I’ve been to entrepreneur workshops over the past 15 years or so. Without fail every one of the entrepreneurs in the room says their superior customer service is what sets them apart from their competitors. Or their superior customer service will set them apart if they are still in the process of setting up their business. I don’t know why everybody says that. I guess they all want to think their fantastic customer service will be the talk of the town.
I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone say their low prices is what gives them the edge over the competitors. To me that would be the huge bonus over customer service. In this day and age customer loyalty is a thing of the past. People go where they get the best deal and the least amount of hassle.
More so when people are looking for home renovations. Often they’ll ask people they know for recommendations. We needed a chimney cleaner and nobody knew any. We looked on Craigslist and found one and he did a great job. We’re very happy with the service. He charged around $100. I thought that was reasonable but I have nothing to compare it too. Bottom line is we were happy with the price and the service and we’d recommend him if anyone asks.
Did he give superior customer service to set him apart from his competitors? No I wouldn’t say that. In my opinion he gave us good service at a good price. He showed up when he said he would and did a good job. He was pleasant to deal with. He caused no problems for us. Nothing superior that I’d say sets him apart from anyone else. Will we use him again? No. But that's because we don't use the fireplace so it doesn't need to be cleaned. No matter how wonderful customer service any chimney cleaner gives us I don't require this service.
The thing about customer service is the customer doesn’t always require customer service. I walk into the grocery store with my shopping list and I know where I’m going to find things in the store. I rarely have to ask for assistance so I have no idea if most stores offer good customer service or not.
I’ve heard many Amway IBO’s brag about offering excellent customer service. Most of them didn’t have any customers! So yeah I guess its easy to offer excellent customer service to a zero customer database!
All I can say to Amway IBO’s is if you’re ripping off the customers every time you make a sale - how can that be offering good customer service?
A brainwashed ambot will argue something stupid that Amway products are high quality and the high price reflects the high quality. They ignore the facts where independent studies have shown Amway products are generic and often lower quality than much cheaper brand name products on the grocery shelves.
Eventually customers (and here its probably friends of family giving the IBO a pity sale) will get fed up with paying double or triple what they can buy a similar or better product for at Walmart and won’t be back to buy any more Amway shit - no matter how excellent and superior the customer service the IBO’s like to think they possess.
Just like the chimney cleaner. If the customer doesn't need it, no matter how excellent the customer service is, the customer won't be back for another sale.
If IBO’s count on offering great customer service as the secret to their success, they fail to realize that not everyone is looking for superior customer service. I prefer to get good deals and no hassles. That means I don’t want to get ripped off by overpriced Amway products and I don’t want to be hounded by an IBO about how Amway is the secret to financial success and a lifetime of residual income in 2 to 5 years.
Word of mouth recommendations about IBO's customer service and Amway products? I think a lot of us bloggers cover this topic. Those ambots can't move past the reality that no matter how superior their customer service might be - or what they perceive it to be - ripping off customers with high priced inferior products means they are really giving shitty customer service.
Good customer service is extremely time-consuming.
ReplyDeleteThe Safeway we shop has superior customer service. The employees go out of there way to ask you if you are finding everything you need. Everytime I turn the corner, I get asked by another employee if they can help me find anything. It really is great.
This really got ramped up with the economy. They don't want us to go elsewhere for groceries so everyone is highly trained in service. I must also add that this is a retirement town and these WWII folks demand it.
But exactly how does an IBO give 'superior customer service?'
You call them on the phone (or text, email) and ask for the order. Where is the service? Telling them what page it's on? How much per ounce when broken out?
What a hassle to shop like that. I am not going on line to buy Kahva coffee and then drag my ass over to Safeway to get the cream for that coffee. Not gonna happen.
People are watching every dime. No one is shopping with consultants anymore.
I have a Mary Kay lady, but today I was in Wal-Greens and picked up hand cream, body lotion, etc. It was so nice to know my shopping was over. I really like the MK lady, but I wanted to be done, already.
I really do feel for the consultants of any mlm. Shopping with them is just getting to be less appealing.
