[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] Marketing Company - YOU WILL NOT BE A MANAGER ONE DAY!!!

Behind-the-pc

They phoned me after i read a few things on this site,I asked what the job was and a bit more detail the man said he didnt know and his boss just gave him 10 cvs to phone so then i asked was it door to door sales and he said no its business of business sales and a bit more 'up market' he told me to come down for a quick 10 min chat tomorrow thankfully i work in the city already might pop over and see what BS they fill me with.

ladygribgrib

Hello, I wanted to share my experience as I stayed at one of these "companies" for roughly 3 months. Longer than most perhaps. This was 5 years ago now so I must apologise if I miss out any details.

This place was based in the Liverpool city centre, in a shared office with a sister company. I wouldn't know if they still have this office, but it was opposite the met quarter. The owner there was Alex Pinker (not a very nice man, who got his 18 year old secretary pregnant, and apparently cocaine was his main driving force through the day). Who I believe is still the owner. At the time it was known as Code Marketing, which I believe to have changed to Code UK, now it could be anything! This was under Cobra as mentioned in various other threads.

I went through the same strange interview process, and "observation" day that everyone has mentioned. The difference with mine was that it wasn't door to door, it was standing in super markets and shopping centres harassing people who didn't really want to talk to you. I did have my doubts throughout the entire experience, but i was young and desperate for a job asap.

We had the same prep talks in the morning, the team talks and practising your sales pitch with one another and then some rubbish talk all stood in a circle announcing what we would buy with the money we made when we supposedly make it as owners/ managers.

I'd get there around 8am and get home around 10pm most days, working Monday to Saturday, so most Sundays were spent sleeping and not much else. It literally becomes your life.

We had targets of about 4 or 5 sales a day, I was selling AXA healthcare, convincing people that they would need it because all dentists will eventually be private (rubbish and lies) and this would help them pay for dentists and healthcare for their family. All of this was done to a script, or a pitch that was thrust upon on me during first day to memorize.

Each sale at the time, was at most worth £18, if the person you sold it to was over a certain age, the younger they were, the less you earnt. Most days though I'd probably get 2 or 3 sales genrally with younger people so i only made a few quid. After paying for my own transport each day travelling ridiculous distances, I didn't make much at all.

If we reached our target, then each person who had done so would get the reward of "ringing the bell" in front of everyone. which was literally a bell in the middle of the team prep room.

One day I was sent to London, to see the head quarters of the whole cobra organisation. It involved a lot of people boasting of how successful they are and what they do with their money. Of course I earnt nothing that day, or any other day that I didn't sell anything.

One day, in a shopping centre in Liverpool, an elderly lady collapsed near to where we had set up, and hit her head so hard it knocked her out. Obviously I was very concerned and rushed to help her, after calling an ambulance and waiting with the lady, the guy that i was working with lectured me about how I was wasting my time because I wasnt earning anything the longer that i helped this lady. I absolutely refused to leave her and waited until the ambulance came. It just goes to show how ruthless these people are. Money is more important than life and health??... Needless to say, this was the last straw for me and I didn't go back.

The owner text me asking me to go in to the office to talk about it. I said no. He did however owe me money so i went back a week or so later to pick it up. He was asking me what I was planning on doing now in quite a patronizing manner. Then he boasted about how much money he had made that week.

I then spent my time applying for real jobs, that match my qualifications, and I now have a very rewarding and fulfilling career, an actual salary, a pension, shares, etc.

I would say to anyone even considering this line of work/torture/slave driving, please don't put yourself through it. And you are no doubt far too qualified and capable of much better things. This type of forceful sales is only for people who either are unable to get a real job, or have absolutely no soul or care for taking money from people who obviously cannot afford it.

These were an entirely miserable few months of my life. Don't do it, and definitely never let anyone you know buy anything from them.

Hope this helps.

gavmrgav

I read this information what you wrote.

Primus UK does not have a parent company, we are a Limited company.

Could you give me the details of Bour Bon Creations Ltd please?
As I have been told I have got a job working for the Primus UK Ltd in Manchester, I have been told to have 2 references from my previous jobs wrote to - Bour Bon Creations.

Can you explain why?

Or is the company a really a scam?

emmatwin

please please please DO NOT get taken in by this lot of scammers!

JMS marketing employ vulnerable people and sell them a dream.. the dream of 'making it' and becoming rich.. but it NEVER comes true.

My boyfriend of 6 years and i have recently split up because he failed to see what this 'job' was doing to him. He started work at 7.30 and finished at about 11pm..he was never off the phone to his work mates and continually talked about 'the business' and all this for about £69 a WEEK!!!

why.. i hear you ask... do people stay at this if they work so hard but get paid so little... well its the drip drip drip effect, the start of working less and it gets more and more over time..they use mind manipulation techniques... so people become convinced its a good job that will lead to fortune...

Names to watch out for Jack Bertok, Justin Cobb (fat cats that make all the money of the everyday workers they are both american)

the operate under many names and are located in Newcastle, manchester, liverpool and London....

company's that the sell for are Talk Talk, 3 network and Victoria Jackson make up

be wary of jobs that use phrases like 'atmosphere' 'observation interview' and of course they are ALL commission only.

PLEASE do not be fooled!

theblagger

Also beaware of scams offering you certificates of courses...i.e pay up to £300 for a two day course in occupational therapy or care work etc
As you know these courses take months years to complete...not two days lol!

there are loads of scams like this on gumtree etc, and these marketing companies advertising on jobboards should be banned as well the job boards obviously does not vet these these jobs , and these are big job boards ...reed, total jobs , sales target, simply sales jobs, just seem to take the money... If I use a job board it will be a ethical one ...and yes there are one or two out there

jemima82

Hi all, I just wanted to add my own experience to this thread.

