Smart Circle International’s earns a 3.3-star rating from 0 reviews and 43 complaints, showing that the majority of clients are somewhat satisfied with marketing solutions.
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False Advertising
I recently graduated from college and have been searching for a job in sales/marketing. I found an advertisement for an entry level sales associate on Career Builder for a company called Northwest Marketing Inc located in Bellevue, WA. I sent them my resume and received an immediate response from human resources wanting to know if I was available for an interview. I live in Montana so I told them I would need time to buy a plane ticket. I did my research on-line about the company and the website seemed pretty legitimate except there was no information about when the company started or exactly what they did other than very general information for a marketing firm. I decided to take a chance and was HORRIBLY disappointed! The interview lasted only ten minutes and there were no definitive answers as to what the job would entail. I was offered to come to a second interview the following day and I asked exactly what I would be doing before I would waste my time. I was told they do marketing for the Seattle Mariners and that they distribute coupon booklets for tickets. The first postion in the "program" is in entry level sales, then to become an account director, and finally the last "step" is to become a manager which she explained to me takes an individual about ten months to complete. I asked if this was a door to door operation to which the young woman responded it was business to business and I asked her to explain to me how walking around, going door to door, was business to business. She replied that the job was to go to businesses in different areas and try to sell the coupons to the individuals working and that even if I fail at selling the coupons it at least puts it in their minds that there is a Mariners game. I was pretty angry after realizing that I flew to Seattle for a total scam operation. Thank goodness that I have some friends in Seattle and was able to have a small vacation with them. I am writing this so that no one else will waste their time as I did.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Very Breifly, I purchased a card from someone walking into my office for a golf package. Sounded great! I went to use the card and the golf course wouldn't except the card. Not only did I not get to use the card I spent and exta $75 to pay for the round of golf I should have reccieved for free. I called and the customer service was understanding at first and agreed to send out another card for a different location in my area. The sent me another card for the same golf course who doesnt except them. I sat it aside knowing I've already wasted too much time on the matter. A few months latter I came accross the card once again in a pile of papers and decided to give them a call once again. This time the customer service was extremely rude and truned it around on me for waiting so long to call back. We were disconnected or so i thought before I was given any answer. I called back and got a hold of some ditsy sounding gal who sounded like she didn't even know where she was working. After a few questions yup you guessed it another disconnect, which is now obvious a hang up to avoid dealing with anyone. This is obviously Smart Circle's policy when it comes to any kind of confrontation. Just Hang up on the customer and hope they just go away. Well I hope that their business methods catch up with them and they go under sooner than later.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Direct TV service sold at Sam's Club by this company
We purchased Direct TV at Sam's Club from what we thought was a Direct TV representative instead he was a Smart Circle International employee. The package was totally misrepresented and the information given to us was a complete lie. Fortunately we called the actual Direct TV customer service in time to cancel. We were told by Direct TV we had only 24 hrs to cancel without cost. They however, would not replace our DISH satllite back on our roof. Steer clear. It appears to be a scam.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I happen to agree with Ron Barry. I have not had run-ins with Smart Circle, but found this blog while searching for people with similar problems as mine. I ordered Direct TV through Samsclub.com because there was an offer to receive a $200 Sam's Club gift card if qualifications. I met them all, ordered and had installed and now over 8 weeks later still no card. i have been on the phone with every Direct TV associate there is and no one can tell me why I haven't received it, just keep putting me off on someone else instead of JUST ENDING ME THE DARN CARD! If you can see I qualify and know I by right should get the card, why not just send it? My service so far is good but essentially, they are lying and being dishonest. You can still see this offer if you go to samsclubcom.
I completley disagree with the last post on this page by "Im an american" I did read the paper work, I still have it, I have read it over and over, it says what it says. The problem is Direct TV will not abide by the pricing agreed to for the services provided on the sales sheet. The sales work order page is the only contract I have, it is the only contract they have but they continue to ignore it. They refer me to the Direct TV contract that I was told I could download on a computer, I did so a day later, it completely nullified the provisions of the sales agreement. I intend to dump Direct TV ASAP, I would not recommend them to anyone, thier offer was deceptive from the outset. Any agent available on the phone willnot give their full name, never talk to same one twice I have filed a consumer complaint with the State Attorney s office in Jacksonville, Florida. rlbarrymar1ne@comcast.net.
Sounds to me you all should have READ THE PAPERWORK YOU WERE GIVEN AT THE TIME YOU SIGNED UP!
Most of us rely on sales reps being honest. I guess that's where our expectations fall short.
Like you really read all the fine print on every deal you make. Riiiiight. Stop covering for dishonesty.
I ordered DirectTV for my new apartment through Smart Circle at Best Buyat the beginning of February. Unfortunately, when I moved in I found out there were no phone jacks in the apt., so I had to wait 2+ weeks for AT&T to set up my internet access and thus did not have it when the installation tech arrived. First, he said I needed to pay $75 for "custom installation" (because my roof is flat, or something ridiculous like that). Ok, fine. Then I told him that I did not have internet access yet, which is apparently required in order to set up DirecTV's On Demand service (Cinema Connection). He told me it would be no problem, that he would complete the installation and then when I get internet access I could just call to get a tech to come install Cinema Connection AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. Am I sure I heard him correctly? YES. I re-confirmed this with him multiple times; I had already payed $75 for what was supposed to be a "free" installation, " and I was not about to pay any more. The tech gave me his direct contact number and said if I have any service problems at any time, I should call him and not DirecTV.
Cut to this morning. My internet is all hooked up, so I call Smart Circle to set up Cinema Connection installation. They tell me that the cost to send someone out to install it is $79. I tell them what happened and what the tech said and they claim that when I deferred installation of CC (because I had no internet access), I was essentially agreeing to cancel the free installation of CC, which was part of the package deal I purchased at BB. Angry and frustrated, I immediately tried to call the tech at the number he gave me, only to receive a computer message saying, "the mobile customer you are trying to reach is not available at this time. please try again later." Positively livid now, I call DirecTV to see if they can help me. They tell me they would be happy to order me a CC wireless, self-installation kit- for $31. Oh, and since I didn't place the initial order with them, they consider this a service "upgrade, " so I'll have to pay another $50. And should I have a problem with the "self" installation, it will cost me $50 to get a service tech to come out to help me.
When you go through Smart Circle, you are indeed buying DirecTV service, but you are actually ordering Smart Circle hardware installation. DirecTV has nothing to do with these 3rd party installations, but they will be happy to clean up the mess they make- at the expense of the customer. So basically, not only is there zero incentive for DirecTV to qualify or even approve these resellers, the more resellers there are and the crappier service they offer, the more money DirecTV makes. And what does Best Buy (or Sam's Club) care? They're not the ones doing anything wrong, the poor service doesn't reflect negatively upon them and clearly DirecTV doesn't take issue with them over it. The whole thing is totally sketchy and, ethically, highly suspect at best- which makes it entirely unremarkable. That's just the way business is done now. The only thing we can do is remember what Mike Brady taught us- caveat emptor.
I agree with the posting above. The customers seem to blame the rep more than anything, when in most cases the rep is just trying to save them money while making also making some money themselves. The sad thing about it is that if these reps don't make the minimum sales for the week they will never finish paying off the loans the employed gave them. The sales person really doesn't get paid hourly its all based on commission, but smart circle doesn't clearly explain that when they are first hired. They don't get paid for over time, even though they work more than 48 hours a week. Most of the reps work over 12 hours a day, they are not happy about it but don't complain because smart circle keeps promising them their own office. The dream of having their own business takes over the injustice of not getting paid what they deserve. I wish smart circle would change their policy and pay them the hours they work for. It really breaks my heart to see how hard they work and still not being appreciated.
Yes, the reps are paid on commission, so they either lie or exaggerate what they're offering. For instance, promising "Internet 50" when that isn't possible, they give you half that speed for the same price. ATT sez it's just the way it is.
I work for Smart Circle. This company just offers what most sales positions offer and that is a draw. There are some shady employees that work for them but also some hard working good folks too.
Customers who sign up for Direct TV through one of these reps usually end up saving the potential customer quite a bit of money over the two year promotion over their current provider. It seems that everyone is gaining in this except the one who showed you all the benefits of canceling your current cable service. The retailer makes $250 a install and the manager of Smart Circle local marketing team makes $200 which he is supposed to give anywhere from 120.00 to 100.00 a install. This is where it becomes a mission nearly impossible for the sales rep. Managers frequently do not pay their reps week in and week out what they initially are told they are going to make. Either their install dates are so far backed up or they just don't get the minimum amt of needed installs to validate commission. The worst thing about this is if you work there for more than a month you basically pay back loans you were given due to their draw system. I've seen managers not give a hoot about their employees or their needs. The product however is fantastic for 90% of those that sign up. Just be honest to the customer and in most cases you are able to not only upgrade their service from what they have but I've saved people over $500 on their 1st year of DTV service.
Some of you complaining customers need to have a reality check on the issues you want addressed. If your sales rep lied to you that's one thing. I've found customers lie just as much. At least after all is said and done you get everything in writing. If you only were going to sign up for the friends and family discount then you wouldn't of received the retailer discount. Most reasons people sign up in the store is all the additional savings or benefits thanks to the retailer. The fact they are locked in at prices they know over the next two years and cap on their 3rd year and beyond. They are not receiving that in most cases at the present. I tell everyone I sign up to take a day or two and research DTV and ask folks how they like it. I'm not scared to tell them that I work for a 3rd party neither. At least Smart Circle and the retailer have teamed up to save their customers money. Since the recession places like Smart Circle have given people a chance to save money while switching and upgrading their TV services. In reality the only loser in the long run is the employee who took the time to show you what you could have and how much you could save.
All you complainers last year they signed up 250, 000 folks across the country. I read about 10 complaints so I guess DTV through a 3rd party can't be too bad. No one is perfect but if there's more pluses than minuses over what you had then stop whining and be grateful for the aggressive salesperson who is trying to help you help him/or her.
My complaint is that - evidently - their right hand doesn't know what their left is doing.
They researched my location, told me (the person on the ATT line - they phoned them while selling the product) that I'd be getting Internet 50. When it was installed, the ATT people said they could only deliver half that. Fine, but where's the price reduction to match? Oh, it's a one-price-fits-all arrangement. Wish I'd known that when I was signing up.
Also, AT&T is the most inept, corrupt, disinterested company I've ever run across. Ironically, the "phone company" has the worst phone "help" service on the planet, sending you around and around from person to person who can't seem to help and often can't speak fluent English.
I worked for them for a year. They pressure reps to get a certain average every day, dock wages, and don't even document hours on anything but time cards, which now aren't even used, but docked even more for everything from bathroom breaks to five minute breaks. Hell, we weren't even given tax forms! We are technically independent contractors, yet adhere to a schedule, without overtime pay and no benefits ever. We get no breaks after four hours if there is a queue (people waiting to sign up for DirecTV service), even if we ask because we are entitled to a fifteen minute break every four hours by state law. We get paid in personal checks from someone who was fired from Dish Network. In all honesty, you'll most likely get the same or better deal from DirecTV themselves with a cleaner and more thorough installation, unless you go to Best Buy for a TV and get a $250 gift card if you go through Smart Circle as a retailer. In this economy, it's hard to find a job in California or Florida and these ### sucking ### manipulate and use young, desperate people to no end. With any luck, they'll take themselves down before the year's end. Though I may just shut them down myself. -Former Anonymous Smart Circle Jerk/"Customer Service Rep"
I have orange cords dangling from the outside of my home and a satelite three feet off the ground on the side of my house! Orange cords in my house all laying around...looks like a construction site! Awful installation! DO NOT USE!
As a former Smart Circle rep and manager, I will tell u that most of the promos that they offer thru Sams and Best Buy are better then what you get thru Directv corporate. The reason they are better is bc Sams and Best Buy offer this on top for they're customers only. The problem is that there are promotions that you can't get with smart circle like the friends and family referral discount. Custom installation will cost you way more with smart circle then directv bc there is more hands in the cookie jar. Directv pays the retailer an amount. Directv pays smart circle an amount that is then devided 5 or 6 times between reps, mgrs, install company, and installer. The other problem is that these reps are under so much pressure from day one and threatened from day to perform asap or be fired, that your gonna get reps who will tell you what you want to get u signed up. I advise anyone that is thinking of signing up to make the rep put everything your promised in writing on the worksheet. One last bit of advice, if u do feel screwed over by them don't complain to directv or smart circle. Only complain to your local best buy or sams and also complain to corporate best buy and sams. That is the only thing they fear is losing those retailers. Directv doesn't care about complaints but best buy and sams do. Smart circle is a guest that pays no rent to the retailer. Ive seen customers get the hook up and I've even seen smart circle have to pay for a customers cancellation fee of $500. So don't got to the BBB, directv, or smart circle to complain bc it's a waist of time.