CT
CT - I rarely shop at Safeway. The one in my town closed down a few years ago. There's one about 15 minutes drive east of us and another about 15 minutes drive south. There are other grocery stores closer to us such as Walmart Superstore. More convenient and better prices. I don't know that the customer service is any better or worse than any of the other grocery stores around here but maybe dealing with a senior community brings out a different nature in people when it comes to customer service.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how IBO's claim they offer excellent customer service. Most of the orders are not done in person. The customer does not get their order right away. They have to wait for it to be shipped. Probably the IBO makes them come over to their house to pick it up instead of delivering it. I know that's what the people in our LOS did. The Platinum said the Amway products were so great that they were worth waiting for and people would come to us to get them.
When I need something I go out and buy it now. Instant gratification. I don't care if the customer service is great or if it sucks. If I need toilet paper I'm not placing an Amway order and waiting a week or two!
Amway products are inferior to their competitors and nobody likes waiting. Told this to a ambot who tried to show me the plan last year. There are people who left the scam like Tex who is still brainwashed in thinking amway products are so much better.
ReplyDeleteColin - nobody wants to wait in this day and age of instant gratification! I think some IBO's are guilty of product loading or storing up inventory or whatever you call it so that way they have products available for sale in case a customer comes along. Its against the law in most jurisdictions for MLM's. Though dishonest people working a pyramid scheme could hardly care less about breaking the law.
ReplyDeleteHere's a quick article about what I just wrote about inventory loading just in case IBOFB shows up to disagree. This attorney even uses Amway as an example!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.themlmattorney.com/inventory-loading-when-does-a-company-cross-the-line/
I had a huge customer base while building amway. Hubby sold 30 water treatment systems in the first few months (that's a lot of systems).
ReplyDeleteI sold and delivered EVERYTHNG. This with a full-time job and I homeschooled for 8 years.
The succky part? Some of these old ladies ordered 2 rolls of peper towels. I would get out my map and locate them to deliver their stuff and I think I was making 5 cents a roll.
Hot dang, boy. We're gonna be rich!
These folks do NOT shopt o-line and will not give you a credit card. A computer would freak them out. I would get to their houses feeling like the delivery kid from Safeway. They would invite me in and I'd have to make small talk for up to half an hour.
I desparately wanted to get back to work or back to the lessons. But you can't just be rude and keep a customer. So many of these women bought stuff just to keep me coming over and relieve their boredom. They were old and very lonely.
All my recepts were hand-written and they would give me coupons for their stuff. We were taught to accept them (further reducing any hope for a profit). I had punch cards for them - you name it. We were the retail kings. We actually won a personal dinner with Greg Duncan as the Retail Kings.
We had to buy 2 tickets from Tucson to Portland, get a hotel room and car. We just used our retail profits - NOT. Cost us about $1200 for that dinner and then when we got there, it was a room full of people who had also 'won' dinneer with the great Greg.
It was such a disappointment.
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CT - 30 water treatment systems! Wow! They're like hundreds of dollars aren't they? The replacement filters are around $200 if I'm remembering correctly. Is the water that bad there? Our water is good.
ReplyDeleteAll those small bucks deliveries to little old ladies was probably just so they could have someone visit them and they weren't willing to get ripped off by buying more expensive shit.
$1200 in transportation costs for a "free" dinner. The scary thing is my ambot would have been first in line!
I have said over and over again how hard we worked our business and the money we spent. The original water systems were about $400 and the filters are about $100. Now, we are still in amway (I've been begging hubby for years to quit renewing but he's not ready - we don't build it or do anything except service water system customers). We are still getting calls after 15 years for replacement filters. I resent it terribly.
ReplyDeleteNow as I fill those orders, I have to let them know that 2011 is the last year the E-85 filters will be available. After that, your're screwed. Now you'll have to buy the e-Spring for $600. They can kiss it. I'm not selling anything.
We spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on all of the Magna-bloc wraps. We still use them - or we did. Called a few months ago to get the adhesive strips, and they are no longer available. WHAT????
