« + Quixtar Defender | Main | Spanos v. Quixtar, Inc. et al. »
September 22, 2004
Conversation With A Former Quixtar Employee
By QBlog in
I recently had a conversation with a guy who worked at Quixtar in customer service for about a year. What follows are excerpts from that conversation.
QBlog: Describe the atmosphere at Quixtar.
Quixtar Guy: In my department, pretty tired. They rarely hire people
in; almost everyone that you talk to at the Customer Service line is a temp.
They do that because they have such an insanely high turn-over rate that hiring
people in is silly.
QBlog: Why such a high turnover rate?
Quixtar Guy: Because the dept. is open 7 a.m. to midnight, and other
than that, there are no guarentees about when you will be scheduled. So one
week you might work 12 hours total, a 4-hour shift 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and an
8-hour shift 3:30 p.m. to midnight; then the next week you'll work 30 hours,
etc. It burns people out pretty fast.
QBlog: I understand. And by "pretty tired" what do you mean
exactly?
Quixtar Guy: Fairly typical "boy this employer really goes out
of its way to (screw) its employees up the (rear) attitude" that you find
pretty much anywhere, but more pervasive and intense, IMO. Pretty much everyone
knows they're only there temporarily.
QBlog: Is most of the workforce temporary across all departments or
is that unique to Customer Service?
Quixtar Guy: I'm actually not really sure. The only other departments
I had much experience with were the manufacturing ones; and those seemed to
be a mix of about 20% perms, 60% long-ish term temps, and 20% day-by-day temps.
But that's just judging from my 4 or 5 days as a day-by-day temp.
QBlog: So how was the food at Quixtar?
Quixtar Guy: Some of the worst I've ever had. And the cafeteria
lady charged you for plastic silverware, and little packets of condiments
QBlog: You were charged for plastic forks?
Quixtar Guy: Yep, something ridiculous, like 8 cents.
QBlog: Briefly describe the average IBO call that you'd get.
Quixtar Guy: I'd say most, or at least half, were just straight-up
orders. Folks call in, give their name, IBO number, ship-to address, and list
the SKUs and quantities of the products they were purchasing. We'd give them
the totals (tax, shipping, grand total, PV/BV) for the order, offer them their
PV/BV totals for the month, take the credit card info, ask them if there's anything
else we can do to help, and thanked them for calling
QBlog: What did you like most about Quixtar.
Quixtar Guy: The actual work was cake. I like talking to people. And
as customer service gigs go, it's hard to beat, because NOBODY complains about
Quixtar. I think I took 3 complaints in a year of calls.
QBlog: What were those complaints about?
Quixtar Guy: One was about some craptastic service that a client got
from her IBO... something about a broken artistry eye makeup stick, I think.
The others were about shipping delays.
QBlog: Why do you think nobody called to complain? Any ideas?
Quixtar Guy: Combination of the fact that they can complain to their
uplines, and the whole ubiquitous "Quixtar can do no harm" mentality
QBlog: Describe what it's like working for the Quixtar Corporation.
Quixtar Guy: Did you ever see Tron? Do you remember the part at the
beginning, where they show the place where the guy works and it's like a solid
mile of cubicles? Kinda like that except the cubes were lower and the people
fatter, and dumber
QBlog: What do you mean "fatter and dumber?"
Quixtar Guy: ...than the people in Tron. The average waistline
of the CSRs at Quixtar is astonishing.
QBlog: Some believe you can tell the true character of a business
by how it maintains its restrooms. So how bout those Quixtar restrooms? Any
details?
Quixtar Guy: Pretty uninteresting, as restrooms go. Decent
paper products. Body Series hand soap and lotion.
QBlog: So what's the story on the neverending party atmosphere we hear
about from the "Quixtarian" blogs? True? Embellished? Fiction? No
idea?
Quixtar Guy: No idea where they originate, at least. If they're not
completely fabricated, they're probably based on the atmosphere that decends
when Platinums go to visit... which just as rapidly dissipates as soon as they're
out of the room
QBlog: What do you mean? What happens when Platinums come?
