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Hi has anyone ever worked as a VA for Team Double click. I just got thru the testing part and passed and now need to set up an interview. Any idea what they pay? Are they legit?


Thanks

The pay is generally $11.00 an hour, but can vary depending on the type of work you do. Yes, they are legit, just go into it knowing that TDC charges clients $22.00 an hour or MORE, and you are paid less than half for doing all the work. I think they are a great way to gain experience as a VA and to find out if VA work is right for you. But if you work for them long term and just settle for making less than half what they charge clients, then you are just selling yourself short in my opinion.

I have searched for info on this. Can anyone send me a link or web site?
Thanks!

OOPS, never mind, found it...

Thanks for the info. I figure it's a good place to start and will hopefully open the door to other VA opportunities. But you are right working there long term would be silly.

I applied to the company early last year and I made it to step 5 (request an Interview) Well.....I still have not heard anything from anybody. Even after phone calls and e-mails. I wonder why?smileys/smiley5.gif

yep, same happened to me, I tested finished, got o step 5 and no more. I am really not looking forward to hearing from them.. I think they hire top people who have taken the course and have the training for the virtual assistants position, they hire them, and as you said, they are under paid until they realize they can make more. Good luck, but I am moving on. smileys/smiley36.gif

What type of work do you do for them?

What type of work do you do for them?

What type of work do you do for them?

I don't actually work for them yet. They just sent me an email to set up a phone interview. They did say it could take up to 2 weeks to get an interview. I got the email about 48 hours after requesting an interview. I will keep you guys updated.

I applied with them in April of 2007 and was finally done and "on the bench" by June of 2007. I got my first assignment in August of 2007 making $10/hour. The work was ok, hours were a little crazy. Iwas only to get paid for 10 hours PER WEEK but had to be on call for 10 hours PER DAY!, and I needed to be released from that project due to the way the hours were set up. Then I got another client in September also making $10/hour and the schedule seemed to work for me a little better. I soon asked to be released from that client and am currently trying togive it a try on my own. There are a lot of stipulations to follow @ TDC, which I can respect of them as a staffing firm. It just wasn't the right fit for me. I did like the fact that they do all the leg work to find you the right client, but when they do find something for you, do yourself a favor and ask a lot of questions before you accept the job assignment. You should be ok otherwise. If I had a different situation, I might still be with them. Good luck!

I worked with them for a few months last year. You can't be too picky about the clients they find you. If you turn down too many jobs they hold it against you. I turned down 1 client who wanted me to answer phones. I was to be available, as the above poster said, 10 hours a day and only get paid for the time actually on the phone with a minimum of 2 hours/week. After several months waiting for him to set up training and only 1 contact with him despite numerous emails frm me and my contact with TDC, she decided she was going to put his contract on hold and release me for another client. The next client they offered me was a Dr. who again wanted me to be available 10 hours a day to answer the overflow calls her office staff couldn't get to. I asked a few more questions and voiced my concerns about being available for 50 hours a week but only guaranteed 2 hours pay, more if I happened to be on the phone more than 2 hours that week.

I never refused that client but was sent an email letting me know that it wasn't a good idea to turn down clients. I did have 2 clients I actually worked for. Both of them were 2 hours minimum per week and didn't want me to go above that. I made a total of $100 with them and was an IC with them about 4 months. I got $11/hour.

I left by my choice. I sent them a letter of resignation and was sent an email back that I was to have no further contact with any of their clients or contractors.

They do pay on time and they pay to the minute. If you make $11/hour and work 42 minutes you'll get $7.70 for that day. They also have a 2 hour per week minimum for their clients so even if you don't put in 2 hours work per week and you were available to work each day, you'll still get paid for 2 hours.

I wouldn't count on this as being an income you can live off of or pay any bills with, at least in the beginning. They say there are contractors who work 40 hours a week and make decent money. Those are contractors who have several clients which I'm sure you need to be there a while before you get to that point. Plus clients can leave TDC at any time. My first client decided after 3 weeks that he didn't have enough work to need a VA even for 2 hours a week.

