April 12, 2008
Perfect Water now not as Perfect.
By Truth in Amway
Since I first found out about this new perfect water product that Amway is going to be distributing the thing that of course caught my attention was the claims that were being made about this product. The whole deal about having improved flexibility, balance, and strength in just seconds with one ounce I found to be quite outrageous. No surprise to me however was the comments from those who came here defending such ridiculous claims.
In this situation however this story actually has a different twist from the outrageous product claims that have been made about Amway products of the past. A quick trip over to amquix.info shows several articles that Scott Larsen has written about perfect water and in many of those articles he has screen shots of the perfect water website as it has evolved. The twist on this product is that the manufacturer was making the claims as well and even had the infamous "tip-test" instructions posted on their website.
At the start it appears from the screen shots that the perfect water manufacturer was indeed making claims about improving balance, strength, flexibility. Also, they had the tip-test instructions posted for anyone to read and try out to prove how perfect their water was indeed. Today however the perfect water site makes absolutely no claims about their water except to say it's a great bottle of water. Nothing about a tip-test, or an improvement in any capacity.
I actually feel sorry for the IBOs on this one since the manufacturer of the product appeared to be encouraging these claims at one time, even though I believe some common sense questioning of the tip-test would show it to be bunk. Now that the perfect water site has removed all claims about the balance, flexibility and strength improvements it is my opinion they never really believed that their water could improve any of that. Now that the claims have been removed from the website however I am interested to see how many IBOs continue to defend the tip-test and the claims that were previously made about this product.
April 5, 2008
Go Memphis
By Truth in Miscellaneous
I don't really follow College Basketball or any basketball for that matter. Right now I am actually going through football withdrawals, and using baseball to get me through as rough as that is. But I know Qblog loves his Memphis basketball team and they are in the Final Four so I thought I would make mention of it and let's see if they can win it all.
March 27, 2008
Amway and their Perfect Water
By Truth in Amway
Around the web I have been seeing more and more articles about the Perfect Water product from Amway. Of course it is open to some skepticism because of the claims that are being made, which are that you can have better balance, strength and flexibility after even just one ounce and this can occur within seconds. Apparently there are demonstrations of this being done by IBOs and many of those videos can be found on the web.
A search for Amway and Perfect Water on YouTube will show several videos from open meetings of these "demonstrations". I have watched several videos and I have a hard time believing some of the claims that they are making can happen with just one ounce of water, and occur in an instant on top of that. So I have included a couple of videos in this post, one of them is a demonstration and the other is a video uploaded by Scott Larsen showing how he believes the IBOs are rigging the tests. I will let you make up your own mind about the water.
UPDATE:
Over at the opportunity zone there is a post about making false claims about products, and references perfect water directly. The article is written by Gary VanderVen and he states in the article:
IBOs must only use claims and demonstrations which have been approved by Quixtar to promote this product. This list of approved claims is available at www.drinkperfectwater.com or in the "What's New" section at www.quixtar.com.
So with that I paid a visit to the drinkperfectwater.com site to see what kind of claims they make about the water, since they would be the approved claims for IBOs to use, here is what I found in the FAQ section:
What are the benefits of drinking Perfect Empowered Drinking Water? The water has been developed as a premium drinking water and is intended only for that use. No specific benefit claims are made nor represented. To see what others are saying, see the Testimonials tab on drinkperfectwater.com and share with us your own testimonials as to the ways you feel Perfect Empowered Drinking Water benefits you! (emphasis mine)
So since the site FAQ says they make no specific benefit claims or do the represent any are the demonstrations by IBOs in the videos seen on YouTube a violation? An argument could be made either way and I won't comment on that question myself but again I will leave it up to you to make up your own mind.
March 13, 2008
Carnegie on Wealth
By Truth in A/QMOs
Do you know who Andrew Carnegie is? As far as Forbes is concerned he is the second richest man in the history of the world second only to John D. Rockefeller. Just to give you an idea of what being that high on that list means Bill Gates ranks 20th on the list and Warren Buffet ranks 41st. That ranking is based on their highest ever net worth. So needless to say Andrew had quite a bit of spare change in his pocket.
