Specialized Business Solutions

I want to preface my review by saying that SBS contacted me and provided me with the opportunity to work. During the hiring process they were very professional, responsive, and courteous. The reason for the lowest rating possible is due to events that occurred prior to hiring but only came to light near the end of the contract.
In short the company did not deal in good faith. They lied to me and they lied to the company that elected to use their services regarding the compensation of their contractor [me]. I do not know if the entire company is like this, I only dealt with Amy C, who knowingly lied at least twice.
Do not use this company. This kind of unethical behavior is unacceptable and should never EVER be rewarded again through the hard work of others.
*****Full Story*****
After a long period of looking for work SBS contact me about working on a contract in San Jose. During this process they asked me about my salary requirements, which I gave, and was then told they would negotiate with the company for the highest wage possible.
Unbeknownst to me, the company I was to work for had already provided Amy with a wage that they wished to pay to the prospective contractor. Amy was told EXPLICITLY to offer this rate.
I was offered the position for less than ²⁄₃ the rate stated by the company. When I protested, I was told in no uncertain terms that there was no way to increase the rate. I accepted, tough times and all, and for several months all was well.
During the last two weeks of my contract I joked with my boss that even with overtime I’m sure she was still coming out ahead. She thought that an odd thing to say since she knew what she was paying me, or thought she did. She investigated and Amy provided her with a report stating I was making a full 25% more than I actually was; it also worth noting that the rate Amy quoted at this point was still LESS than what I was supposed to be paid.
That opened up the whole discussion. My boss found out what I was actually being paid and was outraged. The staffing agency was keeping over HALF of the fee. For those of you unfamiliar with the fee structure of a staffing agency the normal amount kept is approximately 20% of the total fee.
I felt cheated because I had lost out on thousands of dollars in pay because of this deception. The company was lied to and wondered how many of their contractors they had lost due to this same situation. I never learned the extent of the deception — isolated incident — but SBS lost their contract with the company for ALL of the contract employees there. I’d warn you, be very careful if dealing with this company (only if you must) and I’d actually say stay away altogether.