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Arise Work From Home Reviews: Pay to Work?

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In the work at home world, the Arise company, which is a platform that allows you to be your own boss and provide customer support from home, is a very popular company that people tend to research.  In fact, it’s one of the most searched for companies, and I feel it’s for a not-so-good reason.

According to the company, you can provide customer support from your home and have control of your own income.  They claim that thousands of people use their platform to connect with well-known brands.  It sounds great at first glance, but is it worth your time and investment?

While work-at-home call center jobs do exist, some, unfortunately, are not worth your time.

In today’s review, I research the Arise company in depth.  I see how it works, what’s expected of you as well as what you can make.  As always, I’m 100% honest, only recommending companies I would use.

What Is Arise Work From Home?

The Arise company works with many prominent brands, simply providing them with customer support.  For example, when I was writing this, they were working with Carnival Cruise Lines, Intuit and Dick’s Sporting Goods, to name a few.  In short, these companies need customer service representatives, and rather than train in-house, they outsource to a company like this.

Founded in 199, this virtual company employs people like you, who want to work from home and take calls from various companies.  They provide the training, the software needed to complete the job as well as the support to succeed.  As an agent, you are expected to answer phone calls as they come in, dealing with any issues a customer may have.



Is Arise a Scam?

When at-home job seekers research Arise, one of the first things that come to mind is if it’s a scam or not.  I don’t want to say it’s a scam because it’s not what it is.  They won’t take your money and ghost you. Instead, what I want to say is that it’s a company that requires you to pay upfront in order to get started.  And, there’s no guarantee you will be successful with the company.

Unlike many work-at-home call centers that simply train you and bring you on board, Arise doesn’t work this way.  They require that you pay for your equipment and you’re required to invest a lot of time to train unpaid.  This is a huge turn off to most as most ethical companies will at least pay you during training.  Since you are deemed an independent contractor, there’s no obligation to pay you for your training session.

In a sense, Arise should be looked at more like a franchise if you were to buy one.  The company will provide you with the training and support as well as a network of clients, but you must pay for this information.  And, just like these franchises, you won’t run your franchise per se as Arise will still be your boss, maintaining control over what you do.

So, is Arise a scam?

No, but it’s not a system that everyone will enjoy.  I hope that makes sense.  If you’re looking for a full-time job with benefits and paid training, this won’t be it and I encourage you to look elsewhere.  However, if you’re willing to take on risks, it may be one to look into.

Arise Requirements

If you want to work with Arise, there are some qualifications you need to know about to be considered, but it isn’t as bad as you may think.  Let’s take a look at these first before you start the application process.

To provide phone support for most of their clients, here’s what’s expected of you:

  • be clear and confident in your communication skills
  • quick-thinking management
  • assertiveness to promote products
  • empathy to help customers
  • tenacity to understand and deliver on customers’ business needs

Aside from these skills, you must be at least 18+ years old, reside in the US, Canada or UK, and meet the minimum specifications, which I will get into shortly.

In short, as long as you can communicate clearly and help a customer resolve his/her problem, then you shouldn’t have a hard time with the gig.  No degree is necessary nor do you need any experience.  They just ask that you “provide good customer service” and want to start a business from home to be your own boss.

Working With Arise

If you feel you meet the qualifications (I’m sure you do), and you want to start working with Arise, you can do so in one of two ways.  You can either click on the “Register Now” link found on the home page in the upper-left-hand corner or you can scroll down to the job listings found at the bottom of the main site.  For instance, while I was writing this, here’s what the “new client opportunities” looked like…

If any of these jobs looked of interest, you can click on it to view the details as to what’s expected of you as well as the pay, qualifications and a link to the sign-up page.  Most of the pages, no matter which one you click on, offers the same information.

Signing Up

Now, the thing that stuck out to me right away when you sign up is that Arise quickly points out the following when you first attempt to sign up:

As you can see, they state in BIG LETTERS that this isn’t an employment opportunity.  Rather, services will be provided on an independent basis.  So, if you were to choose work from a call center on the platform, then the relationship will be negotiated between you and the call center, not Arise.

The entire registration process requires you to provide your personal information, sign a non-disclosure agreement as well as select your “independent contractor type.”

In this case, you can choose from three options, as you can see above.  The “Sole Proprietor,” the “New Call Center Business” or “Agent Working For a Call Center.”

And, as you can see, each one offers its own benefits.  For instance, becoming a sole proprietor allows you to pick your schedule and is considered to be the easiest way to get started.  But, if you were to choose the agent working for a call center option, you would need the FEIN or Company ID to select that option.  In other words, you are limited to two options, but most will have to choose the sole proprietor unless you already have an EIN and separate business account.

