Complaint Review: WSI-Worldsites - Mississauga Ontario Ontario

Dear all,

WSI, just launched there new web site wsiconsultants.com, improving the level of their corporate communication.
I've been through it and it has this trendy aspect of consulting. A little bit of IBM touch with a little of Deloitte. However in depth it is still the same opacity of information.

If you look at my last post they have been more transparent in management, however it's not the all range of exec of the firm just a sample.

They tried to be more transparent on their consultants, but you still don't know the exact locations of these consultants.

When you take a tour in their web presentation the Edge, they try to explain what makes them different. Apart from the Webex presentation platform that was more or less exciting, the content of the presentation is intellectually poor, they give you facts and ressources but they don't make a difference. It's meaningless.

The content is the same from their corporate web site: wsicorporate.com (that will probably vanish).

Overall they are shifting to a new paradigm in their corporate communication. As done previously from Worldsites to WSI.

But Image is not all, still problems occur with franchisees and clients. There still no legitimate articles on the WSI method and success from the IT press and community.

Please still be careful when dealing with them.

Hello,

I think that it would be very helpful for people potentially intersted in this franchise to be able to see and read all of their literature and training materials BEFORE paying the 50K. Could any of you ex-franchises post the information for all of us to read?

You can send those printed materials to Rip-off Report and they will post it if you tell them to post the info to Report # 103528 and include a caption to explain what the caption is for readers.

Regards,

I am a Researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto, and I have been analysing their organisation since the beginning of their activity in the 90's. I was very interested in the business process (note: I was never interested in their franchise), this study was strictly academic. The MAPS solution developped by WSI is in the fundamentals a great technology solution. I wanted to do extend research, tried to contact them about this but no results, not interested and seriously they have irrelevant issues with intellectual property.


The company is in a structural mess, the downsize for this consulting company is that they have not reached a satisfactory quality scheme. A company of this type should be ISO certified. Most of the succeeding consulting firms are ISO 9001 V2000 at least. They put forward however they accreditations from IBM and Microsoft, which can be a reference; however it doesn't say much in terms of quality.

Management/institutional communication
They are also lacking of institutional communication as you will see on their web site the information's concerning the members of the board and management is inexistent (profile of the CEO's, and top management etc.). Notice the turnover at a board level, so you can imagine at an employee level.

The information on their technology is very broad and superficial (ok you are going to tell me they do this for intellectual property), when you read this, it's actually very basic/dumb based on general facts in the industry. Nothing actually that can trigger your intellect, I understand that they aim there communication towards prospective clients, however I don't think this works now days with the better understanding of technologies of the general public.

Marketing/PR.
However their marketing and PR activities are exceptional, they manage to create this virtual leadership by buying space for their press release. If you look in depth in the Internet Consulting literature, there is no independent articles, some articles exist but they are introduced through there franchisee's around the world, and have this unflavoured taste of a press release.
Concerning the leadership, they have bought their benchmark from these franchise websites or magazines. They are probably growing due to this intelligent mean to generate this artificial leadership.

Web design.
If you observe the institutional Website of the company these people don't understand internet, and actual trends in the market, the design is poor (just check the photos in the gallery section) and the recent developments made on the site I talk about WSI corporate site, is disturbing especially the avatar.

Turnover.
The staff is young, hardly no experience, gullible of the techniques of management which are based on a corporate philosophy of the Fish market. Meaning that you should be happy to work in a place like this one, because you could be working in another place (dixit a fish market) a lot worse. So there is a lot of turnover, pressure is high from management and upset franchisees.

Conclusion
These are some hints given for you to analyse the situation if you are a potential buyer of the WSI franchise. However I have a greater research done via ex franchisee and actual ones so if you are interested I can send it to you. I understand that like any young internet consulting firms they have some difficulties to structure their corporate process, and most staff as in other consulting firms are over worked.

I am a Researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto, and I have been analysing their organisation since the beginning of their activity in the 90's. I was very interested in the business process (note: I was never interested in their franchise), this study was strictly academic. The MAPS solution developped by WSI is in the fundamentals a great technology solution. I wanted to do extend research, tried to contact them about this but no results, not interested and seriously they have irrelevant issues with intellectual property.


The company is in a structural mess, the downsize for this consulting company is that they have not reached a satisfactory quality scheme. A company of this type should be ISO certified. Most of the succeeding consulting firms are ISO 9001 V2000 at least. They put forward however they accreditations from IBM and Microsoft, which can be a reference; however it doesn't say much in terms of quality.

