Is Arise A Scam?

There is a lot of questions around the Internet as if Arise is a scam.  I am hoping to shed some light on this company that seems to have people on edge when it is talked about.  I have cruised the forums and have seen post after post, comment after comment and I think 90% of the comments are bad.

We have been told over and over again that if a company asks for an initial investment it is a scam.  I am here to tell you that not all companies that ask for an investment are scams.  Arise is one of those few companies that yes they ask for an initial investment BUT they are not a scam.

How Do I Know?

Arise is a company that is very near and dear to my heart.  It has helped me to help my husband in supporting our family.   I started with them back in 2010 by word of mouth. I didn’t know much about the company or how it worked, I was contracted with LiveOps at the time and all I knew was I was not comfortable with what I was selling, so I decided to give it a shot.

Although I got off to a rocky start it was one of the best decisions I have made, second to me deciding to give working from home another go. 

My first client was with a major cruise line which was exciting and fun.  I mean what could be better then talking about vacations right?  My contract came to an end and I decided it was time to up my game a little and went to contract with a major telecommunications company.  This client was just up my alley, it was exciting and challenging. I soon advanced up to Chat Performance Facilitator which was even more exciting and challenging. I have been with the same client since August 2011 now.

Who Is Arise?

So by now you are probably like ok Nikki who is this Arise company? Arise was formerly know Willow back in the day and then became Arise who is a leader in the virtual call center world.  Their main focus is providing customer service and technical support in eCommerce, telecom, cable, retail and travel industries in the means of voice, chat and email support.  Arise has expanded to allow those living in not only the U.S. but Canada and the U.K., giving them opportunities to partner with local brands. 

Getting Started

Getting started with Arise is pretty simple for the most part.  You go to Arise and you would create a profile and take the ideal match assessment, submit your background check, take the CSP 101 course and then decide on a client. Pretty straight forward right? There are a few bumps and twists in the road though which I will explain in detail below.

So why does everybody say Arise is a scam?  Simple, the fees.  There is an initial investment with partnering with Arise.

Here are the fees:

Background Check $40+. This is self explanatory.

CSP 101 course $99 (this is often discounted for as low as $19.99) This course is a crash course on being a customer service professional and is pretty simple for the majority of us, but that doesn’t mean you can’t just drift through it half paying attention.

Training and Certification (anywhere from $50 – $250) Arise offers live training provided by real instructors in a classroom setting. I personally found this really nice, you get to interact with other people from all over the country while learning your chosen client. You get to role play and hands on preview of the systems you will be working with on a day to day basis.  You can also ask as many questions as you need to make sure you are ready for live call taking. This training is a pass or fail, so if you don’t pay attention and do the necessary training at the end, guess what you will fail and you will lose your money.

Tech Support Fee ($19.99 per pay period) Every pay period you have this fee deducted from your invoice. The tech support fee is if you have any issues with any of your client systems, they need to be reinstalled, whatever they will help you.  I will tell you this, I am not a fan of somebody messing with my computer but there have been plenty of times I have been grateful for Tech Support and have no problem giving up my little $20 in case I need them.

Any office equipment, phone with a headphone jack, land line service, high speed internet and headphones for both for taking calls and training.

Incorporation fees if you decide to have your own business or if you decide to go under somebody else's IBO there will be a fee to join their IBO. 

What Does Incorporation Mean?

What is this incorporation you speak of?  Arise is particular, they will only partner with Independent Business Owners (IBO’s).  Meaning that you have a business and you are incorporated as one with your state.  This ranges in price so check with your Secretary of State website.  So does this mean that if you don’t have a business you are stuck? You can’t partner with Arise?  Absolutely not.  You are able to find an IBO that meets your needs and service under their business if you want to just test the waters or just don’t want the hassle of owning your own.  There are plenty out there. Please do your homework, when I first started with Arise I didn’t and I got burned.  Not meaning to scare you because there are some amazing IBO’s out there, but please be careful, just because Arise is legit doesn’t mean all of the businesses partnered with them are.

Compensation

How much can I make with Arise? It all depends on you.  How much you want to work, which client you choose, call volume and hour availability.  Most of the clients average between $9 – $18 per hour paid twice a month by direct deposit.  Which isn’t to shabby.

Let me say this, if you apply yourself and do your work you will be able to make a decent income.  One that can and will replace your current income. 

Final Words

I have been making a full time income partnering with Arise for 4 years now, any fees that I paid in the beginning including my training I made back in that first week because I applied myself.  I feel like I am living the life, I have two kids and I schedule myself completely around them, I am always around the house for them and that feels great!

Arise is an unique business opportunity putting you in the driver's seat of your own destiny. It is sort of like a business within a business if you will. 

Before I conclude my review on Arise let me leave you with this.  I saw that many people complained about paying for the training or having to shell out money for this or that.  Most work at home opportunities like Arise, LiveOps, Transcription etc, you are an Independent Contractor, YOU are YOUR own business so therefore the money you are investing is in yourself and you need to represent yourself as if you are THE business.

I really don’t know what some people expect, you go to work at a brick and mortar call center setting, you don’t provide the work that you were trained for, guess what you going to get fired.  Arise deals with major companies, the customers expect you to know your stuff, if you don’t perform up to the metrics set forth, of course your contract will not get renewed.  If you don’t pay attention through class and think the whole month is boring and a joke, guess what you are not going to pass your mock calls…because you didn’t pay attention now you have no idea how to even pull up the account, verify an account so why should Arise pass you and have you on the phones.  Arise does have pretty high standards, they want the best of the best, they want people who want to provide a service, who enjoy what they are doing.  I have always said it takes a special person to be a CSP!

If you have more questions on Arise or need an IBO to get you started or you need help incorporating your own IBO please reach out to me.  I would be more then happy to help in anyway I can. 

Royal Solutions, LLC is here to help you with all your needs.