Complaint Review: Together Dating Service - Overland Park Kansas

I was desperate for a job & responded to an add placed in the Kansas City Star for a dating sales position. The add stated "$35,000 in the first year" & "women do well in this business".

I called the company, Together, and was set up for an interview the following day. The first step of my interview was to fill out an application & take a personality test, which happened to be the same test they use on their clients.

I was told that I would make $700 - $1000 a week (base + commission) and would not be required to work more than 42 hours per week. Sounded good.

Although I had absolutely no sales experience, I got the job & received my training book & was to start working in just 2 days. Before my first day, I was to memorize word-for-word the first couple pages of the sales script. The 1st week of training was terrible.

My hours were not discussed with me, my schedule was not discussed with me, my base and commission was not discussed with me, my benefits were not discussed with me, payday, how I was paid, pretty much everything was not discussed with me.

I was thrown a bunch of confusing papers & told to sign them while the manager stepped out to smoke. When he came back in & I started to ask him what it all meant (after I so stupidly signed them), he said he would get to that later - right now we're going over what you learned last night.

I was told that I would get copies of all those papers that I signed, but never did. In just 4 days, I was to memorize the entire book of their sales script. I was spending 3 - 4 hours every night after work memorizing.

My hours for training, after I had to ask each day, were from 10am. - 5pm. On my 5th day, I was thrown into an 'interview' with a client even though we hadn't even covered their closing script yet.

My red flags were already going up, especially after I learned that everyone in that office except for the 3 'big wigs' had only been there 2 months tops!

So, my 2nd week on the job I was working 1pm - 8pm or later. After many attempts of asking for a schedule, I finally received one. They considered me trained even though we still hadn't gone over the closing process & I started interviewing clients.

Part of their script is to tell prospective clients that all the members are free of violent felonies & drug & alcohol problems. I realized that I was lying to these people after I interviewed a convicted felon with an assult & battery charge & they were going to sign him up, although he was too smart to buy into their scam & walked out the door.

I did sign up a 22 year old man with a DWI conviction. Together makes NO attempt to check up on their clients or do any sort of background check - they take their client's words for it.

So, you could be matched up with a convicted rapist & as long as that rapist doesn't tell Together of his conviction, neither you nor Together would have any idea! I don't think they would care even if they did know about it, as long as they made their money.

"Cryers are buyers" was a common slogan around the office. As a 'counselor' I was to get to know each prospective client & ask them personal questions about their past relationships & what happened - trying to get them to cry about it or at least get some sort of emotion out of them. I had to establish their need for this service.

"So, your friends set you up once & that person didn't turn out to be your type, so obviously your friends don't know what type you are looking for, so they are never going to find you the right one."

"So, you've been to the bars & met a lot of people, but they never turn out to be the one, so that obviously isn't going to work for you either!"

Why keep trying something that isn't working for you? We were to break down every way there is to meet someone & establish that that is never going to work for them & that they can't do this on their own. Make them cry!

After sucking emotion out of lonely people, I was required to 'qualify' them. This is where I ask them a bunch of financial questions - job, gross income, credit cards (limit & balance), checking & savings accounts (bank, branch, balance). This is just a ploy to see how much money you have to give them that day to sign up.

If you don't have enough money in the bank to pay your bills, but have an available amount to borrow on your credit card, then we are to push that. "You CAN afford it - you have $3,000 available on your credit card!" And if you don't have enough on your card, then we can call up the company & have them up your limit (maxing you out)!

So, my 3rd week, I finally got a paycheck & finally found out that I was making $10 an hour, but was only getting 30 hours a week (not the 40 - 42 I was told at the interview). I had sold a couple new members but only received 1% comission on them because they took the payment plan versus paying in full. Still no schedule.

I had no idea what hours to work or even what days I had off, but assumed it was always 1 - 8. Then they call me one morning to say that I was supposed to be there at 9:30 am even though I was never told this nor had a schedule been written up that I could look at to know this.

During my 3rd week, I was started on calling 'lost sales' aka people who came in for an interview but didn't buy.

I was handed another script & was told to go by it word for word. I could not believe the horror stories from these people that I was calling concerning the way that they were treated!

One man was even physically and verbally assulted (pushed up against the wall & called every name in the book & then physically pushed out the door)! When I asked what the person looked like that did this to him, I found out that it was the OWNER! This was by far the worst story that I heard, but not at all the only one!

I believed every word that these people told me because I had already been yelled at about how I was not pushy enough & how I should've called people stupid, & treated them like children when they didn't buy. So, after these poor people on the phone tell me of their horrible experiences at Together, I was told to tell them that we had a management change since then & that things are totally different now - come back in!

So, I was pretty much fed up at that time with this company! I felt like I was selling my soul - working for such an evil & manipulating company - lying to people on a daily basis & their horrible ethics & abusive client relations.

So, on the 1st day of my 4th week (still no schedule) I was told by the receptionist that she was sent home on Saturday because she 'looked like s**t'.

I was having a bad day on the prior week & was also flat out told that I looked like s**t, but at least wasn't sent home for it! Then I found out that for the 3rd week that I had already worked, I was getting paid $5.15 an hour OR comission - whichever was greater!

So, my check that I still have to receive is only for $206 before taxes! Isn't minimum wage $5.50? I wasn't even told this - not before I worked it OR even after I worked it - it was all layed out to me on a very confusing payroll worksheet that was put on my desk.

Luckily, I'm not that stupid & figured it out & walked out the door. I haven't been there for 3 days now & Together hasn't even attempted to call me. I'm pretty sure that this is their plan - don't keep anyone there too long to figure their scheme out! I wish that I would've caught on sooner because I feel like I was totally conned - maybe even more so than their clients!

Do not work for this company & do not become a member!!!! The whole place reminds me of the movie 'The Devil's Advocate'!!!! Hopefully this will keep others from going through what I went through. If only I had known of this website before I started!

very unhappy x-employee

Kansas City, Missouri
U.S.A.