Management/institutional communication
They are also lacking of institutional communication as you will see on their web site the information's concerning the members of the board and management is inexistent (profile of the CEO's, and top management etc.). Notice the turnover at a board level, so you can imagine at an employee level.

The information on their technology is very broad and superficial (ok you are going to tell me they do this for intellectual property), when you read this, it's actually very basic/dumb based on general facts in the industry. Nothing actually that can trigger your intellect, I understand that they aim there communication towards prospective clients, however I don't think this works now days with the better understanding of technologies of the general public.

Marketing/PR.
However their marketing and PR activities are exceptional, they manage to create this virtual leadership by buying space for their press release. If you look in depth in the Internet Consulting literature, there is no independent articles, some articles exist but they are introduced through there franchisee's around the world, and have this unflavoured taste of a press release.
Concerning the leadership, they have bought their benchmark from these franchise websites or magazines. They are probably growing due to this intelligent mean to generate this artificial leadership.

Web design.
If you observe the institutional Website of the company these people don't understand internet, and actual trends in the market, the design is poor (just check the photos in the gallery section) and the recent developments made on the site I talk about WSI corporate site, is disturbing especially the avatar.

Turnover.
The staff is young, hardly no experience, gullible of the techniques of management which are based on a corporate philosophy of the Fish market. Meaning that you should be happy to work in a place like this one, because you could be working in another place (dixit a fish market) a lot worse. So there is a lot of turnover, pressure is high from management and upset franchisees.

Conclusion
These are some hints given for you to analyse the situation if you are a potential buyer of the WSI franchise. However I have a greater research done via ex franchisee and actual ones so if you are interested I can send it to you. I understand that like any young internet consulting firms they have some difficulties to structure their corporate process, and most staff as in other consulting firms are over worked.

I am a Researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto, and I have been analysing their organisation since the beginning of their activity in the 90's. I was very interested in the business process (note: I was never interested in their franchise), this study was strictly academic. The MAPS solution developped by WSI is in the fundamentals a great technology solution. I wanted to do extend research, tried to contact them about this but no results, not interested and seriously they have irrelevant issues with intellectual property.


The company is in a structural mess, the downsize for this consulting company is that they have not reached a satisfactory quality scheme. A company of this type should be ISO certified. Most of the succeeding consulting firms are ISO 9001 V2000 at least. They put forward however they accreditations from IBM and Microsoft, which can be a reference; however it doesn't say much in terms of quality.

Management/institutional communication
They are also lacking of institutional communication as you will see on their web site the information's concerning the members of the board and management is inexistent (profile of the CEO's, and top management etc.). Notice the turnover at a board level, so you can imagine at an employee level.

The information on their technology is very broad and superficial (ok you are going to tell me they do this for intellectual property), when you read this, it's actually very basic/dumb based on general facts in the industry. Nothing actually that can trigger your intellect, I understand that they aim there communication towards prospective clients, however I don't think this works now days with the better understanding of technologies of the general public.

Marketing/PR.
However their marketing and PR activities are exceptional, they manage to create this virtual leadership by buying space for their press release. If you look in depth in the Internet Consulting literature, there is no independent articles, some articles exist but they are introduced through there franchisee's around the world, and have this unflavoured taste of a press release.
Concerning the leadership, they have bought their benchmark from these franchise websites or magazines. They are probably growing due to this intelligent mean to generate this artificial leadership.

Web design.
If you observe the institutional Website of the company these people don't understand internet, and actual trends in the market, the design is poor (just check the photos in the gallery section) and the recent developments made on the site I talk about WSI corporate site, is disturbing especially the avatar.

Turnover.
The staff is young, hardly no experience, gullible of the techniques of management which are based on a corporate philosophy of the Fish market. Meaning that you should be happy to work in a place like this one, because you could be working in another place (dixit a fish market) a lot worse. So there is a lot of turnover, pressure is high from management and upset franchisees.

Conclusion
These are some hints given for you to analyse the situation if you are a potential buyer of the WSI franchise. However I have a greater research done via ex franchisee and actual ones so if you are interested I can send it to you. I understand that like any young internet consulting firms they have some difficulties to structure their corporate process, and most staff as in other consulting firms are over worked.

I am a Researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto, and I have been analysing their organisation since the beginning of their activity in the 90's. I was very interested in the business process (note: I was never interested in their franchise), this study was strictly academic. The MAPS solution developped by WSI is in the fundamentals a great technology solution. I wanted to do extend research, tried to contact them about this but no results, not interested and seriously they have irrelevant issues with intellectual property.