His view on wealth though is what I have always admired. Carnegie was known for being a big philanthropist, and it was said that he wouldn't give a begger a dime, but he would build him a library. He felt that his purpose of being rich was to use the money to make society better as a whole. By the time he died he had given away most of his wealth and was worth only $30 million which was quite a bit less then at his peak he was worth $298 billion.
Of all the times I went to a function, rally, meeting, etc. I rarely if ever heard about this kind of thought process when it came to wealth. I can however remember just about every single speaker talking about the home they owned the cars that they bought "just for fun", the shopping spree that was just for passing the time, etc. But yet since they have some folks in their downline making some money, many making money off of tools sales just like them they are lauded as great men and women who are making a better world for others.
No one seems to see the wake of destruction that is left behind also. The divorces over the business, the ruined family relationships, the financial despair, etc, etc, etc. Most of it sadly because the downline listened to some unbelievably stupid upline "advice". My favorite was always "you can't get fire from your fireplace until you put some wood in there" of course that translates as "you can't go Diamond unless you buy some CDs, books, and function tickets".
Sadly to often many people in this business are simply obsessed with the material items that wealth can bring. Don't even try to deny it because it is all over the place in this business. Go to one function and they have multiple films of Diamonds on lavish vacations, shopping for jewelry, driving their fast cars, etc. From stage there are a million stories about their material items. There is nothing wrong with having nice things, but there is something very wrong with making those things the focus of your life.
So since many current IBOs like to come here and tell me that I am not qualified to have an opinion since I did not go Diamond or make as much money as the leaders of the business I will leave with a quote from the second richest man in history, who out earned all IBOs combined many times over:
Man does not live by bread alone. I have known millionaires starving for lack of the nutriment which alone can sustain all that is human in man, and I know workmen, and many so-called poor men, who revel in luxuries beyond the power of those millionaires to reach. It is the mind that makes the body rich. There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else. Money can only be the useful drudge of things immeasurably higher than itself. Exalted beyond this, as it sometimes is, it remains Caliban still and still plays the beast. My aspirations take a higher flight. Mine be it to have contributed to the enlightenment and the joys of the mind, to the things of the spirit, to all that tends to bring into the lives of the toilers of Pittsburgh sweetness and light. I hold this the noblest possible use of wealth. (emphasis mine)
February 28, 2008
Typical Prospecting Story
By Truth in A/QMOs
I found an interesting post on a forum where an individual talks about getting prospected at a car show by an IBO. Sadly the way he describes the story happens more often then it should and is the primary reason IBOs have a bad stereotype attached to them.
Recently I was at the Philly Auto Show admiring the new Challenger and a guy started talking to me about how what I do and where i'm from yada yada yada. Anyway he tells me he has a business and he is looking to do business down my way with Circut City and Best Buys and also is promoting a new energy drink. So I left him my number and he gave me a business card and said next time he was in my area we should meet about me helping him with his business in my area. About a week later he gets up with me and wants to meet, he's about 2.5 hours away and I set a meeting up with him and he told me a little bit about his company and how it advertises and markets new products. So when he finally comes down to meet he talking to me about it and then shows me these "motivational" DVD about making 50k in your spare time. Turns out he is an IBO and works for Quixtar. So the information seems all good and nice and he said I can make about 50k by putting in about 8-10 hours a week. So he wants me to meet him 2.5 hours away where he is from for this meeting to learn even more about the business and leaves me with some info and some samples. Well I have never heard of Quixtar and after reading the info he gave me, the fine print, and online research it seems very schemish. Its a borderline pyramid scheme. and its looks like 1 out of every 2,800 people even make 30k with it. The average income for these people are $118 a month. I found some pretty good information on it www.amquix.info and called the guy back and told him I am out of it. Well he gets all offensive and makes it to seem that everyone who says anything bad about Quixtar is bone headed. Well he accused me of being dishonest because I "made" him drive 2.5 hours one way only to not be interested, but I told him that until you actually met me you never said a word about Quixtar and made it seem like it was your business. He didn't have anything to say. Anyway long story short I am glad I got out of this before I put too much money in.
Let's take a look at some of the deception and straight BS in this.