Do you have any idea how they pushed those damned things as the next best thing since sliced bread?? We were floored. Guess it's back to duct tape.
Can't believe I did that crap willingly.
What I really need is a snot-nosed know-it-all IBO to come in here and tell me we didn't work our business. Here, kitty kitty. I won't hurt you.
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I think its time for some of these people to invest $50 in a water filtration system from Home Depot!
ReplyDeleteWell if your husband is happy making the owners of Amway happy.... IBO annual registration fees are easy money for the owners. Though they also like it when IBO's buy their overpriced products too!
Anna, i just buy brita water filters with pitcher. I think they are something like 15 or 20.00. The filters are very inexpensive also. Hope Tex or ibofb doesnt read my comment and post a bunch of lame studies. I remember the great greg duncan use to tell ambots that their vitamins where special cause their containers block out light lmao. Of course eveyrbody believes in that nonsense. Im sure tex believes drinking esprings will make him taller or he can live till he's 200
ReplyDeleteDont even remind me about magna bloc. Just a God damn waste of money. That was what it was. My husband had a slipped disc and very bad back pain. Uplines kept pushing magna bloc and q-flex(Amway pain balm). The magna bloc did nothing and we had enough sense to return it within 180 days.
ReplyDeleteHowever we have 2 sets of i-cook, multiple sets of "genetic test kits- Gensona", atmosphere air purifier all in our garage collecting dust. When I-cook knives came out, my upline was fretting when we did not buy those exxxxxxxxxxpensive knives. Glad we did not.
We are still IBOs, but we dont do anything either, and I see new genetic tests being offered through Amway(like weight loss predicting genetic kit crap) and I am sure they are being promoted through the roof and there would be IBOs who buy those crap and let it collect dust in their garages.
Was reading another blog where joecool said that amway employees where allowed to purchase double x vitamins for 12.00 instead of the 80.00 distributors cost. Im sure the amway employees can get the esprings water filter for 100 or less.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - you have pretty much summed up every Amway product out there - a god damned waste of money! You're lucky you got a refund. Usually Amway tries to give you a replacement so you can sell their "wonderful" product to some other sucker.
ReplyDeleteWas iCook those $3000 pot and pan sets?
The Amway owners prefer their IBO's to buy lot and lots of their overpriced shit. They love those IBO's. People like you who are still IBO's and renew every year but don't buy anything, they like you too. Free money for them, helps them get richer. Some people just renew every year out of habit, like their Costco card, whether or not they use it.
I hope you find the strength not to renew it next year. Some would say the owners are already rich enough but greed has no limit.
Colin - I read that too on Joecool's blog but I'm not sure where the information came from or how reliable it is.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I would say $12 is about the right price. Producing those vitamins and packaging - and here its important to remember that Amway owns the company and doesn't buy them wholesale, and anything they buy from suppliers is probably at a low cost due to bulk purchase - probably costs Amway about $10, maybe less, for Double X that they sell for $80. When I worked for a cheese plant back in the 90's we were able to buy cheese for .50 cents a pound and that was packaged and often expensive imports from Europe. In other words employees are usually able to buy products that are produced by their company at cost or slightly over cost.
what, they are phasing out E-85 esprings/filters? they are messing with my residuals! may be not, it's not worth squat.
ReplyDeletethis is messed up i have new espring in the garage am still trying to sell on ebay/CL. now it don't feel right sell it knowing this. my wife, then fiancee, bought it to produce a leadership qualifying pv. unbelievable some crap we did.
One month Ambot was pressured by his Platinum to buy, buy, buy and then buy some more so he could single handedly become a phony 1000 pin. And help his upline to whatever level they needed to achieve.
ReplyDeleteIts kind of tough to sell something when replacement parts won't be available for it a few months down the road. One of the many joys of being part of Amway!
