When I first started working for a company called "phoenix integrated store consultants" I thought the opportunity was great, the pay (500 dollars weekly base) was great, and the job itself was great. As I worked there for a few more days a few things became clear to me. First of all, they claim you get the opportunity to move up and become a "market manager" in 4-9 months which is absolute bull and I slowly learned that they're all talk when it comes to that, but I was still interested in the weekly base. Then, they force you into what they call "atmosphere" or "impact" in the "war room" every morning before work. Once you get into stores, such as Sams club, you will be there for 9 hours a day trying to sell people on signing up for directv. If they feel your "energy" isn't to their standards during atmosphere they'll call you out of the room in front of all your coworkers and send you home for the day. (Now personally I think this energy thing is a crock of s*** I believe they use it to distract their employees from the fraudulent crap they are committing). Or they'll send you home for another reason, whatever it may be. When this happened to me, I was still caught up in their brainwashing bs. The next day, I went in to work as normal and my boss called me into his office. Keep in mind the way they keep track of hourly payment is on a sheet of paper. So he pulls out my payroll sheet and says, "Go ahead and write the time you left yesterday when I sent you home." There were red lines with his initials by it in the rest of the days of the week that followed. He didn't tell me to write my clock in time for that particular day, and sent me off to Sams Club to sell directv some more. i was so sucked into what he was telling me and trying to earn back his trust and approval that I didn't notice what was up with that until later. anyways I hadn't made any sales in a few days, but I had only worked there 6 days and made 2 sales already and they never even finished my "training". That day, I made one. When I got home that night I snapped out of their mind control and I realized what had happened with my time sheet was sketchy and strange. It almost felt as if he intended to deny me my hourly wage without saying it, hoping I'd be so caught up in "atmosphere" and "high energy" that I wouldn't notice. So I did some research. And eventually, I came across a bunch of articles claiming that Smart Circle was a huge MLM/pyramid scheme. And it hit me. Smart Circle is the call center we called to set up all the sales I made with direct tv. So here I was thinking I was working for a company called phoenix, actually working for smart circle. And the more research I did that night, the clearer it became. I went into work the next day with intentions to quit because I was fully aware of what was happening and what was at risk. That morning, all my suspicions added up perfectly. My boss calls me in his office again, says "You got a sale today! What was working for you?" So I responded and waited for what he had to say next in hopes of still getting my hourly wage for the previous day worked before I began my resignation. He pulls out my time sheet almost immediately and says "Now you can go ahead and write your time in and out for yesterday." Just like I suspected he would. He was trying to not pay me
hourly unless I made him sales. Now it wouldn't bother me so much had when I was in the process of being hired someone had mentioned this was something he could do. But when they hired me they specifically told me I was GUARANTEED my hourly wage. Smart Circle and """Phoenix"""" or so they call themselves is one big sales cult. they screw over customers and employees alike and get away with it. absolutely do not work for them or any company affiliated with smart circle. it's a fraudulent mess. they'll try to brainwash you into believing you are nothing without their company and should do anything to maintain the relationship. crock. of. s***. there's so much more I could include about how much this company sucks and all the weird, sketchy, cult like bs they throw your way, but I believe I've said enough.