Last Saturday I made a post about Modern Airsoft in Oceanside. Due to being on my lunch break and not having much time to write it, so I compiled the evidence and facts I collected, then had an AI generate the article. I never proofread it until yesterday. It was underwhelming to say the least and did not express my concerns in the manner I desired. As such, I’ve decided to repost the article entirely in my own words. I won’t be posting the photos again. So if you want to see them, go read my previous post.
Everything I’m going to say in this post is true and to my knowledge is still going on to this day. Like Matlock, these are “Just the facts.”
One last thing before I begin; Like before, I will not be reading ANY of the comments. Even if you send me a chat request, I’ll just ignore it without even glancing at what you wrote. So comment whatever you’d like, just know that I won’t see it.
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Earlier this year I applied at Modern Airsoft in Oceanside. After an interview with the company’s founder, CEO, and head of HR; Yerol D., I was immediately hired on the spot without any background check or drug test. While not illegal, that did raise some concerns. Because as far as Yerol knew, I could’ve had an APB or warrants out on me. But I was so happy about getting the job that I ignored it.
My first day on the job, I was sexually harassed by one of my bosses who jokingly walked up to me and tickled my nipple. It was both bizarre and creepy. But I was the new guy and didn’t want to start something by reporting one of my bosses on my first day. So I let it slide.
A few days later I got to referee the matches. This was what I signed up for, and I was really excited. Unfortunately as I showed in the photos from my last post, the referee tower was very unsafe and violated about 20 CA OSHA Regulations. The issues were as follows…
A 7 step rolling ladder with the wheels removed. The ladder was wobbly and no one inspects it nor is anyone qualified to inspect it. The distance between the top step of the ladder and the ceiling is about 4’. Meanwhile I’m 6’3”.
There’s a gap between the top of the ladder and the makeshift scaffolding that I was stationed on. The gap itself is about a foot wide with a several meter drop onto concrete.
The scaffolding itself, which is 6” lower than the top of the ladder, is improvised and uncertified. The floor of it is held together by some metal wired mesh and a piece of plywood. Again there’s very little room between the floor and the ceiling (roughly 4’ 6”), preventing me and every other employee who goes up there, from fully standing up straight. The plywood is loose and often slides around, causing the steel chair I sit in to occasionally fall between the holes of the mesh. There’s multiple exposed wires and ceiling panels, no railings on one side, and no toe railings on any side. Furthermore the entire thing is located right next to the building’s main electrical panel, which posses a massive risk to whoever’s up there should a fire break out.
As I mentioned, the chair I’m sitting on up there is cheap steel. Seeing as how refs spend 6-12 hours up there each weekend, it can and will cause long term damage to their spines. I tried telling Yerol this. I even bought a chair with my own money and put it up there. But Yerol told me to use the steel chair he provided.
Despite all that, I still stayed because I was excited to referee. I figured as long as I was extra careful, I should be okay. So I ignored the inevitable lawsuit that is the referee tower.
Fast forward a few weeks and I’m cruising. The customers are awesome, being a referee was exciting, and the was fun… Until it wasn’t.
The day Yerol held a mandatory customer service training course for the entire staff, was the day everything changed.
If you saw the thumbnail for my last post, then you already have an idea of what I was taught. It wasn’t a “customer service” course. It was 4 hours of learning how to manipulate customers into spending as much as possible.
The photo I showed before was the exact sheet we were told to copy from Yerol’s whiteboard as he explained his manipulative approach towards customers.
An example of said approach was that we were told never to ask but to tell customers their wants and needs.
Another is that we weren’t supposed to stop piling products onto a customer’s bill until they explicitly told us that they couldn’t afford to spend any more money.
That and much more was the new required sales tactic that Yerol strictly enforced.
It conflicted with my morale compass, as I believe that you should always be honest and upfront with people. Especially if you want said people to return to your store.
What we were told to do lacked any form of integrity, replacing it with a classic cloak and dagger routine.
After that, the job stopped being fun and I began noticing more workplace violations left and right. Here’s the main ones that I discovered…
There’s no scheduled maintenance or janitorial services anywhere in the store (this includes the bathroom).
The toilet doesn’t flush properly and Yerol is well aware of it. Instead of paying to fix it, he put a sign above the toilet that says “Flush 3 - 4 times and hold”.
