Welcome Wagon is a Scam! Go ahead and search Google.

The Bad News

I did and I was appalled. There are pages of complaints claiming that Welcome Wagon has monstrous business practices. These posts claim Welcome Wagon never mails out any information as they are contractually agreed to. It is my understanding they have to have a credit card on file, and even after lengthy contracts, and requesting cancellations, the cards are charged over and over again.

“They promised me that the contract is month to month and as soon as I signed they explained that the contract means-month to month-FOR A YEAR! I spoke with the woman that swindled me, this nice old lady that guaranteed my satisfaction and that she would take care of me if I was unhappy in any way with welcome wagon, and she began reciting the contract line for line…like this was nothing new to her.
Very malicious.
Unbelievable ethics in my opinion.
I have decided to fight it in court if they choose to try and collect. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

-Heath Sherratt

“This is the worst company ever. They will sign you into a contract and make all sorts of promises and then forget about you. And good luck if you want to try and cancel your contract. It took me a dozen or so emails, faxed letters, certified letters, a warning from my attorney and complaints to the State Attorney General, Better Business Bureau, and Federal Trade Commission. Stay away from them.”

-Hughed14

How disappointing, especially since they are dragging the name of good welcoming services through the mud. I made it my mission to get to the bottom of this and find out what is really going on.

It seems that Welcome Wagon was founded in 1928 by Thomas Briggs in Tennessee. When the company was founded, Welcome Wagon “hostesses” would visit new homeowners with a gift basket containing samples, coupons, and advertising from contributing businesses. These home visits continued for over 50 years until 1998, when then-owner Cendant laid off the “hostesses”, saying that changing demographics meant few homeowners would be at home when representatives called. – Wikipedia

At this point in 1998 they began mailing out packets and hiring high pressured sales representatives based on a commission only salary. When they lost their personal touch the company began plummeting and has had several owners who have tried to revive the company. In 1999, CUC International Inc. acquired Welcome Wagon. In 2001, Homestore Inc., later known as Move, Inc., bought Welcome Wagon. Move, Inc. announced in August 2008 that it was putting Welcome Wagon International, Inc. up for sale. On June 26, 2009, the South Florida Media Group, publisher of South Florida based local publications, acquired Welcome Wagon International, Inc.

The Good News:

In 1930 a similar company was formed called Welcome Committee Canada that is still operating today with the traditional business model. They send out representatives to every home. They continually show growth and client retention. They are a well-respected company, a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Local Chambers, Canadian Marketing Association and The Canadian Employee Relocation Council. They operate in over 500 communities across Canada.

Here are some of the awards they have won:

2011 Representative of the Year Award National Winner

2011 Communities of the Year Award Winners

There don’t seem to be any negative reviews, and many clients and sponsors seem more than satisfied. Hmmm, something seems very fishy about these similar companies.

I spent the last few days in Florida, which just so happens to be Welcome Wagon’s national headquarters. I did some research and some of what I found was very odd:

1. In the city they operate, their headquarters, they have not one sponsor and throughout most of Florida they have no sponsors
2. In the largest Zip Code in Orlando they have 3 sponsors: A dry cleaner, video game store, and a family planner
3.  They have no sponsors in San Francisco
4. They have no sponsors where we operate. Utah
5. They have 5 pages of sales positions that are not being full.

In fact, I searched many cities and states and I could not find a 25 mile radius with more than 5 sponsors. To me, that seems very odd, since we have at least 20 sponsors for every 5 mile radius. As you can see, the secret to the success is the personal touch. The Utah Welcome Committee visits 760 families each month. Our average sponsor uses our services for 4 years, and our agreements only require 6 months.

Mailing out information is dead. The results are nonexistent and the advertisers that supply these services are dying. The Utah Welcome Committee takes one of each type of sponsor and makes the connections business need so badly.

Many of our competitors, even the ones located in Utah, mail out information, leave it hanging on the door, or on the doorstep. If you want your business pointed out, discussed, and put in front of an exclusive demographic, you want The Utah Welcome Committee.