1. Anyway he tells me he has a business and he is looking to do business down my way with Circut City and Best Buys
Flat out lie, the IBO is not looking to do any business with the Circuit City's or Best Buy's. The business has already been done by Quixtar and it is called a Partner Store agreement. Is Best Buy even a Partner Store? Now I know some supporter could come here and spin that statement 9 ways to Sunday, but the bottom line is this IBO was not telling this prospect the way things were.
2. So the information seems all good and nice and he said I can make about 50k by putting in about 8-10 hours a week.
Can anyone show me just one person who makes 50K and all they put in no more then 8-10 hours since they started? If you can show me someone who claims that, I will show you a liar.
3. Well he accused me of being dishonest because I "made" him drive 2.5 hours one way only to not be interested, but I told him that until you actually met me you never said a word about Quixtar and made it seem like it was your business.
Of course in the end the IBO blames the prospect for "making" him drive to see him only to not be interested. I guess it never crosses the IBOs mind that if he had been upfront and honest from the start about this being Quixtar, and the money he was talking about was going to take much more then 8-10 hours he would have saved himself the trouble of trying to sell this opportunity to someone who wouldn't be interested.
Many IBOs make claims that it is because of the "critics" that their business has a bad name. However it is this kind of practice that has indeed been the cause of the bad name. Being deceptive and not being upfront about what is going on only leads to people getting upset. No one likes to feel deceived or lied to. In the end it is not how you feel you can spin what your business is all about, it is how others are going to perceive you. Every other business takes great care in maintaining the best image possible. Perhaps IBOs should learn this aspect of business as well.
February 22, 2008
Fred Harteis Resigns from Quixtar.
By Truth in A/QMOs
Over on Fred Harteis's blog Fred has posted his explanation of his resignation from Quixtar. I found this to be the most interesting part of his post:
"As an IBO I have entered into many discussions concerning issues I have had with Quixtar i.e.: product pricing, the IBO compensation plan, negative on the web."
Negative on the web? Now I know Fred didn't specify exactly, but most of the negative on the web is due to abusive practices by motivational organization leaders. I wonder how many other leaders complained about the negative on the web with Quixtar. Were they looking to Quixtar to do something about it? Isn't that kind of like expecting someone to clean up a mess that you made yourself? The way I see it if the IBO leaders showed more concern for their downline making a profit rather then buying tools and getting tickets to the next great conference there would not have been a mess to clean up in the first place. At any rate I wish Fred well in whatever his next venture is going to be.
February 18, 2008
Wal-Mart and Amway / Quixtar
By Truth in Amway
When I was in Quixtar I remember many times references to Wal-Mart being used. During an open meeting the speaker would tell the prospects that instead of spending their money at Wal-Mart they could buy from their own company and make money. IBOs tell people that Wal-Mart never gave them a check for shopping there like they get from their own business. Wal-Mart this and Wal-Mart that. Pretty much every time a reference to a traditional business was used it was Wal-Mart.
So when I saw an article by Ray Alexander in the Opportunity Zone titled "Not Wal-Mart and never want to be" I couldn't help but laugh a little. The question isn't that IBOs need to compete with the Wal-Marts, Sam's Clubs, etc. It's a matter of IBOs need to stop comparing themselves to them. You see an IBO can argue that the quality of their products are so much better then Wal-Mart till they are blue in the face. But each time you compare the Quixtar business to shopping at Wal-Mart you kill the argument.
I see Quixtar IBOs prospecting people in Wal-Mart all the time. So is it any wonder that they feel they have to compete against Wal-Mart? Not that there is anything wrong with shopping at Wal-Mart, but do you think people who are doing a good deal of shopping at Wal-Mart are more concerned about price or quality? The obvious answer to that question begs this question for IBOs, if your products are of such great quality what in the world are you doing going after a market that is interested in price? Something tells me when IBOs stop comparing themselves to Wal-Mart Ray won't have to tell everyone that Quixtar / Amway doesn't want to be Wal-Mart.
February 11, 2008
More on the Amway Arbitration case
By Truth in Amway
As expected the reversal of the arbitration ruling in the Morrison case has made it's rounds and now the IBOAI, Alticor, and even others are putting their two cents in. Of course most of what is being said I don't think is even addressing the issues. To me it looks like more damage control then anything. At any rate there are apparently some things that the IBOAI want you to know.
