Warning

[Guest 1916]

A warning to all: Most of you would probably hang up on telemarketers anyway, but just FYI If anyone ever calls you from UMA, United Marketing Association, or Sweepstakes Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, or anything of the like then for your own good, request politely to be put on the Do Not Call list, DON'T say not intrested, don't call me ect. Don't simply hang up, and above all don't be rude because they will keep calling you, or even worse put you on the spanish speaking list, which means 2 mins later you will get a call sounding something like this

"BUENO! está ____ de UMA..." except these people don't speak english so they will just send you back to the english list to start the whole crap cycle all over again.

 

I, regretfully am an employee (soon to be former employee), not of the "UMA", but of of Telosolutions Intl. which in reality is not in Nevada, but rather in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. My job consists of phoning people in the U.S, for "quick courtesy calls" telling them they have been entered into the phony (pun not intended), "Dream of a Lifetime Sweepstakes", (won the previous 2 years running by the mysterious Felix Depaulo), then offering them a crappy free watch and 3 free magazine subscriptions, then proceed to tell them they can only get all this if they pay the low low price of $3.84 per week.....for the next 60 F'n MONTHS! If you do the math that comes to $998.40, for a $5 watch and a bunch of shitty-ass magazines. It's too bad that people can't do the math, as they are usually put on the spot.

I had to take this job because I got laid off (from a FAR better job) at the begenning of Dec. and needed money for X-Mas. I do not enjoy making a living by either harassing people, or ripping them off, and if I could call each person I sold this shit to, and apologize I would. I would have quit on the spot, however this company will not give you your cheque w/o 2 weeks notice, and I am in a bind for cash right now

 

To anyone who happens to live in Winnipeg, do not, I repeat DO NOT ever work there. So far, in my second week there, I have been threatened to have my job taken away for missing 1 shift due to illness, and promptly working 14 hours the next day while still sick, to make up the hours, or else they wouldn't pay me my $175 in commissions and bonuses(we have to work 40 hours to get all that). However my manager had another trick up her sleeve.

 

A little backstory; we are required to work every second saturday, day shift works one, night shift works the next. I was told to try and be about 5-10 mins early as it can get crowded. I arrived about 20 mins early, but had to help another employeee push his car out of the parking lot. I made it, still excatly 8 mins early and got there to find the door to my room (small room with about 25 computers, and sets of headsets) closed. My room manager (second from the bottom of the chain of command) T, who is an ok guy, told me that all the seats were filled, but to wait outside for my Sales Manager (top of the chain) this was the convo that took place between me and my sales manager, "Paula".

 

-Paula: "You're late, go home you're not working today.".

 

-Me:"It's 8:52, I start at 9, plus I was helping J push his car outside"(which he had just explained to her himself).

 

-Paula: "If all the seats are filled, then as far as I'm concerned you're late. I don't give a shit why you're late, go pick up your last weeks cheque and leave, see you on Monday"

 

-Me: "Ok... but will I still get my bonuses on next weeks cheque, since I was here on time technicaly."

 

Her: "We'll just see about that" (in a bitchy tone)

 

Me: "We sure will, have a good weekend see you on Monday" *walks out*

 

And I am quite proud of myself for not bringing myself down to her level. Mad as I was, I resisted the urge to verbally tear her a new arse, but it could happen one of these days.

 

So this sould be interesting. I feel a call to the Labour Board coming very soon if things don't go well on Monday.

 

 

If anyone cares, I'll keep you updated. If not thanks for reading anyway.

Edited December 17, 2005 by 1916

[daileyxplanet 0]

Wow. I don't know if anyone else cares, but please keep me posted. What an effed up place.

[Guest Fook]

-Paula: "If all the seats are filled, then as far as I'm concerned you're late.

 

And here I thought lateness was related to time...

 

If they told you to be there at a certain time and you show up before that time, then you're not late. Period. If all the seats are filled, that just means other employees were earlier than you. You still did exactly what management asked of you. Thus, you should not be punished. It's management's fault for scheduling more workers than there are available seats.

[Carnival 0]

Fuck call centers.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

14-hour shift? Damn, I worked one 6-hour shift at one of those places before, and that was more than enough for me.

 

Things can't be that hard up North that this is the only job you can find.

 

Next thing you know, you'll tell me that this e-mail I got from some guy in Nigeria who needs $1,000 from me so he can give me his $1 million cash windfall locked away in some hippie account is a fraud, too...