Anna, I had a argument with the ibofb type awhile back. This ambot told me amway nutrilite grows their own organic plants for vitamins and so the product is extremely expensive. Also the products are more concentrated higher quality. Funny how brainwashed some people are. Then i met some lady online who worked for amway and was told that they grow very few of these ingrediants and like you said are baught very cheap in bulk from a distributor.
ReplyDeleteIBOFB likes to argue with everyone who aren't Amway supporters. That's what he's paid for!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Amway probably owns or leases farms that produce the plants but due to the volume of vitamins that IBO's are pressured to purchase Amway would also need other suppliers to make up the shortfall. Amway can not grow or make in house everything they need for all the ingredients or for the labels and packages. Even with all the extras they purchase their expenses are still low. Then they sell high. Good business? Only if you have a bunch of brainwashed IBO's who'll buy it!
IBO idiots used to brag about who could put the most vitamins in their mouths at once. The record was 42. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteAnother ambot told his group he would chew a serving of XX in front of them and swallow it if he did not reach a certain goal. We got to hear him eat it on Amvox. What a dumb ass.
They used to push those I-Cook pans - $4000 for the entire set. Excuse me. You never let us stay home long enough to use the damned things. I never bought them.
The e-spring water treatment systems are over $600 retail. In today's economy, who, besides ambots, will spend money like that?
We were told the magna-bloc system was like futuristic healing. We bought every piece of it. The seat cushion alone was $250. We paid retail for everything cuz' that's waht 'winners' do. We couln't retail those things for anything.
amway is nothing more than convincing ambots to buy extrememly over-priced stuff and be happy doing it. There are very few retail customers outside the cult.
Some of the artistry goo would cost $250/mo. to use. Yeah, sign me up. I've got money just falling out of my ass. And I'm stupid. When we were going great guns, I bought the artistry kit for $400 so I could out and do my best Mary Kay cosmetics imitation. I was doing freaking skin care classes and facials - with amway!!
Now they have come up with a jewelry kit so the already over-worked frazzled exhausted pissed off female IBOs can: hold down a full-time job, do facials on her lunch hour, and hawk jewelry every chance she gets. She's also expected to do Nutrilite clinics, and retail clincs for her downline. Lazy ass. I suppose she wans children, too. She would just mess up her momemtum with kiddos.
When you step away from the kool-ade and look back at what you did as an IBO, it's astonishing, really. What other business can get it's slaves to work so hard for nothing - well, unless you count the Pharaoh.
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Yup that sounds like just about every ambot I knew!
ReplyDeleteWow dinner with Greg Duncan, what a reward, NOT. He was my upline diamond and I remember driving for 10 hours over 17 years ago to see him do a plan. The lengths we went through to get around the big pins, like they were gods or something. Meanwhile our upline Emerald has since jumped ship for another MLM, and the Duncan's big Diamond Downline (Dave and Debbie Shores) Lost their house to the bank and Greg went Bankrupt and lost multiple houses to the bank. Oh, the bull shit we believed.
ReplyDelete***Former WWDB Lemming***
Everyone in our upline demanded to be treated like gods including the asshole who sponsored us. I'm sure he complained all the time to the sack of shit Platinum that I was being disrespectful to him based on too many years of intensely disliking him and I'm still not giving him the proper respect now that we're in Amway.
ReplyDeleteFormer WWDB Lemming;
ReplyDeleteWhich Emerald jumped ship? Oh my gosh, I'm anxious to know who that is.
Greg used to say when he went to his first major, he took 72 people with him - and just look where he is now.
Seriously, 72 people. We we aghast. How do you get 72 people to one meeting? We would line up anywhere from 10-20 people (all who swore they would be there - cuz' theys 'was' accountable) and NOT ONE WOULD SHOW UP!!! Not one. We tried to 'pick them up.' They weren't having any of it.
It's so embarrassing how we groveled and lowered ourselves believing we could endure this kind of crap cuz' we were gonna be rich. People just didn't understand how great amway was. barf!
Choose who to work with? bullshit - you'll take anything with a pulse
People will be chasing you to get into your business? yeah, they were chasing alrighty - in the other direction.