<DIV id=post_message_10115>I've actually worked very closely with Team Double Click last year. I began my contracting work with them last year in March. At the time I let them know that I could only work approximately 10 hours a week because I was due to get married in June. After June they could schedule me for more than 40 hours if necessary. I actually worked directly with the "core team" as one of their HR Assistants so I have first hand knowledge of how judgemental and cruel they can actually be. The "core team" is what they call their team members that work directly for TDC.
Needless to say, one week prior to my wedding date I was told that if I could not provide them with 40 hours a week going forward that they would not be needing my services. I've heard about businesses being cut throat but really!?!?!?! One WEEK prior to my wedding. The sad part is that they KNEW that I was getting married when I was hired. It was a true showing of the professionalism that this company offers. They claim to be reputable because of the line of work but their work ethics are horrible. They claim that a virtual assistant can be anyone as long as they are qualified but I was on the "other" side of the phone calls after the interviews took place and some of the things they would say about people were as if they were enjoying the ones that were bad. It was awful and I would NEVER advise anyone to seek services from this virtual staffing firm. There are SO many other ways to get potential clients like through the ivaa.org website. VA BEWARE!

<DIV id=post_message_10115>I've actually worked very closely with Team Double Click last year. I began my contracting work with them last year in March. At the time I let them know that I could only work approximately 10 hours a week because I was due to get married in June. After June they could schedule me for more than 40 hours if necessary. I actually worked directly with the "core team" as one of their HR Assistants so I have first hand knowledge of how judgemental and cruel they can actually be. The "core team" is what they call their team members that work directly for TDC.
Needless to say, one week prior to my wedding date I was told that if I could not provide them with 40 hours a week going forward that they would not be needing my services. I've heard about businesses being cut throat but really!?!?!?! One WEEK prior to my wedding. The sad part is that they KNEW that I was getting married when I was hired. It was a true showing of the professionalism that this company offers. They claim to be reputable because of the line of work but their work ethics are horrible. They claim that a virtual assistant can be anyone as long as they are qualified but I was on the "other" side of the phone calls after the interviews took place and some of the things they would say about people were as if they were enjoying the ones that were bad. It was awful and I would NEVER advise anyone to seek services from this virtual staffing firm. There are SO many other ways to get potential clients like through the ivaa.org website. VA BEWARE!

hrmom,

Hurray for you! It's about time someone speaks the entire truth about TDC. I voluntarily quit working for them about 7 months ago, and have tried to refrain from saying anything bad about them, but I am tired of biting my tongue. They are incredibly rude people, and if you have any issues at all with a client they ALWAYS take the client's side against you. I personally did not have too many issues with them, but I know several other contractors who were screwed over by them. And they are not only rude, they are unethical which was the main reason I left them. I know of other contractors who in the line of their duties saw exactly what TDC was billing clients for, and all I can say is they billed for quite a few things and the contractors NEVER saw any of the money. There were issues with the long distance reimbursements and billing of "premium" services.

When asked, I've always honestly said that TDC is legitimate work and they pay on time. That is basically the only good thing I can say about them. As long as you wear blinders and just go about your work, never voice an opinion and don't care whether or not your clients are getting screwed, then TDC would be a great place for you. If you have an ounce of independence and morals, then they are not for you.

When I signed up with TDC I'd seen the posts about them requesting money paid the contractor if a client doesn't pay and I figured I could live with that. The person who interviewed me asked if I had questions working for a client during normal business hours. I said no, I did not have a problem working normal business hours. Heck, I liked the normal business hours aspect of it.

When I questioned having to be available to answer phones for 10 hours a day and not getting paid unless I was on the phone, my contact at TDC was agreeable and said that might not be good as an only client, but better as a 2nd or third client where you're already working those hours and getting paid. She also stated that the whole idea of working at home was the flexability to be able to run errands, take care of kids, etc. I was then emailed by HR that I AGREED to be available to work during those hours and they even quoted my responses to their questions during the interview. I have no problem working those hours I did have a problem of being tied to my home 50 hours a week waiting for the occassional call that may not come. My time was worth more than the $22 I was guaranteed for the week. When I questioned being able to run the occassional errand during my lunch I was told that the client might "allow" me to transfer my calls to my cell phone so I could still answer them.