1. The decision in this case could be changed in future court proceedings. (Much like how the earlier decision in favor of Amway was later changed in future court proceedings).
2. The Morrison decision was based upon arbitration agreement rules that were in effect in 1998 and have since changed. For instance Amway can no longer make changes to the agreement without the consent of the IBOAI.
3. The dispute arose before January 1, 1998 when the arbitration agreement went into effect and therefore that does not apply to anyone who had a dispute after 1998.
As far as Alticor goes they are trying to say that all Morrison gets is a redo of his arbitration, and that the decision was based off of the fact that the dispute arose prior to 1998. But from the way I read it the court is saying there was no enforceable arbitration agreement because of Amway's unilateral authority to amend.
Other certain Amway supporters have also written on their site that after having time to read the decision "properly" they also see the decision being based off of the fact that there was no arbitration in effect at the time of the dispute. Well apparently time was of no help to read the decision properly.
The way I read it however the final wording in the decision clearly is referring to Amway's unilateral right to amend the agreement. Here is what the final wording is in the decision:
There is nothing in any of the relevant documents which precludes amendment to the arbitration program – made under Amway’s unilateral authority to amend its Rules of Conduct – from eliminating the entire arbitration program or its applicability to certain claims or disputes so that once notice of such an amendment was published mandatory arbitration would no longer be available even as to disputes which had arisen and of which Amway had notice prior to the publication. There are no Halliburton type savings clauses which preclude application of such amendments to disputes which arose (or of which Amway had notice) before the amendment. We accordingly hold that the arbitration agreement was illusory and unenforceable under Davidson as applied to the claims asserted in the instant suit.12 We thus reverse the district court’s October 15, 1998 order staying the case pending arbitration and its September 15, 2005 final judgment denying the Distributors’ motion to vacate the award, granting Amway’s motion to confirm the award, and entering judgment based upon the award; and we remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent herewith. (emphasis mine)
The reference to Halliburton is addressed earlier in the document where Halliburton's arbitration was ruled not illusory since they could not avoid arbitration by amending or terminating the arbitration provision due to the way it was written. Amway had no such "saving clause".
But as with anything I encourage you to go and read the decision yourself and come to your own conclusion. This case is quite old and many of the rules considering arbitration have changed. But for anyone considering this business I would recommend that you get a good understanding of such processes.
February 9, 2008
Court rules against Amway Arbitration
By Truth in Amway
The Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals has ruled against Amway/Quixtar in the Morrison case regarding the arbitration decision. From what I gather Morrison lost against Amway in arbitration (no surprise there) then objected to the arbitration when Amway went back to federal district court to get a judgement on the arbitration decision. The district court decided in Amway's favor, and Morrison appealed the ruling. The case ended up with the US Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit and the district courts ruling was reversed and the arbitration ruling was vacated.
The reversal of the decision seems to be mostly based off of the fact that the arbitration was invalid and unenforceable because Amway continued to reserve the right to modify or revoke the arbitration agreement at-will. So basically since Amway was not bound to the arbitration provision they could not enforce it on anyone else.
I have never been a fan of Amway's arbitration process since it always seemed like going to a card game with a stacked deck against you. From the way I understand it Amway trains the arbitrators, Amway could revoke or modify the arbitration provision at-will, and Amway hand-picks the arbitrators. Now I am no lawyer, but it seems to me if all of that is the way the Amway arbitration process works "fair" would not be the first word that would come to mind. So I must say I am happy with the decision and hope that it can possibly lead to a better process that is fair to all the parties involved.
You can read much more about the history of this case and view the actual documents at amquix.info website.
February 4, 2008
New Event Rule posted
By Truth in Quixtar
Over at the Ada-Tudes blog there has been a post about Quixtar's new rule which will allow sales of products at events. Of course as with just about everything in Amway or Quixtar there are restrictions. Here is what was posted as the "pending" rule for event sales:
4.3.3 Event Sales: The display and sale of health, beauty and sports nutrition products by IBOs only at temporary (no more than 10 days) health and beauty shows and certain kinds of sporting events (e.g.: bike race, marathon, 3-on-3 basketball tournament) are permitted. The following information must be received by the Corporation, in writing, 30 days prior to the event, to allow sufficient time to grant approval.
