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I have been recruited twice by K Designers. The way they reached me, was because I posted a resume on MONSTER.COM, so they contacted me. The first time I turned down the job oppurtunity. Both times that the recruiter contacted me they told me that the position includes full benefits, and is a salary + commision position. This is a lie, it is told because the recruiter gets bonuses on how many people he can get in for an interview.
The job that they hire for is called a "marketing director" which is actually a high pressure sales possition, were you try and sale $25, 000 remodel packages on the spot. Now the manager for the state of Washingtons branch name is Dan Drotts. The truth of this position is that it is 100% commision only job. You are not actually even employeed by K Designers, you are a independent contractor (which means you are a 1099 contractor and you pay all of your own taxes)... Now I dont have a problem with any of that, but I do have a problem with recruiters that call you and lie to you, to get you to go to a interview that is an hour away from my home. Unfortunitly I did not read all of the posts on the internet, but believe me before I work anywhere from now on I will do my homework. They also offer no benefits at all, no retirement, insurance, sick days, or vacationt time. Dan just acted like he didnt know what I was talking about, when I brought up my conversation with the recruiter. Now Dan just assured me that this would not be a problem with all the money that I would be making, so I thought OK I will get my own insurance then because I would be able to afford it. So I accepted the position.
Now the first week of work meant, 9 hours of day of a online class for the first five business days. And no you dont get paid a single dime for the first week, including Saturday where you are required to shadow a fellow MD. After your first week, you get $200 a week, but it is a draw and they take the whole $1200 back on your first commision check, or until you make enough commision to pay you ledger off. I started figuring things out after the first week, and it started to sink in. They interview 5 to 10 people EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS DAY. The turn over ration is 100%. Every week there are new MD's going through online training. 50% dont make it through the week. 45% quit during the following week. But eventually there is 100% turnover. Except for Dan Drotts, the branch manager, because he is the only one that is actually a K Designers employee that gets benefits, salary, and commision of what everyone sales. When I started there was only 1 employee that was working there for longer then 6 months, and he was the second best salesmen in the branch. Now going back to the interview, when Dan told me not to worry about the benefits because of the money that I would be making, I asked him what the average income was of the MD's that were currently working there and Dan told me that it was $70k a year. Now back to the part of the only MD working there for over 6 months and is the 2nd best selles men in the branch. I asked him what he is on pace to make this year after the 11 months that he has worked here, he informed me that it was $30, 000. That is when my jaw dropped, immidiatly that evening I decided to come home and google K Designers and bam all the information I wished I would have read before I started. Now the main reason that the turnover is so high is because you always get shorted money on you commision checks. In the sum of thousands of dollars.
In the course of the 3 months that I have worked there I have caught Dan Drotts in 23 lies. I just dont understand this. If you want good people to be apart of your branch why do you fill the need to lie . This cause a big problem, even if this was a lagit company, people still dont want to work under a lier. This man has actually said more lies to me, then just regular truthful statements. Ive never experienced any thing like it.
Now heres the break down of working for this company. All expensed of employment are 100% the MD's responsibility. You run 2 - 3 leads a day. Now 80% of the appointments are people who are not home, people who deny the appointment because they were pressured so much on the phone they said yes to get off. 20% are legit with people who are interested in a bid for a prodect. Now you are required to sell them a very expensive package on the spot ($10, 000 to $40, 000). Keep in mind that both homeowner(s) have to be at the appointment in order to sign the paperwork to make it a sale. Now most people dont have $20, 000, so we do offer financing this is great except for the fact that the financing fees come straight out of the MD's commsion. So if you sell a $20, 000 package and you commision is $2000 and it costs 8% to get the financing the charge for that does not come off the price but right off the top of your commision, K Designers doesnt help with any of these costs. And since everything is way over retail K Designers is making thousands off each sell, they still dont give a crap and take it out of the MD's $2000. So this would make your commision $400. Now the leads are all over the state. So usually you drive on average 200 miles to your lead, and you have 2 - 3 a day. They do attempt to group them up in the same city as your first one. And when you appointments are really far you are required to get a motel room for a couple of nights, sometimes 5 night, and you are not paid back for any of it. Now with the rate of the crappy leads, if you are really really good, you might be able to make between 1 to 3 sales a week but that would be above average. Your out of pocket expeses of working here are about $1500 a month. You also dont get the phone numbers of the leads because they want you to drive all the way over to the home and wait for the people to get there if they are not there when the appointment is scheduled. So you are never able to confirm that your appointment is actually going to happen, or that the lead they set for you is not a 85 year old widow that has a live in hospice nurse. And yes that does happen quite offten. So now you can understand why the second best sales men for K Designers for the whole state of Washington only made $30, 000 for the year. I dont know how he came up with an average MD yearly pay was $70, 000.
