Complaint Review: Express Employment Professionals Express Personnel Services - Valparaiso Indiana

The on site drug screening has been an employment requirement for decades. I assume you didn't bother to read the hand books or watch the videos related to working in the Express offices. I worked at a Staffing Professiional for several years, and I can tell you, these people LOVE their videos. There is a video or an online class for everything.  It's the same old story, "I want a job. But, only if I don't actually have to DO anythng." 

Grow up and welcome to the real world. 

I'm sorry to hear what happened. You shouldn't have to do something that you weren't comfortable with. The office manager should have got somebody who was more experienced, especially in the medical field, and who was properly trained, to handle bodily fluids. Handling urine, or any type of bodily fluid is not a job for an amateur; and don't take this personnaly. If you're not trained nor experienced in working in the medical field, then don't work in it. Taking urine samples is really the job of a medical assistant (and correct me if I'm wrong); not an office receptionist. I don't see why a staffing agency has to take urine samples. They should go to a laboratory where they're more trained and experienced for doing thos.

Also, she should have told you exactly what the duties were; including handling the urine samples, right there on the phone. This way, you'll know whether or not you can do the job. It's a shame, because in my opinion, these staffing agencies are under a lot of pressure to fill these jobs right away; and they'll just take any Tom, d**k, or Harry right off the street and just simply hire them.

When you go to a staffing agency, let them know clearly up front exactly what your skills are and exactly what you're capable of doing. If you don't want to handle bodily fluids; then let them know right up front. If they give you a hard time, then tell them that you're taking your business elsewhere.

Anyway, you're better off out of there. You don't need to do something that you're not capable of doing. Good luck in finding a position that is suited to you. 

I think the reason why they can afford to pay someone 8 dollars an hour to handle feces is because there is always someone who is willing to do it for any price. That is why they can afford to keep the pay so low. I do think that they should've made sure that you knew that you'd have to handle things like that because it is a waste to train someone and have them quit when they come to one of the tasks included in their job duties. I also think that Express Employment Services is good for some people who are willing to work hard for very little pay but that's life. It happens. There is always someone out there who is willing to do your job for less. That's why people like Express Employment Services and others like them have such a huge monopoly on these kinds of services.

I don't know how many years you've been out in the working field, but you obviously haven't learned the most important thing...every job out there requires you to do some kind of a dirty work at some point of your employment, and that's just how it is. And if you want to be one of the best and irreplaceable employees, sometimes you have to do the dirty work no one wants to do. As the first person responded, I agree, putting on a glove and dipping a stick into the urine wouldn't be the end of the world. This is not a rip-off.

I have no complaints about the Express location in Charleston WV. I worked with a very nice lady by the name of Becky at Express. I was hired by a consulting firm at first as a temp to permanent but was offered the permanent position after 3 days! I have sinced left WV and moved back to FL where I had left a career in county government to be closer to family, what a mistake that was. Anyway, I have registered with an Express located in Tampa and unfortunately I don't have the same great things to say about my experience with them thus far. My account executive also happens to be the owner of one of the two Express franchises in Tampa (Yes they are franchises like McDonalds). I was applying for an Executive Assistant position which, per the description, I was well qualified for. I came in to speak with Joann (the owner). I was given a battery of tests for Excel, etc and did very well. The entire conversation never touched on the job I was there to inquire about even though from our prior phone conversations, I made it a point to tell her that was the position I was applying for. The position, per the posting paid $18-19 an hour. Towards the end of my two-hour appointment with Express, Joann proceeded to tell me that she had an immediate position that paid a whopping $10 an hour at a mortgage company as a pre-funding auditor. I thought to myself "Wow, a fancy title for such a low-paying job." She knew that I lived almost an hour away and had to travel on a toll road to Tampa. My tolls alone would have been $10 a day, not to mention the gas I would use for the 80 mile round trip, 5 days a week. I politely declined the offer and again reminded her what position I was applying for. Needless to say, I was never called for an interview even though I had 5 Professional Letters of Recommendation, a good resume, proven job stability and the experience. I have a family of four to support and I thought I could find better. I finally reached a point of desperation as I couldn't find anything that paid decent so, I called Joann back and told her I would take the job. She told me she would call me back. No callback. I finally called her back and was told that the client was reviewing all the applications and would let her know something soon and that she would call me as soon as she heard from the client. Needless to say, I am still unemployed. Luckily, I have my lease paid a year in advance or I would be homeless right now. I'll end this post before it turns into a book. Keep in mind that most of these agencies are independent franchises and you can't lump them all together when you have issues with one doesn't mean that they are all bad, case in point.

I heard of this report posted about Express Employment "deceiving" a former associate, and had to comment. Funny thing is, the job this person was referring to, is the position I am now in, and have been for over a year. I believe she was the one who attempted this position right before me, and like any company if you are unable or unwilling to complete all the tasks required, then the position just is not for you. I do not remember if I was told that drug testing was a part of the job when I was interviewed, but either way, it was explained to me during my training, along with a lot of other details and tasks that this position requires. Not saying that drug testing is my favorite part of the job, but putting on a pair of gloves and dipping a stick in a cup is not exactly reason for ME to turn down, an otherwise, perfectly reasonable job. In any case, I just wanted to make sure that any one considering applying with Express is aware, that if you are put on a position through us and the company asks you to do something as a "requirement" for the job(that was not explained before you accepted), and you are uncomfortable or unable to do so, you can call us and choose to end the assignment, giving a 48hrs notice, depending on the situation the notice requirement may be less than 48hrs. Whether or not you accept, or stay on that position is always up to you, and you are kept in our system to be considered for future assignments as long as you follow the call and request end of assignment rule. This situation was a bit different, because it was an IN office position, and the associate made it clear that she was unwilling to do one of the job requirements (which by the way is not always done on a daily even weekly basis, and is done by everyone in the office, not just Front desk). So if anyone was put off by that report, please know, that while not everyone can be pleased, we do have quite a few Happy associates, Including ME.