Since there are so many people new to the experiential marketing arena on this board I thought it might be a good idea to let some of the hiring companies lay out what they do and how they do it. Obviously there are so many facets to this type of marketing that even those of us who have been in the business for over 10 years still may not completely have a handle on the 6 degrees of separation.

With a long-winded introduction I think the topic most want to know about is PAY. You run a business to get paid and workers are hired to get paid. There are many different ways that this happens. Sometimes you hire an employee and you take taxes out of the check and provide other items like worker's compensation insurance. Other times you hire a contractor and you pay them a set amount and leave the taxes and extras to them. There has been talk about the illegal practice of classifying someone as "independent contractor" when they are actually supposed to be an employee according to the standards set forth by the IRS. The biggest topic on the board however is the length of time it takes for a company to pay you. Some agencies claim that they must wait until they are paid by the client. Other companies/agencies are large enough to cover their expenses without waiting for the client. So, here is your opportunity to try to explain it all to those who are in the dark.

Please feel free to take this opportunity to try to educate people as to how your business works and how you make the decisions you make about staffing.

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James,

Hello and thank you for your work on an important site. I actually think I might have met you years ago (though can't remember specifics, except I was on tour) before my Wife and I started our agency.

I have what I think to be an important addition to Event Speak. Although it will take a bit more programming on the back and front end....GRAPHS! Viewing so many topics such as positive/negative feedback on companies can be time consuming and is vital to get the details, but how about the 1,000 foot view at a glance in the form of graphs. Kind of a dash board concept.

Imagine when someone is sounding off about a company they can click a quick option to generate a graph showing the aggregate of everyone's input. For example, if you had a horrible experience with a company you would be able to click these options to power the graph:

1- input company name
2- 1-10 experience (10 being best)
3- pay on time?
4- organized?
5-....etc,

The benefits would allow a more comprehensive barometer on vital topics and filter disgruntled rants vs. a legitimate pattern of poor company practices.

I think this community is strong and I liken it to the Reddit community when people sound off and offer advice. On reddit they obviously up and down vote which is a cool feature as well. Basically I want to offer ideas on user experience and allowing a easy overview as well as the current in depth forum reads.

Thank you for asking for suggestions and feedback.


Sincerely,


Sage Loring

Not a good company to work for.

I received a very lucrative Olympic job through National, and I feel very grateful. I did get paid very well, and I want many more jobs like that gig, and with clients who pay me when they say they will.
Freedom was a wonderful link for me, and sent all the appropriate contact information immediately, so I could contact the client. I look forward to working more gigs through National.

Denise

THIS FORUM IS ONLY FOR STAFF THAT WORKED FOR NATIONALEVENTSTAFFING.COM DURING 2009 AND 2010 AND CURRENT.

We went through a tough few months back in 2007 and 2008 when some of our clients decided they couldn’t pay us, didn’t want to pay us and were slow paying us. Because of this we had to quickly come up with ten’s of thousands of dollars to pay staff out of our own pockets. During this time staff were stuck waiting for pay checks for weeks or months and quickly came up with all sorts of conspiracy theories. Some decided we were a “scam” and that our plan was to cheat them out of the hours they worked and some that Freedom Jolly wasn’t my real name. Of course my real name is Freedom Jolly and of course all the staff were paid in full once we got things organized. This is very evident by the fact that reports of none payment completely vanished after 2008 and the reason we have grown soo strong with over 40,000 staff USA and Canada and new staff being added daily, is because of the lessons we learned in 2008 about how to better handle our clients and our staff.

THIS FORUM IS ONLY FOR STAFF THAT WORKED FOR NATIONALEVENTSTAFFING.COM DURING 2009 AND 2010 AND CURRENT.

We have created this topic so that our staff can log in and sing our praises. We want to make it clear that yes we had a few bad months a few years ago but since then we have had no issues and we want you to hear it from our staff directly. This is not a topic for people to post this and that, their opinions on the industry or what they have “heard” or “found”. This is for straight facts from the staff that worked for us during 2009 and 2010 and current. Of course when you are dealing with hundreds of clients and thousands of staff everything can’t go perfectly all the time but we like to think that 99% of the time it does, but what we really want to make clear is that our staff get paid and they make good money for working at great events. Our staff work with our great clients, make great contacts, while working all across the USA and Canada.

THIS FORUM IS ONLY FOR STAFF THAT WORKED FOR NATIONALEVENTSTAFFING.COM DURING 2009 AND 2010 AND CURRENT.

To our staff now viewing this topic, use the menu on the right side of this page and take 1 minute to create an account here on event speak and then return to this topic to make your post. Be sure to mention the great events you worked at, the great money you made and the great experience you had working for us. Make sure you include your first name, last initial, the date/s, City, and State/Province you worked so that we can confirm it in our files. We look forward to reading all your great posts here online and there is even a photo import section so that you can attach a photo of you working at the event.

From,

NATIONAL EVENT STAFFING
Freedom Jolly, Account Manager
Office: 866-565-9939
http://www.nationaleventstaffing.com

“National Event Staffing serves corporations that require professional short term staff for promotions or other sales and marketing initiatives, great staff, great events, every time!”

they are good. haven't worked for them in about a year, but they are good and they pay fast. only done costumes for them.

StuckForStaff has posted a few jobs for REDLIGHT Marketing in the past and we have never had one complaint.

Not one staff member emailed SFS that they were having payment issues or any problems with the Agency.

REDLIGHT has plenty of fun programs nationwide and I would recommend them!

Good Luck!