I could go on for another 10, 000 words but I wont. If this post just gives 1 person the information they need, before they interview for K Designers and the Washington branch and Dan Drotts, then it was well worth the time of typing all of this. Now K Designer actually has people that do nothing but look for these types of posts online and they will repond to them making it all look like it was all are fault and not theres. This is becase they get so many disgruntled ex employees and frustrated customers, they have to do something. Just try to google them. But that is a whole differnt post and subject. So just a warning they will post something in response to mine. Probably protending to act like they are a current very satisfied employee or really greatful customer. If anybody has any questions, please post a response and I will give you my answer from my experience. Thanks for your time.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I am extremely concerned after reading the previous posts. My husband just accepted a position with K-Designers and is currently attending a training class. He has many years experience in retail but not in outside sales. So far he really has not been "promised" very much except $200.00 a week to cover basic expenses. We do NOT have the money to cover ANY extra expenses and we will need the $200.00 just to meet our basic needs.
My husband and I are reasonably intelligent, but we are not what I would consider very sophisticated when it comes to this type of situation. I believe in my husband and his ability to sell to a customer, however I think we are being set up for failure. After reading all of the former posts, I have set up a few questions that I would like to have answered by the Sales Manager. I want to support my husband, but I don't someone to take advantage of him.
Dan Drotts
What can one say about a man who burned every bridge, so called friendship in WEST Coast or in his life? To this narcissistic meat sack you are only as good as deep are your pockets.
His physiological compulsion to lie is pales in comparison to life long lie he has told for his personal monetary gain. YOU ARE A GRAPE TO THIS ILLUSION OF A MAN to be squeezed for everything he can steal from you and your family future.
K Designers are guilty by association just for making him manager or employing of this snake oil meat sack.
I do know from personnel experience, he destroyed my business, I lost 15 years of my life and I will never forget the [censor] on bottom of my shoe called Dan Drotts
The world would be a better place with his long over due passing and all like him. I will defecate on his last resetting place.
Finally if you here the name Dan Drotts, K Designers hang up the phone, bolt the door, run, as all that spews from lips is flow with demon seed of untruth. Snake oil salesman dammed for life.
This is my small contribution to you long over due legacy your family must be proud.
Signed
Just happy to spread the word
This company continues to scam and now thru Transcontinental Debt Recovery, its so called debt collection agency. Check out business from hell.com. These companys feast on the honest. Hang up immediatly if they call your business!
OMG they told me the samething. I asked about a guy name Steven who recuited me and they told me there would look in to it. Not going back to the 2st interview.
