Complaint Review: Keystone International Inc. - Middleburg Heights Ohio

I wrote the last report for this company (370065). However when I wrote it I was speaking out of anger. Some of the facts are full on crazy that I reported. The job that the company does is a great way for small and medium size buisnesses to have one less stress on their plate, because someone is able to be there in person to help them and go over any issues. I would like to apologize to the company Keystone International and Jason Braughler the President of the company. Karolyn

When I read the ad online with monster.com that Keystone International was looking for sports minded people to come in at entry level and work their way up in the company. January 9th sent her my resume looking for a great chance to build myself up in the work force that is so limited. The following is the email that was sent. Dear Karolyn Keystone International, Inc. is a marketing firm based in Middleburg Heights, OH . We specialize in managing AT&T's small and medium sized business contracts in the Greater Cleveland area. As other more indirect channels of marketing have evolved, an increasing gap between AT&T and their customers has emerged. Our unique and innovative approach bridges this detrimental gap offering invaluable benefits to AT&T, and a partnership that delivers unmatched speed to market, highly trained professionals, and proven successful techniques that provide our clients the opportunity to aggressively expand their market share in virtually any region of the United States. In return this has enabled us to grow rapidly in a highly competitive industry. Since opening our Cleveland office in January of 2006 we have expanded into Detroit and Indianapolis . Due to our successful track record, our services are in high demand. AT&T is 100% invested in our company and wants to expand into 3 new markets by the end of 2009. In order to meet AT&T's goals we have begun interviewing for Client Managers. Responsibilities of a Client Manager include: *Organizing efforts and processes to manage existing business contracts. *Establishing and maintaining relationships with customers to augment services and expand market share. *Developing individuals within the company. *Marketing & Sales Management. We are seeking intelligent and career minded professionals that are interested in pursuing a career with a successful marketing firm in the Cleveland area. Keystone International, Inc. offers: *Paid Training *Health Benefits *Fun & Exciting Environment *Domestic & International Travel Jocelyn Lipofski Keystone International, Inc. HR Admin / Recruiting Specialist The first interview was with Jason the president of the company. He seemed very nice and straight forward. Although the interview was brief and not very much was disclosed. He invited me back for a second interview, it was to shadow one of his account executives to show me what a day to day job would look like. Still at this point I still wasn't really sure what the job was about. When we got on the road he explained that the job was to go to small and medium size buisnesses to handle retention customers on theire AT&T accounts. It was made to sound like an auditor for the company. When the interview was over I thought hey I could do this. It seemed like a great job. I was a little scared because it was commission based pay. I had confidence that I could do well, I had been in retail for over 10 years. When I was training I then started to realize that you had to do some shady dealings to change these peoples accounts. My trainer told me that you don't get caught. What they don't know can't get you fired. As time went on I learned that if you don't take care of any accounts you don't get paid. I did the job for 3 months. I did ok. There where people who did way better than I. However I couldn't screw people over like that and turn there lives upside down by adding a extra internet modem and my base pay would be $45 and their bill would go up $60. Plus the company does not pay your gas. When I was hired my first day I was told that there were gas cards that was given out weekly. Well to find out you had to do so many $'s in sales that week. Well that is some crap. I didn't leave because I worked so much to get a next to nothing paycheck that I never had time to go on any interviews. I would get to work at 7am and be on the road from 9 to 5 and then we had to come back to the office at 5:30pm. We would have territorys up to an hour away. If you were not doing a good job than Jason would joke and be friendly with you. If you were doing a great job he would be a complete jerk to you. I have a friend who is still there who he has made cry over and over again. She is not a crier. Enough said on that. I finally found the guts to leave and suffer with no pay. I didn't get my last paycheck because Jason said they where rejected. I feel that he had something to do with it. Lesson learned...Do in depth researce on a company before you go for the gold.

