First, I’m not mentioning any names in this report for the sake of my values - I refuse to slander anyone or hear false witness when they are not present. As I am new to the workforce, I saw an opportunity come up on a job board for Entey Level Account Manager. Since "Entry Level” and "Account Manager” sound cool, I applied. I was responded to by phone, email, and text for an interview. I was told in the communications, they are rapidly expanding, but are closing their hiring process soon, so needed to respond quickly. When I confirmed I was available, I was sent a second email telling me where and when to show up for my interview. The communication I received reminded me to dress business professional, as I would be meeting with the owner of the company. I arrived to a large and very legit business park. I say legit because there’s all sorts of things in there like dental offices and national banks, etc. I noticed the building had signs up for other companies, but not Zelpha.
I went inside Zelpha’s office and me the recepionist/hr rep/smiley lady and told her I was there for an interview. I was asked to sit down and given a clipboard and paper to fill out contact info. I noticed that when I handed her back the clipboard, she took my paper off and put another in its place and set the clipboard on top of some other clipboards that had the same contact sheet. I thought it was odd, but perhaps efficient if they are quickly closing the hiring process. Once I met the "owner”, I was asked into his office. He didn’t ask any weird questions but he also didn’t ask many questions at all. He said that his clients are AT&T and DirecTV, and that they manage customer relations for these companies. He said that the world we live in has grown immune to the power of mail flyers and billboards, and that people want to know a human being cares for them. He said that most people are more apt to buy if they can have a face to face conversation with someone, and that that is what they provide. He said that when those 2 companies’ customer service center receives calls regarding beginning service, the customers are referred to Zelpha for account management and to answer any questions the customer has. He said that his clients asked him to hire 10 more people in 2 weeks, and while he can hire "anyone”, he is committed to only hiring the best of the best. At the end of the (weirdly and irritatingly short) Interview, he asked if I would come in for a second interview. Somehow I still thought all this afternoon as legit, so I said yes. He told me that the second interview would take place that day with a mentor/hr rep who would give me more details on the position and explain pay and schedule.
At my second interview, I was greeted by the person doing my interview and she had with her someone who was shadowing. This is a good time to mention that the WHOLE time there’s bumpin’ music and very few people present. Anyway, during the second interview, it was explained to me that the business focuses on direct sales only to people who have already said they want services. In the employment ad, hours were listed as 9-5 M-F. I was told that the workday runs from 1030-830, Saturday 930-530 and closed on Sundays. She said people come in earlier for a motivational session, and that Sundays are spent bettering your business tactics with your coworkers. So, for a business that claims to operate normal corporate business hours, Zelpha actually has you show up to work for several hours a day, seven days a week. Not to mention the hours are WAY longer and different from regular business hours. Law Of Average was explained to me in this way: for each try you make, your chance for success increases. I was also told that there is a VERY fast track to leadership. They train you and have motivating meetings to share new trends in the industry and learn what works and why it works. I was explained some convoluted pay scale that starts with 100% commission and bonuses, all the way up to earning massive base pay and massive commission. The training had designated time spans, but I was told that usually people earn a lot more money and advance quicker than what the sheet said. She said that there’s morning teaching and motivation and then they go visit their customers to make sure they have everything they need. She said people go in groups of 2-4 and that no one ever goes by themselves. I was also told that they have a bell party and that everyone is expected to have a student mentality. I was told checks come each week. She mentioned that several times.
Once that part was finished, I was taken back to the front desk where I filled out a "survey” that asked me why direct sales were so important, and it asked me to explain Law Of Averages. Again with the bumping music and no people around. When I got home, I googled Law Of Averages and bell party to understand what exactly they were. One thing kept coming up: Cydcor. Just a simple Google search will tell you that Cydcor is the parent company of all these small business fronts that operate on a direct sales door-to-door model. Door to door means you’re going places that HAVE NOT YET SAID THEY WANT SERVICE. It is cold selling and not at ALL what they said in the interview. The pay is also misrepresented, as a base pay is stated on job search engines, when in reality there is NO base pay, only commissions starting out. I had applied for the Account Management position, and that was actually the second level - and named something else. People are "promoted from within” so the people in the higher ranks are actually former Entry Level saps. This joint is just barely legal, but definitely big on the deviousness and shadiness. Not to mention morally compromising!!!