Edited December 18, 2005 by kkktookmybabyaway

[stahl 0]

Report them to the labour board. Seriously, what they are doing is illegal.

[Sideburnious 0]

Keep us posted, but i'd say everything they are doing is legal, or at least they'll say it is. They would have checked out all these loopholes before they started up the company.

[Mole 0]

That is a reallllly good idea for a company.

 

And boy, Felix Depaulo is one rich guy.

[krease 0]

Keep us posted, but i'd say everything they are doing is legal, or at least they'll say it is. They would have checked out all these loopholes before they started up the company.

 

Actually, it's not - you'd be surprised how many companies try to do stuff like that just because they *will* get away with it for quite a while because nobody does anything.

 

Definitely bring them to the attention of the Labour Board. Although the sales pitch is legal (sadly, nothing wrong with exploiting "customers" who don't know any better), the way they seem to be treating employees is definitely illegal, and something should be done about it.

[Guest TJMoney]

Things can't be that hard up North that this is the only job you can find.

 

I have already found another job, I only took this one because it was the first call back after a spree of handing out resumes, and they paid weekly so I had the chance to make more $$$ for christmas.

 

Either way, it doesn't matter now because I have an interview, and I'd say about a 99% chance of getting the job, at a reputible, unonized company on the 23rd which I am taking the day off to go to. If I get fired by the telemarketers for that, then whatever. I got my money out of them anyway, which was all I really wanted.

 

Me and a couple of guys that have been screwed over have planned to get the Labour Board involved very soon. If they give me the comissions I was promised however, then I don't really have a problem, other than having a boss who apparently can't tell time.

The problem is that nothing they are doing is technically illegal. Apparently what happened was a couple of years ago, they got into some legal trouble and changed their rules enough so that everything was "Legal " but still morally reprehensible. They may have slipped up when they fired a friend of mine for calling in sick 2 days, due to dental surgery which prevented him from talking, and therefore doing his job. He returned, WITH a doctors note, only to have my boss tell him to "Leave right now, and don't expect a paycheque from us anytime soon". Jackasses.

 

PS- the reason my username changed is that I cannot for the life of me remeber the password for it, sometimes it automaticaly logs me in, sometimes not. When it doesn't, I just use 1916. Sorry if anyone was confused, I'll just use the 1916 name from now on.

Edited December 18, 2005 by TJMoney

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I'd say about a 99% chance of getting the job, at a reputible, unonized company

 

...

 

I am taking the day off

 

No wonder you got a good shot at getting hired there.

 

Congrats, the best thing to do in a shitty work situation is to get a better job...

Edited December 19, 2005 by kkktookmybabyaway

[Guest 1916]

The bastards......the bastards.

 

well I went into work this morning (monday) and my boss proceeds to tell me that I will be getting last weeks comission, BUT I will recieve my cheque December 27th, NOT the 23rd as I was promised, which completely fucks me over for christmas, as I only have 2 of the aproxamently 1,537 gifts I have to buy already taken care of. I told her that it was bullshit and so forth. She told me to go home, calm down and come back tomorrow for a meeting in the a.m. I got up pointed at her in front of the entire room, and said "Don't belive anything this woman ever tells you. She is a liar. See you tomorrow." then calmly left.

I will go back there tomorrow and if they try any bullshit on me I am going to let them have it. Enough is enough. The funny thing is before I left. My room manager T came up to me and handed me my Employee of the Week certifacate for last week.

[Guest Fook]

I got up pointed at her in front of the entire room, and said "Don't belive anything this woman ever tells you. She is a liar. See you tomorrow."

 

You probably shot yourself in the foot with that, but I have to respect the fact that you told off your boss when you wanted to. Not everyone can do that.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Not to sound like an ass, but does four days difference really affect your Christmas? Don't you have a credit card or something to buy gifts with?

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I was wondering that, too, Invader, but I didn't get my first credit card until I was in my early-to-mid twenties, so perhaps he doesn't.

 

And if you're supposed to get paid on a certain date and don't, then you have every right to bitch. This also applies to if you paid out-of-pocket for work-related expenses after being told you'd be paid for it but then have to cut through 1,000 layers of red tape to get your money back...

[Twisted Intestine 0]

This warning is worse than: "Warning: McDonalds will make you fat!"

 

One time I got a call saying I won two free vacations to Italy. I didn't know it was a scam at first, because I thought my parents might have entered a draw or something... until they said "and you only have to pay $19.99!