Resignation Tendered

September 2010

Today I tendered my resignation with First Services, LLC. I no longer work for Ronald Bell, President & CEO.

Prior to accepting a position at First Services, a self proclaimed "leading edge telesales company that provides "unparalleled telemarketing solutions:, I was told that First Services (Ron Bell) was interested in the betterment and rehabilitation of prisoners, reducing recidivism, and helping prisoners learn marketable skills they can utilize upon their release to get a foot in the door of the job market. I was offered to be a part of this and to be a valued partner of a company that recognizes and appreciates its "people", rather than a simple "worker". I enthusiastically jumped at the chance.

My first campaign was with an Australian company named Smart Phone Hub. For two weeks, I called small and medium-sized businesses all throughout Australia. My mission: To get the IT Manager or business owner to agree to an appointment with a Smart Phone Hub salesman. The product: A new Blackberry, IT/Telecom service, and a unique and very neat pocket projector. I loved the opportunities to speak to the Aussies! Despite three day of First Services' PC/Dialer problems and failure to provide product info (I was told its not important, despite the fact I've been locked up and haven't seen a Blackberry), and the fact that many that I called were in binding contracts with other providers, I manage to set up 4 of the 7 appointments that our three man (prisoner) team set in 2 weeks. Our client wasn't happy with First Services' results. We lost the client.

My second campaign was with a Nevada business named SouthWest Industrial selling Sprayway Foaming coil cleaner and Silicone spray. For about 3 weeks, I called Arizona HVAC companies offering a free sample can of coil cleaner, in hopes of selling cases of it after they'd tried it out. Having learned HVAC while at Manzanita unit, I was familiar with HVAC and such products. I'd been sending an average of 25-30 samples a day. Problems: First Services had dialer malfunctions which caused me to call the same leads 2, 3 and some times 4 times within hours of the 1st call, in addition to samples not being sent on time for my call-back a week later. I made no sales. The client was not happy with First Services. We lost the client.

My third, and final campaign was with a company named Easy.ly Family Law Marketing. A new, web-based business owned by a man named Daniel Roth, which provides potential client referrals to Family Law Attorneys. For about 6 weeks, I called California attorneys who practice family law. I was to convince these attorneys to sign up at Easy.ly's website and receive potential client referrals for an upfront and one time fee. A great service, especially considering the fees are reasonable and the lawyer only pays for the referrals they get, and are reimbursed for each referral they aren't sent. After six weeks of talking to lawyers, assistants and secretaries and listening to their concerns about Easy.ly and discussing them with Ron Bell and his assistant, and Daniel Roth, I grew more discouraged when I was ignored and told to "do whatever you have to do to make the sale". Daniel listened and was trying to make improvements to his business. First Services however, was only concerned with making money.

Since going to work for First Services, everything I was led to believe about its quality of services and its ethos regarding prisoners was false. First Services is simply just another small telemarketing call center. One that chose to exploit Arizona prisoner for cheap labor. We are paid $3.00 an hour. After deductions by ADOC for Room & Board, Retention fund, and other deductions, I make around $.65 an hour spendable. Desperation by most prisoners has caused this to be a top-dollar job that many want. I resigned. I can't bring myself to ignore this exploitation. I won't. It's not right! First Services should pay its prisoner employees no less than that State's minimum wage, and not portray itself as something its not.

What do you think about this?