Complaint Review: IPG Imports Glasgow Affiliated With DS MAX - Glasgow City Centre, Scotland, UK Wide Nationwide

>>THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE OF BEING TAKEN FOR A RIDE BY IPG IN GLASGOW, THE FULL STORY, PLEASE READ AND BEWARE AND RECOGNISE THE SIGNS OF A PISS TAKE COMPANY USING YOU AS FREE LABOUR, MY STORY IS LONG BUT I HOPE TO REALLY ILLUSTRATE HOW THIS COMPANY UTILISE WEAK/YOUNG PEOPLE<<<<

In 2003, I found myself out of high school having just graduated, unemployed and looking for summer work until I started my degree.

I wandered into the Jobcentre that used to be situated on Bath Street in Glasgow City Centre where I was immediately approached by a very beautiful and glamorous young woman who introduced herself as Louise. She said that she worked for a company recruiting people who were interested in Sales & Marketing. I knew I was interested in this line of work and I am a good sales person. She gave me appointment to go along to the Miller Street office for an "interview".

Pause. Remember I am a 17 year old, very naive girl who hasn't experienced "the dark side" of life yet.

So I am all hyped up to be getting an interview with an "International" Sales and Marketing company. I go home and tell my parents who are really excited for me too. I get up at 7.30, get myself into my best suit and HEELS! HEELS! and make my way in to the city centre. Like many other people, I was expecting to be going into a swanky office in the CBD but instead found myself wandering up a VERY lonely lane off Arygll Street. I was crapping myself and NOT through nerves about an interview anymore. I found myself climbing the stairs next to a chinese restaurant, and entering a really dingy, run down, manky office. I didn't think too much about it at the time, although I thought it was odd, but I chastised myself for having too high expectations.

There were at least 19 other people there sitting filling out forms already. All suited and booted as well. I felt a little disappointed that I hadn't been so special after all to be getting this interview. After all the forms were returned to the 'secretary' Louise, we sat and watched a really juiced up super sales pitch about their affiliate company DS MAX! I thought, WOW!, I will be part of something really special here!

A bunch of people in suits filed past us into an office, they all checked us out as they went. What I realise now was that they were picking who they wanted to "interview" or "train". When they came out we were taken off in groups for what I now knew to be an "on the job" interview. Nobody really explained to me what this would be and before I knew it I was wheeling a massive bag through Glasgow Central Station, and waiting on a train for Bellshill.

I was a skint teenager, I was only expecting an interview. I must have had about 3 to my name. In Bellshill, I was coached on how to sell junk to passers by. Negotiate how to dump bags with shop owners because there was only so much we could carry etc. All very wierd and embarrassing. We got a bus to an industrial estate and having intruded on several people's day and offices we then had to HITCH HIKE, yes, HITCH HIKE a lift from a passing VAN DRIVER to take us back to town. As I am writing this here I can feel the embarrassment and anger about this reallly filling me up. I'd just been made to hike about an industrial estate, a wee 5'4'' stick insect, very attractive, carrying goods and money largely by myself and now I was in a strangers van on the way back to town. Unreal.

Anyway, at lunch time the "Trainer" who was a Canadian woman, took me to a greasy spoon cafe and explained about the company. She used pencil and paper and showed me how the "progression" worked. I looked at it and said, "So basically it's a pyramid sales structure?" She got all flustered and said it wasn't but I wasn't THAT stupid, she had just drawn me a pyramid diagram of the company. That set alarm bells ringing to be honest but I sort of ignored it and just listened to the money figures. I knew I could go far and the money sounded great.

After a LONG LONG LOOONG day, ie, after 6pm when we left Bellshill on the train- since being out at 10am on my HEELS all ALL day! We got back to the office around 7ISH! The place was buzzing, people wer hyped up about their sales, me included as I'd done better than anyone and was a real natural at selling junk out of a bag. They put music on and everyone clapped and rang a bell who'd met their target. Then Tim gave an inspirational speech in his attractive Ozzie accent and I went away feeling KNACKERED but on top of the world.

The next morning I was to be in the office for 7AM! I was up at 5am, showered, suited and out the door.