4.3.3.1. A written description of the type of event (including date of event).
4.3.3.2. Name of the specific product(s) to be displayed and sold.
4.3.3.3. A list of specific literature to be used at the booth or for handouts. Any privately produced material for handouts or display must be sent with the booth request for approval.
4.3.3.4. A signed statement from the Platinum or above IBO accepting responsibility for booth activity and include a list of all names of IBOs staffing the booth.
4.3.3.5 A post-event accounting of total volume sold must be provided to the Corporation by the Platinum if the volume sold is part of the qualifying volume for Silver Producer or above for purposes of verifying 70% Rule compliance.
I think the new rule is great and all since I always thought it was completely stupid to allow a booth to be set up at events but no sales were allowed to be made. But, I still don't understand why they need to restrict the sales. I can understand that the health and beauty products along with XS will most likely be the best products to use at an event. But what about having a booth at a festival with a jewelry display?
I also don't agree with IBOs not being allowed to secure a permanent booth somewhere. It was clear in the article that sporting events were allowed but only temporary ones like a tournament or a race of some sort. Personally I don't see the problem with an IBO securing a permanent spot at a concession stand at football or baseball events, or perhaps a permanent booth where other products can be sold. In every other area of business it's a snooze or lose world, so for those IBOs that do what it takes to secure other areas to sell their products should be allowed to do so.
January 27, 2008
Kill The Wiki?
By QBlog in Blog News
Should the Quixtar Wiki be killed? As much as I'd love to see this collaborative website flourish I recognize that without regular attention and management, it's become a link-spam magnet and a bit of an embarrassment.
A quick glance at the recent changes reveals lots of activity but virtually all of it related to spammers and link bots.
So, my inclination is to kill the thing because I don't have the time to manage the site and nobody else is knocking down the door volunteering to manage it for me. However, if you think I should keep the site up please let me know why and maybe provide some solutions for the current spam problems.
I have thought of some tougher wiki software that does a better job of blocking out the spammers but the site is still left needing someone to populate it with content and frankly, that's a lot of work. But if there's someone who really wants to take this on then speak up and we'll work something out. There's certainly a need for a robust, data-driven independently run website out there about Quixtar, Amway and MLMs because it looks like Scott Larsen is still managing his unweildy AmQuix site with basic HTML and lots of free time.
January 22, 2008
Price vs. Value
By Truth in Quixtar
There has been quite a fuss lately over the prices of Quixtar products. Of course this has always been an issue, but has been put more in focus lately because of the whole Quixtar v. TEAM mess. The simple arguments are that Amway/Quixtar prices are too high, and of course the common theme for the defense is that the value of the product justifies the high prices.
Personally I can see both sides of this debate. I don't necessarily agree 100% with either side in this debate, but I think both sides make some pretty valid points. I was over on the Ada-Tudes blog and was reading the post by Ray Alexander titled "Not Wal-Mart and Never Want to Be". While reading this post and many of the comments that were left I got to thinking about a seminar I attended with my wife when she was an owner of a vacuum sales office.
After leaving Quixtar my wife started selling vacuums to make some extra money. Well she became quite good at it and eventually was asked to open her own office and manage dealers. She has since closed up her office and moved on to other things, but I will always remember this one speaker at a seminar that she invited me to go along to. I would also like to point out as a side note that this seminar was 100% free, even the lunch they provided.
The feature speaker was the vice-president of the company who manufactured the vacuums. He talked about selling value instead of a vacuum. That was a big topic since the dealers were selling a vacuum that costed $1800. His example showed that throughout the demonstration of the product you were building value, and the objective was to build more then $1800 worth of value before the demonstration was over. If a salesperson could do that they would meet less resistance from the customer when it came time to close the sale. In a nutshell he was saying to show the customer why the product is worth the price.
To demonstrate what he meant he pulled out a $100 bill and asked who would be willing to give him $10 for his $100 bill. Obviously everyone in the room would do what they had to in order to give him $10 for $100. That pretty much drove the point home. If a salesperson could build up $3000 worth of value in the product, closing the sale at $1800 was going to be easier.