There isn’t a single towel anywhere in the store. Instead Yerol opts to use toilet paper to wipe down surfaces. He doesn’t even use good toilet paper either. He has a closet full of the cheap kind that you’d find in a portable toilet. You know, the kind that falls apart the moment it gets wet.
The area where players store their gear is also where they eat. In addition to the risk of cross contamination, this area is never properly sanitized. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets sick.
Every back room, including the manager’s office is full of clutter and debris. I often found myself navigating my way around objects on the floor just to get to my destination.
There’s no free drinkable water for employees. This may not sound bad, but in the state of California, it’s black and white illegal.
Lastly, the sprinkler system throughout the entire store is broken. I don’t need to explain why this is a serious safety hazard.
The next incident occurred when Yerol asked if he could borrow my personal vehicle to deliver a refrigerator to another store.
I explained to him that I didn’t feel comfortable doing that but would be willing to help drive it to the store for him. He agreed and we loaded the frig onto the back of my truck, before departing.
Halfway to our destination, I was informed that we were going not to another store as stated, but to Yerol’s house. In that moment it became clear that I had been tricked into running a personal errand for my boss. Since I already had the frig loaded in my truck, I figured I might as well see it through.
Upon arriving at my boss’ house, he insisted on me coming inside, even offering me a beverage. Normally I’d appreciate the hospitality, but seeing as how this was my boss, I felt rather uncomfortable. I mean that was what John Wayne Gacy did to his victims before putting on the clown suit and doing his thing. (If you know, you know. And if you don’t, do yourself a favor and keep it that way)
To make matters worse, I ended getting injured (a fat lip) while unloading the refrigerator. Yerol witnessed this and never once mentioned an incident report or anything of the sort. Instead he just threw in an extra $20 on top of the $20 he was already giving me for gas. Which seemed like hush money to me.
At this point I was very close to quitting. The final straw came when I was reffing and a man came in with his 10-year old son. He paid for his son to play and asked if he could go in the field during the first match to observe. He explained that his son had never played before and that he was concerned about his safety.
Understanding the father’s concerns, I agreed. I had him sign the waiver while I fetched him a rental mask (which I wasn’t charging him for).
Yerol immediately intervened and told the man that despite not playing, he had to pay the $35 entry fee if he wanted to enter the field.
There are things I can ignore and things I can let slide. A man being forced to pay to be a good father to his son and secure his child’s safety is neither of those. It was downright immoral and a line that I could not cross.
The following day I came in, packed up my belongings, and resigned.
In addition to everything I just said, here are some additional details regarding that place of business which I’d like to bring to everyone’s attention. While not illegal, the following are questionable at best, as they show just what kind of business Modern Airsoft truly is.
There’s no designated break rooms for the employees.
The store does not offer cash refunds. Any and all refunds are instead given via store credit.
The trade in values are extremely low. I once witnessed a customer attempt to trade in a scope with a retail value of $110. Micah, Yerol’s son and second in command, offered the customer $5 store credit. That’s worse than GameStop.
Nepotism; Yerol made his son regional manager, despite him being 17 and having no prior experience.
Yerol has multiple pending lawsuits against Modern Airsoft, including unpaid taxes.
During my first two weeks there, two hard working employees quit due to not receiving the extra pay they were promised.
There’s no accountability for management. As I mentioned, Yerol is not only the manager, but also the CEO and head of HR. A perfect example of why this is an issue is when he was having a bad day and decided to take it out on me and another unfortunate employee by verbally bullying us throughout the day. With Yerol being the head of HR and us on our probation period, we had no one to report this misconduct to. Instead we were forced to put up with the abuse.
In conclusion, from the workplace violations and shady business tactics, to the poor chain of command and the cutting of corners at every turn, Modern Airsoft is a building on fire. I simply saw the flames and got out.
Knowing all that, I could no longer support that business. Whether or not you choose to support Modern Airsoft is entirely up to you. Just remember that if you do, don’t mistake Yerol’s kindness for friendship. Because behind that smile is a man who sees you as nothing more than a dollar sign.
That’s all. If you’ve made it this far then thank you for reading. Take care everyone and have a great day. Peace ✌️