I have been in sales a very long time and done cold calling hard sales and also been a business owner and trained many reps. They had just contacted me after seeing my resume posted online. Thankfully I have lots of experience in sales and with people and [censored]ters. I'm a very forward direct sales rep that always has his client’s best interest in mind and I can read people very quick if they are not. They guy on the phone talked about the company but just in speaking with him I could tell he does this all the time and that was a huge red flag for me. He did not sound sincere and in speaking with him it sounded like he makes calls to potential sales reps all day every day. Because of that it made me feel like it was a fake company. I almost hung up on the guy because it sounded like her was trying to sell me something that’s how bad it was. He was good at what he did for his job but bad because I could read right through him. So I turned around things and started to ask questions and everything sounded great. He then started to tell me the average sales person makes 70 to 80 k per year but you can expect to make $150, 000 or more. This was my second red flag. Any job with a promise of money is just full of it. When they say you can expect to make that kind of money sounds too good to be true. I have made six figure income and have a great track record as a sales rep and business owner. He wanted to schedule an appointment for me right away. I told him I am swamped with job interviews and we can try for the following week but I also like to research any company I have interest in before applying. It seems that 99% of the companies contacting me for sales jobs are the basic selling credit card systems b2b or insurance and life insurance or new start u companies with no pay at all 100% commission. Any company contacting you it’s worth the time to research them before taking it further. Check them out on the BBB and that’s what i did first. Then I did lots of goggling for about 30 min and found many many bad reviews and complaints then also found complaints for sales jobs. I think as a company they are great and most the complaints are from sales people that are not the best of the best. You can make lots of money. I started with a company with 0 income and in one year got to 60k in income after 2 years got up to 90k in income. It’s all what you put into it. The way K designers sells from what I read is set up to make any sales rep successful. It’s just a numbers game. The good thing is if you are good and can handle the numbers game the sales can be big if you set yourself up right. This company has lasted a long time and they also use the numbers game that’s why they have high turn over. If it was that easy everyone would do it right. Getting rich and making money is not easy. They give new sales people the promise and hope and sales pitch they do with their clients. I like there company but I don’t like hard sales or stress. You will get lots of stress working for a company like this and have to invest and be able to get through a few months before you see the money. I have learned money is not everything and its nice to have a job to leave at the job when you come home and not worry about it and consume your life with. I’m looking for stable income and employment. I don’t care about being rich anymore. I have had all the homes and cars and girls. Right now I’m single and looking to work and make a decent income and go on vacation a few times a year and enjoy my life and live it. I'm done living my life for work or money because then it all passes you by. All the negative comments I hear are really not that bad it’s just not a good fit for you and not a good fit for me. I think the company is great at what they do. Its just a personal decision if you think you can suck it up for 6 months to build your income and take the stress and be good at what you do. There is no job security in a 1099 position and you are replaceable if you are a 1099 or employed it doesn’t matter. Sales is not an easy road but is very rewarding for those that are good at it. As long as you understand what you are getting into its your choice. I thought about it a lot but its not for me. All the info everyone has posted has been great so thank you all in helping me learn more about this organization. All the comments about people not being honest about the job just remember get it in writing everything. I always get everything in writing. Take notes as to what they say and promise. Do your research because you are a 1099 if you work for them so you are just another company in a sense that is just going to make them money. Be smart in what you do and who you work for. Ask to speak with other sales reps also before ever working for a company. Ask to do a ride along to see if you think it’s a good fit for you. Any company that is legit will let you talk to sales reps and possibly do a ride along.
Any question or advice you can contact me at cutesacguy@yahoo.com
I dont use this email really i just created it for this. I'm always willing to help those new at sales. I have trained many sales people. I'm looking to take a break and not work so hard anymore and my life has been so much more fun. I'm still looking for solid employment but I also am a business owner and make enough to be happy and work 3 to 4 hours a day right now.
Good luck to you all.
Thank you everyone who posted your comments here. I interviewed twice and was offered a position then turned it down this morning. I reviewed several complaint sites including this one and they seemed to jive with my personal experience with the regional manager and interviewing process all together.
Thanks again.
I can understand your frustration. I do not know what part of the country you are located in but I am sure I can help.
K-Designers do use a good product. When I worked there, their siding was by ‘Revere’ and they used a good product. Do remember that your job is in ‘queue’ now and K-Designers is trying to do several things: 1) get your financial documents in order and 2) find a sub-contractor to do your work.
