Tempsations

I feel like this should be a mixed review– when I first moved to New York in 2007, my housemate gave me the info on Liz, and my roommate and I worked for her on and off for about 8 months– the jobs were always at least $ 10 an hour up to $ 20 (hey, when you’re desperate!) and she always paid us on time. So then, I liked her despite her weirdness and trusted her to the degree that any New Yorker is trustworthy. Keep in mind the businesses she gets pay her $ 8 an hour on top of what you get just for her scouting and sending people all over the place. So I wasn’t unhappy with her then and thought if I ever needed her again, I could count on her to get me work and pay me on time.
I did some pretty weird jobs for Tempsations. Some were fun– like dancing in a giant pink elephant costume for Kanye West at the Pink Elephant in Chelsea. Some were basic office jobs, which were usually ok, if not a bit condescending. Why does everyone treat temps like they’re less than people? In this day, everyone has the chance of being out of a job, so temping is at least a respectable way to pay your bills and not starve. The worst job was an opening for this clothing store on the Bowery called Blue & Cream– the owner, a really young self righteous jerk off, treated all the temps like we were scum and tried to make me cry because I «wasn’t trained to be a waiter». I didn’t cry, but I wanted to throw bricks through his windows after that. Still do, actually.
A few asides:
When she calls you for a job, she is very sweet and promises that each job is going to be SO MUCH FUN! Which they rarely are. Once you agree to it, though, her attitude changes to something more suited to a military drill. She is often gruff and snappy on the phone if you call for directions or are going to be late for whatever reason.
She also says she has this rule where a company has to pay you for at least 4 hours of work even if you only work 2 or 3– that’s a lie. I did several 3 hours jobs and only got paid for that amount. And to her, there seems to be no such thing as overtime, even though her schedule says that.
She’s a total Tea Baggin’ Republican, and she slanders our President all the time, blaming him for the state of our economy and the state of everything she thinks is wrong with the world. It’s strange to know a Tea Party weirdo who also does Tarot readings, to me, since Tea Baggers are supposed to be known for their conservativism. She also plays (used to at least) Second Life, in which her life is exactly the same there as it is in real life. I know this because she kept me on the phone for a long time once just telling me all about it. I’ve never played it because I have a real life in the first place, and don’t need another one.
Moving on:
I recently married and moved away to Florida for a year, left my awesome recording studio job and everything, to take care of my dying father-​in-​law. When he passed, we returned to the city and both needed new jobs. We called Liz immediately and within a week she had us working again. However, this time, our checks didn’t come when they were supposed to. And then they didn’t even come late. It got the point of being an entire month late. We called her every day and she would tell us that she didn’t have the money– yet one office job I was working at the time paid her on time– I know because I mailed her the checks myself! She was constantly «borrowing from Peter to pay Paul», as my mother used to say. Luckily we were able to get by, but when you just move to a city, are looking for work and both you and your husband are working for the same woman who is not paying you, in can be something of a nightmare.
Basically, after a couple of months we both got jobs and didn’t need her anymore, but she still owed my husband over $ 1,400.00 for work he had done three months previous. She did eventually pay us all she owed us, but I will never work for her again and told her so on the phone. I would say that if you need something for the future for extra cash and you don’t need it right away, and also you can deal with bigots, she’s your woman. Otherwise, RUN AWAY SCREAMING AND DON’T LOOK BACK.

I signed up here a very long time ago (2007) and had not gotten an assignment until last year. I did a few weeks of an assignment on the Upper West Side in a perfectly sane atmosphere (nothing illegal). Yes, Liz is a bit brusque but she didn’t immediately look at my JD & say «I can’t help you» like everyone else did.
However, I have to give one star due to lack of timely payment. I understand the slow economy and being limited on cash but enough is enough! I just got what was supposed to be my last check for an assignment I finished at the beginning of November only to find that it bounced and I was charged a $ 15 return fee. Every other check I’ve gotten beforehand has been good and was on a monthly schedule before this time. She even reported having paid me in full for 2010 federal and state taxes!
Looks like I’m going to have to go to small claims court on this one.

I think the reviews thus far are too harsh. Haven’t you guys ever temped before? It’s always full of a certain degree of miscommunication and surprises which are inherent to showing up to a job you have never done before, without any training.
At one time she got me a job outside on a very cold day and was kind enough to call both me and the client to make sure I was staying warm enough and doing alright. Another time she got me an awesome job dressing up like a green monster and running around the comic book festival scaring people! If anything, Tempsations should be given credit for finding jobs that are less ordinary than the same old receptionist gig.
Liz was always very nice to me and was clear that if I ever had difficulty or confusion arriving to a job to just call her immediately and she would help. I did sometimes find her brusk on the phone, but imagine calling down a list of people every day, as fast as you can, to see if they are available and all the while not wanting to tie up the line in case a client is calling.
In terms of her working out of her home, what is so wrong with that when, for the most part, her temps only come in once to fill out paperwork and the rest of the time she is at home alone answering phones? And you know you probably took the subway there, so it’s not like you haven’t been in filthier places.
Lastly, compared to the other temp agencies I was working for at the same time as hers, the pay was generally comprable to what the other guys offered too.
For a temp that is willing to go with the flow and do jobs that you have not done before, Tempsations is a great company and personally, I took pride in supporting a small independant business run by a female.

I believe when it comes to looking for temp work, it can’t hurt to sign-​up with as many agencies as possible. However, I feel I should warn you about what to expect…
Tempsations is run by a woman named Liz out of her apartment in Union Square. The first time I called her, she rudely told me I was calling on the wrong day and that she only took calls on a certain day from job seekers and then hung up on me. I called back on the right day and made an appointment to meet her at her apartment. I showed up and she was wearing sweat pants and took a call in the middle of the interview to read someone’s tarot cards. Don’t expect a lot of professionalism or formalities in dealing with her. She did get me a long-​term temp job with nice people and if it hadn’t paid dirt, I might have stayed. I get the impression that most of her clients pay very little. Another job she got me, she warned me that the guy was a jerk and guess what, he was! She is sweet as can be when convincing you to take a job, but will promptly hang up on you without another word, if you politely decline.
Long story short: If you are desperate, call Tempsations. If you aren’t, skip this one. There are hundreds of better agencies out there.