Just to let you all know, Directv is fully aware of these promotions. They actually hire smart circle for this and that is why the sales people introduce themselves as directv employees. That is what directv requires of them. So if you need to take an issue with anyone I would recommend directv, the whole promotion is entirely their idea.
Fraud and Cheeting
First of all I hope that you're reading about these companies before you even go for an interview. If you all ready had one, don't go for the second.
Both companies are a part of The Smart Circle, a large Multi Level Marketing Scam.
The 1st Interview:
You will apply for a job you found online and they will call you and tell you to come in for an interview, the interview is actually a sales pitch. You're going to be "sold" on how great these companies are, and why you should work there. They will use Impulse Factors on you causing you to think that they aren't heiring too many people, and that time is running short. You will see 3-5 people there for the interview and you will be told only one of you will get the position. You will be told that it is a management training program and that in 6 months you could be making over $150, 000 a year. They will then tell you that they like you, and to come back for a second interview.
The 2nd Interview:
You will go in at around 9am. You'll meet with the manager and then he will have you meet with one of the trainers. They will have you follow them (so you can go meet with the manager at noon) using your own gas. Get ready, because you're going to go Business to Business or at a Sam's Club selling either Windshields or Gift Certificates. After wasting your time out "in the field" you will have to drive back and meet with the manager, who will tell you that you're hired because your trainer thinks you will be a good fit.
Your First Day:
You will show up at 8am, go in to a room with loud music and "practice pitch." Every one will be giving each other high-fives and yelling "JUICE" (Join Us In Creating Expansion.) This is what a lot of people call brainwashing.
The Scam:
The managers of this company make money off of you selling products. You get a cut, and they get a cut. For the windshields you will get $45 and they will get $30. If 10 people only sell 1 windshield in a day, the manager has made $300 and each person only makes $45 (thats for a 12 hour day) and if you drove you're going to come up even. All the hours are long and no matter how good you do, you can't live off of this income. If you try and stick in there and make it to manager, you have more of a chance of going broke. Now some people can do good in this business, but remember, you're scamming people out of their hard earned money. Also, you will probably get the cops called on you a few times and get some trespassing orders.
The Companies:
Orange County Sports Advertising: This company is run by Justin Enge who came from Kansas City. They sell these Gift Cards Business to Business and at Sam's Clubs. Most of the gift cards either don't work, aren't worth the money, or have some serious type of catch to them. Just read a few of the complaints about the vacation cards. Along with that they sell Carb Crusher Tea, Jewelery, and Fudge. These are real products if the sales person doesn't lie about them (and they will to get a sale.) However, if you decide to quit, you will never see the money you made. They owe me $300 and I know I will never see it.
American Events: This company is run by Larry from New York. They sell windshields at no cost. This product is real, however you will be going Business to Business looking for broken windshields. The tactics for sales is sketchy, and once again, you will be forced to lie by saying "we're out here helping out (made up name here) at (random store thats close by) by getting them a no cost windshield replacement. This giant lie helps the person you're talking to trust you a little more, and causes an impulse that if someone else is getting it, they should too. Now even though this is a real product, the work isn't the best. The installers miss appointments and do half ### jobs. And finally, this is another company that will hide pay checks from you and will never give you them once you quit. And if you do quit, the manager Larry, will tell everyone you got fired.
Last words: DON"T FALL INTO THE TRAP! I highly encourage that you read some of the other complaints!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
You guys should just admit that business isn't for you. Lol. None of you guys could sell or manage anything if you're life depended on it. This is business 101 and if u can't work on commission YOU are the real scam! Get paid for what you're worth not some handout. That's real business right there idiots smh
Fudgie Wudgie is WELL known as a company that does NOT pay like they say and if you are lucky enough to get paid at all, be careful checks are known to bounce..BEWARE
Don't work for fudgie wudgie...they DON'T pay there employees.
I have been calling for my pay and just getting the run around.
I recently worked for Orange County Sports Advertising and I have to say this is so true. I had to waste my gas to follow my trainer to a Sams Club then help sell Fudgie Wudgie. People didn't seem all too interested. Sams Club employees kept returning fudge to our booth numerous times. There were even complaints of molded fudge. Anyhow I worked 4 days. And when I got paid my check was only $180 something dollars. I had to chase down Justin for my check. I doubt he would've paid me if I didn't keep texting and asking for my check. It's just a complete waste of time. Real promotional companies pay hourly NOT COMMISSION. I should've known since I have worked marketing jobs paying nearly $20 an hour. DO NOT GO IN FOR THIS JOB INTERVIEW. it's a waste of time and gas.
Cruise Tickets $99 for 2
I was in my local Sam's Club and they had a wide assortment of travel deals available. The one that caught my eye was a package that said 2 cruise tickets for $99! I read the card the offer was printed on and it said that the price reflected a inside cabin and off-season price of $99. Still...that''s not too bad a deal anyway. I talked to the salesperson and they verified that the $99 was for 2 tickets, inside cabin, off-season and that all I had to pay was port charges and tips in addition to original $99. They said that I could select from many cruise lines, sailing dates, and could even upgrade my room for additional charge, so I bought 2 packages. The packages said that I had to register my cruise ticket purchase online to get the various options and prices sent to me in the mail. All I had to do was select what I wanted and then call them up to book the travel. I found that this is not how it goes down.
I registered my purchase online and waited for my great prices and options to arrive. After almost a month (you get 30 days to return the cruise package) I finally got my options in the mail. EXCEPT NOW I had to send another $50 to get my package "registered" and THEN it said I would get the prices. I called the travel agency that this offer was provided by (PTS Travel) and they told me that I would have to send the $50 and then they would send more information. I asked about the $99 cruise offer and they said the $99 was a "handling charge" and the cruise prices averaged between $300 - $800 per person depending on the length of the cruise and time of the year. IN FACT THERE IS NO $99 CRUISE TICKET AT ALL. What a rip off!
I went to Sam's Club and told them all this and they cheerfully refunded my purchase price since I was on day 25 of my 30 day refund guarantee. It was close, but I almost got taken.
I write this to warn others about these kind offers and to remind others that you get what you pay for. There is no free lunch and THERE IS NO $99 CRUISE TICKETS AT SAM'S CLUB. I hope they ban Smart Circle and PTS Travel from their stores in the future.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I too was almost "taken to the cleaners" - except that I was also checking things as we went. In our case, I booked an NCL cruise, and got a quote from PTS travel for a different one just a couple weeks later. End result: we got a much better deal working with NCL directly, than through this SCAM of a 2-for-1.
I agree VERY UNETHICAL SALESPEOPLE IN SAM"S CLUBS!
unusable card
STRONGLY RECOMMEND NOT BUYING A SMART CIRCLE CARD! I bought a RTJ Golf "Smart Circle Card" at Sam's Club in huntsville, AL. When I went to the golf course to use the card, they would not honor it because there was no expiration date or signature on the back which invalidated the card. They told me they expired months before. The company did say they would provide my money back but it was a hassle. at first, the operator kept telling me that I had to swap for another card. upon my insistence, the third time, he finally connected me to the manager who said if i send the card back they will refund my money... we'll see.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Husband purchased from his office two sets of coupons for Studio movie grille and FINS restaraunt which is no longer in business and at the time we purchased the coupons, called the restaraunt and said they were remodeling.No such thing ever happened.Called to get a refund for my 39.95 and got nothing but a runaround.Was told to go online and pick something else.Let's see there were hot dog places and paintball.none of which appealed.I called them back more run around.no refund, just got screwed out of 40$.WOW WHAT A DEAL!
The representative assured me and others that there would be no other costs or obligations. This is not true. She also said that there would not be any type of sales or promotional presentation that the card holder would have to attend. This was also a lie.
fraud
Beware,
I purchased a vegas from Smart circle and was told I could not use it. I tried to get my money back and to no avial. I bought it at Sam's Club. I finally contacted Sam's Club head offices and filed a complaint through my lawyer. We as consumers need to stand up and not put up with being scammed. If you are not happy, they are not going to refund you. Contact the corporate offices of Sam's club
[protected]. Tell them you need to speak to somone in the legal department of Sam's Club. This is a switch board for Sam's Club, and Walmart. You will get someone to listen to you. I promise- Sam's club needs to know they just hooked up with the biggest scam in the market!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My husband purchased a "Smart Circle Card" for 4 Midas oil changes for 29.99. He was told it was to suppport D.A.R.E. When we tried to use the card, Midas said they had cut off the promotion months ago and told Smart Circle to stop selling them. They said, "if you call them, they'll tell you you don't have a receipt. You just tell them you have the card and that's your receeipt." That's exactly what went down when we called Smart Circle. They offered a refund, but only if we mailed them the card.
And nowhere on the card does ir mention D.A.R.E.
I bought a movie ticket deal for Cinema Café and I was quite pleased! As a parent we are always looking for inexpensive ways to have family outings and this was a REALLY good investment!
I would do it all over again!
Sincerely,
Damita Robinson
Hampton, Virginia
I bought a Smart Circle Vegas trip ( Tahiti Village) at Sam's Club, It cost me $198 for 3 nights. It was fantastic, the room was huge with a kitchenette, living room with couch, chair, 2- 42" T.V.'s, a stereo, huge bathroom, awesome pool and lazy river. Great place and great vacation.Also bought a local dinner cruise on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Normally $46 a person, got the smart circle deal got 3 free cruises, 3 buy 1 get one and a 20% discount for $39. Wen't this past Sat, used a buy 1 get 1 and it already paid for itself. Going on the brunch cruise next.
I did however have a problem with a salon card I bought for my fiance, the problem was the girl who was working for Smart Circle wrote down the wrong experation date by mistake. The salon would not honor it, smart circle said they would issue another but it would take a month, Sam;s Club refunded the money instead. So mfar I have been bery pleased with this company.
Tom
We have just returned from a wonderful vacation in Cancun with Sams Club/ Smart Circle, no complaints great food, best trips. Now heading for Orlando hoping for the same.
Dear Lisa 80220,
We are sincerely sorry to hear about your experience with the Las Vegas travel promotion. The Smart Circle strongly believes in upholding a consistent and quality customer satisfaction policy, which includes honoring full refunds for customers who request them, and your purchase is no exception. In order to begin processing your refund, we will need a few additional details, such as a mailing address where we can deliver the check. We also hope to obtain more details from you as to the reasons given for not honoring your requests so that we may remedy the situation and prevent further incidents such as this as quickly as possible. Please contact us at [protected], ext. 216, at your earliest convenience to get the refund process started.
Your feedback will definitely be taken into consideration as we continue to look for additional ways to enhance our service for consumers across the country and bring only the best promotions to Sam’s Club members. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you and very much appreciate your business!
Best Regards,
The Smart Circle
You are required to return the certificate so that you don't get a refund and then try to use it. I
Deceptive employment practices
Hello to all. I'm guessing many of you have come upon this after a google search for "Competition Marketing Group" (henceforth referred to as "CMG"), or one of its affiliates, maybe even after being offered and interview or a position with them. Congratulations, I'm here to help you out. For the sake of clarity I'll say that I'm referring to the Laurel, MD office, run by Mike Maher under the CMG moniker but with a couple affiliated "firms" including (though not limited to) Lead Inc. (which, I believe, deals in home improvement leads) and Primal Events (not sure what they do, but "events" tend to be situations where the firm pays a business, like a gas station, store, or office, to allow us to set up outside and sell our wares). I worked for Mike at CMG for several months, and in the interest of fairness I will say that Mike is by no means a bad guy; he's not the brightest bulb in the box, but, as far as I can tell, he harbors no malice toward his employees and he genuinely wants to help the people who work for him. That said, CMG, and indeed all the Smart Circle International subsidiary firms (there must be thousands in the US alone), is a disingenuous, misleading, downright shady organization that promises far more than it could ever deliver and even outright lies to its employees.