Zelpha Consulting Group Reviews
First, I’m not mentioning any names in this report for the sake of my values - I refuse to slander anyone or hear false witness when they are not present. As I am new to the workforce, I saw an opportunity come up on a job board for Entey Level Account Manager. Since "Entry Level” and "Account Manager” sound cool, I applied. I was responded to by phone, email, and text for an interview. I was told in the communications, they are rapidly expanding, but are closing their hiring process soon, so needed to respond quickly. When I confirmed I was available, I was sent a second email telling me where and when to show up for my interview. The communication I received reminded me to dress business professional, as I would be meeting with the owner of the company. I arrived to a large and very legit business park. I say legit because there’s all sorts of things in there like dental offices and national banks, etc. I noticed the building had signs up for other companies, but not Zelpha.
I went inside Zelpha’s office and me the recepionist/hr rep/smiley lady and told her I was there for an interview. I was asked to sit down and given a clipboard and paper to fill out contact info. I noticed that when I handed her back the clipboard, she took my paper off and put another in its place and set the clipboard on top of some other clipboards that had the same contact sheet. I thought it was odd, but perhaps efficient if they are quickly closing the hiring process. Once I met the "owner”, I was asked into his office. He didn’t ask any weird questions but he also didn’t ask many questions at all. He said that his clients are AT&T and DirecTV, and that they manage customer relations for these companies. He said that the world we live in has grown immune to the power of mail flyers and billboards, and that people want to know a human being cares for them. He said that most people are more apt to buy if they can have a face to face conversation with someone, and that that is what they provide. He said that when those 2 companies’ customer service center receives calls regarding beginning service, the customers are referred to Zelpha for account management and to answer any questions the customer has. He said that his clients asked him to hire 10 more people in 2 weeks, and while he can hire "anyone”, he is committed to only hiring the best of the best. At the end of the (weirdly and irritatingly short) Interview, he asked if I would come in for a second interview. Somehow I still thought all this afternoon as legit, so I said yes. He told me that the second interview would take place that day with a mentor/hr rep who would give me more details on the position and explain pay and schedule.
At my second interview, I was greeted by the person doing my interview and she had with her someone who was shadowing. This is a good time to mention that the WHOLE time there’s bumpin’ music and very few people present. Anyway, during the second interview, it was explained to me that the business focuses on direct sales only to people who have already said they want services. In the employment ad, hours were listed as 9-5 M-F. I was told that the workday runs from 1030-830, Saturday 930-530 and closed on Sundays. She said people come in earlier for a motivational session, and that Sundays are spent bettering your business tactics with your coworkers. So, for a business that claims to operate normal corporate business hours, Zelpha actually has you show up to work for several hours a day, seven days a week. Not to mention the hours are WAY longer and different from regular business hours. Law Of Average was explained to me in this way: for each try you make, your chance for success increases. I was also told that there is a VERY fast track to leadership. They train you and have motivating meetings to share new trends in the industry and learn what works and why it works. I was explained some convoluted pay scale that starts with 100% commission and bonuses, all the way up to earning massive base pay and massive commission. The training had designated time spans, but I was told that usually people earn a lot more money and advance quicker than what the sheet said. She said that there’s morning teaching and motivation and then they go visit their customers to make sure they have everything they need. She said people go in groups of 2-4 and that no one ever goes by themselves. I was also told that they have a bell party and that everyone is expected to have a student mentality. I was told checks come each week. She mentioned that several times.
Once that part was finished, I was taken back to the front desk where I filled out a "survey” that asked me why direct sales were so important, and it asked me to explain Law Of Averages. Again with the bumping music and no people around. When I got home, I googled Law Of Averages and bell party to understand what exactly they were. One thing kept coming up: Cydcor. Just a simple Google search will tell you that Cydcor is the parent company of all these small business fronts that operate on a direct sales door-to-door model. Door to door means you’re going places that HAVE NOT YET SAID THEY WANT SERVICE. It is cold selling and not at ALL what they said in the interview. The pay is also misrepresented, as a base pay is stated on job search engines, when in reality there is NO base pay, only commissions starting out. I had applied for the Account Management position, and that was actually the second level - and named something else. People are "promoted from within” so the people in the higher ranks are actually former Entry Level saps. This joint is just barely legal, but definitely big on the deviousness and shadiness. Not to mention morally compromising!!!