Has your loan been approved? Some customers do not realize that almost all of K-Designers work is done via second mortgages attached to your home. In this economy, banks are much slower in processing paper work. They need to insure your home has the equity in the home to do the work, and your credit would need to be approved. Have you signed the financing paperwork?
If you have not heard from them regarding the financing, then they are probably dancing around trying to find a lender to fund your home improvement. If they cannot find financing for you, you are NOT obligated to do the work. IN ADDITION, the interest rate needs to be acceptable to you! If they come back with an exorbitant interest rate, you can get out of the contract. You might need to have your attorney give them a call.
After you get approved…. K-Designers has a hard time keeping good sub-contractors. Once they get you financially approved, they will contact you to do the work. I would be VERY HARD on the crew that shows up to your home. Insist on seeing their business license and copy of their insurance. Never let a contractor work on your home without proper insurance, otherwise, if an accident happens you are responsible.
Also, make sure they send a ‘top’ crew. Make sure the workers start the same time every day and work a full day. They love to give excuses… make sure they show up and do the job. ALSO, remember that you must be 100% satisfied before payments start. BE PICKY AS HECK, because once you have signed off that you are happy with their work…. Well they are done. It should take a 2 man crew approximately 1 week to side an average home (weather permitting). Windows can be installed in one day, depending on the number. Some of the sub-contractors will push you to sign off on the job. Don’t do so until everything is done to your satisfaction and make sure they clean up and haul off all work debris.
I would call the office number on your contract and ask them 1) is my financing approved, what is my interest rate, payment and terms 2) when do I sign the final paperwork for the home improvement loan and 3) get an exact date from them when they will start.
Be careful, sometimes they will come hammer a nail in your home just so they can say they started and then you are on the hook for the entire job. Once they start, even one nail, you will ultimately be responsible. If they say they will start on Monday, they need to have a crew there at 8:00am with all their supplies, ready to work. They should only work on one job – YOUR JOB (no others).
If you have problems, contact the Better Business Bureau for your city, state and your state’s attorney general’s office. You can also pull up their website and get a listing of their executive officers. Call Larry Judson himself or Mike Burgess. Larry owns the company.
If you are at all uncomfortable with the terms of the loan or the terms of the contract, contact your attorney. You did have a 3-day right to cancel and that should have been explained clearly to you. Once you are past the 3-days the only way out is if financing fails or if the rate is too high.
I do suggest someone watch them as they work. They should prepare your home; wrap it with house wrap, put up the polystyrene (insulation board) and then siding. The siding should not be nailed too tightly or it will buckle. Do you have a friend who can inspect the work each day? That would be great.
Finally, check with your city to see if you need them to get a work permit. Make sure they get a permit, if necessary, before they start work…. Then have the work inspected afterwards.
Good luck. Leave any questions on this board and I will check back tomorrow.
i actually just purchased from kay designers its been 2 weeks and ive been promised 4 times when they will start and not only have they not startded but there was no call to inform me whats going on...ive read all these posts and am very concerned. however most of the details looks like they have been around employment with kay designers...is there any more information or scam nformation regarding customers. i really need information on this as i stated above i am already frustrated with the service and non kept promises which has lead me to this point. please give me information about how good the product, installation or anything else a customer would need to know...and at your earliest conveniance
In 1995, I trained for a Marketing Director Position with K-Designers, Denver, Colorado. I worked for them for over 6 months and then worked for several other competitors who were doing the same 'Promotion' in the Denver, Colorado territory. I did the home improvement “Promotional Home” sales pitch for over 5 years and was considered one of the best in the Western States. My last year in business I grossed over $175, 000 in income (before taxes and expenses).