If you choose to continue, then the company will ask for your social security number to perform a background check as well as let you know what’s expected of you to get started.  You will also have to pass a voice-assessment test.

The Costs and Equipment

Unlike most online call centers that hire you as a contractor or employee, and you can get started right away, Arise doesn’t work this way, as I mentioned.  Instead, you’re going to treat this like a business, which means startup costs for you.

To get started, the company requires that you register as an LLC as well as open up a business banking account in that LLC name.  While the banking account will be free, setting up the LLC can cost anywhere from $50 to $200+, depending on which route you take.  If you were to use LegalZoom, for example, the legal fees start at $79 and this doesn’t include the state filing fees.

After you create your LLC, which is required to get started, you then be required to have a phone line, which can include a traditional phone line, a digital phone service or a VoIP line.  Whichever option you choose, this can cost up to $100 to get started with the equipment and then another $20+ per month to keep active.  At this time, Arise does not accept MagicJack, Skype, Google Voice or Ooma as an option.

Aside from the phone line, you will also need to invest in a telephone keypad and headset, which can be another $100.

And, lastly, you are required to go through training, which certifies you with Arise.  This can cost anywhere from $50 to $250.  Training is said to take a few days at first, but depending on the client you’re working with, this could add days, sometimes a week or more.  All training is unpaid.

In total, to get started, you should plan on investing at least $250 to $800+ to get started.  And, remember, this doesn’t guarantee you a job, either.  One previous member, as cited in a ProPublica article, paid $1,500 for everything to get started.

The Recurring Costs

Yes, aside from the startup costs, which could eat up $500+ right away, there are recurring costs to consider as well.

Aside from a phone line and high-speed internet bill, which can cost upwards of $100 per month, Arise will charge you $39.50 a month to use the platform.

This fee is charged per each agent working for your company that is actively servicing a client platform.  So, even outside of the typical phone/internet bills, you will have to fork over $39.50 every month to stay active on the platform.



Arise Pay

So, here’s the most important part.

What does Arise pay?

According to the job descriptions on the site, the state the pay ranges anywhere from $9 to $18 per hour.

However, in looking at the many reviews online, the sweet spot seems to be in the $10 per hour  range, much lower than the company’s estimate.  Of course, a lot of companies do this to lure you in, but most of the time, you will be near the lower end at first, only to rise in the ranks as you continue to work.  This can be said with most corporate ladders, however.

Pay is sent out twice a month via direct deposit.

What Are People Saying

When I was researching online, I saw a lot of reviews.  For instance, Indeed had more than 1,000 reviews while Glassdoor has almost as many, a few shy of a thousand.

On Glassdoor, contractors gave the company a mediocre 3.3/5 score with 64% saying they would recommend the company to a friend.  In looking at the Glassdoor reviews, here’s what people had to say:

Most people didn’t like that you had to pay for training and the fees, but many noted they were happy with the scheduling and the ability to work from home.

Indeed, on the other hand, said the same things.  Some people liked that they could work from home while others say they didn’t offer much in terms of pay.  Indeed reviewers gave the company a similar score, a 3.6 out of 5.

The Pros

  • a legitimate company
  • network of Fortune 500 companies (they find the clients for you)
  • you can choose who you want to work with
  • A+ BBB rating
  • work from home
  • you can hire people to work for you
  • good training, even though it costs money

The Cons

  • you have to pay to work
  • training costs money
  • high start-up costs
  • the company will hire unlimited people, which means a lot of competition for you
  • poor tech support
  • some clients don’t have a flexible schedule options (some require you to work a set number of weekends/holidays)
  • work can be seasonal in some cases
  • you have to set up an LLC

Final Thoughts

4/10In the end, it’s hard to recommend a company that charges so much to get started. Not only that but you have to pay close to $40 a month to stay active on the platform.  I highly recommend you read this very well put together ProPublica article letting you know about how this company works in detail.

Sure, while you can make money, the scheduling is tough as it’s very competitive.  After all, Arise wants as many $40 a month paying customers a possible.

If you want to make money from home talking with people on the phone, there are so many other companies, many of which I cover in my huge list of work-at-home call center jobs.  Many of these offer the same opportunity, only that you don’t have to pay the high start-up costs.

That concludes the review.  As always, if you want to comment, whether it be good or bad, feel free to do so in the comments below.  In the meantime, be sure to check out my massive work-at-home call center jobs list to see if there’s anything of interest to you there.

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Tom Nathaniel

Hi! My name is Tom Nathaniel, and I created LushDollar to help share my honest thoughts on everything money. You won't find gimmicks here. It's the Internet's most honest money site after all. I graduated from Arizona State University, and I have worked in the finance industry since 2006, consulting with multiple Fortune 5000 companies.

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