Is it legal to list out non existent employees?

[LaneMan]

In TMF, MJ says that he listed out non-existent employees to increase the size of his business in his customers' minds.

I thought this was a brilliant idea but I'm not sure about the legality of listing Dimitry and Paula on my about page.

Any comments?

 

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[roguehillbilly]

I'm not sure if it's illegal but it's definitely unethical

 

[spreng]

No, and ethicality is relative.

 

[Bearcorp]

When my business was smaller I’d say things like “one of the warehouse staff must have packed that wrong!” In response to a customer when I’d messed up an order, the warehouse was my business partners backyard and the warehouse staff was either him or I. Nothing wrong with looking presenting bigger than you are while your growing.

 

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[Deleted50669]

Is it illegal to lie? Depends, what have you signed?

 

[Jon L]

I worked for a company that started in a garage. Literally. They did set up cubicles in there, so that was nice.

We would call these huge corporations with dozens of locations spread throughout the world, so to say they dwarfed us was an understatement.

To measure up, at least a little, I put building numbers on each of the cubicles. That way, when someone called asking for David, I could reply, 'Oh, I think he's over in "building 4" at the moment. Let me page him.'

<putting the phone on mute because we didn't have hold>

"David! Phone call."

 

[Kak]

I sometimes change my title if I'm taking meetings etc. I don't roll around calling myself the MF CEO and telling everyone to kiss my a$$ everywhere I go.

People don't like CEOs. Look at our society. The majority hates rich and ambitious people now. The majority would include many of our customers. Last I checked they are way less likely to do business with someone they hate.

Kak
Business Development
Company

For one, it gives my companies a bigger look than they are and two, insulates me from being put on the spot sometimes. "Well we will have to consider that and get back to you." < Becomes an option with that insulation.

My companies have few employees, but rediculous production partners that make us literally able to swing big. Like an operation with thousands of people behind us, because there are. So when someone does do business with us, we also execute like a big company.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

In TMF, MJ says that he listed out non-existent employees to increase the size of his business in his customers' minds.

Let me correct you, I listed out non-existent employees as an inside joke to the existing employees. I later realized that it made my business look larger than it was.

If I thought it was illegal, I wouldn't have done it.

But it does dabble in a gray area of ethical practices, one might be OK with it, others might not so. People who know my personality could see the humor in it. Still, this isn't something I'd recommend in today's day and age where the easily offended is now normal, and most vocal.

 

[jdm667]

It depends on your intention.

If you are listing more employees to look like a bigger company, that isn't really hurting anyone.

If you are listing more employees to get government grants/funding or tax incentives, that is fraud and thus illegal.

 

[Andy Black]

I’d rather not make up people working for me who aren’t. What if our client finds out? I don’t want them wondering what else I’m lying about. “How you do anything is how you do everything” right?

I personally wouldn’t list people on an About Us page who aren’t involved in my business. I’d list people who I’ve access to though, like my freelancers and SEO pals.

I’d be happy to add my wife and kids if they helped with things.

I’m listed in the About Us of various marketing agencies that whitelabel me.

Like @Kak, I don’t sign off emails with CEO or Founder.

 

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[Choate]

You have to draw the line somewhere.

If you run a web design agency, you probably wouldn't think twice about saying "we" throughout your copy on various pages, even if you are the only person (for now). Making up names on the other hand? That's too far.

 

[Jon L]

There was a guy that wrote a column in Inc magazine. He ran a company called CitiStorage, which stored boxes for law firms and the like. When he was first starting out, he rented this big warehouse, filled it with empty boxes, and put up a huge mirror that covered the wall furthest from the main office entrance to the warehouse.

He'd take prospective clients on a tour of the facilities. They'd walk into the warehouse and exclaim, 'wow, this is impressive,' and then walk out.

That, is marketing.

If he told people, "We have thousands of clients, just look at all these boxes we store for them," that would be lying.

--------------------

Edit: His value skew, by the way, was that he rented a warehouse with very tall ceilings. Much taller than his competitors. In the New York area where he was located, the cost per sq ft of warehouse space was high, and didn't increase all that much with very tall ceilings. He was able to price himself under the competition and still make more than they did just because of this. He also implemented computerized invoicing, well before his competitors did.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

I'm not sure about the legality of listing Dimitry and Paula on my about page.

Any comments?

Strictly speaking, what you intend above is probably illegal. Not prison-worthy as far as my legal knowledge extends, but if any customer would buy based on the understanding that you have those employees and you don't, then that is the equivalent of false advertising. Something very similar happens if you make use of false testimonials. If that causes someone to buy, then it is false advertising.

Of course, in actual practice, it would be very difficult for anyone to find out, and probably no one would even bother. None of the above is meant to render any sort of legal advice by the way, it's strictly for the purposes of my entertainment.

 

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[LaneMan]

Eh, not worth the trouble then