When I read the ad online with monster.com that Keystone International was looking for sports minded people to come in at entry level and work their way up in the company. January 9th sent her my resume looking for a great chance to build myself up in the work force that is so limited. The following is the email that was sent. Dear Karolyn Keystone International, Inc. is a marketing firm based in Middleburg Heights, OH . We specialize in managing AT&T's small and medium sized business contracts in the Greater Cleveland area. As other more indirect channels of marketing have evolved, an increasing gap between AT&T and their customers has emerged. Our unique and innovative approach bridges this detrimental gap offering invaluable benefits to AT&T, and a partnership that delivers unmatched speed to market, highly trained professionals, and proven successful techniques that provide our clients the opportunity to aggressively expand their market share in virtually any region of the United States. In return this has enabled us to grow rapidly in a highly competitive industry. Since opening our Cleveland office in January of 2006 we have expanded into Detroit and Indianapolis . Due to our successful track record, our services are in high demand. AT&T is 100% invested in our company and wants to expand into 3 new markets by the end of 2009. In order to meet AT&T's goals we have begun interviewing for Client Managers. Responsibilities of a Client Manager include: *Organizing efforts and processes to manage existing business contracts. *Establishing and maintaining relationships with customers to augment services and expand market share. *Developing individuals within the company. *Marketing & Sales Management. We are seeking intelligent and career minded professionals that are interested in pursuing a career with a successful marketing firm in the Cleveland area. Keystone International, Inc. offers: *Paid Training *Health Benefits *Fun & Exciting Environment *Domestic & International Travel Jocelyn Lipofski Keystone International, Inc. HR Admin / Recruiting Specialist The first interview was with Jason the president of the company. He seemed very nice and straight forward. Although the interview was brief and not very much was disclosed. He invited me back for a second interview, it was to shadow one of his account executives to show me what a day to day job would look like. Still at this point I still wasn't really sure what the job was about. When we got on the road he explained that the job was to go to small and medium size buisnesses to handle retention customers on theire AT&T accounts. It was made to sound like an auditor for the company. When the interview was over I thought hey I could do this. It seemed like a great job. I was a little scared because it was commission based pay. I had confidence that I could do well, I had been in retail for over 10 years. When I was training I then started to realize that you had to do some shady dealings to change these peoples accounts. My trainer told me that you don't get caught. What they don't know can't get you fired. As time went on I learned that if you don't take care of any accounts you don't get paid. I did the job for 3 months. I did ok. There where people who did way better than I. However I couldn't screw people over like that and turn there lives upside down by adding a extra internet modem and my base pay would be $45 and their bill would go up $60. Plus the company does not pay your gas. When I was hired my first day I was told that there were gas cards that was given out weekly. Well to find out you had to do so many $'s in sales that week. Well that is some crap. I didn't leave because I worked so much to get a next to nothing paycheck that I never had time to go on any interviews. I would get to work at 7am and be on the road from 9 to 5 and then we had to come back to the office at 5:30pm. We would have territorys up to an hour away. If you were not doing a good job than Jason would joke and be friendly with you. If you were doing a great job he would be a complete jerk to you. I have a friend who is still there who he has made cry over and over again. She is not a crier. Enough said on that. I finally found the guts to leave and suffer with no pay. I didn't get my last paycheck because Jason said they where rejected. I feel that he had something to do with it. Lesson learned...Do in depth researce on a company before you go for the gold.

When I read the ad online with monster.com that Keystone International was looking for sports minded people to come in at entry level and work their way up in the company. January 9th sent her my resume looking for a great chance to build myself up in the work force that is so limited. The following is the email that was sent. Dear Karolyn Keystone International, Inc. is a marketing firm based in Middleburg Heights, OH . We specialize in managing AT&T's small and medium sized business contracts in the Greater Cleveland area. As other more indirect channels of marketing have evolved, an increasing gap between AT&T and their customers has emerged. Our unique and innovative approach bridges this detrimental gap offering invaluable benefits to AT&T, and a partnership that delivers unmatched speed to market, highly trained professionals, and proven successful techniques that provide our clients the opportunity to aggressively expand their market share in virtually any region of the United States. In return this has enabled us to grow rapidly in a highly competitive industry. Since opening our Cleveland office in January of 2006 we have expanded into Detroit and Indianapolis . Due to our successful track record, our services are in high demand. AT&T is 100% invested in our company and wants to expand into 3 new markets by the end of 2009. In order to meet AT&T's goals we have begun interviewing for Client Managers. Responsibilities of a Client Manager include: *Organizing efforts and processes to manage existing business contracts. *Establishing and maintaining relationships with customers to augment services and expand market share. *Developing individuals within the company. *Marketing & Sales Management. We are seeking intelligent and career minded professionals that are interested in pursuing a career with a successful marketing firm in the Cleveland area. Keystone International, Inc. offers: *Paid Training *Health Benefits *Fun & Exciting Environment *Domestic & International Travel Jocelyn Lipofski Keystone International, Inc. HR Admin / Recruiting Specialist The first interview was with Jason the president of the company. He seemed very nice and straight forward. Although the interview was brief and not very much was disclosed. He invited me back for a second interview, it was to shadow one of his account executives to show me what a day to day job would look like. Still at this point I still wasn't really sure what the job was about. When we got on the road he explained that the job was to go to small and medium size buisnesses to handle retention customers on theire AT&T accounts. It was made to sound like an auditor for the company. When the interview was over I thought hey I could do this. It seemed like a great job. I was a little scared because it was commission based pay. I had confidence that I could do well, I had been in retail for over 10 years. When I was training I then started to realize that you had to do some shady dealings to change these peoples accounts. My trainer told me that you don't get caught. What they don't know can't get you fired. As time went on I learned that if you don't take care of any accounts you don't get paid. I did the job for 3 months. I did ok. There where people who did way better than I. However I couldn't screw people over like that and turn there lives upside down by adding a extra internet modem and my base pay would be $45 and their bill would go up $60. Plus the company does not pay your gas. When I was hired my first day I was told that there were gas cards that was given out weekly. Well to find out you had to do so many $'s in sales that week. Well that is some crap. I didn't leave because I worked so much to get a next to nothing paycheck that I never had time to go on any interviews. I would get to work at 7am and be on the road from 9 to 5 and then we had to come back to the office at 5:30pm. We would have territorys up to an hour away. If you were not doing a good job than Jason would joke and be friendly with you. If you were doing a great job he would be a complete jerk to you. I have a friend who is still there who he has made cry over and over again. She is not a crier. Enough said on that. I finally found the guts to leave and suffer with no pay. I didn't get my last paycheck because Jason said they where rejected. I feel that he had something to do with it. Lesson learned...Do in depth researce on a company before you go for the gold.