I have worked with Redlight in Chicago on One a Day, Fiber One and Zone Perfect & while the time period in which they send out paychecks can vary, they DO pay & I can vouch that they are legit. Just FYI, each BA is responsible for sending in their individual time sheet signed by the manager & Redlight does have several company documents that need to be submitted, so you do need to remember to take your time sheet each day & of course send it in at the end of the promo:)

Has anyone ever gotten booked with CMG creative management they have alot of good promos and sometimes pay for lodging in hard to staff areas.

I am still trying to understand their new system. It lists all the programs as if you can select the program you're applying for, but I still receive emails asking to email my resume information.I know you're not booked until you receive a live email from one of their reps, but I wish they would take out the jobs under my profile so as not to make me think I'm booked.

Wondering if anyone has worked for them? or heard anything about them?

I've worked with them since 2008. Its a great company- always paid me quickly and treated me fairly.

Background checks should be mandatory especially when it comes to dealing with events where you will be dealing with children, large sums of money, expensive equipment, and driving company vehicles. It's better to be safe than sorry in these instances. There are a few clients who will not only ask for background checks, but will send employees in to have drug tests done. It may only be a matter of time before this type of insurance is adopted by other promo companies and clients.

...Forgot to mark as unsolved.

I wanted to know of anyone has had previous experience working for them. I worked one event and was not reimbursed for company expenses and the manager/owner is unresponsive. I would hate to think that I will have to eat the costs for this one.

I have noticed that Team Ent. have had postings in the past where they have in person interviews in certain cities. Has anyone gone to any of the interviews and know if they will still take new employees through the website.

Fusion can make things confusing when you have a number of of their representatives working on the same program. I have applied for jobs with them only to find out the position had been filled by another employee who was also staffing the same event. It would be easier if they each handled certain regions. This would also cut out on receiving duplicate emails for the same opening from three or four different employees.

I got to work the BK Jonas promotion with them and it was alright. Apparently overstaffed, which happens sometimes. It was good to walk away with free apples to snack on later as a consolation prize for going home early. It took about the normal 30 days from date of working to get paid.

I have wanted to work for Attack, but didn't know if my random thoughts were not funny enough to make the cut or if it's just a matter of the jobs going quickly.

They have been a good company so far for me. I understand that it's difficult for them to always get back to each person one at a time, but pay wise they seem to be on the same schedule as most about 30 days.

Wow please keep us informed if you get paid. I have had no problems so far with their payroll checks not going through and knock on wood hope never to have issues.

In agreement with Tatjana, and as the creator of the online ratings system through StuckForStaff, I'd like to add the following....

It is SO important for our industry for staff to do a good job, and represent the agencies/clients well, and equally important that the staff that ARE good get recognized for this, and rewarded with more work and better pay.

We spent a couple of years developing the SFS ratings system to be fair, legal, and useful for the industry, and pleased to say it works extremely well in the UK where SFS has been established for 8 years.

By contributing and helping to build those ratings, EVERYONE benefits, except for those that shouldn't, due to bad work ethic.

It provides a way for the cream to rise to the top.

We have also incorporated a way for staff to dispute an unjust rating, and to prevent agencies being unfair or personal, any Strike has to be accompanied by a note of explanation, that only the staff member in question and the agency rating can view - in order to keep things fair, and non-slanderous.

We encourage you all to keep your profiles at StuckForStaff up to date, request ratings, give ratings, be part of the system.

If you want to see how successful it can be for the entire industry, just ask any of our members in the UK, or any of the agencies, like Circle www.circleagency.co.uk that operate in the UK and USA.

Keep up the good work! And get rewarded for it!
Darren
SFS

Hi!

Sorry for the delay, but busy is good :).

I did finally receive partial pay and was asked to re-submit invoices again, which are now 60 days out, "just to make sure". When I received partial payment I asked about the unpaid invoices and was told that "finance sends out payments in order". Ernie does answer my emails and has been helpful and nice, it is just frustrating to have to wait longer than you agree to in a contract.

Good luck everyone, I will update when we are paid in full.

5280 Agency is looking for the more "fit or active" look Brand Ambassadors for a 2 day program in Providence, RI for the Rhode Island Marathon Expo.


Details below:


DATES & TIMES:
Friday, July 9, 11:00am-7:00pm
Saturday, July 10, 8:30am-5:00pm
*Must be available for both event days*

LOCATION:
Rhode Island Convention Center
Providence, RI 02903

PROJECT DETAILS:
During the event models will be handing out samples, educating consumers and discussing nutritional facts. There are also going to be sweepstakes conducted throughout the shift. Other responsibilities may be assigned by your manager.

We are looking for the more "fit or active" look. We are looking for sports like people that enjoy playing sports.

REQUIREMENTS:
-Must speak English
-Must be at least 18 years of age
-High positive energy, and an outgoing individuals
-Capacity to work independently and be accountable for actions
-Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
-Capability to work as a team player and maintain a high level of enthusiasm while working with consumers

PAY: $16/hr

To Apply: Please e-mail RI@5280agency.com with 2 pictures and resume with "Ironman - Rhode Island" in the Subject line.

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I was wondering if anyone knows any good sites for promotions in Florida besides; craigslist,and Encore Nationwide?! ( and NO promotionalmodels.com) I've already had my own issues with them. but anyways, I'm looking for stuff in central FL and Orlando area.

THANKS TO ALL!

Hey Gang,

Lauren at All Aces is top notch!

The Victory Team

Ready..Set....PROMO!

As far as the pay schedule, I don't have problems with Fusion. No one has been overtly rude to me and I'm paid the discussed amount.

I had a problem with Fusion too. Michelle is a miserable person.

I have been working with All Aces Promotional Staffing for about 3 years now, and have been paid, on average, 2-4 weeks after working EVERY TIME!
Lauren is AWESOME!!!