emodel.com, Options Talent Group
To Whom It May Concern:
I was living in Jacksonville,
Florida, searching for work on monster.com, when I
came across a model scout position opening up in the
Tampa Bay area.
I had done some modeling
when I was younger and I’ve always been interested
in the industry, so I was thrilled when I received
an email for an interview.
They gave me two days
notice to be in Orlando, Florida, (a three-hour drive)
for this interview. The email indicated that if you
were offered the position, you would start work the
next day in Tampa.
My husband was very
supportive and knew how much I would love this job,
so we tried to pack as much stuff as we could in my
little car before taking off for Orlando. I tried to
get all the things I might need if I was offered the
job, knowing I would have to move to Tampa.
So I arrive at the
corporate office in Orlando, and I was shocked to see
25 other people sitting there. I thought there was
no way they would select me to be a scout over all
these other people.
Then they called our
names one by one and had us all sitting in one room,
where at this point they did a small presentation of
emodel.
I thought it was a
great idea and to see all the affiliations with such
large names in the industry: Look, Ford, Elite, etc...
I thought, “This is so wonderful — I hope
I get this job.”
Then we were broken
up into groups of around four people each. They then
gave us several comp cards of various models. They
gave us a scenario of looking through the composites
for a specific model. The groups then had to scan and
select the one model that fit the description of what
they were looking for.
Amazing how every
group got it right.
Then they had us each
stand up and tell a little bit about ourselves.
They then went over
the pay and benefits. The first week would have a different
pay scale since you were just starting out. If offered
the position, you would get $100 per model that you
scouted and enrolled as long as you had 10 or more
sign up. Then it was based on how many enrollments.
If only 1 or 2, you got $25 per enrollment, etc...
Underneath this, it
stated that you would get a $600 base pay after your
30-day probationary period. That’s all it said.
Nothing about having to have any amount of enrollments.
So I thought, “Ok,
I can try to work really hard and get tons of enrollments
the first 30 days so I could get a paycheck, until
the base pay kicked in. Then I will be ok financially.”
So then it was time
to go in for your one-on-one interview. I was so nervous
watching each person get called and wondering, “Did
they get the job? Or will I?"
I was then called
in.
They asked me, “Why
do you I think you would make a good model scout?"
I told them: “Because
I have a good eye for talent, and I’ve had previous
modeling experience in my younger years.” (I’m
35 years old.)
Imagine how excited
I was when she shook my hand, and said, “You
got the job.”
I was so excited until
I walked out of the office and found out that every
person in the room got the job.
So I thought, “This
is kind of odd.”
Well, I brushed it
off as Tampa is a new location, so, of course, they
are going to need extra scouts.
Then once I got to
Tampa with every penny to my name, I rented out a small
place for $75 a week.
The first week we
were sent to the office for meetings and training.
But there was no training.
On our first day,
they made us go out on our own and scout people. I
was scared to death — I didn’t know what
to say or what to do. But I got two people to come
to the first open call which was held on Tuesday, Thursday,
and Saturday every week.
I found in the first
week that they were taking every person that
showed up for open call. The exit interview was all
for show.
I was told that this
is like AOL, that’s how they make their money.
They get that nice chunk of money upfront ($395) and
then $29 a month. I was appalled!
I spent all of our
savings on rent, gas, clubs, etc. scouting people for
free.
I was heartbroken.
Not only was this
job not a job, but all these innocent people were coming
in, spending hundreds of dollars on something that
wasn’t even real. They weren’t going to
get work, not from emodel. It was all about the money.
That is it.
And as far as the
$600 base pay? I kept asking, “When am I going
to get my pay?”
I was told to call
this person or that person, never getting an answer.
Until finally I was told, ‘Oh you need to have
10 enrollments in a week to receive that base pay,’ even
though nowhere on the initial forms did it say that.
So when I had my 10
enrollments and still didn’t get paid my base
pay, I was told, ‘Oh, you have to get 10
enrollments two weeks in a row.’
I then knew I would
never get the base pay. It was all lies. And within
the first week of working for emodel, everyone quit
except for four of us. There were so many scouts that
moved from different cities and states for this job.
Well, to our amazement,
every week they brought in around 20 more new scouts.
The same process, week after week...
What a great idea.
Get all these people to bring in models to sign up
and make money off of, and not have to pay the scouts.
What a way to make a buck: free employees.
I stayed with emodel
as long as I did, just to see this process. It was
sickening.
But after about 3
months, my savings were gone, and I had to get a real
job.
After I left, I filed
a complaint with the BBB in Orlando. They said that
all disgruntled employees acted this way.
Well, I think we have
a right to when we were lied to and moved hundreds
of miles away from our homes and families for a job
that was a scam, for a company that was a scam. We
weren’t going to get paid any more than the models
were going to get jobs.
So now, my focus is
on stopping emodel from scamming other people. I won’t
stop until they stop.
They are still using
the same model success stories that they used when
I was hired in May 2001. No new ones, just the same
ones. I don’t even know if they are real models
or just some stories made up by emodel.
So anyone that gets
scouted is being scammed and anyone who gets offered
a job for emodel is being scammed.
There are no winners
with this company. Except of course for the corporation
itself.
So I suggest anyone
and everyone to stay as far away from emodel as possible.
You’ll end up broke and broken-hearted.
Sincerely,
T.N.
|
