Mountain Edge Alliance in Phoenix

April 2001
By a potential recruit

Thank you so much for your informative site on the Trek Alliance group. You just saved me a lot of time and inconvenience. Here's my story:

I posted my résumé on Monster.com looking for a position as an administrative assistant. About a week later I received a call from a man who saw my résumé and was interested in my credentials. He said he was part of a "start up" company that was beginning to grow beyond their original expectations and needed more personnel. He told me that they had two positions open in the Phoenix area; one was a retail sales position and the other was "...an HR type position--office management and training, that kind of thing."

I asked him for the name of the company, he said it really fast and mumbled. All I could make out was the word "Mountain" in the name. Not wanting to look stupid to a prospective employer, I didn't ask him to repeat it a third time. I have caller ID but only someone's individual name appeared in the ID window. I asked if they had a web site. He told me that the site was not very informative and that it was "still in the process of development."

We arranged for an interview. This was very strange indeed. I told him that I would not be free until the next week and he briefly attempted to "sell me" on an earlier meeting. It seemed that the only openings he had were one in the morning and another at 2:00 PM on each day. At this point I asked if he was working for a recruitment agency or an employee of the company. His ambiguous answer was--"I'm a recruiter for the company."

We arranged an interview. He did not ask me to bring a résumé or proof of authorized work status in the US. he told me that it was a professional, but casual work environment and to dress accordingly.

On the morning of my interview he called me to "remind me" of my appointment. Again he said the company name very quickly and mumbled. I found this to be very strange indeed. I never had a recruiter call me on behalf of the company they were hiring for to "remind me" to show up. I decided to do some research, but without a company name I was lost. I picked up the phone book and looked up the word "Mountain" in the business listings section. I found "Mountain Edge Alliance" at the address he gave me. Then I typed that name into a search engine. I found listings for complaints by unsuspecting people.

I called the number back to cancel our interview and was routed to an answering service. I told them who I was and that I was canceling my interview because I now knew more about their firm and that it was not for me. I have not yet received a call back. It seems to me they know better.

This would have been a mere inconvenience and annoyance. I would not have given these people any money. Unfortunately though, many other folks may not have the same candor. With the help of your site, I'm sure many more individuals will be spared the grief of this "boiler room" BS before they hurt themselves and their families.