Now, there are countless stories on this site (which is great, by the way) about how the various Smart Circle "firms" are scams and rip-offs, how people have had their money tied up, their cars ruined, even their lives shattered by working with one of these companies. A quick search of this site for "smart circle" will turn up dozens of these, and please, do read them; they are good indicators of the type of experience you could have working with CMG. These stories are, of course, the extreme, but they are by no means the exceptions to the rule. I'll keep it short and sweet for the benefit of everyone, but basically, CMG and the other Smart Circle subsidiaries hire people en masse by selling them hard on becoming a manager. Within 6-8 months, they enthusiastically claim, you could be running your own office, with dozens of employees and making six figures. That's an alluring pitch, is it not? Especially if you are a recent college graduate or coming straight from high school, if you've been unemployed, etc, the idea of making that much money in such a short time is amazing! It's not at all your fault for being duped; it happened to me and countless other people. I am here to tell you, however, that there is almost no chance you will become an owner. Think about it for a moment: when you did your first interview (or if you have yet to, consider how quickly they contacted you and how impersonal it was), did you notice the dozens of people in the waiting room? Most of these people end up being hired, I can tell you from experience, and most leave the company very quickly (within a week or so), and ALL of these people were sold on the dream of running their own office. But the numbers just don't work out: are all 15 (or 30, or 50) people in an office going to run their own office someday? Are there simply so many people who want to buy our products that we just can't open offices fast enough, and we want to put YOU on the fast-track to running one? No, that's ridiculous. But that's more or less what they expect you to believe, so please, listen and understand when I say that you WILL NOT become a manager, no matter how often they tell you that by following their "system", which is really nothing of substance, and by working hard you can achieve your goals. It is, for lack of a better term, BS.
Frankly, this way of doing business is immoral - they are using naive, often young and desperate employees as "independent distributors" to make a quick buck for themselves, and sell people hard on the idea that if they stick with it, they can succeed and then sit back and rake in the cash. Sounds too good to be true, right? It is. If you've ever seen the film "Boiler Room", your experience at CMG and other Smart Circle firms will seem strangely similar: loud "psych-up" music, machismo, lots of yelling (which is especially not cool when one is hungover) general shadiness (i.e. not detailing how compensation works or where the money comes from), etc. They are taking advantage of their employees. Obviously, a few people do make it to owner status, but that is the vast vast minority, and no reasonably human being could hope to attain that position. I can't attest to what being an owner is like, but another quick search on this site should turn up stories of being woefully underpaid and ripped-off by the head office, so it seems that even if you defy the odds and become an owner, you still get screwed over and lied to.
You can read the horror stories elsewhere on this site, but I'll give you a quick rundown of what your job at CMG will be like. Essentially, you spend most of the day walking around from one business to another trying to sell them these cards, which are basically coupons for anything from oil changes to paintball passes to baseball/basketball tickets. I can't attest to the validity of these cards (or "merch", as they are obnoxiously known), and I haven't personally heard of any problems with people redeeming the coupons (although, remember "Boiler Room", they might just shield the employees from these reports). The Better Business Bureau has a few complaints on their site about cards that were basically scams and were not valid, but I've given my phone number to many, many people that I've sold to and I've never received a single complaint call, so as far as I know, the cards themselves are legitimate. The actual working can be very frustrating and difficult, especially if hungover, but can also be fun. Talking to a lot of random people improves your people skills tremendously, and the proportion of people I encountered that were friendly and polite helped reaffirm my faith in the human race. Overall though, it's a pain in the butt, and if you don't bring maximum energy and effort every day, you won't make much money, as compensation is all based on commission, and there is no base salary. Based on the time you arrive at the office in the morning and the time you leave in the evening. you may well spend 12-13 hours a day at "work", which means that the $120 you made isnt all that great in terms of wages. And if you made $40 in a day (which happens, a lot, to everyone), well, you're SOL. The rejection you deal with on a daily basis and the way you will be treated by your superiors is ridiculous and occasionally humiliating. One of my former co-workers put it well when he said (making a reference that few of the uncultured, uneducated people at CMG or Smart Circle in general would understand), "There should be a sign on the front of the office, 'Abandon dignity, all ye who enter here'". In general, the managers and owner of CMG are just oddly vague about everything. I was promised $50 per day while training, for instance, but never received the money and every time I asked about it, they changed the subject. It seems like an odd way for people in a supposedly legitimate company to act, right?
The next issue I'd like to address is the general culture and psychology of CMG and its affiliates. I can't personally tell you what other firms in other cities are like, but based on the stories on this site and my general assumptions, I'm fairly certain they are quite similar. Their entire firm is based on getting you, the entry level employee, to do a ridiculous amount of work for very little money. You could walk away with $100-$150 for a day, sure, but the work you put in and the humiliation you endure far exceed that. Mike, the owner, makes almost as much from each card you sell as you do, and the head office gets a nice cut as well, but you do all the work. It's pretty unfair, by any standard. The basically want you to buy in, hard, to their philosophy and essentially give all your time and life over to them. For instance, you are strongly encourage (i.e. pretty much fired if you don't do it) to arrive at 7:30am every morning, even though you don't leave the office until well after 9am, to practice your pitches and chat with co-workers about sales strategies. While it is certainly helpful to get into a sales mindset before setting out, and while the practice is helpful, I can't help but think that if I got 90 minutes of additional sleep I would be a much better salesmen. They are not open to this, or really to any ideas that deviate from their planned agenda for things, at all. After returning from the field no earlier than 5:30pm, you are again strongly encouraged to stay at least an hour to discuss what was successful and what wasn't, etc. Anything that occurs outside of the realm of the work is strongly frowned upon, e.g. spending time with family, friends, or, god-forbid, recreational activities. Without giving away too much about myself, I had an outside job and Mike repeatedly suggested I quit it, regardless of my ties with that firm, etc, and scoffed at the idea that I would want to work anywhere else. Essentially, they require you to align your life with CMG and promise that it will pay off. Boy howdy, I will say it again, it will not pay off. You will not become an owner. A great resource, if you want to know more about Smart Circle as a rip-off, is the guide found here: http://wolfram.org/scam/ds_max/index.html. Chapter 3, Atmosphere and Psychology, is particularly evocative of the Hitler Youth (obvious exaggeration, but in retrospect there are some eerie similarities!). Finally, there's just something strange about the office. Everyone is overly enthusiastic, people speak in vague generalities about how the business works and how compensation is organized, and everyone seems kind of impersonal, which makes sense when you consider the ridiculous turnover rate and the fact that dozens of people start work and quit every week.
I've saved up the most vitriolic of my scorn for a man whom, if you do end up working for CMG (don't do that, by the way), you may never meet. If you do, though, please be wary. His name is Carl Foss. I'm not precisely sure of his position, but he's been with the company for many years, owns many offices, and, it seems, is fairly wealthy. He is one of Mike's many bosses and occasionally visits the CMG office This man is not to be trusted. He is not to be admired. If anything, he is to be punched in the face repeatedly, and, if you're in a particularly bad mood, kicked (preferably in the ribs) while on the ground. Mr. Foss' much-hyped visit to the CMG office was one of the most miserable experiences of my admittedly-young life. We were told that Carl is a great businessman, salesman, and entrepreneur, and that we could learn a lot from him. His big motivational speech, however, consisted of him writing numbers on a marker-board detailing the logistics of how one could become fabulously wealthy by working for Smart Circle and even a mathematical breakdown of why working for any other company or making any other life decisions is laughably stupid. His worship of money was sickening, and I was repulsed enough to leave the room mid-speech. Frankly, it took all my bodily restraint not to shove a marker down his throat. He is so ignorant, arrogant and condescending that his speech led me to conclude that people like him are very much what is wrong with this country. His open disavowing of any job that, god-forbid, helps people or works toward a greater cause was sickening. The worst part of all, however, was how he paid lip-service to other "lifestyles", as he called them. "This job is not for everyone", he declared, "and everyone has different values". Again, this recalls the film "Boiler Room", and the implication, as anyone in the room at the time could tell you, was that people who don't work for him are worthless suckers, and other ways of like are simply wrong. It is sickening, and if you ever work for CMG or another Smart Circle firm (I can't imagine you will, if you've read this whole thing), and you do meet Carl, do me a favour and run him over with a vehicle of some kind. He has a young child though, so don't hit him too hard.
I'll sum things up for you guys briefly: DO NOT work for Competition Marketing Group, or any company affiliated with Smart Circle, DS-MAX, Cydcor or Granton Marketing (a name I believe is out of use, but may still come up here and there). They will lie to you, mislead you, promise you impossible things, and sometimes downright remind you of a weird cult. There are stories all over this site of "merch houses", places where large groups of Smart Circle employees live together in less-than-stellar conditions. Weird stuff. They also have the "8 steps to success" and "5 steps to a pitch" posted everywhere on the walls, as if something so complex could be listed like that. Just another indication of their arrogance and ignorance. Do yourself a favour and do not even show up to the interview; perhaps even do show up, then walk out in the middle just to waste their time. You'd be doing humanity a great service. The employees there are not bad people at all, just a little naive and easily seduced by the promise of riches. Don't waste your time and money like they are doing. Don't work for CMG.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I've been working at an office for 9 months and am about to be promoted to assistant manager. I've seen plenty of people come and go and some times it's just too much work for what other things people have going on and that's okay. But most cases are like this. For whatever reason, he blames the office for being too loud when he outright says he was hungover. Why are you getting hammered the night before work? You obviously don't have the work ethic to put your head down and do whatever it takes to get to those management positions and you don't deserve the opportunity when you're just squandering it. I know not many people have that ability, and that's why there's such a high turnaround rate, but those who lash out and blame the company just continue to prove that they would rather have a mediocre job that allows them to drink a lot and don't want to grow as a person and as a professional. Stop blasting a company because you won't accept that you weren't cut out for the job.
The Smart Circle isn't just door-to-door, cold calling, or business-to-business direct sales and marketing. The Smart Circle has expanded their divisions to cover a variety of consumer markets. For example: I have been given an opportunity to grow into the Direct TV division in the Midwest. This opportunity is PHENOMENAL! No door-to-door, No cold calling, No business-to-business... I get to stand in a Best Buy, or a Sam's Club, or Menard's and talk to people about their TV service! And get paid a boatload of money doing it.
I was very skeptical about this at first, then just like clockwork, 3 weeks later after all those sign-ups became installs and now every week I'm on the high-rolling rep list, and my lead owner told me last night that in 90 days I will become incorporated and I WILL be my own boss, he has no option but to promote me because he knows as well as I do I will do whatever it takes to ensure not only is his office successful, but my office will be successful as well.
No longer will I sign the back of the check, but now I'm going to sign the front.
I'm really sorry you had such a horrible experience with "CMG" and I know the owner means well, trust me, we all had to start at the Entry Level and work our way up, your lead owner at "CMG" has nothing to do with whether you make it or not -- you do. You set your own goals, and nobody will want this opportunity any more than you want it for yourself.
Best regards and good luck in all your endeavors,
WC Martin
Absolutely Agree, I quit last week after 4 weeks of the BS in the Cleveland, OH office. Run Like He** from these people. Also, they will "hound" you to come back if you quit. I had to block their number...LOL! I might go Viral on them if I'm bothered again!
Dear whoever from Smart Circle that responded to this person's post,
You must be on crack, because it is NOT just that one office that does this. Perhaps if you'd trained your people from the get go to not push long hours for so little money into their distributors heads, you would not see that SO many of your offices have similar complaints. Maybe if you all weren't money hungry butt pirates you'd see that all you are is a giant crock of bull. I worked for you for 3 weeks and literally had a break down the last week because of how you condition your people to think. THEN! I was coerced not once, not twice but three times into staying when I tried to reach out to me lead about quiting. I was so mad to find out that I'd been told one thing, then never corrected about the validity of what I was saying about payment, that when I finally WAS corrected, I quit without bothering to tell your sorry excuse of a business that I was doing so. I decided to not bother wasting my time to drive all the way out to the office after sinking about $300.00 in gas into my car the previous 3 weeks, after my first paycheck only being $180.00 when it should have been $300.00. You are not a legitimate marketing firm, if you were, you'd be hiring marketing graduates and wouldn't look like you just moved into your offices. You'd have an actual HR rep. and not just have your secretary SAYING that she's an HR rep. In fact, when you're hiring people, you wouldn't have them walk in for a five minute interview one day, then have them DRIVE ALL OVER THE EFFING AREA the second day for an "observational interview" wasting their gas before they've even begun. That's the one thing that should have queued me that there was something up with this place more than anything.
Also, when a place that's hiring you is begging you to work for them because they call their hiring process "closing a deal" because all they care about is recruiting, there's just something not right with that.
I do not appreciate being told, even after saying 10 times that I will not manipulate people into signing up for something if they don't want it because I'm not comfortable with being a pushy a-hole, that I need to be more aggressive when people say no.