The company is in a structural mess, the downsize for this consulting company is that they have not reached a satisfactory quality scheme. A company of this type should be ISO certified. Most of the succeeding consulting firms are ISO 9001 V2000 at least. They put forward however they accreditations from IBM and Microsoft, which can be a reference; however it doesn't say much in terms of quality.

Management/institutional communication
They are also lacking of institutional communication as you will see on their web site the information's concerning the members of the board and management is inexistent (profile of the CEO's, and top management etc.). Notice the turnover at a board level, so you can imagine at an employee level.

The information on their technology is very broad and superficial (ok you are going to tell me they do this for intellectual property), when you read this, it's actually very basic/dumb based on general facts in the industry. Nothing actually that can trigger your intellect, I understand that they aim there communication towards prospective clients, however I don't think this works now days with the better understanding of technologies of the general public.

Marketing/PR.
However their marketing and PR activities are exceptional, they manage to create this virtual leadership by buying space for their press release. If you look in depth in the Internet Consulting literature, there is no independent articles, some articles exist but they are introduced through there franchisee's around the world, and have this unflavoured taste of a press release.
Concerning the leadership, they have bought their benchmark from these franchise websites or magazines. They are probably growing due to this intelligent mean to generate this artificial leadership.

Web design.
If you observe the institutional Website of the company these people don't understand internet, and actual trends in the market, the design is poor (just check the photos in the gallery section) and the recent developments made on the site I talk about WSI corporate site, is disturbing especially the avatar.

Turnover.
The staff is young, hardly no experience, gullible of the techniques of management which are based on a corporate philosophy of the Fish market. Meaning that you should be happy to work in a place like this one, because you could be working in another place (dixit a fish market) a lot worse. So there is a lot of turnover, pressure is high from management and upset franchisees.

Conclusion
These are some hints given for you to analyse the situation if you are a potential buyer of the WSI franchise. However I have a greater research done via ex franchisee and actual ones so if you are interested I can send it to you. I understand that like any young internet consulting firms they have some difficulties to structure their corporate process, and most staff as in other consulting firms are over worked.

I used to work for the company and frankly I think that they are a bunch of overworked overzealous hypocrites. They fired me because I was not willing to work more than 35 hours a week and I did not subscribe to their cult like positive attitude like they think they are somehow better than other people.

As far as I am concerned - It does not matter that they have been rated #1 - they are too indoctrinated like they are going to be the next Microsoft. Like that is a great thing to want to be Microsoft is just a Capitalist Bully that works there employees to death and they are out to crush every one of their competitors to me it's a pretty shallow goal to want to be like them.

I was a good person before this company destroyed me since they fired me 6 months ago for no good reason, my wife has left me and I will tell the world what a piece of s**t company this is until the day I die.

Here is my gift of retaliation I am posting a copy of their Top Secret Project they have been working on developing as a joint project with the Hong Kong Polytechnic Institute

Workshop Contents

(((REDACTED)))
Rip-off Report REDACTED the copy that was below. According to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), allegedly the copy that was provided below infringed upon the copyrights of others. Rip-off Report will comply with these laws when put on notice that there was a violation.

I am here in Canada, and I though that WSI would be a good deal. A business that I could control and make $ working. I don't mind putting in the hours or doing the work. When I first spoke to Robert Masson he told me there was a lot of money to be made here and a good chance that I would make in the 6 digits the first year. He also told me I could do this from home. Well, that was totally false, and once I spoke to a couple of the WSI Internet Consultants, Troy Ireland & Rene Garcia I realized that this was going to be an uphill battle. The assistance they provided was not helpful, and the few clients I worked with were quite unhappy.
Once I got involved I was told working from home was not possible. Conflicting stories worried me.

What worried me more was the lack of support, and lack of assistance, business advertising, anything.

Once I spoke to a couple of the WSI Internet Consultants, Troy Ireland & Rene Garcia I realized that this was going to be an uphill battle. The assistance they provided was not helpful, and the few clients I worked with were quite unhappy.

Also, they do make secret deduction from accounts. I noticed it after a few months, and had to fight them on THEIR ERROR!! I mean after investing over $44,000. that would have been enough for them, apparently not!

I recommend running from these people, they are scammers that are well known to by the authorities! Ron McArthur the prez is known also. He told me they were not going to give me any $ back and that was that.