And my personal fave - "Amway will own the world." Gee fellas, how's that one working out for ya?
The stuff they vomited from stage like it was the gospel was nauseating.
So glad it's over.
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Hi CASSETTE TAPE, I'm glad it's over too. 72 people, and ambots believed him too, made us feel inferior only bringing 5 or 6 people, 1 year in. People could not understand why we wanted to drive from Toronto to Richmond Virginia to watch "successful entrepreneurs" talk about the "best business in the world" friends and family must have thought we were Koo Koo for coco puffs.
ReplyDeleteWe were 4 deep from our Emerald Paul Beach, he moved from WWDB to INA a few years ago. I am sure Greg has lost quite a few emeralds cross line to us but such is the norm in a "business" that is mainly sustained by the motivational materials and function profit that every big pin wants a piece of.
Lots of info on big pins that have "retired" back to their J.O.B. or are looking for greener pastures elsewhere at this amquix page. http://www.amquix.info/amway_exdiamonds.html
***Former WWDB Lemming***
INA???
ReplyDeleteIndependent Networking Assholes???
Former;
ReplyDeleteDon't know if I remember a Paul Beach.
We would find out at a major that Greg was gonna hold a special meeting for us backstage at sometime-o'clock. Our whole group would move like a giant bee swarm and head to the back, only to be turned back by the A-Team (that's what they thought they were) and told, no, there is no meeting.
Someone would locate Greg and, yes, the meeting was on in Room Dumb-Asses-R-Us. We'd get there only to find Greg would tell us we are being moved for 'security' reasons. Whatever.
This would go on for sometimes an hour or more. Us following Greg all over freaking creation so he could bless us with the holy amway Eucharist.
I'm thinking, 'This is it!' We are gonna get the 'secret' to building our businesses.
And here's how it would go down.
G. "guys are winners. You hear me? Winners. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Have you all gotten you next function ticket? No? Don't leave here without it, O.K., Winners? We all know winners buy function tickets and CASSETTE TAPES by the boat load. Now go get 'em, Tigers. Cuz' you're all winners in my book."
Meeting over.
What? You mean I missed my chance to wander around the hallways in a desparate attempt to get out of some of this boring major function for this?
It was always so disappointing.
We attened a lot of 'special' meetings with diamonds and emeralds, and not once was I impressed. There was absolutely nothing new. Total waste of time.
The overall theme of all these 'special' meetings was, Just keep doing what you're doing, O,K. Winners?
They make the big bucks for that?
One time I got sent to the home of an Emerald to pick up a package. (don't know what was in it) We were too lowly to be told what it was or who it was for, we we just the dumb mules.
Took me forever driving around to finally find the house. I dressed up out of respect. Got to the door, told myself, "Don't be a goofus. Don't be a goofus." Ring bell.
45 min. later (O.K., maybe it wasn't quite that long) she (her royal emarald heiness)lowers herself to come to the door. Well, my my. The house was a wreck. She says not a word. Turns and goes to get the package. Hands it to me. By now I have introduced myself and thanked her royal heiness in my best groveling imitation for allowing me to drive 90 min. in 110 degree heat in a business suit, panty hose, and heels to pick up what was probably more freaking CASSETTE TAPES. Her response? "O.K., bye."
Yeah, a real personable gal. A real 'winner.
Can you believe they are no longer in amway? Shocker!
Emeralds can't afford to hire housecleaners. That's why the house looked like a wreck.
ReplyDelete110 degree heat? I'd be wearing a short sleeved shirt and shorts if I had to go out anywhere.
Anna, the thing about the $12 double x is true. A former emerald whose family was an priginal Nutrilite IBO (before Amway) who I was in contact with verified this and knew some Amway employees who could testify to it. I believe this is why you cannot be an Amway employee and and IBO at the same time. I once tried to post this on an Amway corporate blog and my comment was deleted.
ReplyDeleteThe point is that even if Amway vitamins are "organic" or have phytonutrients, it doesn't necessarily mean they cost much more to produce than WalMart vitamins.