When I was being interviewed I was told that there were 3 positions open, customer service rep, sales and management. I have a feeling that the only people that didn't get called for a second interview were the ones that said that they wanted anything other than your "management program" which is BULL! Those positions don't even exist, the only thing they have to offer is the "management program". I can tell you that there will be some reporting to the BBB very soon from a few of us that worked for Smart Circle, because they are bogus.
I worked for CMG for a few months.. Very Weird office, always looks like they just moved in. The most weirdest thing was getting Cash everyday.. i didn't understand how that worked. that seemed sketchy. Another thing was the LONG hours. working from 7:30am to 7:30pm and most of the time pulling in about 50 bucks a day sucks. what Waryharry wrote is Completely Correct. i Experienced the same thing he did.. DO Not work for cmg
Rockin! I can't believe this is still around. Of course, Smart Circle also sells these promotions direct via their website - www.smartcirclecards.net.
I interviewed - and actually went on the all day training - almost 14 years ago.
The explained the program like this:
- the businesses pay nothing for the promotion cards/packages. They simply agree to honor the "deals." This can be based on limited quantity, or whatever they agree on (say, no more than 100 will be sold).
- the company pays less than $1/ea to have the cards/packages printed. So, the $40 package has a $39 profit.
- they basically pay the "employees" around $10 for each card/package sold. So, $29 profit to the office/company for doing nothing.
- cash paid out daily to the "employees." Nothing was ever mentioned about deducting for taxes, benefits, etc.
- they are "so busy" that they are constantly looking for "sharp" people to be owners and open their own business! In fact, the office I interviewed with (in McLean, VA) had only been open a few weeks, so pardon the unfinished look on the rented office, they are still getting settled! And, actually the "owner" had just made it as he was moving from North Carolina and opening his 2nd office...after starting with the company in Georgia!
The owner looked a little perturbed as a laughed at him and his offer of a commission sales job! "So, no salary, no benefits, and door to door sales? Sorry, that won't pay my $15k in credit card bills."
THEY JUST SENT ME A EMAIL FOR AN INTERVIEW, iM GLAD I READ THIS.
Dear waryharry,
The Smart Circle reaches out to many marketing firms, such as CMG, to serve as local, independent distributors of our cards. Each independent firm recruits and trains its own sales force in-house, not through The Smart Circle. As you discovered, a lot of hard work and long hours go into the opportunity in order to be successful. Because of this fact, we also believe that this particular line of business and sales is not suited for everyone.
Numerous sales representatives have achieved a higher level of responsibility and financial growth through this channel and these individuals have helped expand the network of distributors available to properly and professionally represent The Smart Circle and our clients. This is why we continue to seek locally-based firms to work with as on-the-ground extensions of our marketing campaigns.
Our organization strives to bring the highest degree of professionalism and quality to our clients and consumers across the country. We are very sorry to hear about your experience with this particular office and assure you that we do not condone any misrepresentation made by this local firm or its staff related to partnerships, clients or career opportunities. As is our standard policy, we will look into this matter further and examine the office’s recruiting system as it relates to the use of The Smart Circle’s name and / or products.
Thank you for your feedback - we wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
Please feel free to contact us at customerservicesupervisor@thesmartcircle.com with any questions.
Regards,
Customer Care
The Smart Circle
coupon tickets purchased for $40.oo are all invalid
I purchased a fan appreciaton coupon packet for $39.99. There are 2 two free game coupons, as well as 6 coupon for buy one ticket get one ticket free, and two $25.00 off coupons for all inclusive seats. This appeared to be a very good deal, as they were selling like hotcakes. The BIG catch is when I put in the coupon codes to purchase tickets All coupon codes are "INVALID" I certainly feel like I am entitled to a full refund since no coupons in this pack are any good.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
The Smart Circle coupons do work! I have bought them for two years in a row now - 2010 and 2011. The terms and conditions can be found on the Cardinals' own web page at www.cardinals.com/fanapp. The Cardinals are the ones that offer this package. You can only redeem the half price and the all-inclusive tickets online with an additional fee (I think it's $10). The free tickets coupons you can redeem by mail or in person. I have used my coupons last year and this year and had no problems. Because I don't want to pay an additional fee and I live in town, I just get organized, figure out all of the dates that I want to attend games, go in person and redeem all of my coupons. This is a great deal especially if you're going to a lot of games! I'm not sure why other folks had problems; maybe they didn't READ! There are blackout dates and conditions, but you should be able to get the seats they offer as long as you get them way ahead of time (I would recommend at least 2-3 months ahead).
I got these last year and although the process was not perfect, I'm still glad I purchased them. I waited too long into the year to use the free tickets but I used all the others and saved hundreds of dollars at the end of it all. At time I had trouble getting some of the codes to work but eventually I was able to sit in all-inclusive seats for half the price which was great. Hoping I can find it again this year so I can see a few more games.
the only website that comes up when you enter the cards smart circle address on the back of the card is the complaint site! go figure!
it's a shame i'd really like to go to the game and sit on the porch, but the chances don't look to good from what i'm reading above, and i won't drive over 100 miles on the chance that it'll work, if i can't mail them in and get the tickets in hand, then i guess i am SOL !
I cannot find a website to access tickets as listed in my package. Where do you go online to get tickets. I bought these last year and did not have a problem. So, what's the problem
I agree that this is nothing but a big scam... I purchased my ticket package through SSM Healthcare in St. Louis and as I went to redeem my tickets, all the codes were invalid. This is ridiculous. I call their customer appreciation hotline and then explained that I needed to mail my vouchers back to Ontario Canada, it could take 5-7 days to receive it and the whole process could take up to 4-6 weeks. I guess 4-6 weeks is a set time frame for all telemarketer, tv ads and scammers so they think you will forget about being ripped off. I fully intend to get my $40 back and make sure that they never are allowed to sell any items in SSM facilites. For those out there, dont waste you time supporting SMART CIRLE, THEY are a bunch of scam artists.
The website to redeem your tickets is cardinals.com/smartcircle its on the back of your coupon book
The deal is great! I have used several in the past and they work perfectly if you follow the directions. All you have to do is get your tickets early and not wait till the last minute. the games sell out like the rep told me, so if you send off your vouchers like they give the option to do, then you get the best seats . also, if you look at regular ticket prices you will see how awesome of a deal you are getting because it would cost my family of 4 over $80 to sit in the terrace seats, so even if we do sit there, we are saving at least $40.
And for people who are having trouble with the buy one get one free tickets, if you don't type in the redemption code exactly as it appears ( it is case sensative), then they don't work. So pay close attention when your typing in the codes.
And you can also take any of the tickets to the stadium and redeem them too. Hope this post helps.
What is the website to redeem the coupons at?
I cannot find anywhere on line to redeem my coupns. The sales people said there was site to order a form to mail in, I would like that information or a refund, Not many people have money to throw away ... Please advise @georgiamos@aol.com
I have to say, it's very disappointing to think you're getting sucha great deal and then your codes are not valid...I just got my package deal and the codes are also saying invalid...
The same thing happened to me as happened to Sharitech. When I called Smart Circle, they told me to call the Cardinals. After 30 minutes on hold with them - and I understand why because they are so popular! - I gave up. I have emailed the address and called the number given to Sharitech. I believe I, too, deserve a refund.
Disappointed Fan
No Refund for failure to provide service
I recently returned back from deployment and decided to take my
my wife and son to Disney World. Unfortuately I'm up for deployment again soon. I called to cancel my reservation with Smart Circle and it was refused. The supervisor told me that the military isn't special and no refund would be given. I spent $119.00 and the advertisement didn't mention that the reservation was non-refundable.
It breaks my heart to know that other soldiers could be booking with this company.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
This only shows the advertisment page. During the booking process, did any of those pages show the cancel policy? You may have not seen it.
no refund for failure to provide service
I recently took a volunteer group of 30 people to a go carting track, to thank them for their efforts. Out of my pocket, I was willing to spend $600 for the efforts of the people who put their hearts out to help others. We were told by numerous Smart Circle representatives, and the head of it, Tim Chase, said we would have a blast. When we arrived, we were told that Smart Circle coupons were no longer taken.
No problem, everyone is pretty flexible so we went out to eat. But then when we tried to get a refund (which still hasn't happened) we were told to go through this supervisor, that director etc. and they would not issue a refund for the services they said they would provide.
I advise not using Smart Circle since they lack any type of business ethics, honesty and integrity
I completely disagree with Hopper2648, I think that was a script they copied and pasted. Tell me, have you received your refund? I bought a smart circle card for a salon in Vegas, it was supposed to be good for 6 months but when I went to the salon within the time frame they told me they were no longer accepting it. I tried to get a refund through smart circle and was told I couldn't. when I threatened to tell the better business bureau the response was "Go for it, I deal with the BBB everyday". WHAT KIND OF COMPANY HAS TO DEAL WITH THE BBB EVERDAY, absolutely ridiculous. Do not trust these sales people and do not purchase their products! Try to find one good story regarding this product, I highly doubt you will.
Hopper2648,
We are sincerelyy sorry to hear about your experience with the go cart promotion that was offered through the local marketing firm affiliate in your area. We've contacted the company in question to have them immediately examine your purchase so that we can clear up this issue. The Smart Circle strongly believes in following a customer satisfaction policy that offers full refunds for our customers and your purchase is no exception.
We would like to start the refund process as soon as possible, but need some additional information from you. Please contact us at customercaresupervisor@thesmartcircle.com so that we may begin to gather this information.
Your feedback will definitely be taken into consideration as we continue to look for additional ways to improve our service to consumers across the country and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. We appreciate your business and hope to work with you again soon!
FALSE ADVERTISING
4/20/09
I purchased a vacation package from The smart Circle and was told I could stay at any Disney Resort of my choice I just had to make sure there was availabilty an to make a rsvp at least 30 days prior. And when I called (they ) smart circle said I did not have a choice of where I was gonna stay and they could not tell me I had to wait for an email or letter with a conformation and It would take up to 7 days and said I had to pay the $15.00 a night tax on the room right then on the phone or I could not get it. I had already paid $49.99 for the package so I went ahead and paid the $45.00 and it's now going on 2 weeks and I have not received any emails or letter in the mail. I have no way of getting ahold of them and when I try to call Smart Circle I can't get anyone on the phone. And also I was told when I called to to book the room that I would have to go to a welcome center first (the day Im due to check in) an they the welcome center will tell me where Im gonna stay for the weekend and then give me the voucher for the hotel they pick which would be a Holiday Inn express or something similar. And it would be atleast 6 miles from Disney and they would make arrangements to take us to the timeshare and do the tour for 90 mins. I am so disappointed at how this company keeps you in the dark on where your gonna stay an how they turn everything around but take your money right away. I do not like the fact that I have to waste my time driving to Orlando pay for gas and have no idea on where Im gonna stay until I go to the Welcome Center at which I have no idea where that is until they email me. Save your money an dont waste your time to much of a hassle. I'm gonna try an get my money back.)
M.Parker
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I bought that very same package you are talking about and ended up staying at the dirtiest nastiest Ramada Inn (I believe it was called Westgate)... anyway, the 90 minute tour is not 90 minutes but rather 4 hours, where you are taken on Timeshare tour and afterwards insulted and kept "prisoner" for 4-5 hours. I say prisoner because the sales people insist you take a ride with them, instead of using your own vehicle. The free tickets they mention is given in form of cashback, which I believe was only $120 dollars. The hotel charged us a $10 a day fee for processing, the people on the phone charged us $15 a day to take a reservation AND we had to pay for the package.
OVERALL I would not suggest people to purchase this FRAUDULENT advertisement/vacation/package!
terrible experience
As you glance through the job opportunities on career builder you'll likely see some enty level marketing and sales rep positions. Being a junior in college with no relevant work experience in the field I wish to pursue (marketing) I thought this 'opportunity' could benefit me. I went in for a first interview that was more of a quick formality that lasted approximately 15 minutes.
I was scheduled for a second interview quickly after where I had to to 'shadow' the assistant manager in a day of field work which I was led to believe was not the majority of what my job entailed. Sure I knew door to door sales was sleazy but I was promised all sorts of financial 'opportunity' so I figured I could do it if the money's right.
I feel so stupid for just accepting a job that didn't offer any concrete figures or direct answers. I took the job and left the place I had been working at for over 4 years making $16 per hour plus some benefits. I was in training for two weeks making $40 per day working 11 hr days and in the short two weeks I noticed an alarming trend that screamed GET OUT. Everyone there in the office (all the sales leaders and even the people in charge) was broke.
