Sunday, April 14, 2013

MAC's infamous 'Chris Lee' appears to resurface on another MAC Marketing project



You all recall the infamous MAC-gate story, don't you?

That's the scandal where condo marketers MAC Marketing Solutions was forced to admit that two of it's employees had posed as prospective homebuyers in televised news segments on a supposed spike in sales around the Lunar New Year.


MAC Marketing Solutions president Cameron McNeill confirmed to media outlets that the two young women – presented as house-hunting sisters, whose parents would be in town from China for the New Year to help them purchase a condo – are in fact an administrative assistant and a sales assistant with MAC Marketing Solutions.

That sales assistant in question gained a certain amount of notoriety with her performance under the fake name, 'Chris Lee':


So how damaging do you think it would be to have a sales associate - who would go on television and deceive potential buyers - continue to sell condos for you? As a prospective buyer, would you trust her or her company?

We ask this in light of the fact a sharp eyed contributor to VCI has noted that 'Chris Lee' has apparently resurfaced on another MAC project: the MThree development in Coquitlam.

(hat tip BWilson - comment #116)


Profiled on MAC's facebook page, the development is showcased with several pictures:


One of those pictures (bottom right) presents the MAC marketing sales team and the caption says that this is "the MThree sales team ready to help you! Feel free to get in touch with your questions: phone 604.472.9555 or email info@liveatMThree.com" 

But look at who's front and centre in the photo.  Is that not the infamous 'Chris Lee', the MAC sales associate who so brazenly lied to us on the evening TV news in the MAC-gate affair? (click on image to enlarge). Someone on Facebook has apparently already posed that question to the MAC Marketing Facebook staff:



If that's the same individual, this presumably means Cameron McNeill's investigation into the MAC-gate affair is complete.  At the time he said:
When asked if the ploy may lead to terminations at the company, Mr. McNeill said it would depend on the depth of responsibility. “If it was blatant and on the hands of one person, then I think there might be some severe repercussions, but it’s hard for me to answer that without knowing all the details surrounding it.”
So what were the results of that investigation?

Based on what you saw on TV two months ago, would you have faith in buying a condo from this team if 'Chris Lee' is back to work without any accounting or explanation for what she did?

We're sure potential customers at MThree would want to have any concerns assuaged before engaging in any business deals with a sales associate who appears to be the one who so willing lied to the public last February.

How can potential customers not ponder, "if she lied to me on TV to sell condos, how do I know she won't lie to me now to close a sale?"

And what of the investigation by the Real Estate Council of BC? What assurances do we have they have looked into her role fully and have absolved her of responsibility for her actions? How is it she could so blatantly lie and misrepresent herself on TV and there not be any sanctions?

And our local media... do they not have an obligation to inform the public about what was really behind her performance on that evening newscast two month ago, especially if she is back selling condos again?

'Chris Lee's' apparent re-emergence to sell condos demands these questions be answered in the public interest.

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15 comments:

  1. Basinga Whisperer, you're on the mark again.

    This is a great test to see which media outlets are truly interested in protecting the public interest here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nothing happened to these employees involved in this scam. I did tweet the village whisper when I walked by the downtown MAC office and saw "Chris Lee" happily having a meeting inside. Cam is a scam, I'm sure he knew what was going on. What is he suppose to tell the public?

    The name Chris Lee is so BS as usually the last name "Lee", are people that are Cantonese. By the sound of her accent, she is definitely from China and should likely have a last name of "Li" instead of "Lee".

    Good job Whisperer, we will expose any liars and we will be at the too of that hill when all said and done!

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  3. The apology MAC made to the public back in February was obviously insincere. Being caught was obviously just an inconvenience.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Luck getting any justice out of this situation. The REB, The Real Estate Council, The media and the politicians heads are so far up each others asses that their time is best spent closing ranks and telling each other that everything smells like roses and the general public can just stfu and keep doing what they are told.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Isn't that Melanie Briggs on the far right of the photo? Wasn't she involved in the MAC TV fiasco too?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Succès de scandaleApril 14, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    'There's no such thing as bad publicity' as Phineas T. Barnum said. These guys probably loved the free extra air time the 'scandal' gave them.

    Mac and Amanda Lee should be shelved under forgotten and irrelevant.

    The bigger news item is, how's the market doing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How's the market doing?

      Apparently it's riddled with liars trying to sell condos in Coquitlam ;-)

      Good job whisperer, keep digging and revealing the truth.

      Delete
    2. Succès de scandaleApril 14, 2013 at 8:12 PM

      Riddled with liars trying to sell does not bother me one iota.

      Riddled with fools trying to buy... now that would bother me.

      Delete
  7. "Don't you guys get it? Chris Lee bought one of our condo units and love it so much that she decided to work for us", said sCam.

    ReplyDelete
  8. she's wearing the same outfit. does that suit make her look more professional with integrity or what.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am totally going to buy one of those Coquitlam condos before HAM buys one for their fake kids....

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think too many people in the RE industry is emulating the characters in Hollywood movies like Wall Street and Margin Call.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Media adage - "Mess up, fess up, dress up" - news cycle has moved on unless people like us and the Whisperer bring it back to the surface....nothing changes if nothing changes!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just GO AWAY *Chris Lee*

    Gosh, we've had enough of our LIES!

    Lets see some truth and honesty!

    ReplyDelete