I was pretty sure the $12 sounded in the ballpark for double x. Its no different than any other Amway products for the huge mark ups. Crazy when they're also the manufacturer of many of their products you'd think they could sell them to IBO's at pretty close to their cost. That's what other companies do! Aside from a handful of Diamonds the only people getting rich are the owner of Amway.
ReplyDeleteJoe, i wonder how many double x can a employee buy? There are lots of people like ibofb & tex who would pay 40.00 or more for the double x on ebay.
ReplyDeleteJoe, im sure most people prefer buying their vitamins from wallmart. There's no goofy brainwashed person pressuring you every month to continue buying. Love being able to stop or switch brands anytime i want.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there are set limits on how many boxes of double x an employee can purchase. I wonder if they even purchase double x? But when Amway itself manufactures some of their own goods, they should be able to price them competitively against other companies, but they don't have to because IBOs are sold on brand loyalty. Funny how that loyalty diappears so quickly once they stop "building the business".
ReplyDeleteVery true! My husband has bought a lot of Double X so he could get a fake 1000 pin level. We never used it. Well maybe for a month. If a person was so inclined to buy vitamins and they can buy them from their employer for $12 or from the store for the same price they'd probably just buy them from where they work. Assuming they work in the same place where they're manufactured or stored and can take them home the same day. No loyalty from most IBO's once they quit. Some take longer than others for the brainwashing to run its course.
ReplyDeleteThe vitamin im buying is only 9.00 per month. I dont have to pay for shipping and it seems more digestable. I remember not feeling well after taking the double x.
ReplyDeleteMe too not feeling well the last time I ever took Double X more than 10 years ago. Since I've been reminded of that story I'll post it tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I took Double X, almost 3 years ago, I remember having this feeling that I had just been ripped off! Double X is no better than any of the other multi-vitamin supplements on the market. In fact, I would say Double X is inferior, because you have to take 3 of the tablets twice daily. This easily causes compliance problems. Why should I take 3 tablets twice daily of Double X, when I can get the same benefit from taking 1 Centrum Silver?
ReplyDeleteI have enough trouble remembering to take something once a day let alone 3 times! And you're right. If those vitamins are as concentrated as the bullshitters from the stage claim they are why aren't they in once a day dosages.
ReplyDeleteBoy, it seems the Nutrilite XX stuff causes quite a stir. It's remembering the gob-o-cash that went down the toilet along w/those things that has most ex-IBOs boiling.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, Anna, it is interesting how product loyalty goes out the window when you finally pull yourself free of the amcult.
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p.s. I keep hoping the guy who hates us using the term 'CASSETTE TAPE' will come on here. I had a good night's sleep and I'm loaded for ambear.
CT - IBOFB is the Amway lover who gets his diapers in a knot and demands to know where someone got hold of tapes instead of CDs. He doesn't come around to my blog very often. His mission is to defend the Amway business and their products. Someone who blogs about what a bunch of assholes their upline was and the abuse isn't something easy for him to defend!
ReplyDeletewww.iworkatpencils.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHello Square Grouper! Thank you for providing such thought provoking stimulating conversation!
ReplyDeleteI am interested to know what INA stands for. We too were once part of the "Amway Cult"luckily we got out after just over 1year. Our direct up-line was a complete tool. He gave me the creeps, his wife was a nice lady but unfortunately a very unattractive woman. At one of our little get together's he actually told me to try and down play my looks because it can make other people self conscious of their looks and it can be distracting. Loser! a lot of MLM business's will tell you that you need to be at this convention at all costs, "it will make your business". They care about their pocket and nothing more.
ReplyDeleteIndepenent
DeleteNetworking
Assholes
As I said above! Best answer I can come up with! However a Google search shows it as International Network Associates.
I like my acronym better!
At least you got out Anonymous! At about the same point when people get fed up and quit. I liked most of the wives of our uplines. The only thing I can fault them on is their shitty taste in men! I don't know if Amway attracts creepy men or if the men turn creepy after the cult brainwashing.