I am glad you are happy with the work that K-Designers did for you. I hope that if you live in your home for any length of time that your product has no problems. K-Designers does NOT warranty labor to fix their products after the sale. The lifetime warranty is only on the product. In addition, K-Designers is not known for great service after the sale. K-Designers is all about new SALES! There is NO profit in sending a repair crew to your home to fix potential problems especially if you live over 100 miles from their main location. K-Designers sub-contracts all of their work, so they would actually have to pay a crew to drive to your home and do the repair. I hardly think they would remain profitable if they actually spent money repairing the problems people can have with windows, siding and other home improvements.
Their sales pitch…. Well, K-Designers uses the oldest gimmick in the book. The movie 'Tin Man' accurately depicts this company. K-Designers approaches ALL homeowners with the same sales pitch... "We want to use your home for our promotion. If you agree to allow us to use your home to market our product, we have marketing dollars we will spend on your home. These marketing dollars will save you thousands of dollars if you do business with us TODAY, WHILE I AM HERE! (Not tomorrow, but NOW).
Sales representatives are called Marketing Directors. Why? So that you the prospective customer is under the impression, you are talking to someone in authority. You, the homeowner, actually think you are speaking with a Director of the Company, not a sales person. You think this Director has special powers and has this budget of money to spend on your home. You have to agree to allow K-Designers to put a sign in your yard, take before & after photos, write letters of reference and much more…. For each item you agree to, K-Designers or the manufacturer will spend marketing dollars (which do not exist) on your home to reduce your total cost. It’s truly amazing to see the cost of a siding project go from a whopping $25, 000 Retail cost, down to $14, 999. Because your home is special, and you LOVE the product, and you agree to help with marketing you will save thousands… but remember you must do this now, while the Marketing Director is in your home. He/she will tell you they are so busy they cannot come back. They are booked solid with interested people. They have more people interested in the ‘fake’ promotion, then they have money to spend.
The marketing directors are trained to take control of you and take you through a 10 step sales process which includes: 1) a warm up 2) an introduction to the promotion, 3) a review of the company K-Designers and their manufacture (was Revere or Alcoa), 4) a detailed review of the promotion (put up a sign in your yard, agree to write a letter, agree to before & after pictures, and more items if necessary), 5) product demonstration (you must LOVE the product), 6) measure, 7) do a pretty drawing of your home 8) do an ROI (return on investment)… “Does this make financial sense; can you afford to do this?” (for siding they show you the cost of painting, alleged energy savings, and alleged increase value to your home), 9) Negotiations (they want you to go very slow, go outside in between steps, and reduce the price slowly… each time getting you the prospect to say yes to another marketing activity, and 10) paperwork and wrap up.
The marketing director is trained to ask pivotal sales questions to you during the presentation. Examples… “Folks, this may or may not be for you… if it is not, please let me know…. Of course, your home would be prefect for our promotion, but I understand if this is not for you. I have many other people who I have on my schedule who are interested in the promotion. If you do not want to participate, we will shake hands and part friends”.
Before the sales person goes to measure, they are trained to ask another question…. “Folks, you love the product… Right? … and you agree to help me with the promotion, Right? (you say yes)… Well, I love your home and you qualify for the promotion. I would love to use your home to market our product in this area! Aside from money, is there any reason we cannot do business…. WHILE I AM HERE?”…. then they remain quiet. They have cornered you into making a decision while they are there. This is called a 1-call close, or a HARD SELL! If you are not a strong person or couple, you have no choice but to continue…. Else, you would be a liar. Good people don’t lie or change their minds.
However, the REALITY IS… this, it is all baloney, fake, made up. The PROMOTION is BOGUS. There are NO Marketing dollars. Yes, K-Designers will put a sign in your yard, and they will take before & after pictures. You will also write a letter of reference….. but guess what…. EVERY K-Designers customer DOES THE SAME THING. The sales pitch is the same for EVERY POTENTIAL CUSTOMER. You are not special. Again, You are not special. You are just another person/couple that K-Designer’s is pressuring into making a decision to buy siding - TODAY. If they did not have the “Promotional” lie, they would have no reason to get you to buy today!
