Andrea
Pittsburgh,#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, November 30, 2003
I was a former scout and to this day I have never gotten over the fact that I was lured by this company (to not of my knowing) as essentially a "hired con-artist"!! They like they have done to other former scouts and people they've scammed - "preyed on our emotions" and manipulated us. Took advantage of the fact that we were people (particularly us young people) desperately looking for work. And it is true that the enviroment of working for this company is like a cultic-like enviroment (mainly reason why this company has been around such a long time), where they brainwash you into wanting you to belong to this company and you would go to very verge of hell and back to prove it to them!!! I unfortunately was a victim of this when I questioned my scout manager's tactics. He turned on me and to following of my fellow scouts (and to knowledge of my office director who even witness it with his very own eyes, did nothing to stop it and indirectly in a way encourage it)turned on me as well. I was a victim of everything imaginable: from work violations, sexual harassment, verbal lashings to slanderous accusations and defamation of character that I have ever in my lifetime have ever encountered that would never wish to even to my most hated enemies to endure!! Its because of these crimes, I've am now speaking to an attorney and gathering witnesses in filing a lawsuits against my co-workers!!! And I urge anyone who was victim of any form of law-breaking violation or injustice too do something whether its suing them, confronting them directly or even posting the crimes commited upon you by the person or persons who have wronged you in some way!!! A friend and former scout got her revenge against a former scum of the earth of a senior scout that she saw on the street one day of stealing her commission, by confronting him directly and punching his lights outs!! Though I wouldn't recommend what my friend did and would have loved to have seen it, he rightfully deserved what he got since he wasn't at all remorseful about what he did and he even gloatfully admitted to it! - and I guess its true what they say: "about what goes around definitely comes back around!!")!! From horrific stories that I have read about this company; the unspeakable actions by office directors, scouts towards models and other employees, I urge anyone to take action against these individuals!! Whether its horrific tales of labor violations, indescent proposals, sexual harrassment, drug abuse, defamation and slander of character, etc, I urge you to take action!! Though the executives and CEO of this company are getting what they deserve; the other cuplrits of this company: office directors, scouts, trainers, etc. need to be responsible of their illegal actions as well!! But if your a former office director, trainer, scout, etc. and know you have wronged someone, I urge you too contact them or post your apologies here to them (BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE YOU HAVE WRONGED MAY READING THIS AND MAY BE INSPIRED TO SUE YOU MOTHER@$%^*% a*s!!) AND A WORD TOO THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED ME, PARTICUALRLY YOU RICHIE SIMPLY BECAUSE I WOULDN'T GO OUT WITH YOU, YOU DEFAMED MY CHARACTER WITH ACCUSATIONS AND SLANDEROUS GOSSIP, YOU NEARLY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ME AND HAD ME BULLIED BY YOUR THUGS - I AM COMING AFTER YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I HAVE "KEPT ALL THE PROOF" (you know what I got!!) AND HAVE WITNESSES TO TESTIFY ON MY BEHALF TO PUT YOU IN JAIL!! YOU SICK FAT DEVIANT p***k!!!
Cory
Minneapolis,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, July 11, 2003
In regards to that guy who still works at that company and his sister is on the site getting work: apparently you been in been in that cultic-like atmosphere being brainwashed by those ego-maniacal, racists, ignorant, the brains of adolescent staff too long by whatever this company wants you to believe!! And if your sister is supposedly getting work, is she happy,.....promoting toilet paper on a street corner for $5.75 an hour do you call that a modeling gig??? And dont think I am another outsider who so quick to comment and criticize about a company that people dont know anything about, I worked for the d**n F!@#%R company for several months and ashamedly have to admit that I was the good at what I did. To this day I regret with all my heart of all those people I scouted and who came to those open calls and enrolled to forgive me for crushing their hopes and dreams, I wasnt aware of what I was doing until it was too late we were deceived, force fed bull and kept in the dark into believing whatever this company said. Whenever their was something questioned about it this company background, its connections with the modeling industry or the tactics used to get people to come open calls and enroll or anything that led to slightest hint or suggestion that this company was a scam, a fraud or not legit there was always explanation by this company which nothing more than LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES!!! When it comes to the modeling industry in general it is not a numbers game. If it was they take anybody off the street and sign them up which is what WSN precisely does!! The modeling industry is about quality not numbers. Which makes you kind of wonder is WSN really heavily connected with the industry or the major embarrassment of reputedly damming disease that the industry has been trying to kill for years (kind of makes you wonder?? huh??) If you contact those companies that WSN/TCT says supposedly endorses them, youll find out that none have any connection or uses WSN/TCT!!! Yeah WSN maybe trades on NASADQ, but so does a ENRON, AT&T WorldCom - does that sound familiar???? Yeah there publicly traded companies with their CEO executive assess in prison!!!!! Its just a matter of time the owners of WSN will be headed straight to prison. And dont worry they wont have problems adapting......THEY BEEN IN PRISION IN THE PAST FOR SETTING UP FRAUDULENT BUSINESSES BEFORE!!! If you look at the overwhelmingly number of complaints by customers/former employees and negative press to good publicity made about this company you notice its greater. And how funny it is that all the positive press about this company is and only on the WSN/TCT site. (By the way, NEWSWEEK just did a not so flattering article on them as well as most every local TV network in the country!!) And another thing, if you go by what this company does and stand for and think this is a legitimate company, why are you on this site posting this message??? There is only one answer to that: you have DOUBTS of what this company really is and does. Otherwise you wouldnt be looking up this site posting this message, you be out there scamming more people. By the way how many hours have they made you work going out scamming...oh excuse me,.scouting people and attending open calls? 50, 60, 70 hours a week?? And how much are you being paid??? Or did you make some arrangement (nod, nod, wink, wink) with one of the talent executives to sleep with or let him feel you up once in a while and hell make sure that youll be compensated very well (like what happened to former scout I know who was being offered this indecent proposal, watch out Abe you tub of lard sleazy SOB, C. has never gotten over that and says she been speaking with an attorney, so dont be surprised if you being slapped with papers for sexual harassment soon!!) If I were you I would to take at a two week break to reflect upon what this company truly is and what they been making you do for the past year. I guarantee you wont feel so positive about this company afterwards!
