THANKS 1

I recently found your article on Employment 1 (“Will pay for work,” Dec. 6) interesting, and I wanted to comment specifically about their service from a member point of view. I feel I was scammed by this godawful company! A total waste of time and hard-earned cash!

Every Tuesday and Thursday, I arrive as scheduled to check their “archaic” Microsoft access database. As I sit there, I notice that 90 percent of the jobs are blue collar, offering nothing to me as a computer professional. The appearance of the office is like something out of the early ’80s. A desk in the far room is made from several OTHER pieces of desks. I sometimes find myself listening in on phone conversations to other companies inquiring about available job positions. They lie by saying “we have many qualified applicants that could fit your current needs.” I will bet you $100 that they don’t know the first thing about my resume or capabilities. They didn’t take the time to get to know me personally. Chris, the manager, was too worried about explIining the contract terms to me and itching to swipe my Visa/Debit card!

My main gripe about their service is they seem to have “token” jobs. Jobs that oddly enough after months and months of postings never get filled. Jobs that read: “Web Designer/IT . . . can work from home.” I’ve noticed this same ad ran in the newspaper to “lure” the IT professionals. Yes, it lured me to pay the membership fee, and I see the job EVERY single time I go in there. And I’ve been a member since October 2002. I’ve asked several different people, “Why hasn’t this job been filled or deleted?” Besides the fact that it’s in West Farmington (or some Podunk Maine town), and you know what kind of idiotic answers I get? Typical one, “Well, we update our database on a weekly basis.” They won’t give you a clear, concise answer to your question, the typical runaround!

When I visited their crappy Web site, I should have stayed away! As an IT professional, my golden rule in e-commerce is to stay away from the amateurs. Sites that are poorly designed or poorly structured will only cause you pain! A red flag should have went up when I visited their Web site with a Mack Truck on the homepage with spinning anti-aliased Web graphics! Reminds me of something my mom would send me in an email.

I would NOT in any way recommend this service to my worst enemy. Beware: You’re dealing with amateurs at Employment 1. I would gladly go to a staffing agency, where at least they know my name!

Anonymous

Portland

THANKS 2

I’m an art director in Portland and actually a former employee of the Portland Phoenix. I have got to say THANK GOD someone finally exposed those pricks for what they are (“Will pay for work,” Dec. 6). Several years ago I found myself unemployed and turned to E-1 for help. Same scenario . . . I kicked out $160, and found three jobs in my field. Two of the three I could not apply to directly, only through an E-1 representative (whatever). The other one was listed as a “Graphic Design” position but wasn’t. When I spoke to the employer they even stated they didn’t want Graphic Designers applying for the job.

When things got really tough, I even applied for a concierge position. When I got to the hotel, they asked where I got the lead from and that the position had been filled for three months. This was pretty much the end of E-1 for me. I thought I’d give them one more try a few months later only to find out that if you’re not in the office every six weeks you are no longer considered an active member and need to pay your $160 fee again.

F’in strokers! I hope they all rot in hell. Can you tell I’m bitter?

Glen Halliday

Portland

THANKS 3

Thank you for your recent article on E1 (“Will pay for work,” Dec. 6). I’ve been out of work since July and was on the cusp of making the $160 investment, with money I don’t have. Now I can save what’s left of my credit for food and beer, to keep my strength during my search.

Jon Kuell

South Portland

THE TOP 10 THINGS ROXANNE QUIMBY CAN DO FOR $8 MILLION.

Recently, the Portland Phoenix detailed the efforts of environmentalist Roxanne Quimby to create a national park in Maine’s North Woods.

As an economic development practitioner for Piscataquis County, of which most of this park would be contained, I was intrigued by the amount of money ($8 million) Ms. Quimby has reportedly spent thus far on purchasing land and promoting this concept.

Instead of arguing the deficiencies of a national park, however, I’d like to suggest 10 other projects that Ms. Quimby — or others — could donate to that would help Piscataquis County’s most valuable resource: its people.

10. For $500,000, someone could create a nursing program at the Penquis Higher Education Center in Dover-Foxcroft for area residents who wish to enter this burgeoning field.

9. For $1.5 million, someone could construct a wood composites incubator facility in Greenville that would help entrepreneurs enter this potentially lucrative and environmentally sustainable sector.

8. For $60,000, someone could fund a tourism marketing effort for eastern Piscataquis County that would concentrate on eco-tourism opportunities.

7. For $300,000, someone could extend municipal water and sewer lines into the Greenville Industrial Park in order to promote job-creating business growth.

6. For $500,000, someone could renovate the Greenville depot station in order to better accommodate tourists traveling to Moosehead Lake on passenger trains.

5. For $50,000, someone could adequately fund a business-attraction marketing effort for Piscataquis County.

4. For $1.5 million, someone could assist in the ongoing efforts to create an endowment fund for economic development activities in Maine’s three poorest counties: Piscataquis, Washington, and Somerset.

3. For $150,000, someone could adequately staff the “Maine Highlands” tourism promotional effort for Piscataquis and Penobscot counties.

2. For $400,000, someone could help the Town of Dexter purchase and renovate the former Dexter Shoe facilities in order to help relocate job-creating businesses to the area.

1. For $3 million, someone could construct a true education facility for the Greenville-based Natural Resource Education Center (NREC). Over the past 10 years, the NREC Committee has provided the public with fair and unbiased information on Maine’s forests. A facility would expand that mandate.

Interestingly, all of the economic development projects mentioned above can be afforded for almost $8 million; the same amount Ms. Quimby has spent trying to create a national park legacy. However, can anyone think of a better legacy than assisting the people of Maine’s poorest county?

Mark Scarano

Executive Director

Piscataquis County Economic Development Council

Dover-Foxcroft

OVER THE TOP

I must register my objection to the current issue’s ad from Condom Sense (Page 5, Dec. 13). I must say that though I do not consider myself a fundamentalist or evangelist Christian, I still found the ad to be in bad taste. It might perhaps have given you pause to print an ad depicting the Blessed Virgin as a marijuana user. The image depicts Mary cradling the newborn Jesus in her arms while doing, as far as we can tell, drugs which are mind-altering. That adds insult to injury.

David Costa

Portland