K-Designers uses the ‘PROMOTION’ as an excuse for everything. Examples. If a husband and wife both own a home, and only the wife is present when the Marketing Director arrives for the appointment, he/she will not present to you, nor will they give you any prices. They are trained to say, that according to the “PROMOTION” all owners must be present. Another example. Say you want to think about the price overnight? The Marketing Director will say something like…. “I’m sorry Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but the ‘Promotion’ requires that you make a decision while I am here. If you are not interested in the ‘Promotion’, I need to release the funds for someone else. I have more people interested in the Promotional dollars (that do not exist), then I have money to spend. You understand, don’t you?” The MD’s use the “Promotion” as their excuse for many objections you the homeowners may have. Bottom line is you must decide while they are in your home or you will lose all of those bogus marketing dollars!
THE FEAR OF LOSS is what motivates people to buy siding while the marketing director is in their home. People are afraid that they will miss out on an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save thousands. You feel special that your home has qualified for Revere or Alcoa to use their product on…. You qualify….
Who sets the price? Well, if you are a good sales person (Marketing Director) you can start your price anywhere you’d like. At the end of the day, you just have to cover the cost of the siding and the cost of the sub-contracted crew who will do the work (plus other expenses K-Designers charges the MD (sales rep) such as financing fees, etc. It is not uncommon for a Marketing Director to make $5, 000 commission on a standard 1-story, 3 bedroom home.
K-Designers brags about all the employees they have. The reality is this. All of K-Designers Marketing Directors are supposed to be 1099 Independent contractors. They have a constant stream of MD’s hoping they will get rich selling K-Designers products. The reality is most MD’s do not make it past 2 months. They realize that they may have to run 50 appointments a month to make 3-5 sales. They will drive hundreds of miles, spend many lonely nights in flea ridden run-down hotels, eat at truck stops and quick stop gas stations, be apart from their homes and families for 23 days each month, and many suffer from depression and / or alcoholism. There dream to get rich at K-Designers was a last ditch effort to survive. Many have exhausted all efforts to find a real sales job with a real company that actually pays you a base salary, pays your travel expenses, and provides full benefits.
K-Designers fully controls the lives of the MD’s but has no responsibility for the MD’s they hire…. They are in constant lawsuits with MD’s over taxes, control, and independent contractor status. VERY FEW sales people make it as long-term K-Designers sales reps (marketing directors). It is very sad to know how terribly K-Designer’s uses good sales people. They take advantage of these sales people, with dreams of wealth, then simply say ‘NEXT’ when the sales people can’t perform or complain about the constant travel. Additionally, if a sales rep sells anything his first month, it can take 3-6 moths to see the job ‘cash out’. If the sales rep priced the job right, he/she might get a check, but remember they are new and might under price the siding or forget some other important cost or fee… if they are lucky they might see real money in 3 months. K-Designers does allow new hires to ‘draw’ against future sales, but the draw is barely enough to run leads (it costs an average of $500 a week to run leads). The draw does not allow a sales rep to pay rent / mortgage, pay bills, or feed their family. Imagine the stress the new sales rep has…. New job, new company, no money until 3-6 months (if you sell something and price it right). Many MD’s end up quitting and or filing for bankruptcy.
Let’s continue to talk about all of K-designers hundreds/thousands of employees. When I worked for the organization, ALL of the siding and window installation crews were sub-contractors. Some of these crews were professional… they had trucks and equipment, but most were deadbeats. I had one crew show up to do a siding job… the person was so broke, and so behind in child support. that he was found camping beside a river in a tent at night. He even borrowed money from the homeowners so that he could eat. K-Designers did not have company employees for sales or installation….. It would be interesting to know how many ‘real’ employees were actually full-time K-Designer employees. Out of 9, 000 published employees, I would guess only 500 are actual employees.