They all drove around crappy cars that weren't maintained well, ate at crappy restaurants and were HUNGRY for cash. Pretty much everyone there was pressured into working 60 hr weeks only to bring home $700 at the very most. This works out to a little over $11 per hour before taxes with no benefits, paid time off, health insurance, gas reimbursement, NOTHING. No wonder three of the 'lead people' were living out of one apartment broke and desperate for money. They were all working themselves to the bone day after day while they're being fed this pipe dream of 'owning their own business' so that they keep making smart circle rich.
I was duped into thinking this was some great opportunity when in reality it was just a scam that takes advantage of suckers who fall for deceptive sales tactics like '90% discount' and some 'free rounds of golf' when in reality the discounts are minuscule and nothing is free. Also, sales reps are taught to solicit businesses illegally by walking into office buildings with NO SOLICITING displayed clearly at the entrance. I was even instructed to hide my 'merchandise' when entering these buildings in case of security guards.
People look at you like you're trash and it's by far the most demeaning job I've ever done (and I've washed dishes and worked on a farm). I'll be the first to say that I refuse to do anything illegal for a living especially for crappy, less than minimum wage pay. Coaching people to engage in illegal activity and requiring commissioned sales reps to work from 7:15 am to around 7 pm has to be illegal itself.
The atmosphere was extremely sketchy and cult-like and I got out as quick as I possibly could. I'm not saying that this job isn't for some people because maybe you could succeed at it but... I'm not here to make judgment calls on anyone's character there but I was subject to a lot of deception and indirect answers when I had questions.
Honestly, I wish everyone at this office the best and I hope they get out before they lose all their friends and family from the ridiculous hours and end up penniless because of the ridiculous pay. Mainly, the purpose of this article is to inform any perspective employees of what they are really getting into at this 'dream job' and to get them to do some research on smart circle and its satellite companies before 'drinking the cool-aid' like I did.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
The big problem with Smart Circle is that they open these small branch offices through new "business owners" when in reality these are just more people feeding the machine. Defined Industries Inc. is one of these so-called "businesses" and runs exactly the same scam, but because it goes by a different name you cannot find any info online showing it for what it really is. Defined Industries Inc. IS a sub-company of Smart Circle and will screw you over the same way. STAY AWAY.
I have been working for a company like this for 5 days now. My first day was horrible. I walked around Dallas from 9- 5:30 and made $30. My feet had blisters all over them, I had shin splints, and I was exhausted. The next day, I was feeling like such a horrible person and so upset about the way that people were looking at me and judging me, that I called my leader to express my concerns. She referred me to another leader to talk to them. They told me to just keep going and I would sell. So I did. I got told that I needed to get a real job by various people that I would try to sell to. On my fourth day, I was sent to a bad part of town for the second day in a row. The day before that I had only made two sells, giving me $20 for my eight and a half work day. I was almost mugged by a guy in the parking lot of an abandoned shopping center. I called my store owner and was promised commision for two sales, even though I had not sold anything for that day. I DID NOT recieve that money at the end of the day and went home empty handed.
If someone is reading this and thinking that I should just get out of this job and stop complaining, I can ensure you that I am actively looking for a new job right now. I have $665 to pay in rent every month and need to be making some money. Times are tough for everyone and those of us who have been weaseled into this job were NEVER told that it would be a door to door sales person position.
In addition, I would just like to say that this company is not ethical. They lie to people. For example, the girl that I went around with yesterday told people that Planet Beach, which was who we were selling for, had just opened a new location right down the street, but in reality, the closest location was about 20 miles away. We also sold a package to a pregnant woman and I have been loosing sleep about the fact that this woman was assured by my coworker that is was safe to tan while pregant just to make eleven dollars. You don't get a tax form to fill out either. I cannot justify going around to different businesses and lieing to their employees.
Thank you for your frankness and sharing your experience with Smart Circle. I was approached by VS Advertising (Colorado Springs) this week regarding an Entry Level Marketing position with the same promises and sales pitch as you described. Now, after reading your comments, I will politely turn down their employment offer and not turn back.
Fraud and cheating
I recently wrote to CareerBuilder.com about these companies:
I have fallen victim to working for Dallas Edge (Arlington, TX) and Principle Management Group (Addison, TX); subsidiaries of the Smart Circle (enabling companies like the one mention nationwide). It wasn't until after I conducted more extensive research that I realized this was an elaborate pyramid scheme or multi-level marketing scam that takes advantage of individuals. The pathetic thing is that they've chosen to do so during economic turmoil.
These individuals (Jonathan Clarke and Associates) look for people who as they have put it are 'young, broke and hardworking.' Employees solicit business to business to sell products for the named companies. Not only are they kicked out of these businesses, but at one 'event' police were called to a 7 Eleven. Money was taken that unsuspecting givers thought they were 'donating.' Those that have been working there for much longer times and are completely brainwashed, will do any and everything to make money. I have heard their customers/victims being told that $15 more will help a kid get a free surgery. They fail to realize that only five percent of that helps children and even that is questionable.
The list of unethical, immoral behavior goes on. Other employees like my former self were trained to stand in front of retail businesses (rain, sleet, snow, freezing cold) for eight hours a day to sell cosmetics by leaning on a charitable organization called operation smile of which only receives 5% of profit. I trusted that this company I worked for had built legitimate relationships with these corporations. I later found out that this was not the case at all.
So they put me in risk of being told to pack up and leave, have the police called on me and much more on numerous occasions. The relationships are based on lies and manipulation. Someone from this company 'event coordinator' talks to a Starbucks, Chevron or Petco (to name a few victims) employee and convinces him/her to let them set up outside for this good cause. Little do these companies know, not only are their customers being taken advantage of spending money at these charity tables instead of in their stores, many are irritated and nagged with pathetic marketing/impulse tactics, plus their company brand is tainted. I was trained to say, 'I've partnered with Victoria Jackson and (fill in the unsuspecting company)...'
I was required to work six days a week, drive my car hundreds of miles for others and pay for my own gas, I was NOT given the $400 base salary that I signed paperwork for. And when I say hundreds of miles - the straw the broke the camels back was having to purchase two new tires and get front end alignment done on my vehicle. I spent two hours of my mornings listening to the owner blab about how horrible the economy is, how people are committing suicide because they're losing their jobs - scare tactics. People yell 'juice', the same garbage/training, and then spend 8 more hours 'in the field'. I'm not sure why at the time I didn't just walk away... wait I do: I needed a job, I needed money, to pay my bills and feed my family. They knew this and dug in their nails.
I worked 11-12 hour days six days a week for an average of $280 a week. Myself as well as others were hassled to stay as late as possible to help out. My commute was 45 minutes-you think they cared? Because 'the first one in and last one out was always most successful.' An old adage wasted on ###. I later discovered one of the 'big money making leaders' was living out of a hotel. Several didn't have cars.
Money was missing from my paychecks. After 41 days I'd only made $1800 after taxes, barely $4.18 an hour. And remember, I worked 11 hours days. These individuals are from other states, North Carolina, W Virginia, Ireland, New York. I make note of this because the name of the company changes so much since once they've saturate one area, they obviously move on to the next. They have conference calls with individuals all over the world - Florida, Boston, California.
The people that are named leaders are actually victims turned long time - desperate and brainwashed perpetrators. They learn the scheme, learn to teach it to others in hope that it sticks, make a little more off that person and hope that they can teach someone else. One guy claimed he left a position making six figures to do this. Absolutely laughable and sad. But definitely not true. I thought about this ... Had I ever been making six figures, I'd never move into such a position, selling cosmetics in front of a building hoping 'corporate' doesn't show up. Seriously, six figures is at least a downsize to something making $40k with benefits. There are no benefits by the way - well, except maybe a busted ### and dunce cap - lol. This particular individual also had some horrible characteristics like pocketing money during events, pretending it came of missing and hustling customers using all sorts of lies. It's obvious that their stories were elaborately made up.
The company principle management group is the same as dallas edge which will be changing its name again. After researching online I found that many had had my experiences. I wish I could kick myself for not digging deeper sooner or taking that other job. I wish I could sue. But instead the least that I can do is inform someone and I hope many people read this before being duped as I was. Careerbuilder should not represent this company on their site, not only are you too good, but they are NOT deserving of the opportunity and other people shouldn't waste their time, motivation or life on this crap. These people are vultures, heathens and liars.
Honestly, I felt like I was a part of a cult at times. A lot of it is simply psychological ### meant to lure vulnerable, desperate, gullible or at least easily influenced individuals like myself with strong work ethic. That's why everyone around me was young! We tend to be the most naive. I was used to lure in others, the more I believed, the more others believed because I was innocent and therefore even more credible then someone who knew what the hell was really going on. Did I mentioned that I turned down legitimate job offers for this? Now I am back to the drawing board. Smarter and tougher of course and always because I learn from my mistakes. The only difference this time is that I have a bone to pick. I came from a corporate environment and I've made some phone calls to people in high places. At the very least they will be deterred in this area.
Bottom line is this: This business uses deception and manipulation to make money off of others. If you think you're going to make it big - you're not. You have a better chance mixing some lipton tea and selling it in a baseball parking lot on a scorching hot day. They haven't made it big. It's all shallow illusion and deceitful ploy. And I'm sure had I stayed around longer, more would have surfaced - but then I might have hurt someone. While this may not be illegal for some absurd reason, I am here to label it unAmerican, immoral, unethical and wrong.
Oh and by the way I'm telling! Shame on Operation Smile, Victoria Jackson, DirecTV, Home Depot, Best Buy and any other company or sports team for being so desperate for exposure at the expense of others - since that's what it boils down to. These are million dollar individuals, reputable charities, big name companies that have established themselves to a point where they should be able to use legitimate marketing firms to advertise their products. When everyone begins hating your product - don't wonder why. Nobody likes ugly.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I'm working for another shell company called Proof Management in MI, and they were smart enough to keep any signs of having a parent company hidden until my second week in. At that point, the name slipped out twice in front of me, along with some "high-roller" names that made looking information up so much easier. I had seen some negative reviews from employees before signing my contract - which I made sure to read over before signing... the "HR" person/receptionist was extremely busy trying to coordinate more interviews and all so I wasn't rushed - but brushed them off due to "oh, there are always going to be bitter former employees." All the same, once indisputable signs started rolling in, like the guy training me telling me his wife and him were living on credit cards and she was unhappy with the job he took, not to mention my feelings on the cult-like atmosphere of the "morning meeting" (they didn't call it an atmosphere in front of me until my third week in, so pun is slightly intended), I started digging more and more, eventually finding out the truth of Smart Circle. What I found combined with the discomfort of having my cell phone tracked through an app to log time during working hours (at least. so they say) did not make for the happy feelings.
The people in that office started out so high-energy, but during my second week suddenly four people were just gone, including two who had started close to when I did. Now I'm being pressured to move up to "leadership" even though I was told in my interview that the progression was "entry level -> project manager -> director of marketing -> executive." The entry level was supposed to last 4-6 weeks, and my "team leader" (not project manager suddenly?) wanted to get me moved up in 3 weeks instead. Now, I am not opposed to swift promotions, but I am also more than happy to take my time actually getting to KNOW what it is I'm doing before moving to the next step. Especially when the new position has the same pay but more responsibilities... Just yesterday, that progression up the steps was written out during a much-more subdued atmosphere, and it was very different: "entry level -> leadership -> assistant manager -> executive -> RC -> NC."
Making it even better is my first paycheck, which should have been over $300, came in at a gross of $180. Federal taxes were not taken out, although I had filled out the W-4 appropriately... Research shows that they claim their employees are independent contractors, so I'm almost certain I'll be getting a 1099 at the end of the fiscal year. So, not only will I have to pay my own income tax, but they stiffed me on half of my hours due to a 'clerical error.' The issue did get resolved within a couple days, at least.
By the way. If you see "Royal Palms Spa Collection" or "Terra Life" sheets at a big box store, don't bother. Some people love them, yes, but they are properties of Smart Circle. Home by Jennifer Adams is supposedly a separate entity, but the address on the tags for those sheets belongs to a commercial suite building that has no obvious ties to that brand name.
I have recently worked for them here in TEXAS. I have seen they are being sued. Is anyone in TEXAS?
What a scam! I signed up for Direct TV at a Sam's Club location, offering discounted Direct TV services. My first clue should have been when I was told I'd have next day installation, that took 5 days. My second clue should have been that I specifically stated that I wanted a pole mount, the installer showed up and had no idea that I did not want the dish mounted on my house. After having the service installed and was accessing the channels, I found out I needed an Internet connection to get all of the services the Smart Circle sales person told me I would get. I do not have an Internet provider in my area. I called the 800# for customer service only to find out that I was not speaking to Direct TV, but to Smart Circle. Basically the conversation of my disappointment was met with a "Too bad, pay!" I finally got in contact with Direct TV who handled the problem and allowed me to cancel my account.
