After finding out I could now eat and buy food, I immediately rushed over to the Whyville Market to purchase food for my meals. Little did I know that I would be caught by a horrible scam that would not only effect me, but other innocent Whyvillians as well.

When I arrived, I was amazed at what I saw. I excitedly talked to my friend, Rubigurl4, about the new room. Quickly afterwards she informed me that she had gotten a job there. Not just a job, a "paying" job. Of course, I love wasting clams, so I couldn't resist this opportunity. I searched for the girl claiming to be boss and I asked her for a job. I got one and Rubi and I began our hard work in the aisles.

We worked for hours! We typed furiously, trying to advertise the products in the aisles that we got assigned to. Rubi and I both worked for quite awhile, eagerly waiting to collect our clams. After asking when I would get paid, I was told that I was going to get clams from a City Worker. The "boss" told me that the City Worker was her Aunt and would be paying us that night. All the "workers" were waiting for their pay and we were all very excited to gain our clams!

Rubigurl4 stated, "I had questioned the boss constantly asking when we were getting clams. She always replied with the same answer of, "Tomorrow." Unfortunately, I never got paid and realized it was a scam and a waste of my time. Of course, I loved helping customers, but I was furious when I didn't get paid."

Not only were the workers oblivious to what was going on, but were even tied more into this scam. We were then given the names of uniforms, costing twenty five clams each. We were all dressed in red and felt more professional. I then began working even harder, to please the boss as well as the customers. I worked well into the night, awaiting for my pay. I was told I was going to get it at 7:00 p.m. EST. It was ten o'clock and I was still waiting . . . and working. I sighed as I watched the clock go to eleven . . . twelve . . . until finally I went to bed. I hoped that early the next morning I would find my pay on the front page. When I woke up, I turned my computer on and went straight to Whyville, only to find that I hadn't gotten paid. I rushed over to the Whyville Market and asked the other workers if they had gotten paid. None of them had. I thought maybe the City Worker that the "boss" claimed would pay us was running late, and so I worked all that day, too.

As far as work goes, there were some major conflicts, but not just with the scam. It turned other Whyvillians against each other, fighting for the "front desk." They all argued and were being rude and disrespectful. Some "workers" have even claimed they were hired by the City Workers themselves! This scam also caused many users like me to waste our time for clams we were never going to receive. Now that I look upon this whole mess, I wonder why I didn't question this whole situation in the first place. Many other workers even realized their mistake, such as luffylou.

Luffylou said, "I think the idea about people working at Whyville Market is pretty dumb now that I think about it. After about three days, people were threatening to report or banish me if I didn't hire them. Also, if I did hire someone, they would bug me until I bought a uniform for them, when they could just buy it themselves."

As for the other workers who didn't realize their mistake . . . they're still working, as well as new "workers." One night, I walked in, only to see many Whyvillians bickering over who was "boss." I informed them that they were a part of a huge scam, but they simply responded that they were hired by a "boss" and worked here, no matter how many times I tried to explain to them that this wasn't a job. As a former "worker" I persuade all of you to not take part on this diabolical scheme.

What happened to make some of us "workers" quit? Here's a little information from my good friend, Rubigurl4, "The day I realized I was being scammed was one of the most upsetting days. I was furious! The so called "boss" didn't even pay us for everyone's hard work. I think she just wanted attention, but little did she know, she would be infamous. Many of the workers have discontinued using up their day working at the Whyville Market. The "boss" was taped after she used filthy language towards a City Worker! The "boss" was very unprofessional. When I first joined, I regret not questioning the "boss." Please watch out for scams throughout Whyville."

Of course, the "workers" weren't the only ones who were pulled into the scam! Some customers even had to put up with us. I've interviewed a few customers who shop at the Whyville market.

SUPERCOW9: This whole "working here" thing is just annoying. People have claimed that they've been hired by City Workers.
CHILLY321: I wouldn't call myself a "customer" as such, because I eat most things in the other chat rooms or via my WhyEat Journal but that's not the point. I find these so called "workers" very immature and it really bugs me the fact that they think they work there and that they think there is a "boss" when there is very obviously not.
OMGNOW: I think they help you and are a good thing.
STAR6868: I think they're cool.
CUTZPIE: They aren't bad but they can be annoying. We need more food in the market to go along with some less expensive foods. I'm not thrilled about how little workers are working at the market but not bad for a start.

Like they say, sometimes something is too good to be true!

Happy Holidays!
soxeater