Why does this matter? This is why. If a company is serious about hiring and keeping good sales and installation people, they will hire them as a full-time employee with full benefits (health, dental, insurance) and provide the employees vehicles and expense accounts. K-Designers has NO commitment to independent contractors. NONE. They pay no taxes and have no expenses on these people. All of ‘those’ people are disposable. No accountability. No Costs. K-Designers has NO commitment to having / keeping employees, why would they have any commitment to you as a prospective customer?
Do not work for K-Designers and please do not buy from this company. They do NOT have a unique product. They do not have a special Promotion. They take advantage of prospective customers. They take advantage of good sales people ~ independent contractors are NOT employees! They are focused on NEW SALES ONLY… they do not provide good service after the sale. Most importantly, the technique they use to sell their product is a lie. THE PROMOTION is a gimmick. You can find the same product, or better, by shopping around.
Larry Judson, CEO, should be ashamed of the lies he has perpetrated over the years while doing business. He has lied to thousands of customers and thousands of good sales reps (Marketing Directors a.k.a. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS). It is time to shut this company down. If you are in the market for windows or siding, please buy from a LOCAL company. A company you trust and that carries a good product and a warranty on both the product and labor (get references and talk to people who have done business with the company). Do business with a company that hires, trains and takes good care of its sales and installation crew. Larry and his crew are the [censor] of the earth. Mr. Judson, you will someday answer to the Man up above!
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is not true! Take care!
I too have been dooped by this company. I was recently offered a job and went out of town to consider the offer. While gone I decided to do a bit of research about the company. I cannot tell you all how much I appreciate your posts and how much pain, effort and money they have saved me. It is unreal how companies can become so successful simply by robbing those individuals who have helped them build their wealth. My only wish is that all of us intelligent individuals on this page could band together and crete something useful to help others from avoiding companies such as this. thanks again for the honesty. Good luck to all in finding honest employment. God knows I'll need it.
Thank You,
All these posts have helped me make a decision not to attend even the first interview.The telephone call I recieved from Sacramento today seemed like a good opportunity offering paid training and $7500 for something that I could'nt understand because the call center employee was obviously reading a script that he had all but mesmorized, so I thought that I would have to look further into the company and I did. When I googled K-Designers these comments and complaints came up as the second page. I felt like a fool for even scheduling an interview beforehand. I am not even gonna call them back to cancel, to give them just a little taste of what they seem to be dishing out. WARNING!(I did not apply to this job they pulled my resume' from Monster.com so beware they're coming for you soon.)
Everything said about this company is true, plus more. I was with them for a month last year and initially believed we were giving customers marketing discounts for being a "model home." It's nothing but a high pressure, one-call-close rip off because if you tried to sell their over-priced stuff the traditional way absolutely nobody would buy it. Unless you want to be a scam artist, there is now way work for this company, let alone make even a dime with them. The only advice for both customers and prospective employees is STEER CLEAR!
Ditto on all of the above but I got through 2 weeks, the second week being "in the field" training which is what broke this camels back. 5 appts and not 1 sale.. " not even close" Infact we got kicked off of a customers property thanks to the Dispatch giving the manager the wrong time. Hey, if I am going to travel long distances I want my appt "Super" confirmed and a phone no. to call and confirm!
I never got my $200 expense check as promised, so add them all together and it is not a nice picture. I calculated the longest time anyone there in sales was about 90 days.
Well, I need to watch my blood pressure so good luck to everyone, this has been a good lesson for all.
To Joel Drotts above-
Lots of interesting points you raise in your comment above - first, I imagine you mean "bystander" and not bistandard (or did you mean double standard?). Second, I'm not sure you are referring to the same company. This thread is about the poor business practices of a company called K-Designers, not K-Design.
Also, is it just a bizarre coincidence that you too are named Drotts - I don't suppose there's any connection between you and the Dan Drotts referenced above? If so, sorry your relative is such a dirtbag.
