Express Personnel Services

We came in after a month of no success in finding positions. We actually got a job assignment for the following day as we filled out the paperwork in the office. The job wasn’t well-​paying but it was good to get to work again and to know we had some money came in.
After that, I consistently got positions that paid above minimum wage as long as I checked in so I very much recommend this company. When it came to the other temporary employment agencies, I rarely heard anything and was never offered a position no matter how many times I called to check in.

This is the first time I used the Express Employment branch in Columbia, MD and this will also be the last time.
I needed two temporary workers for a job fair event I was having at the BWI Four Points by Sheraton.
I emailed the owner, Jim Craig, Wednesday evening to set someone up for the following Monday morning (5-​days notice)
The following morning at around 11am I contacted the office because I never heard back from anyone. Jim answered the phone and said «he was just about to send me an email» He told me Jessica is the person I want to speak with to set up the temps for Monday morning and that he’d forward my email to her so she’d have my information. The conversation with Jim was strange in that he seemed more concerned with making sure I have a billing account set up with Express rather than wondering what my needs were.
Approximately 2pm, about 3 hours later, I called and spoke w/​Jessica. Jim had failed to send her the email so I forwarded her a copy. She said my temps would be no problem and asked if she could contact me the following morning to finalize. I said «yes.»
Friday afternoon came and I never heard back from Jessica so I called her. She said she «was just about to email me the temps info» and she would do it in 5 minutes. I ended up getting the email at 2:54pm, the end of the day Friday.
Jessica had set up my two temp workers for Monday and emailed me their contact info so I could touch base with them. I called the first temp to confirm and was very unimpressed. He seemed completely void of social-​functionality and I could barely hold a conversation with him regarding the logistics on Monday. The second person I tried calling didn’t answer her phone, the call went to voicemail, which of course the voicemail box was full and I couldn’t leave a message. I called her two times Friday afternoon /​evening with no luck and also sent her a text.
I emailed Jessica in hopes of having her help me get a hold of the temp with the full voicemail box. Jessica offered to try calling her from her phone. I asked Jessica for her personal cell phone # in case I have any emergency’s with the temps over the weekend, ie… they cancel on me, etc… She did not reply to my email so I assume she doesn’t want me to contact her.
My event is on Monday morning and the workers need to be there at 10am. At this point I’m feeling extremely uncomfortable with the people that were chosen for my fair and uncomfortable with the fact that I’m not able to contact one of the workers, nor my Express Employment contact for that matter.
My company hosts 16 job fairs per year in the Northeastern United States. I mainly use Express Employment for each of my job job fairs and have always had wonderful results with them, until now. In hindsight, I would have definitely chosen to go with a different staffing agency and saved myself the headache.
My recommendation… skip past Express Employment in Columbia, MD and choose to contact a different staffing agency. I ended up calling OfficeTeam on Pratt Street in Baltimore on Saturday afternoon and they were able to help me with no problem! If you have any questions regarding my experience or would like a recommendation on other staffing agencies in the area, feel free to contact me directly. Steve Faulk