When I read the ad online with monster.com that Keystone International was looking for sports minded people to come in at entry level and work their way up in the company. January 9th sent her my resume looking for a great chance to build myself up in the work force that is so limited. The following is the email that was sent. Dear Karolyn Keystone International, Inc. is a marketing firm based in Middleburg Heights, OH . We specialize in managing AT&T's small and medium sized business contracts in the Greater Cleveland area. As other more indirect channels of marketing have evolved, an increasing gap between AT&T and their customers has emerged. Our unique and innovative approach bridges this detrimental gap offering invaluable benefits to AT&T, and a partnership that delivers unmatched speed to market, highly trained professionals, and proven successful techniques that provide our clients the opportunity to aggressively expand their market share in virtually any region of the United States. In return this has enabled us to grow rapidly in a highly competitive industry. Since opening our Cleveland office in January of 2006 we have expanded into Detroit and Indianapolis . Due to our successful track record, our services are in high demand. AT&T is 100% invested in our company and wants to expand into 3 new markets by the end of 2009. In order to meet AT&T's goals we have begun interviewing for Client Managers. Responsibilities of a Client Manager include: *Organizing efforts and processes to manage existing business contracts. *Establishing and maintaining relationships with customers to augment services and expand market share. *Developing individuals within the company. *Marketing & Sales Management. We are seeking intelligent and career minded professionals that are interested in pursuing a career with a successful marketing firm in the Cleveland area. Keystone International, Inc. offers: *Paid Training *Health Benefits *Fun & Exciting Environment *Domestic & International Travel Jocelyn Lipofski Keystone International, Inc. HR Admin / Recruiting Specialist The first interview was with Jason the president of the company. He seemed very nice and straight forward. Although the interview was brief and not very much was disclosed. He invited me back for a second interview, it was to shadow one of his account executives to show me what a day to day job would look like. Still at this point I still wasn't really sure what the job was about. When we got on the road he explained that the job was to go to small and medium size buisnesses to handle retention customers on theire AT&T accounts. It was made to sound like an auditor for the company. When the interview was over I thought hey I could do this. It seemed like a great job. I was a little scared because it was commission based pay. I had confidence that I could do well, I had been in retail for over 10 years. When I was training I then started to realize that you had to do some shady dealings to change these peoples accounts. My trainer told me that you don't get caught. What they don't know can't get you fired. As time went on I learned that if you don't take care of any accounts you don't get paid. I did the job for 3 months. I did ok. There where people who did way better than I. However I couldn't screw people over like that and turn there lives upside down by adding a extra internet modem and my base pay would be $45 and their bill would go up $60. Plus the company does not pay your gas. When I was hired my first day I was told that there were gas cards that was given out weekly. Well to find out you had to do so many $'s in sales that week. Well that is some crap. I didn't leave because I worked so much to get a next to nothing paycheck that I never had time to go on any interviews. I would get to work at 7am and be on the road from 9 to 5 and then we had to come back to the office at 5:30pm. We would have territorys up to an hour away. If you were not doing a good job than Jason would joke and be friendly with you. If you were doing a great job he would be a complete jerk to you. I have a friend who is still there who he has made cry over and over again. She is not a crier. Enough said on that. I finally found the guts to leave and suffer with no pay. I didn't get my last paycheck because Jason said they where rejected. I feel that he had something to do with it. Lesson learned...Do in depth researce on a company before you go for the gold.

