Hello. I'm warning people so they don't waste time in this trap. Stay away from Family Readers Service Inc. in Oshawa.
I found this company on jobbanks.gc.ca. They claim that they work for MacCleans and are an affiliate of Rogers, but I've seen no proof of that. They run out of a stingy office located at 286 King St W in Oshawa. I applied online for the telemarketer position, which is code for 'door-to-door magazine salesman'. They do NOT pay on commission, it's an hourly job. It's still a rip-off.
I had an interview one day, the next day was unpaid training and I started work that afternoon. I was concerned that there was no employee-employer contract; it was almost like they didn't want a paper trail linking me to them. The supervisor assured me that pay was $10 an hour with 35 hour weeks, but I have no proof of this either.
The job: You walk door-to-door for 7 or 8 hours a day. It's a basic scam where you pretend to be doing a survey, promise a free gift, and then convince the owner to buy 6 magazines for $2.79 a week. (Everybody has internet and the entire magazine is available online. Nobody buys magazines, especially not from strangers at the door. And we're in a recession.)
While you do this, the supervisor (named Cam) will sit in his car and follow you door-to-door. In the unlikely chance that you make a sale, he closes it and gets paid a large commission. This seems ironic because he didn't actually do anything to win the sale.
Problems:
-I was told to show up at 10am, and was kept waiting until the supervisor drove us to the canvas area; it would be 11 by the time the clock starts. The hour spent waiting is unpaid.
-Most days would not end until 7 or 8 at night. The supervisor would fudge the numbers so that 9 or 10 hours of work is 6. I've never seen him write anything down, so I guess he keeps all the numbers in his head.
-The supervisor (named Cam) is racist against non-white people. He seems like an angry man and I was worried he would drive off and leave me in a strange area of some other town.
-I worked at least 35 hours. The supervisor told me he was being generous to pay me for 20.
-I am still waiting to get paid. If I don't get paid by next week I will take legal action.
-The supervisor was really creepy. Instead of dropping me off at the office, he insisted on driving right up to my home after the first day of work; even though I told him not to. It was like he wanted to know where I live, or something.
I was fired on my fourth day for 2 reasons:
-That morning I insisted an employee-employer contract. He basically said no, business has been running for 25 years and not a single employee had ever asked for a contract. I assume he was lying. He acted like it was childish to ask for a legal contract.
-After 4 days of work I couldn't find anyone interested in buying. The supervisor blamed me. Apparently 'Family Readers' will give an employee 4 days to make a sale and then toss them aside. Most companies give a month, or at the very least a week. 35 hours isn't a very long probation period.
I hurt my leg, I wasted a lot of my time, and I still haven't been paid. If you have any sense you will stay away from this company.
*Sorry to all the people I bothered at home. I feel bad about it now.
Adam
Oshawa, Ontario
Canada
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