I repeat, K-Designers is a scam for the customer and for the contractors they hire as door to door salespeople. They have been successful as a business due to these practices, and I am glad to hear that people are reading these posts, and steering clear of this company.
I just went for an interview there and had to drive over 120 miles to get to Saramento to get there! (From Chico, Ca.) When the lady called me yesterday and set up the interview, she said the name of the company was US Remodeling. Now I went online and tried to find information on US Remodeling and did not see anything? When I drove all the way down there, I saw all of a sudden that they had K-Designers on the door? I sent my girlfriend a text message and asked her to confirm what I had thought I had seen before; yup, sure enough, she wrote me back and told me they were a scam! If the lady who set up the interview would have been honest with me and told me the truth about the name of the company and I had gone online and seen all of the posts all over the internet about K-Designers being a scam, I could have saved the forty dollars in gas it took to get to Sacramento from here! I hate people who lie, and dude who wrote that this is "libelist accusations against a respected business" dude you can s*ck my d(ck!@!
Sounds to me like this company can not stand the light of day.
That's a lot of libelest accusations to levy against a single man, or a respected business such as K-Design. But what do I know. I'm just a bistandard.
Joel Drotts
Juris Doctorate
K-Designers is corrupt and a scam from top to bottom, for the sales people as well as the customers.
From the beginning of training through the time you get smart and walk out the door to find an honest job with an honest company, the Sales Managers teach you to spit back rehearsed lines of a script designed to get people to BUY a product whether they need it or can even afford it. You are required to stay in peoples' homes up to 4 hours or more until providing a final "promotional offer" in exchange for advertising the customer is willing to do for you, because you are only in the area for a short time. That's a blatant lie. You are in the same neighborhoods all the time. Your goal as a "Marketing Director" (door to door salesman) is to make sure the customer feels the "Fear of Losing Out" and decides to buy on the day.
There is an initial promise that "this may not be for you, and if not, that's ok." The truth is, it is not ok. I was fired, thankfully, ("let's part friends" - anyone heard that before?) because I returned from an elderly couple that could not afford to make the payments, and it would have been unethical for me to convince them to buy something they did not really need. My manager told me that I would have to go back to pitch them on a price. This was an hour drive to get there, not to mention the return. No travel costs are reimbursed. Ethics has nothing to do with this.
I, too, could go on and on. The simple truth is:
1. the sales methodology is high-pressure and flawed
2. the target buyer is at high risk of being taken advantage of
3. the prices for the product are over-inflated, but if you sell a package at a fair market rate you as a salesperson will bankrupt yourself - the only people making money is then K-Designers
4. you will be cheated out of commissions
5. you will leave for another job
6. the hours suck. You will be on the road from 10 am to sometimes midnight so that you can CLOSE THE DEAL, and you will work 6 days a week, much of the time many miles from your home. If you try to take unpaid vacation you are at risk of losing your job.
7. the leads suck. Nothing like driving 2 hours to have two no-show leads in a row. You pay for transportation, get home at midnight, and have not made a dime.
Lesson learned here. I just hope the home-owners don't fall for this any more.
Steer clear of K-Designers.
wow, I just went for my second interview yesterday in sacramento. I am glad I ran into your post. During the interview they focused on how much money can be made in commissions and bonuses. Also they said that they reimburse $0.28 per mile for gas and $50 per night for motel stays. They also will give $328 for the first week of training and $50-200 for each sale while out with a MD. They did NOT mention anything about the financing costs coming out of commission...that is a little underhanded. I also do not like the idea that the leads are not qualified. What a waste of time to drive 2 hours on an unconfirmed appt. Why do they not give the telephone number for sales agents to confirm? I definitely will NOT not go back for the 3rd interview. Thankfully it was only a 15 min drive from my house but certainly a learning experience. These posts are great. Have you heard anything about US Remodelers?