If you come across one of these sales guys anywhere, ask if they are associated with Smart Circle. If they are, run, do not walk, run away fast!
And, shame on Sam's Club or anyone else who lets these scam artists in their stores!
Here's a new photography blog about Smart Circle International. http://entryleveljobscam.blogspot.com/
Am from South Africa and yes I AGREE with everything here are and everything that yall have experienced is true and I have the same story to tell, there are many campanies like these like Capital growth and of cause Edcon or Credico, In Capital growth I worked there for more than 3 weeks and guess what the only thing they tell you is ''you must believe in the system'' they have 1st round interview 2nd and 3rd interview where they will lie and act as if you will one day be a millionair and you only in the field to build your company one day, they teach you to lie in order to make the sale shouting JUICE and you will come there very early in the morning and live late, you use your own money to travel and they want to know everything about you and your family so that they can use that against you.After quiting they lie and say you were lazy plus after quiting the are slim chances of getting a new job cause of the traumer and the devil in you #sad but keep praying. to get more info simply seach ''Devil corparation'' on google thats the exact thing thats happening.
Its so true guys I work for 7 months' in Colorado the owner was stealing my commission and using them for other events that he didn't work at and paying me under minimum wages I put in 50 to 60 hours a week for and making only 6000 in 7 months when I went to the corporate about this I was let go he was not only stealing from me he's stealing from Sam club and Kroger also and they need to know what kind for people they are doing contracts with.
To everyone that says this isn't a scam and that people just aren't "working hard enough" you should probably look into the lawsuit that was filed in May 2016 against Smart Circle. Any job that tells you "you can make as much money as you want" is bogus. Seriously, that is classic language used in manipulating people into blaming themselves for their "failures". Below is information from the Plaintiff's Attorney that is handling the the May 2016 lawsuit. Oh, and I did interview with Signals United, but it wasn't for a "management training" position, it was for a promotional and marketing events coordinator, then in the first interview the guy started talked to me about selling frontier internet service to people. I was invited to a second interview but after I came home and did some googling I decided that I wanted nothing to do with this company.
"On May 20, 2016, we filed a Complaint against Smart Circle, Looped In, Signals United, and OnPoint OC in the Central District Court of California seeking minimum wages and overtime pay. The case was brought on behalf of similarly situated employees who gathered applications from consumers for enrollment in the federal Lifeline Assistance Program offered through Assurance Wireless. These workers seek to recover unpaid minimum wages, overtime premiums and double damages for themselves, a proposed nationwide collective under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and a proposed Rule 23 Class in California."
I'm trying to understand how poster "it's an opportunity" thinks managing a sales office is such a dream job. No salary, no medical/dental, no sick, no vacation pay, just 100 % commission only. Sorry dude, but most people want better for themselves!
I have never read more entitled posts. Did you guys understand the fact that you were being offered a position in a Management Training Program? Look around you - how many of your friends and family are managers or business owners? Every single one of them? No? Why's that? BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE HAS WHAT IT TAKES. News flash: the majority of society works for someone else. The only thing this program does is give you an opportunity to work for yourself. I am so appreciative of all the people who have helped me in this company (these trainers made no money off of me, it's not a scam), so thankful of the opportunity to change my life. I've grown as a person in so many ways. I've become a better problem solver, I take responsibility for my actions, I'm more accountable, I show up early (I was always late previously in life). Oh and I should mention that I profited $1000 last week - BECAUSE I worked my ### of, had a phenomenal attitude every day & I didn't expect anything, I went out there & got it. Take some responsibility for your actions - for the fact that the reason why you didn't succeed was most likely because of an average work ethic, attitude, or student mentality. There's nothing wrong with that, it just won't lead you to managing or owning anything anytime soon. Which many people (most people) live a very happy life doing. It's just not for me. 9-5 isn't for me. I started working when I was 15 yrs old to change my life & my future, I paid my way thru college, got great grades, maintained a positive outlook on life - I'm not normal. Thank goodness I'm not. This opportunity has given me a lot & I'm on my way to taking much more. I will be working longer hours than any of you, I will deal with more people on a daily basis, deal with more problems - but I'll be reaping much greater rewards than most of you will ever dream of. It's because of the person I am, this company Smart Circle is just my means to success. I will deserve all of it, but I will have worked for it. I'm sorry if the person who interviewed you or that you worked for is still learning or if they simply have poor morals - but blame them, blame the individual that failed to tell you it would be difficult, the individual that didn't train you properly. I'm just sad that you couldn't see the opportunity past that manager or past that leader and took it upon yourself to be the example. Why not? I am straight forward with the people I train, I'm hard on myself to be the best example possible, I don't bring everyone back from a 2nd round interview, I tell people if this isn't for them. I'm sorry if the manager or leader wasn't like that - but you could have passed them by ;)
Well I work with a smart sales company. Its actually working out for me. I owned a health and fitness business for 10 years prior. I had a degree in exercise science but not business so the business part was a little taxing. I've been with this company for 6 weeks now and I have already learned so much that I wish I knew when I started my former business. Yes the pay starts low but unlike other businesses you start at least I get paid minimum wage to learn. Every 2 weeks my pay has increased. The systems actually do work. When I take my breaks and control my attitude and do what I learned in atmosphere my sales start increasing. You have to be able to focus and not let your personal problems affect you when you run any business so that part makes sense. You will always have to learn outside of wirkbifbyou plan to continue being successful at anything. So studying on my personal time isn't a problem. When you just click in you don't learn. So you just give your life to someone. But here you learn and apply, learn and apply. What you learn no one can ever take from you. It feels more like a program that pays you to become a successful entrepreneur and invest in you opening one of their franchises without so much of the regulations of other franchises. They don't make you open a business with them so once you finish the 6-9 months you can go start your own and know how to pitch your idea, interview effectively without wasting time or money, manage inventory, manage people, manage time, balance life/business, payroll, network and so much more. All that I needed when I was using fitness as my product instead of the products I sale now. Everyone isn't made to run a business. My owner has a Lexus and the assistant managers dress very nice. They are honest with how hard this is and they don't hire everyone. They even fire the people who they feel are not going to be successful. That way you don't wait your time or money. She even writes recommendations. Soooooo I'm sorry you guys didn't make it. But we need teachers, doctors, truck drivers, store managers, lawyers, etc. at least I hope you went into a worthy field if you passed up this great opportunity. Oh! Did I mention I didn't pay ANYTHING up front like a pyramid scheme... I get pay if I learn and apply. Kinda like life...
complaints ~ not fake ~
I am sick of seeing the 1099 field sales people that couldn't hack it in a 100% commissioned position saying that the company is a fraud or that the advertising is fake. To all the 10, 000 field sales people that have gone business to business for Smart Circle...Thank you to the ones that are committed to their jobs and can make it in a stressful outside sales 100% commissioned environment. And to the other 20 that can find nothing better to do than slam this company online...make sure that your next job is not selling door to door/business to business or selling at all. That is obviously not your place in business.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I'm sorry, but I'm already starting to see that there is nothing professional or corporate about this company and I've only been with them for 4 weeks. I've already decided that this is my last week. The people that you speak of aren't necessarily afraid of a job that pays %100 commission; they're afraid of not being paid what they are owed and wasting a lot of their time and gas to be brainwashed into thinking that they are going to handed this golden ticket if they work hard enough. I personally don't think anyone with a vagina is ever going to be promoted to owner and this is based on me seeing females in the company that are working just as hard and putting up as many numbers as the men and they are stuck at account manager and assistant manager status. I, personally, am still stuck in "training" mode because they claim that they haven't yet been able to obtain my rep ID number which would allow me to start getting paid off the people that I sign up for a free phone and are approved and sent a phone. I'm putting more and more wear and tear on my car with all this driving and honestly, almost from day one I smelled a pyramid scheme. I didn't show up for work yesterday and never called with an explanation and my manager (who says he's an "owner") was blowing up my phone all day. Now do you think he was concerned about my well-being or concerned about the cash cow that he's managed to cultivate in just a few short weeks to make money for him while he stands behind a stand doing nothing? As long as I don't have a rep ID number they get to pay me $8/hour to make someone else money. As long as I get at least 27 sign-ups in a week I've already covered my salary and anything else after that goes straight into my manager's pocket. Trust me when I tell you, when you're giving away a free phone getting 27 sign-ups isn't a hard feat to accomplish. I've read too many complaints and have already seen plenty of things myself which are questionable about this company and the people working for it. I go bye-bye now...
The funny part, is that they (the person writing the first one) stated that it is 100% commission. That was incorrect in the first place. I just went into an interview two days ago. It stated 30%. Also, if I find out that this company is making fradulent sales, I will contact an attorney and sue the pants off of this company. I was 'shadowing" a EC (Event Coordinator) yah, right! More like sales person, and it showed a bad reflection on me because the people purchasing this product looked at me. I don't lie, steal or cheat and this is deformation of character, so I do have a case. I called the hotel that they were in and told the HR manager how fake this company is. I don't think they will be in business anymore after all of the class-action lawsuits that will take place.
And what about money missing from our pay checks. And honestly, you've just been brainwashed, or you're a manager who is scared because if people read this, you wont make any money!
It's funny that you defend the "10, 000 salespeople" at Smart Circle but not customer who was mislead into buying products from a " 100% commission salesperson." Thanks for enlighteneng me on this companies practices. Also, if they are in a retail environment they are not allowed to make 100% commission. It's against the law. I'll be contacting the attorney general in Texas to look into this further.
the whole time there they talk talk talk all about creating buissness people. teach you to run your own buissness. [censored] if you do try to start your own they'll sue you. and treaten you. crooked horrible dishonest people. liers scam artists. FAKERS. Sue me you fake ###!
Refused Services
I purchased two Smart Circle Cards from Heavenly Nail Spa in St.Augustine Fl. for Christmas gifts. When I called to receive the item detailed in the package they refused to execute these services. They stated that they have a lawsuit with Smart Circle( because they refused to pay them)and will not be accepting anymore smart circle cards! You can understand my frustrations. So I contacted smart circles customer service and they stated they don't know why Heavenly Nail Spa wouldn't accept my card but I could return them as long as it's been within sixty days and it would take 6-8 weeks to receive my money back. Well I purchased before Christmas and it's been past 60 Day's because I've been trying to deal with customer service. So I e-mailed them asking if there was a different procedure if the services where refused and also my frustrations about my $100 being in transit for so long. There respond was I can go online and pick out a different service. I stated I just want my money back because I am afraid they would refuse services elsewhere. Then I received this E-mail and of coarse I did not purchase them online or over the phone!
Dear Valued Customer,
& nbsp; Thank you for your most recent email. I do apologize for all the inconvenience that you have experienced as well as my late reply to your email. We have been experiencing a high volume of calls, messages and emails. Unfortunately I do apologize for the long procedure but it is a standard time wait for a refund. If you did not order your certificate on line or over the phone directly through SmartCircle, we DO NOT credit back on your credit card. We are not the company that directly charged you, the representatives do work for direct marketing companies.
We do have a procedure when it comes to receiving your money back. You may receive a full refund providing that your package has not been used and is within 60 days from the date or purchase or 60 days before the expiry date if the company is not wishing to honor the package.
If there isn't anything in your area, we may give you a credit voucher that can be used at a later date for another promotion. The credit voucher does not expire and will only be removed once you call to redeem it.
I will kindly ask that you contact our customer service department [protected] so we may further assist you.
Thank you and have a great day!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Scam, Marketing
Job applicants be forewarned(UPDATE: San Antonio Police have been made aware):
A 'marketing' company referring to itself a 'JDR International' located on San Pedro Street is recruiting people for a job which consists of soliciting door-to-door (residential and business) to sell off 'Smart Circle' coupons for discounts on various services and sports tickets (for example, San Antonio Spurs). The company(WHICH GOES BY DIFFERENT NAMES IN DIFFERENT CITIES) does this without a permit/license, which is required in many municipalities, therefore, this is illegal.
They drop their employees off on busy access roads and highways throughout San Antonio to go and solicit various businesses and homes. Employees typically work a 10 hour day(if not more) and are paid ONLY on commission, thus, it is possible to work a full day and not receive pay. They have ads on Craigslist, as well as Careerbuilder.com, and Monster.com. Here is an example of a Craigslist ad--their ads are misleading, as to the nature of the work:
Reply to: [protected]@jdrinternational.com [?]
