Complaint Review: RJ Makay & Associates - RMA - Monument Colorado

I am a past employee of RJ and Makay. My job was a meeting facitator.I was hired to work from home making calls to financial advisors to set up interviews with Makay client companies. When hired, I was told I could make 75K working full time. I was given a contract to sign, which I did, but it was never signed by Darin Manis, the owner of the company. You will get paid 2K a month working full time if you make 100 monitored calls per day, and get the required number of appointments. However, you will never make decent money there. My contract was never signed by Darin. I was told he doesn't sign them. First red flag.

In the 6 months I worked there, they changed the comp plan and clients several times. We were dropped to 4 days a week in March because the company could not pay their bills.We were told it would be temporary until they got some clients on retainer to bring money in. Darin the owner is vague about his business background, and what he did before RJ and Makay.He is great at marketing and changes the format every other week which is confusing.Bottom line is you will not make money with this company. The only people making great money at this company is Darin Manis and the territory managers who take all the good leads and call them themselves.When I started it was required to get 10 appointments per month, then they went to 12, then to 16. I left because I could not get the 16 appointments per month, which is hard to do , when they keep changing clients and give you a calling list that has not been updated in years. You may make 25K with this company, and work 50 hours a week to get that. Darin is good at the BS in not letting you know what placements the company has made and how other meeting facitators are doing. You are not allowed to communicate with other MFA's so they dangle the carrot of large commissions that never happen. When you figure it out and quit, they keep your candidates and don't pay you on future placements, as it takes about 6 months for a placement to go through.

I agree with the other complaintant that a job at Walmart would have paid more and given me health  benefits which Makay does not offer.If you look at Darin Manis's profile online he states he has run national companies, blah blah blah, but no one really knows what companies or college education etc he really has, or what work experience prio to Makay.He seems to puff himself up and embellish the company and it's success, but you don't ever get a straight answer from him as to how many placements Makay did last year, and what did their MFA's make? Also the 2k a month is a draw not a salary, so it has to be paid back by your commissions.Make you own decision, but keep your eyes wide open. There are better recruiting jobs out there if this is want you want to do.

For the purposes of shedding light for potentially new employees, I thought I'd share some insight into the company. I worked there a couple of years ago, and am well-qualified to respond to the above. The purpose of me writing this is just to shed some light, and is not intended to be malicious towards anyone in the company. I was initially attracted to RJ Makay because I am a stay-at-home Mom, have a degree in Finance, and this company hires a lot women. I no longer work there. I thought I'd state the pluses and minuses of the company:

 PLUSES: The CEO is sharp, and is definitely an innovator. He invests in technology to help the business, and seems to have a decent business mind. I believe that he and his wife used to have a religious statue business (not 100 % sure on this, but that is the word), so I'm not sure how he got into this business. Regardless, he was able to engineer a great contract with Smith Barney. The first 6 months on the job was great. I made a lot of appointments (all pre-credit crisis), was considered an above average producer, and was told that it would take 6 months before I saw a check, so my expectation level was put in check. I was happy as a clam. Based on the fact that they told me that 1 in 25 appointments would be placed, I estimated that I would pull in about 100-150 K per year, based on a 40-hour work week. Some of the staff was excellent; some real poor. The gal in charge of training was superb, the gal in charge of infrastructure and technology support didn't have a clue, and the guy who was director, in charge of following up and pursuing leads after I turned them over to him, was a real nice kid, but his organizational skills and follow-through were mediocre at best. His support staff was definitely below average, but all nice people. On another note, I was paid for several placements that did take place. I had no reason to ever believe that they unscrupulously withheld payments - and I never heard that complaint from any other recruiter that worked there either. Any poster above who claims that, is lying.

MINUSES: After 6 months, and no checks, you start inquiring about leads that should have been good candidates, and possibly placed. I found that almost all of them went to other brokerage houses. Part of this had to do with Smith Barney's parent company (CitiGroup, at the time), and its less than stellar reputation. Lots of lost placements had definitely to do with lack of follow-up from the Director's team. As I was to find out, the entire mantra of the company was to get ownership of as many leads as possible, through them over the wall to SB, and hope that a small percentage get placed (realistically, it was about 0.4 % placement rate, and not the 4 % I was told ). The lack of follow-up and the allowance of some of the hot leads to go to other wirehouses, frustrated both me and the rest of the recruiting staff immensely. Unbenounced to the CEO, many of us women began corresponding with each other, sharing similar stories, and having our pessism grow by the day. The CEO and the Director continued to tell us "that this hot team, and that hot team were ready to be placed", as a lure to stick around, but this rarely, if ever, materialized. More importantly, the company threatened to cut you from their employ if you didn't contractually - we all signed them - produce at least 10 appointments per month. We were not paid for these, this kept the pipeline growing for RJ & Makay, and we were afraid to quit, since we were fearful that we would lose out on resultant placements. It was the perfectly crafted business model for RJ, but really was horrendous for recruiters. Here we were continuing to fill their pipeline, not getting paid for it, and consistently being lured by the carrot at the end of the stick. I can't tell you how many teams were "ready to place", just to wind up "going somewhere else" at the last minute. It became epidemic of sorts. Every week on the conference calls we had, there would be a host of new recruiters. Turonver was rampant, and that was consistent with the business model - hire them, make them get leads, have them leave through normal aggravation attrition, place a small percentage, and collect the entire fee. For those recruiters who stuck around, they did receive their split fee. One last thing - RJ started sending direct emails to potential advisors after a fashion - that is, they started directly competing with their recruiters, emailing the same leads that we were calling. This was in direct conflict of the recruiter's efforts. This really irked many of us.

