Last month, a report was published online that claimed Samsung.com sales reps in the US were allegedly being made to work for free. These sales reps weren't directly employed by Samsung. They were contracted through Ibbu, a staffing agency.
It appears that Ibbu has penalized those who spoke out about the issue. The Verge reports today that one of those sales reps has now been fired by Ibbu. Others have also been penalized and can no longer work as chat representatives for Samsung.
No comment from Samsung as yet on the matter
Samsung.com product pages in the US have an option to chat with an expert. Customers looking to purchase products can chat with these product specialists for help. These sales reps can answer questions about the product, suggest other products and guide customers through the buying process.
The reps are independent contractors and work on a commission-only structure. They're only paid when they make a sale. The earlier report had mentioned that these reps were now increasingly having to provide customer support over chats. They wouldn't earn any commissions for customer service requests and were effectively working for free.
Jennifer Larson was one such sales rep that was willing to be named in the store. The day after the story was published, she received an email from Ibbu informing her that she had been suspended. A few weeks later, Ibbu was told in an email that she had been fired.
Two other reps have been terminated from the Samsung “mission” on Ibbu after they spoke to the scribe. Another rep who wasn't a part of the story but simply posted it on their LinkedIn page was terminated as well. They're able to work on other Ibbu jobs but will no longer have access to Samsung chats.
Neither Ibbu nor Samsung have commented on the matter. It's unclear whether these reprimands have been handed down by Ibbu solely due to the reps violating its services agreement or if it was done at Samsung's insistence.
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