bodega want office supplies??? That was part of my suspicion. Then, I learned we'd only make commission as a field rep. But the kicker was...here it is: I heard 2 different version of the story of one of the managers, and I mean the one in NYC (ages were different from what I heard). During the day, I pulled through but I talked with someone who was doing observation and she even had her suspicions. I may be hired, but I resigned, refusing to fall for this baloney. I think the five of us made the right decision in leaving when we did. I am not going to keep getting blistered feet and having to leave my house at 6:00am for a measley 28% commission. I feel bad for the people who are working there. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was able to get out of the trap and thanks for that excellent report Kindra. Lifted my spirits up last night in a major way!!!

I worked for Universal Online Promotions for four months before moving to Philadelphia to work with another Cydcor office for another 10 months. I know the misleading and decietful tactics used to manipulate and destroy the lives of the "talented young professionals" these companies exploit without batting an eye. The difference between me and you, Kindra, is that I do take it personally. Everything you wrote and that I have written in these rip-off reports is true. People are being taken advantage of daily and the minds behind this decietful operation are those of the managers that you call "nice people." The fact is they are not nice people, they are ego driven, money hungry, bastards on the biggest power trip imaginable. They befriend you and seem "nice" because you are contributing to their income. It is the only way they can keep you there. They pretend to go out of their way to make it seem like you owe them for caring so much about you and accomodating your needs when all along they are exploiting your time, work, and personal life for their own betterment. They preach this "opportunity" this grand idea of owning your own company and being financially independent. "Work hard and you will be rewarded." This is also a lie. There is an owner in Philadelphia who didn't work hard, he was just there long enough to become a burden on his manager. So his manager handed him over a team so he could get promoted. He didn't earn it, and he never deserved it. Yet this same person preached hard work, dedication, and expected a certain standard a standard which he never lived up to. My point here is that Universal Online Promotions and their affiliated offices need to stop messing with people who deserve better than to be taken advantage of. They will get what they deserve.

As someone who was brainwashed for over a year had my own office and left, if you can get out find a way....go see your friends you havent seen in months and see how much better there lives are. only when you do this will you realize what your really doing. its not the american dream, i will make this very simple the business you are babysitting for the vp of your division, will make money but you as the "owner" had better get used to working twice as much as you did when you were in the field for the half of the money....THERE IS NEVER ANY GARUNTEED MONEY EVER!!!! YOU WILL MAKE MORE MONEY WORKING PART-TIME AT MCDONALDS.....If you see an ad that says warehouse-customer service-management, 300-500 a week its bs dont call dont go, as an owner you recieve nothing...oh let me change that, you recieve phone calls...everyday from people yelling at you about your business.....if its yours who should be able to call you about anything? ask yourself that, then go join the cult! cause thats all it is!

Do an internet search and look for the msn user chat group ds-max the aftermath. I think you will find some like minded people there. Good luck and God bless. Down with Ds-max and Cydcor and Granton Marketing! They are vampires and feed off unsuspecting job applicants! They are leeches on society! They destroy lives! They have been at over 20 years!