SUMMARY: If you are willing to work 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year, I believe you can make about $ 20-$ 30K per year there - that's what I made. But, as an earlier poster said, you could make more at Walmart, and get benefits. The only ones getting rich at RJ are the CEO and Director, and given the current economic climate, I doubt that even they are. Many of their management team has left the company as well - they used to have the names of all their managers on their website, and they are no longer there.

Previously I gave some feedback on the company. Having recently spoken to a friend that use to work there I can give some current info. He tells me that the place has only gone downhill worse since I was there. Honestly when I was there it is what it is. Maybe you would make money but probably not. While not the best cold caller I was far from the worse. He tells me that they went and increased the calling staff by a significant number. More callers more money for the firm, makes sense. The problem is that the call lists are so poorly managed that he was just wasting his time. The data was so out of date that the lists were close to on useless. When the data was accurate they were beating the same financial advisors pitching the same firm multiple times a month. He tells me that the people that have been there a while are still doing OK because of their contacts but that new people are having a real tough go. Same as before you have nothing to lose but your time.  

Came across this site and thought I would add my 2 cents worth. Worked for them a while back and on the plus side they are legit. On the down side you would probably make more money with a job at Walmart. If you are restricted to working at home and have a good phone plan you could take a shot and you might get lucky. The job involves calling financial advisors from a list and trying to get them to change firms. Sound easy and it is. The problem is in order to make decent money you need to land people for the big main account they have. You most likely won't see any money for 3 - 6 months. So you won't really know if you're wasting your time or not for a while. Could you make quite a bit of money working from home with little overhead? Yes. Is it likely to happen? No. If you want to give them a try ask them for a true breakdown of money earned on average by their recruiters excluding the top and bottom 10.

One thing is for sure. They are spammers. Every once in a while I get email from them saying "that I may recall interacting with them a while back...blah blah ..." and asking me to contact them. This is a complete lie. Their business is totally out of my professional field; I have NEVER "interacted" with them before about a job. NO reputable company would have to resort to lies & spam. I am guessing they have automated bots that harvest the information from job websites and then spam the recipients.

Just speaking from my personal experience. I am a recruiter with the company as well.....they are VERY legit. I am doing this part time for now due to other obligations. I have been with them since March of 2008. BELIEVE me if I could go full time I would. We work with reputable companies that are well known and some of them are listed under the clients tab. The support is excellent. The training is very good. I am very confident in the job that I do to help others and if you truly want to help others and make a difference in other peoples lives then this is a GREAT place in which to do so. Everyone is professional and very knowledgeable in this field. For those who may have doubts...here is the link www.rjandmakay.com click on anything on the page and also as a previous poster stated click on contact us. I did that when I first found the site and although the person I spoke to could not help me she put me in touch with someone in the company who could and as they say the rest is history. It does take a couple of months to get the pipeline rolling. They do pay. I have received pay for 2 placements and have 2 more on their way. Keep in mind I am part-time. I know other recruiters have been paid as well. I have never had any issues....and as another poster stated it is flexible I too have children and it is nice to know that if I need a day off or an afternoon to do something all I have to do is not schedule myself. No asking "the boss" if I can have the day off.....I AM THE BOSS. As with anything no matter what job or position you do....there will be good days and bad. It is challenging at times but it does pay off if you are dilligent as with any job. If you want to be your own boss and have flexibility this is a great company in which to do so. I was concerned about the rip off report I saw...(a disgruntled ex-worker who never really gave it a good try)....but no longer because I have tried it for myself. Only you can make the decision for yourself.

My name is Adrienne Obey, I am the owner of "getmearealjob.com" and also an independent recruiter for RJ and Makay.com. I wanted to make a positive comment to negate the negative remarks of the fellow who posted that this company is a scam. I will admit that building a pipeline takes hard work and patience...lots and lots of patience... but I am now seeing checks equaling $2000 to $3000 a month on a consistent basis now. This is what makes this company so fantastic. I work from my home because I am handicapped and I can be an independent contractor earning more than jobs are offering to pay me in my city of Louisville, KY. I get to talk to people all across the United States and Canada and I sincerely feel a sense of pride from the placements I have made while working at the company. I have made a huge amount of connections with people who now stay in touch with me on LinkedIN... and I feel like this is the best thing that could have happened to me. I work my own hours, I have assistants that schedule my appointments, great leadership from my director and I am paid as independent. I earn as much as $1500 on one placement or as little as $750 per placement. I have been so successful that I now have my own business name, website and bank account all dedicated to my new recruiting career. In Darin's defense I must say that he has been very generous and kind to my family, even allowing me to have a draw on my commissions at Christmas time. I do not know who the fellow is that placed his complaint... but he obviously was just not a good fit for the job. I have been with the company a little under a year, and they have flown me to St. Louis for training with one of our clients, put me up in a fancy hotel and paid me a hefty bonus for attending... I have only good and positive things to say about this company. I also want to mention that my goal is to take my current income of $2000-$3000 per month and up it to about $6000-$7500 a month... I know that this is possible with RJ and Makay...it is what fills me with excitement and makes it easy for me to work from home each day. This company is definitely no scam to offer a handicapped middle-aged woman a chance to earn a hefty income like this from home. I truly look at this as my special miracle...I know in my heart that if I just put in the work... the results will consistently payout huge rewards.

