From:
Sent:
Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 4:25 pm
To:
john.mattes@investigativeguy.com
Ok Here we go I had my first interview back in December of 2010 at United Associates located at 2960 Winnetka Ave in Crystal MN. My first interview I thought was a little weird, because there were about 8 other people but I did not think much of it in the given state of the economy. Anyways Tracy did my first interview. I was pulled in the room with another older genital man she asked him questions and reviewed his papers first she went though it so fast and hardly had time to write the answers he was giving I knew then that he was not being accepted from the look on her face. He started to ask what the company was and she said it is a whole sale fragrance company, this did not detour me from not wanting a job. He then asked what types of things we would be managing? Tracy then told us that we have distributors that go and deliver the perfume and we just basically manage them. Tracy also said that the distributors are like CocaCola people who go deliver the product. How much better can this get I thought to my self no experience they are going to train me on how to manage them and give me an office of theirs to work from. She then sent him out of the room and started my interview. When she told me that in my first year I would be making 34-40 thousand dollars I was excited I didn’t have to worry about supporting myself and my family. Done deal right? Tracy had me call her that evening to see if I had been excepted for 2nd interview and so naturally I called and was happy to know I had been excepted for 2nd interview. When I got there the next day I was greeted by Jez the manager. He put me and about 15 other people in a room telling us that we were not competing for the position and that there were many available. I didn’t think much of it because hey I was going to make the big bucks. So that evening I was to call again to see if I had been accepted for the position and sure enough I was! That next week we were to have meetings and orientation. So I went the next week with my note book and pen just like Jez told me to. The first day they explained to us about all the perfumes and then told us that we should go home and talk to as many people as we could and sell as much perfume to our friends and family as possible. I didn’t understand why they wanted us to do this, because I had signed up to be a manager not a sales person. Jez and Tracy said that there was a bonus for making our goal and selling I think it was like 20 bottles got you $50 bucks or something. At this time Jez told us that they run bonuses all the time and some people make up to 500 or more a week on bonuses. Jez said and I quote ” People get bonuses for coming up with bonuses”. I thought great a pay check and extra income. The next day we came in and there were people there that I had never seen before they were teaching us a sales pitch again I didn’t ask questions because I thought that this was just them teaching us what some of our distributors would be asking people to get new clients. After this Jez said ok it is your first day “out in the field” I thought ok they are going to show us how to do deliveries. Nope I was wrong they sent us out with perfume and a trainer to go sell perfume out on the corner in parking lots in the middle of winter I was dressed for the office but I did not complain again I figured that we would just learn what we were to teach others how to do. So Jez gives us a list of levels of training that is to last 60-90 days only. Wow great! First step product line product knowledge and sales and marketing. The second level is Teaching and Training. And the third step is all the office admin. the job we really signed up for. At this point I am thinking ok I can do 60-90 days and Jez put it in writing that we are going to get an office upon completion of the learning program in 60-90 days no matter what. So I get to the second week of us going out on the streets and selling. And I am wondering where my paycheck is because so far at this point I have made about $20 bucks from selling perfume and I need gas money and money to pay for my living expenses. Jez is kind of intimidating and so is Tracy at this point so I as another trainer and she says AH no we don’t get paid. I knew it, it was all to good to be true. I couldn’t quite now I had already made it so far in the training so I keep going borrowing money from anyone I could at this point. I put many miles on my vehicle so all I am thinking is I need to do this so I can afford to pay everyone back to get a new car and to afford living where I am living. So I continue. I do not remember what month it was when this happened but after a Friday night of partying at the office someone got busted for smoking in the girls bathroom, among other things such as using to many parking spaces and for drinking in the office and for sleeping over night in the office. Among other things that were never disclosed to us. But anyways they locked Tracy, Jez, Rob, and Will all out of the office. Great this is where things get fishy but I remember I need this job to pay for things so I continue thinking that I am truly going to get this office because they keep telling me that it is going to happen. So United associates gets kicked out and we have no where to hold our meetings and meet except Heathers office in Columbia Heights. Not sure of the exact address but it is basically a hole in the wall where her office is to recruit people for Jez. She is the only one this far who has gotten an office that Jez has payed for. So we go to Heathers office and Jez sends me and people who live close to me with product and says I will call you when we know what is going on. Days go by with no word of what is going on. I sure as hell was not going to work unless I knew that they were not just up and leaving.
Finally I hear something from another person who worked there telling me to call Tracy to see what time to meet tomorrow. So I call and they have us meet in the same office. They basically tell us to not ever give up and was the stupidest meeting I have ever sat though in my whole life they wasted my time that day for nothing only to tell us that we would be moving to a new location.