The final straw was a policy they started where any client has a 30 day money back guarantee. Not just new clients but any client. During any 30 day period they could say they weren't satisfied with the work performed and the company would give them their money back. In turn they would require the contractor/VA to reimburse the company for any money paid for that client. There was a huge outcry and they changed some of the wording and ensured the contractors that they would ALWAYS side with the contractor and the client had to proove that you were doing substandard work. An example of when they would side with the client was if you had a deadline to get something done but you were lax and didn't do the work on time.

I contacted several VA's with their own businesses and asked them about that policy which TDC said they were enacting to remain competative. The VA's I contacted said they'd never give a guarantee like that but would give the client a time period, usually 10 days, where if the client was unhappy with some project or work they would correct it for free.

I know there are lot of people that would not continue with the hiring process once they saw the clause in the contract about the VAs having to pay back any money if the client did not pay. TDC said it was rare that would happen, and that it would only occur if they paid the contractor and then the client refused to pay. However, it is also stated elsewhere that they will not pay the contractor until they have received payment from the client. So what is the point of that clause?

Like I said, there are many, many issues with this company that I don't agree with either because it is shady or contradictory. I've been reluctant to say anything before, because I know for a fact that some TDC staff trolls these boards and I've seen where they have attacked the contractor for voicing their opinion and I frankly will be happy to never deal with them again.

That's just the problem. I've heard the same thing direct from the horse's mouth about TDC trolling these boards and the mean things they will say about others. If they have enough professionalism to attack their contractor's (former or current) why would anyone wish to work for them? As I mentioned before I worked for this company (directly with the HR Team) no less. Their's something to say for a firm that at one point only required a SSN to file 1099's with their IC's and then HAD to switch to Tax ID's because the LAW requires it?!?!?!? Go figure...TDC has mentioned many times that the QUALITY of people they want as IC's (Independent Contractors) are those that will eventually be on the "core team." If there are only so many positions that are available on the "core team", how can you hire everyone on your core team? The "little" people should matter and they would if there were ethics in this company.
I've actually kept quite about this firm because I thought it was the "right thing to do" but I fear those who do try to maintain their integrity and dignity while trying to work for this firm. Again, VA BEWARE.Edited by: hrmom

Thank you, you guys are awesome. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. My time is also worth more then $22 for 50 hours "on call" and the whole having to pay back money what is that about.I want to work for an ethical company and one that will value their VA's as much as their clients. I think I will keep looking. Thanks for sharing!

As I stated above. When I signed on with TDC I knew about them requiring the contractor to pay back money if the client didn't pay. I'd seen some negative comments about them BUT, and I'd tell everybody this. I had to find out for myself. I read the negative comments and weigh the good and bad and will make my own decision about the company. Just because I had a problem working with them, there are many with them who seem to be happy. Every job is not for everybody.

Right now, I'm working for a company that a lot of people are bashing. I'm finding some of their comments to be true but it they don't bother me enough to quit. I figure every job has it's good and bad points. No job is truely perfect for everybody. It just boils down to what you are willing to put up with and when you say, enough is enough.

dlandry,

You are absolutely right. Not every job is for everyone. I wanted to offer my perspective because it was an insider one. I've worked directly for the core team and because of the way I was treated one can only imagine the way they treat their contractors. I'm always trying to find the most ethical companies. Let's face it most people want to wake up every day and enjoy the work they do. Being a VA is enjoyable, as it should be. I wanted to let others know what this firm has to offer. Others should make their own, individual assessment about how they do business.

Some other message board responses re: TDC are listed on www.virtualassistantforums.com (http://www.virtualassistantforums.com). You will see some of the other comments listed there from others as well.