I actually viewed a few of these postings before taking the job. The reason I took the job was due to the fact that financial times were starting to get tough, and I wanted to see if I was cutout for sales. It turns out, that this job made me feel like scum of the earth. While their practices of hiring or selling contracts for AT&T may be legal, I do not feel they are ethical. Here are things you should know (as I've experienced them myself). 1. You start out as an associate/sales rep. and are given approximately 4-6 weeks to try to get a sale three consecutive days in a row. 2. If you do get sales in 3+ consecutive days you get promoted to a "team lead", if not, you stay as a sales rep. until you become a team lead or until you are fired. 3. If you become a team lead, you gain a bit more responsibility by being able to mentor incoming sales reps and showing them your own tactics of selling. 4. Eventually, if you become a good team leader & sales person/generate good money, and have trained a fair amount of reps that become successful and team leads themselves, you become bascially an assistant manager. This process takes 9-24 months. 5. As an assist. mgr. you learn the more technical sides of the business. You learn how the business should be managed (interviewing, payroll, secreterial responsibilities, etc). Your comission bonuses are a little bit higher, and this is the position where you FINALLY get a base salary+bonus that they advertise. 6. If you are successful, and the office President feels you are ready, you can branch out on your own and start your own business. This is why the search that the original poster for this subject could not find other branches in Detroit or Indianapolis. They are separate business entities/brokers that are branches of Cydcor, thus they have their own names. 7. If you do have the actual tenacity to get to the final stage. Believe me there is money to be made, 100k+, but in reality there are many hurdles to get to this stage. Plus, you have to go through the process of finding people to do your dirty work, and deal with attrition factors. HARD FACTS A. You DO door-to-door sales...with businesses. DO NOT LET THEM TELL YOU DIFFERENTLY. There is no cold calling on phones or appointments made, all you do is drive to business districts and solicit them face to face...THAT'S IT (unless you are promoted to the assistant manager tier). EVERYONE (even asst. mgr.) except the President/owner have to go out and do door-to-door sales. B. You WILL BE walking a LOT outside. They want you to speak with as many as 40 MINIMUM to 60 businesses per day. This means you will be driving around, parking, then WALKING whether it's hot, cold, windy, rain, shine, snow, sleet. C. The 'good' salesmen make 2-3 sales/contract renewals per day. If you average that out on hitting 60 businesses per day, at best that's a 6% success rate. D. You get 2 choices for payment. 1. Full Commission 2. Base salary ($350 + commission x .25). This means you can get a base salary of ONLY $16,800 for the year, and only 25% of the commission profits. E. Timeline Recap Serving Time 1. Sales Assoc. 2-6 weeks (assuming you're not fired by the end of that period) 2. Team Leader 8-12 months 3. Assistant Manager 9-24 months 4. President (ie start your own branch under a different name) F. Be prepared to spend $50-$100 on GAS per WEEK ($200-$400 per month)...that's right... you will be driving many miles to cover territories. F. You will be taught to portray yourself as a direct employee (which you are NOT) of AT&T. You will be taught to be as vague and controlling as possible with decision makers of businesses. You will be cussed at, and often immediately turned out of businesses...this is a numbers game. Overall, I WOULD NOT recommend this job to anyone that has a sense of integrity and dignity. There are many other sales jobs out there that are legit and less shady. Buyer beward, and enter into employment at your own risk.

I went into the first interview today and I had a full explanation about the job and the requirements. I was invited back to the second interview and I am going. It may not have sounded right to you, but I am still going in to see how it goes. Until someone does the 'shadow' of the full time employee who knows what it is really like. I will update after the second interview.

I interviewed with Jason on Sept 8th and can say that I had the same experience. I counted nine people who came in before me or after me to interview. My scheduled interview actually happened 45 min. late. Each "interview" lasted 10 minutes. I was asked if I would be reachable a few hours later to schedule the 2nd interview. I said yes, but have yet to hear anything back from them. I was told the 2nd "interview" would entail shadowing a current account rep for most of a day. Then benefits and pay would be discussed. After a 3rd interview, an offer might be made for employment. I also noticed that there was little info as to what the job responsibilities would be. The admin talked the entire time about her family issues, and carried on as you would expect a young 20s to do. The entire time, I thought how totally unprofessional this was and maybe I should leave. Being out of work for nearly a year now, mortgage-mess fallout, I stuck through it and did the interview. I agree that there is a whole lot of fishy-smell to this setup and caution all of you to be very careful.