They moved to a new location 9220 Bass Lake Rd, New Hope,MN. Now called Executive associates. (763)269-7585. I think this is the longest that they have ever had a phone number for they constantly change it when people get wind of the company.
So now before we move here I am in the last stage of the 60-90 day training. I am promoted to Executive Manager. But wait I don’t have an office in training I was told that when you get promoted to Executive Manager that you are in your own office. Jez asked me to find my office and get a lease so that it could be signed and we would go get the keys next weekend. So I go find an office and get the lease which I had no idea goes in your name but Jez tells us that if he doesn’t like the way you run your office he will pull you out and put someone else in and make you go though training again. At this point all I am thinking is good get me out of here he keeps coming up with stupid things for me to do and plus Jez and Tracy never trained me in the office so I hope I know everything I am doing.
In the middle of me getting the lease we move to the 9220 Bass Lake Rd office. Jez has me help out in the office for a while but comes in while I am on a recurting call and as I am leaving a message I am giving out the only phone number that we have always had he started yelling at me while I was leaving this message that, that is not our phone number and blah blah blah, so I continue and say the name of our company and this is where he gets furious. I say United associates. Apparently Jez and Tracy for got to tell everyone that they changed our name and phone number. This is when they started to treat everyone like shit. If they didn’t like you it was obvious. So I have my lease and when I ask when we are going to open the office Jez tells me that I need to sell 100 bottles to pay for the office to open it. I was a bit taken back by this because since the begining they tell you the company pays for your office to open. Jez goes since you will be in competition with me I don’t really wanna pay for your office. The reason I payed for Heathers office is because she is helping me out by sending people my way. This is where I had had enough. I knew that it was never going to happen It had been 6 months since I had started there I knew it was never going to happen.
They also have an office in Duluth MN. Not sure where the location is but it is there and Jez’s mom is running that one. I believe her name is Deb.
They brainwash you just like others have said. They want you to hangout with them and only them. Tracy,Jez,Rob,Will, and Kerri would all stay at the office and Drink the night away. Always showing up to work hung over telling us of their drunken night before. They all live in a house together that they do not want people to know they also don’t want people to know that Will and Rob sleep with every girl they can get their hands on while they are out on satellites. Which is where they take a group of people to go sell product where they do not have an office. They also do not want you to know that Jez,Will, and Rob have no license but yet they drive peoples cars everywhere. Tracy,Jez and Will all share a car,while Rob and Kerri usually drive in Rob’s truck. These people make that kind of money and only have one car? It’s because they all have DWI’s or DUI’s not sure of which 100% but that’s why they are not supposed to be driving. But still do. Do not let these people take advantage of you. They have money but waist it all on beer and stupid shit. While you are barley making it to work to get this office that you will never get.
If you have a vehicle they will use the shit out of you to transport and drive everyone else around who dosen’t have a car. And as for bonuses that Jez promises they only happen every once in a while and the bonuses are usually pizza and pop or a dinner. But not much else.
Here is where it gets complicated when we first started they had us sign a paper saying that we would never say anything bad about them well I say fuck that no one can take your rights to freedom of speech away from you.
But still this is where my story has to stop the rest could give me away. But I have to let someone know about it I am not sure what can or can’t be done about it.
The things that give me away are to fallow this sentence please do not throw me under the bus.
I posted Scam and warning adds on Craigslist after this all happened. Trying to warn others.
There must be others out there because someone else was using my name I was smart enough not to use my name. I got a nasty message from Heather (we used to be friends) She wrote on my Facebook page to “Get a life BITCH!”. I was taken back by this because I had no idea what was going on. Hours later I get a call from Tracy telling me to stop. I asked her what it was that I was doing that I needed to stop. She attacked me on the phone and said that I was continuously posting bad things about them online. But the truth was I only had a few adds up that would get flagged every well 2 weeks or so. But I never said much besides stay away it is not a managers job they lie to get you to stay away keep your money and get a real job. This other person was apparently writing things like lets get a law suit against them. I told her it was not me but she continued to tell me that she would call the authorities on me if I didn’t stop. I wanted to call the authorities on her Tracy and Heather were attacking me for what reason?
That is the just of the story there is more about others who have worked there and got treated like shit once you told them that you were not going to jump though hoops for them anymore. I could go on and on about everything that they do to people but I am sure I would be writing a novel. I am just glad that I have gotten the word out about these people many people thank me for warning them. It is the only thing that lets me know I have saved on more person from falling for a more than 10 year old scam. Let me know If there is anything else I can do.
THANK YOU!