My name is Adrienne Obey, I am the owner of "getmearealjob.com" and also an independent recruiter for RJ and Makay.com. I wanted to make a positive comment to negate the negative remarks of the fellow who posted that this company is a scam. I will admit that building a pipeline takes hard work and patience...lots and lots of patience... but I am now seeing checks equaling $2000 to $3000 a month on a consistent basis now. This is what makes this company so fantastic. I work from my home because I am handicapped and I can be an independent contractor earning more than jobs are offering to pay me in my city of Louisville, KY. I get to talk to people all across the United States and Canada and I sincerely feel a sense of pride from the placements I have made while working at the company. I have made a huge amount of connections with people who now stay in touch with me on LinkedIN... and I feel like this is the best thing that could have happened to me. I work my own hours, I have assistants that schedule my appointments, great leadership from my director and I am paid as independent. I earn as much as $1500 on one placement or as little as $750 per placement. I have been so successful that I now have my own business name, website and bank account all dedicated to my new recruiting career. In Darin's defense I must say that he has been very generous and kind to my family, even allowing me to have a draw on my commissions at Christmas time. I do not know who the fellow is that placed his complaint... but he obviously was just not a good fit for the job. I have been with the company a little under a year, and they have flown me to St. Louis for training with one of our clients, put me up in a fancy hotel and paid me a hefty bonus for attending... I have only good and positive things to say about this company. I also want to mention that my goal is to take my current income of $2000-$3000 per month and up it to about $6000-$7500 a month... I know that this is possible with RJ and Makay...it is what fills me with excitement and makes it easy for me to work from home each day. This company is definitely no scam to offer a handicapped middle-aged woman a chance to earn a hefty income like this from home. I truly look at this as my special miracle...I know in my heart that if I just put in the work... the results will consistently payout huge rewards.

My name is Adrienne Obey, I am the owner of "getmearealjob.com" and also an independent recruiter for RJ and Makay.com. I wanted to make a positive comment to negate the negative remarks of the fellow who posted that this company is a scam. I will admit that building a pipeline takes hard work and patience...lots and lots of patience... but I am now seeing checks equaling $2000 to $3000 a month on a consistent basis now. This is what makes this company so fantastic. I work from my home because I am handicapped and I can be an independent contractor earning more than jobs are offering to pay me in my city of Louisville, KY. I get to talk to people all across the United States and Canada and I sincerely feel a sense of pride from the placements I have made while working at the company. I have made a huge amount of connections with people who now stay in touch with me on LinkedIN... and I feel like this is the best thing that could have happened to me. I work my own hours, I have assistants that schedule my appointments, great leadership from my director and I am paid as independent. I earn as much as $1500 on one placement or as little as $750 per placement. I have been so successful that I now have my own business name, website and bank account all dedicated to my new recruiting career. In Darin's defense I must say that he has been very generous and kind to my family, even allowing me to have a draw on my commissions at Christmas time. I do not know who the fellow is that placed his complaint... but he obviously was just not a good fit for the job. I have been with the company a little under a year, and they have flown me to St. Louis for training with one of our clients, put me up in a fancy hotel and paid me a hefty bonus for attending... I have only good and positive things to say about this company. I also want to mention that my goal is to take my current income of $2000-$3000 per month and up it to about $6000-$7500 a month... I know that this is possible with RJ and Makay...it is what fills me with excitement and makes it easy for me to work from home each day. This company is definitely no scam to offer a handicapped middle-aged woman a chance to earn a hefty income like this from home. I truly look at this as my special miracle...I know in my heart that if I just put in the work... the results will consistently payout huge rewards.

This statement was made by an independent contractor that was terminated for good reasons. His name is Vince Stabile (we have never had a Joe from Dallas or from the state of Texas). If any of these claims were true it would be impossible to have more than 50 other recruiters working with RJ & Makay. I pay out 6 figures in commission checks each and every month. RJ & Makay is not a fraud and we do not operate any kind of scam. In fact, we have the most prestigious reputation within our industry niche representing the finest firms in the world. This kind of misrepresentation by Vince and the character of someone that would make such baseless, inaccurate and hurtful remarks reveals the aspects of his character and personality that caused us to terminate his contract with us in the first place. Darin Manis President RJ & Makay http://www.rjandmakay.com