I worked for a Cobra subsidiary for three months when I was 21 (door-to-door signing up charitable donations by Direct Debit).

While I agree that the vast majority (99.9%) of people won't end up with loads of money or a management career doing this, I actually found it to be a worthwhile experience, and I don't regret it at all.

For someone young, who is perhaps living at home and not needing to guarantee a huge salary, this is an ideal summer ot temp job.

Long hours and commission-only, yes, BUT you will meet loads of people, get a lot of exercise (after the first week I discovered I actually did have stomach muscles!) and gain life experience.

There are so many people I met who I will never forget. For one, it really opened my eyes to the poverty in this country - one young girl (20s) living with her alcoholic father and uncle in a poor part of Edinburgh, whose living room and kitchen were blackened from a fire (and the council hadn't done anything about it). The uncle urinated into a teatowel whilst sitting on the sofa while we were there! Not pleasant, but as I said, a real eye-opener.

A cheerful single mum who I had such a laugh with, a born-again Christian who had been a proper rock-n-roller in his youth (and had the pics to prove it), a street in Dundee which seemed to be packed full of schizophrenics....

If you go into this knowing it's not forever, it can be a great experience (and it does actually teach you effective sales techniques, and give insight into what makes people buy/sign up).

At the end of the three months I sent my bus tickets etc and payslips to HMRC who sorted out my tax (I didn't have to pay anything, I guess it was dealt with over the course of the year).

dekka1978

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone on this forum post i recently quit my old job due to boss being impossible to work with and not getting customer orders in or stock,
so i applied for as many jobs as I could and got a call today from yes you guessed it coulson group based in newcastle and offered me a job with them expanding they need staff in all aspects of work so i got an interview setup for tomorrow but dont think i will turn up now save my the £6 in bus fares the seemed quite eger to offer my an interview with an email detailing exact location of the offices

once again thank you people. xxxx :A

fabnikki

I went to one of these interviews a couple of years ago, cant remember the name, but it was in maidstone using the office above british heart foundation.

Interview process was exactly as described by other posters.

I went to the second interview, on way to "location" i asked what the starting salary was and was answered by "i dont understand" then "oh it can range vastly" then a change of subject, which i thought was weird. Then when we arrived at "location" i realised it was door to door sales and felt totally awkward, carried on for an hour or 2, until i couldnt take it anymore and politely told the trainer I wasnt interested and felt uncomfortable. She tries to convince me it was only a short term thing and nothing wrong with it but realised i was adament and let me go, she carried on. I walked off, and then realised I didnt have a clue where i was, found a resident and asked for directions, got back eventually but was a little nerve wracking.

I just felt so wrong and awful the whole time, like this warning bell was screaming, i should have listened to my gut in the first interview, but at least i did eventually.

Tell you what though, my trainer was a good sales person, but even with that skill she didnt get anyone to sign up while i was with her.

One thing i do regret is not finding out the name or something of another interviewee i spoke to while they made us wait, would have liked to know how she got on, she seemed really nice, and had the option of another job, I hope she took it.

colourblindcat

I have the exact same email and a phone call as below except the job I applied to is a Sales Representative.

Has anyone else had any experience with this company.... ? Magnum Direct. I want to know if I am signing up to something dodgy BEFORE I interview.

kevin1985 wrote: »

Is this the same as the rest here. its from Magnum Direct Ltd. found their ad on the reed website. It was a bit vague, not really saying what the job was just with the heading "fundraising sales". Other ads by the same company are evrywhere with the heading "+++ IMMEDAITE START +++".
The wage it just said paid weekly and was £300-£700 (yeah right) but nothing about commision only or NMW being paid etc.
Anyway i applied and just had my telephone interview which (unsuprisingly) i passed and he has (out of loads of applicants) decided to fast track me so that i bypass a second interview.
Here is the email i got about an hour after:


Dear Kevin,

I am pleased to confirm that we will be fast tracking you through our recruitment process. This is a rare opportunity as we only have space for one or two fast track applications.

Company: Magnum Direct
Position: Field Sales Advisor
Assessor/Trainer: Joanna

Date: Monday 11th July 2011
Time: 10.30am

Address: Dephna House, 112-114 North Acton Road, Park Royal, London, NW10 6QH

Dress Code: Smart Business

Please bring the following with you:
A completed job application form
1 x passport photo
2 x proofs of current address
A copy of passport
2 x business references

*****Keep all travel receipts as we will reimburse you*****

Should any issues arise with this time or date please contact me ASAP so that I can advise our trainer and if applicable re-schedule.

Please have a look at our website in preparation for training.

May I take this opportunity to wish you every success with this stage of the process.

Regards,


Amrik Biring
Recruitment Department


Magnum Direct Limited



It sounds very similar to what others here have posted and been saying and i really cant be bothered to go if its the same rubbish.

Anyone heard or had anything to do with them?

theindiekid

I've just got a job offer from DCM Marketing Services about an unidentified job in marketing and advertising. I was really excited because I could use all my skills and knowledge in the advertising arena.

However, after reading on here and http://dcmmarketingsscam.blogspot.com/ I have decided to give it a wide-berth. I probably couldn't do door-to-door sales as failed as a charity mugger anyways. I still think I'll look into working in advertising.