When in the office you banged the door to the 'sales' room to which people greeted you with either applause or a high 5. How gay right? but it really fired you up at 7am after a 14 hour shift the day before, AND facing another one.

There was more sales techniques and more inspirational chat from Tim. We were seperated into groups with another "trainer" and picked an area from a chart of places. It was business to business for the most part, although we did stop folk in the street. We EVEN...and im SO ASHAMED to admit it, gatecrashed a SENIOR CITIZENS community centre on their tea day and sold them a bunch of junk. When I saw myself taking money out of the hands of people like my own Nana, handing over total JUNK as "christmas present gifts?" in the middle of June, I was seriously dubious.

At this point, a few days in, I had earned the company close to 500 on my own yet they hadn't given me so much as a penny or even discussed payment, wages, bank details, NI Numbers....nothing. I'd been working 14 hour shifts and although I was hyped out my face on adrenaline and REALLY enjoyed making sales...I knew that my time with this company was ticking to a close if things didn't improve.

At the end of day 5, my 5TH 14 hour shift where I'd been made to wander about industrial estates on my LONESOME while the two "Senior Managers" ...canny remember their names but the two of them were very good salesman, young, handsome and well presented....went off and LEFT me to do this I felt like I was putting myself in more danger than was needed for this job which hadn't AS YET paid me a penny despite having handed over nearly 1000 in cash clearing bag after bag of junk. The final straw came really when, after getting back to the office, exhausted and looking forward to a good rest weekend, I was told that I should come in on Saturday for an "optional" extra sales coaching. Mmm NO!

During this week my parents had expressed real concern for my safety, both in wandering around estates and at getting up so early and coming home so late. They were the first people to insinuate that it was like a "cult" I was in and knowing that my mum knows best, I'd started to really take that on board.

There was no way on Gods Green Earth I was going in on the Saturday. I sent my trainer a text message to say that I wasn't going to be in and that I probably wouldn't be back.

I almost immediately got a frantic phone call from Tim, the "owner" of the branch asking why I didn't want to come back and asking me to come in for " a chat" about it on Monday.

When I got there I went into the office with Tim. I told him my concerns about the way things were being operated and how I was being treated, I emphasised my parents concerns that a 17/18 year old girl (can't rememeber what now) should be working so many hours, wandering around on her own and not recieved a penny in pay so far.

He gave me the hard sell about the company. He offered to pay me a large sum of money and make me a "trainer" starting the next day, he reiterated how I was a very talented individual who could "go all the way" with IPG and when I couldn't say no anymore I pulled out that my parents were just extremely unhappy with the situation, thinking (stupidly) that he wouldn't argue with this line....after all, who ARGUES with peoples parents...(not me then anyway) SO NOO Tim offered to phone my parents there and then and arrange to take them to "the best" restaurant and "chat" to them about the company and how well I could do and how they would be mad to deprive me of such earning potential.

I said, they would be angry to recieve a call and please let me put that proposal to them in person and call me the following day to arrange this "date". Well, I didn't even mention it to my parents who were just sooo elated that I was no longer working for "the cult" and I was safe and no longer in danger that I didn't have the heart to subject them to "hard sell Tim" who would have brain washed them too.

Well, Tim phoned and phoned and phoned and phoned and I knew I couldnt pick up because he would put the hard sell on again and I didn't have the energy to listen to it again. I think he eventually got the message.

So I never did get paid for the whole week I worked for them. Not a single penny. And although to be fair, I DID enjoy the work because it was fun to buzz about meeting targets and making sales, the dangers and downfalls FAR FAR outweighed any of that. It did reinforce my sales ability and belief in myself but only so far as knowing that I could sell junk. Not anything of importance.

I don't even put this on my CV this job. I'm ashamed at being taken for such a ride. I strongly urge anyone to avoid this company. If you see any of the agents on the street don't be rude to them, they are under a spell and hopefully it wont be too long before they wake up before they get hurt or it ruins their lives.

These people are crooks. They didn't pay tax on the money I earned them. The people in the managers positions are crooks too as far as im concerned. They were in on the secret and chose to go along with it whether it did them any favours in the long run or not.

Good luck, stay away from Miller Street, Stay away from IPG Imports or any of their "sister" companies.

A

Anon85

Glasgow

United Kingdom

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