Here is the company directory for you.
Troy Ireland = Internet Consultant
Rene Garcia = Internet Consultant
Ron McArthur is the President & Chief Operating Officer of WSI,
Robert Masson is the Controller of the WSI group of companies
Marcia Scott is the VP
Lou Zalany is the WSI's Chief Executive Officer
Tore Steen is the Vice-Chairman

Mr. Nigel Mayne use to be the prez

They are headquartered in Toronto, Canada = scammers, rip off artists

After I have read your texts and comments,I decided to withdraw from the process of buying a WSI franchise. It seems that they operate on different names in different countries, but their publicity is about the same and the business concept is the same for Woldsites, Worldsites Network or WSI. I had spent at least 6 hours on the phone with their representatives, I consulted a lawyer and he told me not to sign the type of contract they propose. Their scenario to put pressure is excellent.

I suggest you to find a Canadian ex-franchisee to file a complaint for fraudulent commercial practices to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police : they have jurisdiction all over Canada.

As I stopped the process and did not give them any money, I cannot file a complaint.

After I have read your texts and comments,I decided to withdraw from the process of buying a WSI franchise. It seems that they operate on different names in different countries, but their publicity is about the same and the business concept is the same for Woldsites, Worldsites Network or WSI. I had spent at least 6 hours on the phone with their representatives, I consulted a lawyer and he told me not to sign the type of contract they propose. Their scenario to put pressure is excellent.

I suggest you to find a Canadian ex-franchisee to file a complaint for fraudulent commercial practices to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police : they have jurisdiction all over Canada.

As I stopped the process and did not give them any money, I cannot file a complaint.

After I have read your texts and comments,I decided to withdraw from the process of buying a WSI franchise. It seems that they operate on different names in different countries, but their publicity is about the same and the business concept is the same for Woldsites, Worldsites Network or WSI. I had spent at least 6 hours on the phone with their representatives, I consulted a lawyer and he told me not to sign the type of contract they propose. Their scenario to put pressure is excellent.

I suggest you to find a Canadian ex-franchisee to file a complaint for fraudulent commercial practices to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police : they have jurisdiction all over Canada.

As I stopped the process and did not give them any money, I cannot file a complaint.

If you're like many people, the first time you come to rip-off report is AFTER you've been scammed. Sometimes, the information in these reports will help you get all your money BACK. Other times, it is gone for good!

So, how can you PREVENT this from happening again? How can you FIGHT BACK against fraud? Who can you trust to give you the facts YOU NEED to keep your hard-earned money OUT of a crook's pocket? One name stands out from all the rest!

BADbusinessbureau.com!

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NO! You can LEARN to spot fraud BEFORE it gets your money!

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They'll grab your money. They'll tap into to your bank account. They'll copy your checks. They'll hack into your computer and steal your name and all your passwords. Then, they'll use them to wipe you out!

You'll be left broken and desperate. Your credit will be ruined. Your name and reputation will be damaged for years, if not for life.

But, you don't have to be a VICTIM anymore. There is hope for you.

You need to do TWO things to keep fraud out of your life.

First, come to BADbusinessbureau.com and read the reports. Stay up to the minute on how the scams are working and who is running them. See what do to when a crook gets hold of your money. See how the victims across the country are getting taken. And, learn to spot these scams BEFORE they get YOUR hard-earned money.

Before you're ready to spend, take a few minutes to check. It could be a business you're thinking about buying. Or, a friend lets you in on a hot tip. Maybe it's a new item you'd like to purchase. Or, just an everyday need that you have to take care of. Whatever it is, tell them hold on a minute.

I got to check this out on BADbusinessbureau.com!

That's the last thing a fraud ever wants to hear! You see, unlike the Better business bureau, the BADbusinessbureau can't be bought off. There is no membership for a crook to join into. Nothing is ever covered up, like in the Better business bureau. At the BADbusinessbureau, you get the story straight from the people who seen the actual scam. Nothing gets taken down. There is no way for a con artist to keep you from reading the facts.

So, before you hand over your money, tell them. Hold on, I'm going to check this out on BADbusinessbureau.com! With thousands of complaints covering every topic from crooked accountants to worthless weight control scams, the BADbusinessbureau is the veritable A to Z index of fraud in America today. It is THE place to turn to for information on the latest frauds and scams, as they happen.