Quixtar Guy: Everyone comes out and cheers for them and sings songs
or something. I dunno; I was never involved. But I know they put on a big show.
We'd get e-mails from Ken McDonald every couple months about it.
QBlog: Well, that's all I have time for, thanks.
Quixtar Guy: Later
Comments
Why do you say he's attempting to "smear the company?" Isn't it possible he's just telling it like it is, from his perspective? Can't it just be possible that Quixtar isn't the Garden of Eden? That it may be less than perfect and that employees may have a few complaints?
And yes, he REALLY did work for Quixtar. I know this for a fact. You can choose to believe me or not. I don't really care. It is what it is.
Chris,
What motive would an anonymous Quixtar employee have? Anonymous sources that are pro-Quixtar seem to get a pass while others receive a different scrutiny? Oh, he must be a Passport associate, I guess.
He is certainly no less credible than you. You are afforded respect and credibility in your opinions despite any personal experiences to the contrary.
Oh boy! Did I ever feel that good about my job :)
I know a company who did some design work for quixtar. CDs etc. They said Quixtar SUCK as clients! They said Quixtar employees were quite incompetent at very basic things but put a lot of pressure. Their project was referred as 'Quixtar Sh*t'.
Believe me or not, I couldn't care less. Many clients are stupid and Quixtar CAN be one of them.
Ha-ha, it’s pretty funny to me. I wanted to put a little spin on my comments to see how you guys would respond.
See, what I have found is that we all hold strong conviction in our beliefs, either positive or negative as far as our view of Quixtar.
No matter what I have said in comments to posts, there is always someone to disagree and offer their negative opinion of Quixtar. Sometimes educated, sometimes not very educated. And the same goes when QBlog puts up a post with his negative view of Quixtar. You will see many defend the opportunity with a passion.
Ultimately, I have no idea who this employee is, and I wouldn't mind if he had a negative view of the company he worked for. In have had over a dozen jobs in my lifetime, and they all sucked and I feel the same way this guy does about them all, so I can actually relate! That is why I decided to go in business for myself!
Of course he could have his own reasons for lying about the company, we have seen that in several situations, and he could be telling the truth, even if it was just how he sees it, and is not the same for every employee.
I don't even mind QBlog posting it for us all to read. For all I know, QBlog could be trying to discredit the company from this inside out, or he could honestly just be posting a conversation with an employee. Who knows, I am not even sure if I care.
My prospective is this. I have visited the company headquarters and have had conversations with several employees there and they are excited to work there and they are passionate about what they do because they know that we are out at night showing this business plan and there is the feeling of a "cause" in the air over there. It's awesome.
I have talked with customer service and business relations many times over the phone, and have had remarkable customer service, and being that I am a talker; I have often asked about their situation and have heard very positive remarks. I will be the first to admit that it is very unlikely that they would say something negative when talking to an IBO on the phone, but there is only so much someone can fake a positive attitude.
Case in point, call up your cell phone company customer service about your bill. See the attitude difference for yourself! :)
QBlog, sorry if I sounded rude in my comments, I chose a skeptical attitude for this specific post, but this post does not even really concern me. If someone wanted to know what the company was like to work for, there are several employees that work their currently that have blogs online that they can chat with.
http://quixtar.blogharbor.com/blog
http://www.realquixtarblog.com/
http://beyondquixtar.blogspot.com/
http://quixtatic.blogspot.com/
Ask them how it is, and I am sure you can find another prospective. It will probably be a lot more positive, but they will also let you know that it's probably not the "garden of Eden"
Freudian slips perhaps? ;o)
It's PERSPECTIVE not PROSPECTIVE.
Chris said:
"My prospective is this. I have visited the company headquarters and have had conversations with several employees there and they are excited to work there and they are passionate about what they do because they know that we are out at night showing this business plan and there is the feeling of a "cause" in the air over there. It's awesome."
