Has anyone at DU ever heard of DS-MAX or of Granton Marketing?

jiacinto

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Thu Oct-16-03 02:13 PM
Original message

Has anyone at DU ever heard of DS-MAX or of Granton Marketing?

Edited on Thu Oct-16-03 02:31 PM by jiacinto

Source: http://wolfram.org/scam/ds_max/

Note: I bold information that I think is the most important.

The author of this information asked to have his or her name withheld, but the author accumulated this information through personal experience. Here is the conclusion:

"I suffered a lot to be able to pass on what I know to you. When I finished with Ds-max I had $80 in my pocket, was $16000 in debt, had a repossed car and not a place to stay. This was after four years of dedidation to the business. Furthermore, there are many more like me who will never write. I am just one person. I can tell only so many people. More people should know what Ds-max, Cydcor and Granton Marketing are doing to people. Show this web site to members of an affiliated office, a government official or a journalist. If you have a web site, link to this information because linking to web sites helps it appear in search engines. If enough people link to this web site then it will appear ABOVE the cydcor, ds-max or other web sites. Good luck to all and God bless."

Source: http://wolfram.org/scam/ds_max/1.html

Ds-max is a supplier. It gets clients and goods to sell for its member offices. Thousands of offices around the world compose the member offices. A member office is an independent corporation that is set up to sell Ds-max products. Ds-max is a global operation that has offices in most countries throughout the world. In the US alone there are hundreds of such offices. Such independently run corporations remove ds-max from liability. The vast majority of people effected by ds-max -- never really actually worked for it; the majority that claim to have worked with Ds-max -- actually worked for an independent corporation licensed to sell DS-max products.

snip

There are two other companies talked about a lot. Granton Marketing and Cydcor. They are Listers. A lister is an advertising company that finds clients for another. Granton deals primarily with the advertising division and Cydcor with the communications. Although these companies work closely with ds-max -- and in some cases have the same people in each one -- they are separate entities.

snip

To summarize, the chain of ds-max I will give an example. An independently run corporation is set up in a given market. This corporation gets all its products from Ds-max and or cydcor and or granton Marketing. The owner of this corporation will be part of one of the divisions. The owner will pay Ds-max for the merchandise it sells and for some legal and administrative fees and pay his own rent and advertising bills. The owner will run his office according to ds-max principles and guidelines use ds-max propaganda and are in contact with Ds-max quite often. This person will put out ads for people to sell his merchandise. In all the divisions save communications, the recruits will be independent contractors. Communication reps will be commissioned employees. So if Joey, a new rep is selling AT&T and he signs up a customer, he will, as an independent contractor for AT&T, gained AT&T a client, by using the product of his office, which is supplied by Ds-max (but not part of it) and Ds-Max got the client by using Cydcor as the lister.

Source: http://www.grantonmarketing.com/

We are an international direct advertising company that allows our clients to harness the power of our 1-on-1 community advertising network to:

Personally invite new customers to enjoy their facility for the first time

Welcome lapsed or infrequent customers to come back again

Generate up to 8,000 incremental customer visits

Source: http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff67177.htm

D.A.G Marketing ripoff brain washing Miami Beach Florida *Consumer Comment ..They interviewed me today

D.A.G Marketing
Address:
www.grantonmarketing.com
Miami Beach Florida
U.S.A.
Phone Number:

I know exactly what everyone has been through. I went through the whole thig myself, Except I was out of Jacksonville. I did meet some great people that I still to this day stay in touch with but here is what happened.

My day would start at the office at 8:45 a.m., hit the feild at 11:00a.m. , lunch at 3:00p.m., back to the feild, stay there till 8:30p.m., by myself, and then my ride would come and I would go back to the office untill about 11-12 at night unless there was a leaders meeting and then i was there even later. If i made no money that day i would get beraded infront of everybody, about how horribale i was, or if i dropped a port i would get praised by everyone in the office.

They would send you out of town and you had to spend your own money to go and to get back, they didnt pay for anything so if you didnt sell you didnt eat! But not only is it a rip off, it is dangerous!!!! I was jumped out in the feild 2 times. Once here in jacksonville and again in miami when we went for a rally.

Now a great friend that just left the business was blown out, for "not being on his game" as they call it and he was dedicated to them for about 8 months. went everywhere. he was kicked out of the miami office, i met him when i got in the business here in jacksonville. It is just rediculous!!!!! something needs to be done this can not be legal!!!!

Amanda
jax. bch, Florida
U.S.A.

Source: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff66250.htm

DS MAX, Granton Marketing, East Coast Promotions ripoff, scam, debt, lies, deception, drugs Baltimore Maryland *REBUTTAL employee ..Join Us In Creating Excitement

DS MAX
Address:
Nationwide, U.S.A.
Phone Number:

Well,
Where to start. I was an employee at East Coast Promotions in Baltimore. My manager was Stan "Beemish" Bolvin. They were a part of DSMAX, a fortune 500 company or course (not). That was one of the millions of lies.