Date: 2009-01-02, 10:34AM CST
Baseball/Basketball/Football seasons are here. Competition is in the air. Have fun working with ticket promotions for surrounding pro/semi pro teams. Like the San Antonio Spurs, Spurs Silver Stars, and the Rampage. Full paid training is provided with management opportunities. Professionalism is a must.
For questions or to apply please contact Amanda at [protected] or email a question or resume to [protected]@jdrinternational.com
* Location: SAN ANTONIO
* Compensation: doe
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
* Phone calls about this job are ok.
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
PostingID: [protected]
Here is another example: WORK FOR ONE OF THE TOP ADVERTISING FIRMS IN THE CITY! JDR INTERNATIONAL IS OFFERING FULL PAID TRAINING FOR THAT DREAM CAREER YOU'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR. LEARN HOW TO REPRESENT SOME OF THE BIGGEST CLIENTS AROUND LIKE THE: SAN ANTONIO SPURS AUSTIN TORROS THE RAMPAGE THE ALAMO DRAFT HOUSE THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF OUR OUTSTANDING CLIENTS! WE PROVIDE FULL HANDS ON PAID TRAINING! IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO BUILD A FUTURE IN ADVERTISING OR PUBLIC RELATIONS APPLY NOW. SEND YOUR RESUME OR GIVE US A CALL TO BOOK IMMEDIATELY AT [protected] ASK FOR LISA OR MELISSA.
I have been called by a San Antonio Marketing Inc. Not sure if is similar to the company you guys are talking about. They want to schedule an interview, they are located at 10010 San Pedro Ave. I am working but, always looking for something new, if it feels weird I will not bother. This page is very informative. Has anybody here heard of a company named Melaleuca.
I can so relate to all of you! I was also a victim of this BS!
I got the job for this marketing company in Milford CT which it was called Apex Direct and now it's under Shoreline Event Management. This is a very long story but to make a very long story short this company is just a big scam. The owner has no clue what she's doing. She takes advantage of young people that don't have much experience in life and just totally brain washes them. She lies about other people to make them feel good, lies that she's giving them bonus, she's playing with the IRS as well for all of the things that she's been including on her "bookkeeping/taxes" that she gives her employees $ for gas and she never did, does, she tells her employees that she fired someone when that someone really quit to make herself look good, she holds people's checks when they quit which is ILLEGAL, she cuts peoples checks without them knowing, she takes money from the reps checks in they have a credit card charge that got denied from a client they sold products to like it's the reps fault, she has the person booking events low ball the locations in which the reps are going to be working at (gas stations) paying $25.00-$30.00 per day to have sales reps sit there for 8-9 hours selling FW1 cleaning wax and giving people free demonstrations so she can pull more profit out of the deal. They have people start and be at the office from 8:00am till 9:30am with no pay so they can s/u teams and go through a stupid morning lying meeting, then they go out to the field on their own car, using their own $$ for gas, sometimes even bring someone else because they hire anyone off the street that has no car or a way to get around and they just stand at the gas station for another 8 hours under 100 degree weather, rain, snow, hurricane, it don't matter, after that they have to go back to the office to check in so that's another hour by the end of the day the reps worked for 13-14hours to get paid a little bit less than a $100.00 for the day. That is if they TOP PRODUCED. Top produced means, they sold $300.00 worth of products. She has her receptionist doing everything for her, from running HER errands to cleaning her dogs poop while she's in her office playing with her dogs. Before they hire you they promise you $400.00 per week in which it hardly ever happens unless that rep had a VERY good week. They don't give you the copies of things that you signed when you first get hired, nothing is legit! She gives her reps credit when they are doing good and when they are not she treats them like dirt, blames on they're attitude but then people start realizing what type of selfish person she is and just quits. Jaclyn Zepernick's employees spends so much money in gas, food and other things to get a ### pay check at the end of the week. In this economy no one is able to afford not having a job, if you reading this and get a call from them, you will have to be able to afford this job because you're going to end up spending more money than what you are going to get paid for.
I'm not quite sure as if every office runs like this but I know that this owner is just a ### that likes to use people to make her rich, I know that soon or later the labor dep is going to catch on to all of the illegal BS she pulls.
i live in houston and i have my second interview with San Antonio Marketing Inc. wednesday...not going . especially after reading all this stuff. thanks for all the insight
well i just set up an interview with this scam in san antonio called now san antonio marketing for tomorrow but it looks like i aint gonna go! this sounds horrible! i dont even have a car or the energy to be goin all over town sellin stuff!
I worked for Jose Rodriguez from Feb - Mar 2010. Pretty shady operation that I totally fell for. The team totally brainwashed me into walking in on people's secured offices, pressuring people to part with their cash, and was escorted out by security several times. It really does become a family, but it's a mind job. I actually made pretty good money, but soon I realized the cards I was selling were barely legal and I had to lie to people to get them to purchase. I hope they get shut down soon. Hope some of the people I worked with have gotten smart and moved on. My advice to job seekers, hit up a temp agency. Better luck there.
Yeah went everything that's been said is pretty on point. I was in the office this morning for my second interview and decided to google the company. BAM found this got up and walked out! I could do this If I had the time to put into it. But I am a 3 Tim's
Disabled vet. I can get way better then this plus I have a family to support. If your young single and have the time go for it. They get by making you feel like its a different job but
In the end it's this!
After spending the day canvasing half of the North Side of San Antonio, TX, I quickly discovered the pyramid scheme that was "pitched" to me over lunch. We'll get to lunch later! I showed up early for my 2nd interview. Which was no more than a way for my "Leader" to "Pitch" his song and dance on how this whole thing worked. Now, I'm an educated person, so after a few text messages and www.google.com I should have told this guy who was desperately trying to sell San Antonio Rampage Tickets to business who have "No Soliciting" signs posted on their doors, to sell to someone who might care. I stuck around till lunch, which I was informed would be on the company. YAAAAA RIGHT! After quizing this gentlemen on his "stories" of his life, which were a total line of BS! We arrived back to the office of San Antonio Marketing Inc. to be told that I was chosen to work with the "Team". After research of this company and its many aliases, I told them I would not return due to the "Questionable Reviews" I have seen on the internet. Please be smart when Job Hunting. If you like going door to door selling something that may not be TRUTHFUL, then go right ahead, but please inform yourself. I at least got a free lunch out of it. Thank you to my Mother for blowing the whistle and giving me a heads up!
I went for my second interview today at Midwest sports and entertainment in st louis mo, basically i rode around all day with someone trying to sell spa coupons and we sold NOT ONE all day! and they do not pay you back for the gas you use getting to where they tell you to go and sell! i was sooo mad, it was wrong and i though i could get arrested. sounds a little to much like the persuit of happiness to me lol ... will not be going back!
Here is a fact... 7% of America Owns and employs 93% of America. Look it up. This 7% Im talking about are called Entrepreneurs. These people are the millionaires and billionaires of the world. The are people who understand what it takes to have something in this world. That is what these companies look for in individuals. I have friend who has been promoted through smart circle and this kid is making 6 figures. He did exactly what these scary idiots on this comment page are talking bad about. They talk bad because they were unsuccessful at it. They failed or were too afraid to accept a job on commission... Someone said "ONLY Commission" earlier I find that hilarious because if you work on commission and you work all day and didn't make any money then the simple fact of the matter is you suck at commission sales! Go Wait tables or something. There has to be someone to take my order right? Lets face it people we are brought up thinking that we have to settle for hourly pay. It's ridiculous because of people like my friend and Donald Trump for example the guys that created the airplane, light bulb, ANYTHING! Whatever it is that we use today, was more than likely made by an entrepreneur, and was probably sold to people by someone on a commission based pay . Now you people bashing my profession are probably going to spend the rest of your life making people just like me and the people you used to work with, Rich ... Very very rich... So thanks for not having what it takes to do what we do.
There is a company like the ones mentioned called Phoenix in Baton Rouge. In just 4-6 months you can make $100k plus, selling Directv. Only problem is, what they are promising you is market over saturation. There is no way Directv is gonna pay for that many managers to operate. Not only that, but they tell you the job is not sales based, but "training" and they need to fill 7 manager spots. But theres 8 people in the room, and 10 behind them, and you have to meet sales goals to advance. Total crap. Best part is that the company wont be around more than a year. Theyre just gonna pack up and find a new city to rape. Taking 1 manager out of the 100hires for the six months theyre there!. Ps: you go through this program without learning any management skills. Kinda hard to train to be a manager when THEY DONT TEACH YOU HOW TO MANAGE!
website not working card not working
I purchased a card for close to earlier this year for a card that entitled me to discounted meals at the Enterouge restaurant in Schaumburg, Illinois. I believe I was entitled to 8 different discounts and have only used 2 of the and now there is no website to let me know what I still have avaialble. When I called the 800 number on the card they claim they never had a website get in the cirlcle. - Yet I have a credit Crd type card with a membership number on it that I have in fact used before as well as visited their website, which is printed on the back of my card.
Membership number [protected] Jennifer Reiger for the Enterouge restaurant in Schaumburg. my number is [protected]. - would appreciate an explanation!
scam and cheating
I am not a pissed off employee, I actually like the company and the people I work with. However, you need to know the truth. They are just sales people and they have to lie to you. First off, they never stop hiring, ever. They will always be hiring because your only way to get promoted to management is through taking people out on interviews and making them join the company.
This is a commission only job, there is no base salary. They call it profit sharing, but it is the same. You make 20 - 40 dollars a lead but if you piss the boss off or if he feels like it you will make 20 a lead with out him telling you until after you are paid. Then he will give you a lame excuse as to why.
For your interview, be prepared to drive all the way to Bethesda, then you will have to follow behind someone in a car to some Home Depot or BJ's 30 minutes or so away. You will walk around the store with them as they pitch people and as there job is to also pitch you. They are not allowed to tell you the pay scale until lunch because they know most people will leave. They make you promise to save your questions for lunch. Then if they like you and have convinced you that you actually can make money in the job, then they make you drive all the way back to Bethesda by your self for a 'test' and another interview. They do not pay for your lunch or gas.
As far as work goes. You come in between 9-930 you are trained how to pitch and different theories you need to learn. You then have a meeting from 10 till 1045. Then you have to drive everyday to a different store far away from the office. You can go as far as Annapolis and Waldorf over 1 hour and 20 minutes away. Then you work until about 7 in the store walking around talking to every person in the store trying to sign them up for free consultations.
Then you have to drive all the way back to the office to turn in your leads and by the time you leave it is almost 830pm. If you are promoted to a leader then it is almost 9 or later because you can't leave until the distributors have left. Then you repeat that 12 hour day for five days then it is mandatory that you work on saturday if you want to get promoted. That is from 10 until 6 pm. That is a 68 hour work week. They Do not pay for you gas.
Did I tell you there is no base pay! If you get no leads, which does happen, you have worked 12 hours for nothing. The most I ever got in a day was 6. Which isn't bad if they pay you the 35 to 40 dollars per lead they are supposed to pay you, however if you piss the boss off or are late or any other reason, they change it to 20 a lead and that is not so great. You won't find out if they have changed it until after you get paid.
You don't have quota's, but they push conversion rate on you. Now conversion rate is when your generated lead actually has a person go out to the home and try tp sell the product. The problem is that they don't have enough people to go out and they don't go to all the appointments for whatever reason they make up. clients will come back to the stores and tell you of the experiences. In the end you should have 100 percent conversion if the sales people would go out like they are supposed to. They don't so you won't.
Setting up the leads. You have to call a call center based in Florida. You use your own cell phone which they do not pay for. Now these people have to qualify the people. They can completely screw up the lead for you. For example, we were told that they can reface metal cabinets to make them wood. Which our designers will do, but if you customer says that to the call center, they will not go out. Why you ask? No good reason, the company does reface the metal cabinets. The call center will tell you they don't but the sales agents will go out and price it and tell you they do reface them.
Now the results are true. You can make it to management. You can open your own store. You will have to lie to everyone you interview. You will have to alway be hiring to stay afloat. You will work long hours and never know if you can pay your bills or not. The choice is yours. If you have integrity and don't feel like risking being broke then I would not recommend taking this job. If you are a criminal or an ex drug dealer and can't get any other job. This is perfect for you. I hope I did not miss anything.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Not only this, but they will fire you for things that arent your fault to coveir their own ###, and then try to stiff you on the money they owe you. Would not trust this company with a raccoon, and certainly would never do business with them after I have seen how they work.