So if you have read this far you are probably asking what this has to do with Quixtar. Well, can Quixtar products be built up in their value enough to be sold at their current prices? I mean let's face it, just telling a customer that the value of your product is superior isn't really going to get you far. Would retailing numbers look better if IBOs were better informed about the products so that they could build the value in them? Sometimes I think that is what Amway/Quixtar is trying to do with all the training that they are releasing via the web. So I see two sides to this entire argument and I guess it comes down to one question. Are the prices too high, or are IBOs just not able to build the value in the product before they try and sell it?
January 19, 2008
Couldn't do any worse
By Truth in Quixtar
Over on the Ada-tudes blog there was an article by Todd Krause which seemed to address some comments made on an earlier article he wrote about Quixtar sales. Anyway I found it a bit funny that he was addressing those who made statements to the effect that the corporation does not have the credibility to tell IBOs how to sell or build Quixtar/Amway businesses. Todd Krause agreed with the statements saying it was not their intention to go around IBO leaders.
Well in my opinion the corporation is doing more to teach IBOs how to sell a product then IBO leaders are. IBO leaders are concentrating on teaching IBOs how to sell a "system". One look at the numbers that only 3.4% of all Quixtar sales were sold to actual customers tells you how good the IBO leaders have been at teaching selling techniques. So I don't think the IBOs should concern themselves so much with where the teaching is coming from, 3.4% isn't exactly a high bar that has been set.
January 17, 2008
Gotta Love Technology
By Truth in Miscellaneous
I just saw an article on Fox News website about a Marine who was able to see his child born thanks to streaming video over a webcam. I thought it was a nice story to see. I know so many of those troops are not only in a high stress environment the likes of which many of us will never know, but many of them miss out on life back at home. Away from their young children missing some pretty special moments. I know it's not the same as being there, but it's pretty cool how technology can make moments like this happen.
January 15, 2008
Retailing in Quixtar Part 3 (10, 50, 100)
By Truth in Quixtar
For the final part of the Retailing in Quixtar series I am going to address the Quixtar rule that states an IBO must make at least one sale to 10 different people, sell 50PV worth of product, or sell $100 worth of product in order to get downline bonuses. This rule was referred to as the ten customer rule in the FTC v. Amway decision and here is what was written about it in the decision:
74. Amway's 'tencustomer' rule provides that distributors may not receive a performance bonus unless they prove a sale to each of ten different retail customers during each month. (RX 331, pp. 1B and 17B) The Direct Distributors have the primary responsibility for enforcing the tencustomer rule in their own group. (S. Bryant, Tr. 406162) The tencustomer rule was started by Amway about 1970. Prior to that, there was a 25 sales rule which required the distributor to make 25 retail sales a month without regard to the number of customers. (S. Bryant, Tr. 408586) The tencustomer rule is enforced by Amway and the Direct Distributors.
Rule Changes?
Now I will admit I don't know the whole history of this rule so I can only assume things have changed since the FTC v. Amway decision. One of the changes that I know of is that the website keeps track of these numbers when orders by customers are placed. This of course is a change that came with the new modern direct fulfillment as opposed to ordering and picking up from upline. But as far as the rule goes in addition to having one sale to ten different customers, an IBO can sell 50PV worth of products or $100 worth of product to get downline bonuses.
Can it be enforced?
As I pointed out in Part 2 of this series however there is a big difference between making a rule and enforcing it. I think what should matter here is not so much that a rule is in place but that it is actually being enforced, and works. The question should be does it truly encourage retailing as it says it does. Personally I remember many people talking about how they would simply purchase 50PV worth of product, check the option that they were buying it for a customer and they took care of it.
Sadly, in my opinion this is another rule that cannot be enforced and it is no wonder that there was only 3.4% of sales to actual customers. Personally I don't think there is really anyway Quixtar can make any rule that would "encourage" retail sales. If they wanted to encourage retail sales, they need to start making it more appealing to IBOs. The problem is that sponsoring new IBOs has been seen as the more appealing way to make money.
Thankfully Quixtar has at least started to look at ways to make retailing products more appealing and most important more profitable for IBOs. Also, there are signs of another step in the right direction with the new rule that allows sales at events. In the end however I don't think the concept of retailing products will be the most appealing to IBOs until Quixtar makes their prices more competitive, and I am talking about the retail price, not the wholesale. You can preach on quality until you are blue in the face and in the end that will only carry you so far.