All in all, I was on my way to management, I was a believer. Wanted to open up an office in the Southwest. My wonderful manager had a huge office when I first started, about 30 people. He boasted of making $300,000 the last 6 months. But soon the people stared disappearing, my manager decided to enjoy drugs whether than work.

Many times I called the office to talk to him about my territory, and he couldn't even talk in a complete sentence. So after about 9 months of hell everyone had quit the office. Where was everyone money? GONE! I had $2,500 in my "security" account that I needed for a downpayment on an appartment, with reciepts to prove it, and he had the balls to say that my "security" account had $180 in it. He then chatised me for questioning him, and think of the opportunity. What a load of dog crap.

So once our office was in shambles, Mark Kernan shows up to "turn things around". He was more full of shit than my Manager was. Kernan would say that I now had the best opportunity to become assistant manager, since there was no one left. LIKE I WANTED TOO. There were many times my manager would come in so wasted then start a fight with someone who wasn't "ringing the bell". Seriously, fist fights!

My manager was arrested 3 times when I was working there. Twice for domestic abuse. Some night he would have our place locked, and wouldnt show up till 10pm or even longer, So I was out about $2,800 when all was said and done. I contacted the head people at Granton, DSMAX etc., to help me get my money back, but nothing. Of course, he then called me a theif, because he thought I had stolen his merchandise. LIKE I REALLY WANTED TO GO DOOR TO DOOR IN MY SPARE TIME.

He always accused his employees of stealing when we asked where our money was. He even called my parents, and told them that I was going to jail bacause I stole from him, I STOLE FROM HIM? We told of the violence, drugs, etc., and nothing. So he skipped town oweing everyone money, and I heard he is down in Carolina now doing the same crap to others I'm sure. I just hope that one day, he returns to Baltimore, and I run into him when no one's around! I have tried to find him over the internet, and one day I will.

I could go on about it all day long, but I have to get back to work, managing my own company, engaged to be married, looking to have kids, and to have a bright future, living life to its fullest, helping people, which is all that DS MAX DOESN'T stand for. As for these OWNERS who think that we are just pissed off employees, wake up and smell the coffee, and drink a nice cup of SHUT THE FUCK UP! Get a life and stop praying on lowlifes to get by.

I hope the truth comes out one day, maybe I could see my $2,800.00? Yeah right......

Mason
Baltimore, Maryland
U.S.A.

Source:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/report69066.htm

DS-MAX / CYDCOR/ ARSENE - LEE ADVERTISING
Address:
5 Thomas Mellon Circle. San Francisco, CA 94132
ALL OVER USA & CANADA Nationwide, Canada
U.S.A.
Phone:
415-656-0363
Fax: -

Well Thankfully I just quite the Arsene-Lee Advertising group (Cydcor) in San Francisco. Evrything seemed to be fine untill I made it in to 'leadership'. I quickly learned how I was stupid enough to be sold on the idea and how i was now expected to help sell the 'oppurtunity' to other vunerable minds. I learned that my leader was giving a bonas for selling me on the IDEA of going to LA.

It made me so sick to my stomach. Sure there may be alot of $$ to be made ( accorinding to Randy Bernard ) but I can not lay my head on my pillow at night knowning that I lied and fucked people over to get all that. To the eyes of Arsene-Lee I am a quitter! "how can you quit on yourself?" is one of the many lines used to make me feel BAD. I feel so bad for the other people stuck in there with NO clue what is going on.

I called, whom I thought was a friend, before I quit and told him what I have been realizing about the company and how everyone is working for a 'cult'. OH BOY did MR. Bernard ever get upset with me when he called, saying "we are trying to seperate ourselves from DS-MAX because of the bad advertisment we are getting" etc ... basically trying to change my thoughts. He wanted me to attent 'one last leader meeting' why I thought!

Any ways I can go on for days about how LOW these owners are.

Something needs to be done. If I don't get my full amount owed to be I am going to do something about it.

I also want to gather alot of people up and start a protesting front of these offices all over the country to stop all the innocent minds walking in there

Melissa
San Francisco, California
U.S.A.
========================================================================

Has anyone heard of these companies? Are these stories ones you've heard? One of these companies interviewed me for a job yesterday. I had doubts about this company so I did some research on it. I did a google search and came up with those links above.

Needless to say, when they called me this morning, I said that I was no longer interested and moved on. Just to see I am going to drive by there sometime in the next few weeks to see if they are still there.

The office was located in a strip mall. It wasn't in a bad neigborhood, but it was in a place where you wouldn't expect to find such businesses.

What is the truth about this? Another guy was with me there when we were both interviewed. The man promised us salaries of like 50-100K and that he "needed" someone "to start on Friday". I was supposed to go on a "second interview" today but didn't. I was so concerned about the other guy that I printed out the links and quietly put them on his windshield. I also enclosed my email so that he could confirm to me that he received it.

And if this is a scam, and it has been going on so long, why haven't the authorities come after them? Is this conduct potentially illegal?

Note: This appropriate for GD because it is about something that is more than just me, but something that could affect others.