I currently work for a company in Florida under Smart Circle. It is true that they do not pay salary and it is Comission only... I work with certificates and I have used them myself. Thank God I havent had problems with the certs that I've purchased neither than with my boss. I'm already in Leadership and I'm on my way to get promoted to Assistant Manager (I've only been in the business for 2 months). If you have good people skills, you will progress in the company. You also need to be a great salesperson. I have to agree in the interviewing part... We do say the exact same "pitch" to every interview that comes in to the office. It is almost 12 hrs, but remember that the time that you're in the office is not work time. Also have in mind that you can deduct all your expenses when you do your taxes. I'm making $1, 000 weekely (Just so You know).
this job is commission, no base pay, they call it profit sharing, you work up to if not more than 12 hours a day. when they send you to one of their sams clubs or BJ's or whatever it is hard to keep track of your sales they tell you that sams club sends out the checks weekly and sometimes have you working the location with one or two other people. This is how they cheated me out of my money. When I first worked at sams with 2 other people at the smart circle display/kiosk we sold a lot and had to "share" the profit. The next day they said we would get paid $400 each. I waited for a week and asked for my check it was not even half of that mind you i worked there all week. I asked what happened to the money i was supposed to make they told me the customers brought the products back to the store so we didn't get credit for it. also a couple of weeks later i spoke to one of the people that worked with me that day and he asked me did i get my $400 check for that day and i said no he got kind of quiet and said that's messed up. he said him and the other girl both got their checks for the $400 for that day. They would give me advance payments at times which made them seem cool but every time i was supposed to get my hundreds of dollars check they would take out for the loan of course and give me change. I made enough money just to pay my babysitter and i am a great sales person i pulled the long hours and made the sales but not the money. This place will take advantage of a nice person quickly the smiles and pep talks and flexibility at times gives an illusion they care about their employees. I have to put it out there the ### who scammed me her name is Kayla shes a dick sucking [censored] who lies cheats and steals and she does with a big ### smile and a mini dress. She is evil beware! ###in Theif
My experience with this company was pretty similar. I got hired by a company called Global yes they took me on an interview that consisted of going door to door to different businesses and pitching people working at their desks to buy gift certificates. The interviewer did take me to some city that was pretty far out i was new to the state so i don't know exactly where i was lol anyways she did tell me to save my questions till lunch and did pay for my lunch. I went out for a few weeks with the same woman because i didn't have a car at the time and i sat and listened to her give other interviews and realized it is a scam. I did make money but they did cheat me out of most of it and this company is a boiler room growing and creating other boiler rooms. All u have to do to become a team leader is get 5 people under you and you can open up your own office and create a name for the business you branched off. You have to be a real ### whole and a person with no conscience to go far in that business not to mention you have to have your head so far up the bosses ### you can see his bald spot. i got sent out with a male leader after a while on one of their home improvement businesses and got sexually harassed in a residential neighborhood at like 10 at night about 2-3 hours away from home. I played it cool so i wouldn't get left and never went back.
This is probably too late for you but I recently quit working for a Smart Circle (now Community Appreciation, formerly DS-Max or Granton Marketing) satellite office and have begun to do research on the cult mentality/deceptive business practices of the organization. Here is an amazing rundown of the business, written 6 years ago, with little difference between then and now:
http://wolfram.org/scam/ds_max/index.html
The person who wrote it worked with the company for four years, making them a veritable expert. I, on the other hand, only wasted 4 months and only a few thousand dollars. You'll notice I've listed a few different names that they've been known as. I assume it's because they want to avoid postings like this.
Sounds like a great job for someone with no experience in the work force in a time when skilled and highly trained people are finding it difficult to get work. Burger King is probably safer, but the pay is definitely low. In a position like this a driven and determined person can make good money. 20 plus years ago I sold 8 x 10 portraits made from snapshots (obviously before the technology boom). By getting someone to commit to pay $680 (over years) I earned $68 straight commission. It was a tough job, sucking people into listening to me, convincing them what I had to offer was worth the money, convincing them they could afford the low payments. I didn't particularly like working from 10 am to 8 pm to barely make ends meet, but making minimum wage working retail didn't appeal to me either. After about 6 months I quit, but I had learned a lot about human nature. I had learned to sell myself which came in real handy getting better jobs. Today I credit my time selling those portraits with my career success as much if not more than my college degree.
So..you enjoy the comapny & people you work with lying to you & treating you like crap?
I work for smart circle and everything you said is completly backwards they do pay you a base pay of minimum wage for 40 hours or if your leads that you generate is higher then that base pay you get the commision. However if you suck at the busniess then you will be getting fired after 2 or 3 weeks at base pay because you are just dead weight. Hours are 12:00 to 7:00 and it is 6 days a week so that is about 42 hours not 68 and I know the pay scale did change scence you left but it is actually $54 a lead and I do anywhere from 20 - 30 leads a weeks do the math but we dont get paid on lead but on issued lead which I have a 60% conversion so that is still a great check. Also as far as the the people not going out to interviews being USHS or directly Home Depot your manager should be able to print you out a list of all your leads with the Phone numbers of those people or just keep the info that you got from them when you generated the lead to call them back and ask how it went and usually if it didnt issue they say they cancle but im sure you are just not an entrepreneur and this job isnt for you but dont smite it because it wasnt for you.
False advertising/rude customer service reps
I am writing regarding the very rude customer service representatives that you have in your office. I have had the worst experience with your company from the beginning until now. I had one rude customer service representative after the other. My first bad encounter was with your customer service representative Stacy. This is who I spoke to when I was trying to get my money back for the certificate I was given as a gift. I then had to ask for a manager because Stacy was unable to give me the type of service that I deserve.
I called THE SMART CIRCLE's customer service line [protected] with the hopes of finding out when I would receive my refund on the gift certificate that was misrepresented and sold to someone, and then given to me as a birthday gift. I spoke with Lindsay (the manager) who let me know about how to go about getting my refund. The customer service representative Gabrielle was talking over me and not listening very well at all and then she hung up the phone on me before I was able to get an answer as to when I would be receiving a refund. After the very rude Gabrielle hung up the phone I called back and spoke with Lindsay again who was very rude and also hung up the phone one me. If a customer is calling in, it is obvious that they need help but if the help that you have is rude and abrupt, the customer will not want to do business with you as well as will spread the word about their bad experience. It is very difficult to recover from a bad reputation. I am willing to call every company as well as forward this email to the companies that you currently do business with to let them know of my poor experience.
I am also prepared to report the smart circle to the Better Business Bureau as well as get this information onto the internet so that when someone searches the smart circle they will see my complaint.
I am writing regarding the very rude customer service representatives that you have in your office. I have had the worst experience with your company from the beginning until now. I had one rude customer service representative after the other. My first bad encounter was with your customer service representative Stacy. This is who I spoke to when I was trying to get my money back for the certificate I was given as a gift. I then had to ask for a manager because Stacy was unable to give me the type of service that I deserve.
I called THE SMART CIRCLE's customer service line [protected] with the hopes of finding out when I would receive my refund on the gift certificate that was misrepresented and sold to someone, and then given to me as a birthday gift. I spoke with Lindsay (the manager) who let me know about how to go about getting my refund. The customer service representative Gabrielle was talking over me and not listening very well at all and then she hung up the phone on me before I was able to get an answer as to when I would be receiving a refund. After the very rude Gabrielle hung up the phone I called back and spoke with Lindsay again who was very rude and also hung up the phone one me. If a customer is calling in, it is obvious that they need help but if the help that you have is rude and abrupt, the customer will not want to do business with you as well as will spread the word about their bad experience. It is very difficult to recover from a bad reputation. I am willing to call every company as well as forward this email to the companies that you currently do business with to let them know of my poor experience.
I am also prepared to report the smart circle to the Better Business Bureau as well as get this information onto the internet so that when someone searches the smart circle they will see my complaint.
I also have had the same experience, not only am I disgusted w Smartcircle but also w the holiday inn that I thought I was buying this discount card for. They took no respnsibility for this saying that it is a third party thing, funny though because holiday inn is the only name I see on it. Bunch of CraP !
Wow; after reading all the complaints, I feel I am not alone. I have been calling and leaving messages for someone to call me regarding a so called travel package that I was supposed to have received.
To this day, I have not heard from anyone. I send an email with my complaint all they sent me was a ticket number to hold on to.
Maybe they are waiting for it to expire, then they will call me and say (sorry but your coupon is expired).
I would like to know if anyone of you ladies have a direct phone number or contact number so that I may apply for my refund.
I wanted to take my 85 year old mom on a mini cruise and sorry to say it never happened thanks to their bad representation. Please help!
I too bought several packages...when I went home excited, I got on the internet to see just how much I was going to save...boy, was I shocked...Not only can you get a better deal going direct to a company...you can get even better deals booking on the pricelines, expedia and etc. I work for a fortune 500 company so I figured that they would not bring in an unreputable company as an "Employee Appreciation" program for it's well deserving employees...again, I was wrong!
There were many hidden fees, Complimentary nights can cost you well over $100.00 with undisclosed charges.
When I called to request a refund, your about to read the same thing as above...the first call, I stated I wanted a refund as stated on the packet, "100% guaranteed within 30 days, no questions asked". The CS told me it would take 6 weeks or more to process my request and then they would issue me a check...I explained to her that was unacceptable...She hung up on me. I called back and went through the process again, this time I did get confirmation numbers for each packet...after spending all of my time going through the questions for each individual packet, I was informed that it would take at less 6 weeks to process my request after I had returned all of the packets, along with a written detailed statement of why I was returning the goods. What happened to "No questions Asked" as stated on their 100% Satisfaction Guaranttee? Upon hearing this I requested to speak with a supervisor...I was put on hold for an extended amount of time, my minutes on my cellphone are ticking away and then the phone hung up on me, imagine that!
I have no choice but to go to my bank and request a "stop payment" thank god for credit cards and dispute arbitration!
I wonder what the Attorney General in Atlanta would think of this? Hmmm, maybe it's time for an investigation!
I contacted the CS department to see about what i need to do for a refund. The first time I tried to use the coupon the salon wouldn't take it. then my coupon burnt in my house fire. They said they could not do anything, not even with a copy of my check. This is bad customer service, but they certainly tried to sell me another coupon. I asked her why I would buy another coupon if the salon didint even take the first one, she stated that is all i can do for you and hung up.
4/20/09
I purchased a vacation package from The smart Circle and was told I could stay at any Disney Resort of my choice I just had to make sure there was availabilty an to make a rsvp at least 30 days prior. And when I called (they ) smart circle said I did not have a choice of where I was gonna stay and they could not tell me I had to wait for an email or letter with a conformation and It would take up to 7 days and said I had to pay the $15.00 a night tax on the room right then on the phone or I could not get it. I had already paid $49.99 for the package so I went ahead and paid the $45.00 and it's now going on 2 weeks and I have not received any emails or letter in the mail. I have no way of getting ahold of them and when I try to call Smart Circle I can't get anyone on the phone. And also I was told when I called to to book the room that I would have to go to a welcome center first (the day Im due to check in) an they the welcome center will tell me where Im gonna stay for the weekend and then give me the voucher for the hotel they pick which would be a Holiday Inn express or something similar. And it would be atleast 6 miles from Disney and they would make arrangements to take us to the timeshare and do the tour for 90 mins. I am so disappointed at how this company keeps you in the dark on where your gonna stay an how they turn everything around but take your money right away. I do not like the fact that I have to waste my time driving to Orlando pay for gas and have no idea on where Im gonna stay until I go to the Welcome Center at which I have no idea where that is until they email me. Save your money an dont waste your time to much of a hassle. I'm gonna try an get my money back.)
M.Parker
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Smart Circle International Contacts
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Smart Circle International phone numbers+1 (800) 775-1975+1 (800) 775-1975Click up if you have successfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (800) 775-1975 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (800) 775-1975 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (800) 775-1975 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (800) 775-1975 phone numberCustomer Service+1 (866) 569-2420+1 (866) 569-2420Click up if you have successfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (866) 569-2420 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (866) 569-2420 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (866) 569-2420 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Smart Circle International by calling +1 (866) 569-2420 phone numberDirecTV Inquiries
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Smart Circle International emailscustomerservice@thesmartcircle.com100%Confidence score: 100%Support
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Smart Circle International address4490 Von Karman Ave., Newport Beach, California, 92660, United States
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Checked and verified by Olivia This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn moreJun 30, 2025 - View all Smart Circle International contacts
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