Then, after you have used the BADbusinessbureau.com, take a minute to support them. You see, fighting fraud is hard work. d**n hard! And, dangerous too. These frauds don't give up easily. Many of them would like nothing better than to see BADbusinessbureau.com disappear forever. They try to hack in. They send threatening letters. The frauds use every crooked lawyer and politicians they can find to try to shut this down. They don't want you to HEAR THE TRUTH!

The frauds have big money to spend. Make no mistake, there are many highly successful scams that can easily spend $5 million. The people at BADbusinessbureau need your help to fight back against these frauds. They need to be ready to defend themselves whenever a crooked lawyer files a lawsuit. That takes money. A lot of money!

In addition, more funds allow them to do more to help YOU, the little guy. They can expand and bring you even better coverage of the fraud BEFORE you get taken. They can come up with new and better ways to FIGHT BACK and get you a refund, before a crook can make a clean getaway.

So, help the BADbusinessbureau anytime you can. You don't need to send a large donation to make a difference. If you can find $20 in your budget, that's more money that can be used to fight these frauds. Just $5, or even $2 will make a difference.

There is another reason to donate. It's your way of saying THANK YOU to BADbusinessbureau.com! Thank you for being there. Thank you for taking the time to help! And, thank you for caring enough to listen to my problem! It's like leaving a tip for a job well done. So, before you click off, click the donate link, and tell them thank you for the help.

Remember, without places like this, we will be all alone against a world of fraud. Without the BADbusinessbureau, fraud will surely win! Don't let that happen! Whether it's the terrorists or fraud attacking, we must continue to fight hard to keep our nation strong. Our lives, and the lives of our children depend on it!

God bless all of you!

The WSI network provides no value post sale and will ruin your professional reputation by a total lack of ability to deliver in any capacity.

A couple of things you should know about WSI:
1. They are in the business of growing the # of franchise owners

2. They make money from royalties from both franchisors, production centers and suppliers (i.e. SEO/SEM "Experts")

3. They and all suppliers are technically unsound. Antiquated coding languages, unsafe security practices are common place.

4. The supppliers must offer such a low price there is no practicle way for them to provide any level of service.

5. There are no Service Level Agreements in any relationship - you are on your own. No supplier will agree to provide any Service level agreement. You are responsible for every aspect of a project and any issues that arise.

6. The average time for a project takes
approximately 4-6 Months and much longer for any customized solutions. This is based on over 25 Months experience and 12 projects.

7. WSI Corporate has amongst the worst customer service (franchise facing) I have seen in 17 years of technology expereince. Not once has a problem been solved within 48 business hours...this includes issues as easy as password resets.

8. Customer service gets worse with the production centers. They have no accountability to the franchise owners and you must escalate every issue.

9. No information concerning peer franchises are ever shared in the network. There is no visibility to what is successful and what is not. Absoloutely never are any revenue numbers shared. This can only lead to the assumption (and extensive chat room noise) that there are none in the black other than those making monay assisting WSI sell more franichises (What say ye Mr. Aldeman?).

10. Out of 30 people in my training, 2 are still acutally attempting to work in the network.

Positives:
1. You will learn a lot about internet technology, SEO, SEM etc. Unfortunately, it will cost you your reputation and as much money as you have to burn.

2. You will be wiser and will regonize WSI type ripsoffs like this.

3. If you do purchase - you will get an opportunity to write letters such as these.

4. If you are not totally disgusted, you will know how to run a real internet business, one that actually values clients and has integrity (not part of the WSI model).

The WSI network provides no value post sale and will ruin your professional reputation by a total lack of ability to deliver in any capacity.

Good luck

Just wanted to thank all of the individuals that have reported what this WSI franchise is all about. They have been contacting me and putting me thru their so called interview process, but never once actually explaining what it is I would be buying into. They were a bit disappointed when I indicated I would have to borrow the $40,000 to invest in this scheme. I was already a bit leary of this thing, but you guys have closed the deal for me and I won't be buying into this franchise. Hopefully you guys can get your money back, but I already know how hard that is to do. Thanks again for posting what you really get from putting all of your hard earned money into this thing (a very expensive get rich scheme that never happens). God bless you for posting the truth about them.

I also own a WSI franchise and realize I was over sold. As a sales person for 20+ years I know that if I don't believe in the product or service I can't sell it. The only thing WSI does is sign up 1,000+++ people on the front-end and hooks them up to web designers on the back-end. 90% of their focus is signing people up after that ?????

Maybe check out this law firm that specializes in franchise law and represents the franchisee