Why would ANY employee of Q care about you showing the plan out there, much less be "passionate" about it?? They can't be IBOs, they are not part of the pyramid of money...they are hourly/salaried employees. Maybe you talked to executives like Ken M. and others who DO get more money based upon the success of the various LOS peddling their product. But the people making the products, answering the phones, etc... don;t give a rat's butt about "the cause" of the IBO giving freedom to the masses! They'd have to quit to do it themselves, and we all know you can't get anywhere with Quixtar if you don't have a JOB to pay the LOS for their "help".
Customer Service telephone jobs really do stink, (I can speak from experience on this)and I suspect his comments about everyone being a temporary employee are right in line with the industry's norm. Why would Quixtar be any different?
Interesting that Quixtar employees are working at J.O.B.s. How would "flush that stinking JOB" affect their performance appraisals?
Roger, I wasn't lying, so if you don't believe me, then talk to some employees there yourself. Maybe part of the job atmosphere there is that they all know the story of IBO's out building the business. They seemed very familiar with the lingo, and the employees I had the chance to were all very encouraging of me and my business.
Chris,
Why would the employee's be up on all the "lingo" and benefit of being an IBO if they are not allowed to become one? Seems to me that if yoou tell you employees "we offer this great way to get rid of your J.O.B." and then say "but not you....you are here to make the stuff that sets the others free".
Roger, this is just going to go back and forth. The several employees that I met were all that way. If you are asking for speculation as to why, then your guess is as good as mine. Maybe Doug Devos motivates the employees by telling them that IBO's like myself are out in the field showing the plan, sometimes facing rejection, and building the business for my family and my dreams.
This might inspire the employees to do a good job and have a positive attitude towards customers and IBO's because they know that if they do their job there, that it will help us do our job out in the field. But it's all just perspective and speculation so I am not sure. You should call and ask them.
My guess is the employees were doing a bit of a "dog and pony" show when you visited, Chris. It's not uncommon. My company does it to when we get visitors. It's just natural to try and put on your best face when people come to see you. The reality is things probably not as happy when there are no visitors, but it probably isn't as bad as the temp phone support guy paints.
Hi Chris (and others),
I'm the guy from the interview. I'm not sure what I can do to assure you that I did, in fact, work in the call center in Ada. Do you call Q* customer service often? Next time you do, ask the person you talk to whether they're sitting in the Outback or the Big Room (unless it's Saturday, or you're connected to the bilingual line, it'll almost certainly be the Outback). Ask if Marilyn is still the second-shift supervisor. Ask if the number for the Help Line is still #8004 (my memory is a little hazy on this one; it might have been 8044 or something).
Don't be too confrontational or creepy about it, or they might create a case in Prism (the call-logging system) detailing your weird behavior.
Particularly, ask how long they've been working there. Call several times and ask them all. Aside from maybe convincing you of my credibility (which I don't care all that much about) it should at least give you an idea about the turnover rate.
Also, you seem to have the idea that I'm in the anti-Quixtar camp. I'm not. I don't care two whiffs about the company, except that I think they treat their workers poorly and I personally think the Plan is pretty dodgy. I have no vested interest in anyone becoming, staying, or quitting as an IBO. If it's working for you, fantastic. I took many calls from platinums over the year(ish) I worked there that seemed like very happy folks, and I'm sure that if you're doing well with the Opportunity that you'll be one of them if you're not already.
Yeah, I know this comment is a year late...
Didn't seem like that bad a review. Okay, so the company has high turnover and is stupid about scheduling people. So? Probably describes hundreds of companies out there.
If he'd wanted to smear the company, there were a lot worse things he could said then there were only about three complaints a year, had clean bathrooms, and they faked it for the visitors.
Credibility? Motives? Based on his answers, it looks like an obvious attempt to smear the company, and that is if he ever actually really worked there. Why should we believe him when active employees of the company say the opposite?
Posted by: chris | September 22, 2004 10:29 PM