Amanda
Tampa,#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, June 15, 2003
I only worked with the Tampa Location for a little over a week, as a "scout". I had a nagging feeling which was blinded by the hope and want of the oportunity to be real. After a week, not sure exactly what prompted me other than this nagging feeling I had and a lack of information, questions I had not getting answered, I had a need/feeling, to get on the computer and do a reference check of this company, Wilhelmina Scouting Network, aka Wilhelmina Scouts, aka WSN, TCT,Transcontinental Talent, Why Scouts, Why Models, e-models, Options Talent, etc. They have actually had around 20 names when you look at the "exec structure" and follow the line on it. Anyway, I can not even convey the feeling that came over me upon reading the endless bad reports on this company. Then I decided to do searches on the exec structure including Lou Pearlman in hopes of finding maybe something good to go on. I can not say that I found any positive info, the only exception to this would be the sites which were created by this company. I just want to say how badly I feel for anyone I scouted. I feel incredibly used, because I am a good person and feel pretty disgusted with having been even associated with this thing. I hope if anyone I scouted reads this they can find it in their hearts to forgive me. I would like to say to anyone who reads this and/or ever meets a scout tell them to research the company on the web, to draw their own conclusions. I am almost positive that most scouts do not know any of this info and need to be hinted at, to look in the right direction. I wish someone would have told me. IF YOU MEET A SCOUT INFORM THEM, BECAUSE CHANCES ARE THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF THIS. Scouts are actually good people being used to promote this thing without knowledge of the full story. The few scouts that I have met are good people and were just as heart broken as I when this info came to light. It feels really rotten to be a person that brought people into this company. I wish I would have known from day one but I guess I should be glad that it was ONLY a week. And yes, so far between what I have read on the web compared to what I have seen working there I can't say I have seen anything different. I have only seen all the similairitys. Sad huh? I feel like I have a sticker on my head that says "SUCKER" and any scout I have had the chance to speak to has had the same reaction. Once agian I am really sorry to everyone I scouted and I plan to work hard to bring my communitys awareness up on this as part of my amends for having been part of this company. The company still thinks that I am working for them, so at this point I am not even sure if I am going to get paid the little amount I supposedly have coming to me. We have a "meeting" tomorrow and I plan to go, haven't quite figured out how I am going to go about all of this quite yet. But if anything worth saying does happen I will be sure to post it and let all of you know. Lastly I would like to note, I did find this job on Monster.com and because I THOUGHT that was a reputable company, it lending trust in my mind to working with WSN. I now know Monster.com is aware of this company and problem but is not taking it off. Now that I am job searching once again.. I will not be using that site, without a doubt.
Dawn
Kankakee,#5Consumer Comment
Sun, May 25, 2003
You are full of crap! I spent over a 1000.00 on them and all I got is nothing. No promising jobs or anything that they claim they will provide. If they are so legitimate then why are there so many complaints and also why do they keep changing their name? If they are so legitimate. Let me tell you why. They are not. You are either lying or you work for the company. I have gotten better oppurtunities on my own than TC has ever provided and they have the nerve to have went up to 995.00 for what. The so called jobs they advertise you can find them in a magazine or on TV. The jobs they call themselves offering me was for standing in a store handing out samples of some product for 8.00 an hour hell I make more than that at my real job. Anyone who wants to be a model, there are ways to make it happen and you dont have to spend a thousand dollars to get nothing in return either.
Jeff
Detroit,#6UPDATE Employee
Sun, May 25, 2003
For all of the people out there who think this is a scam, you are wrong. TCT/Wilhelmina NEVER promise work, but they do get it for their models. I know from my sister getting work, more than enough to pay for her site!!! Yes this company runs on numbers, but show me one that doesn't!! Where does Wilhelmina/ TCT say anything about making anyone a supermodel!? People are so quick to comment and criticize when you are on the outside. I have been working closely with this company for over a year, and i can tell you once you see it from the inside, you see that it is real and does work. If it was a scam, would it be traded on the NASDAQ!? And for all you Dateline peeps.... Dateline setup a story about exploding gas tanks on ford F150s a few years back. ALL FALSE. Also, in that story on dateline, notice how the model they spoke with was still on the site!!!! This is a legitimate business, not a get rich quick scheme or "be on the copy of a magazine the next day" operation. You get out of it what you put in! Do the math and do things the old way for modeling!! See how far you get and how much it costs!!