Thanks to Matty for
sharing his Amway story!
Matty here. Although I haven't "caught up" yet (I'm reading this blog
from beginning to end), I just can't wait to participate any longer! So here's
my first Amway story
A little background, first: in 1999, I was managing a little store at the
Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham, Alabama. The "store" (it was
actually more of a walk-in kiosk) was called "Successories". (If you
worked in any corporate environment in the 90s, you probably saw some of the
products on the walls: A nice picture with some "Motivational"
bullshit quote below - I think the company still exists, but I don't think they
have any stores anymore - I was 25 at the time).
Anyway, in '99, I was plotting to buy the store I managed. (We were the
smallest store in our franchise, and our owner was based in St. Louis and had
stores in Missouri and Kansas and ours was VERY far away, so our franchise
owner was willing to sell). Now, due the very nature of the product I was
selling, plus the fact that the store was in the middle of mall, I found myself
engaged in conversations with passers-by on an almost daily basis - "Gee,
it must be hard to NOT stay positive surrounded by all THIS stuff" is what
I heard most commonly. And, believe it or not, I made some friends and even
some contacts just from chatting with people. (In fact, the franchise owner
wanted to sell to me for $150,000 and just through meeting people this way, I'd
already put together $60,000 towards my ambition to buy the store)...and then
THEY came.
One night, this *seemingly* very nice couple showed up and struck up a
conversation. (Again, this was NOT unusual). I honestly can't remember what we
chatted about, but I'm POSITIVE I talked about trying to buy the store. At one
point, the lady said, "We help people start their own business". This
got me VERY excited, as I thought, "THESE just might be the people that
put me 'over the top'!" So I agreed to meet with them at their house the
following week. (Once again, this was NOT unusual for me - I had already raised
some $$ in the same manner). So enough of "background",!
So I go to their house with GREAT anticipation. I arrive and we all sit down at
their dining-room table to talk. They offered me a choice of cranberry juice or
something else I can't recall (this was almost 20 years ago, after all), so I
opted for the cranberry. As the lady brought my glass to me, she informed me
(with WAAAY too much excitement) that, "We get this from our
business!"
Now, I WISH I could say that this was the 1st Red Flag, but I was so anxious to
buy this stupid store that I just thought, "Well, maybe they're
Importer/Exporters like Art Vandalay from 'Seinfeld'" (Again, I was 25,
and 25-year-old guys are morons).
Anyway, I honestly don't remember what we talked about, but I DO know that I
was there for a solid two hours! Right around the 1:15 mark, he started drawing
circles. Those GOD DAMN CIRCLES! "And the 'umbrella' Company at HEART of
this...is...AMWAY!", he said. My heart SANK. Even though it was a long
time ago, this I DO recall: the WAY he said "Amway" was especially
nauseating. It was part flourish/ part "1984" when Winston Smith
flashed a look of optimism/admiration/glee when Big Brother was mentioned (HOW
FITTING!).
Before I get to the FUNNY (just stick around, it's gonna get FUNNY) I'll go to
the ANGER: These assholes KNEW - they fucking KNEW - that my ONLY desire was to
buy the store I was managing - they KNEW IT - because that is PRECISELY what I
told them when I met them in the mall! AND THEY DIDN'T CARE! ASSHOLES! SCAM
ARTISTS!!!!
Now for the funny part: Now I know I've gone into FAR more detail than is
needed, but I thought it was necessary, lest someone try to say that it's not
true. I ASSURE you everything I have said, and am about to say, is 100% TRUE:
As I said, about 1:15 into this "meeting", he drew the damn circles,
so I IMMEDIATELY started plotting my escape. So I explained that my ambitions
were to buy the store I was managing and wasn't interested in anything else.
So, of course, I had to "mentally spar" with him for a good 45
minutes while trying to get out of there.
Well, for about the last 30 minutes I was there, I began feeling
a...disturbance in my stomach. I HAD to get out of there, because something
very, VERY bad was going to happen, very, VERY soon. And as much as I disliked
these people at this point, I am EXTREMELY shy about causing ARMAGEDDON in some
strangers' bathroom. So I got the hell out, and began heading home. Now, right
down the street from their house was a Circle K - BUT - I have a TERRIBLE fear
of gas station restrooms - so I thought I'd try to make it home (I lived about
30 minutes away). So I passed.
WELL, in order to get home, I had to take I-459. And then it started to rain.
And I mean, the kind of rain that would provoke people into building goddamn
ARKS. Just to give you an idea how hard the rain was: any normal day, if you
are on I-459 in Birmingham, if you are not travelling at LEAST 75 mph, your ass
WILL get run over. That night, I was going 35. I could hardly see, it was
raining so hard. And as I'm poking down I-459, well, the only way I can
describe the pain in my stomach is this: it felt like a giant hand was grasping
my stomach as HARD AS IT COULD for a couple minutes, and then let go. RELIEF!
And then the pain would return for a couple minutes. And then go away...It went
on like this until I reached my exit off the interstate - and there's a gas
station - CLOSED! So I continue on, with The Pain coming and receding, coming
and receding.
I FINALLY reach the gas station at the corner of my street - CLOSED! But I'm
close enough I can make it home. By now, I should mention, the PAIN is SO BAD
that I'm screaming when it comes, and *heavily* sighing when it recedes, AND
sweating like Patrick Ewing during a playoff game. I FINALLY make it home. I
park the car. The PAIN comes again. It goes away - I'm in the CLEAR!...and then
I get out of the car and stand up...EXPLOSION. A combination of Nagasaki and
Niagara Falls - and I didn't give a damn. The RELIEF was SO GREAT that I just
didn't give a damn...I ended up just taking my pants off and leaving them in
the pouring rain and went inside...So that was my first experience with Amway -
shitting myself in the middle of a deluge.
I STILL blame it on the cranberry juice.
--Matty
These two scumbags who tried to recruit Matty through lies and deception knew one thing: that he was collecting considerable funds to buy the store he wanted. And they were salivating at the thought that they might convince him to use the money instead to get into the Amway racket.
ReplyDeleteIn short, they wanted to destroy Matty's dream, and suck the money out of him to support their dream.
This story tells you everything you need to know about what utter vermin these Amway freaks are.
Anonymous - that's the thing with thieving scamming Amway Ambots. If they find someone who has money saved up - they want to steal it.
DeleteThis is why it's so important to get the word out about disreputable villains in the Amway cult. By the time people realize Amway is a scam, it's too late and they've lost money and brain cells.
The biggest dreamstealers I've ever met have all been Amway Ambots. Nothing brings those evil Amway bastards more happiness than destroying other people's lives.
Awesome story.
ReplyDeleteYou made me think of something. I remember one night during "training" after a way too long weekly Business Briefing that cost me $5 to enter and additional money for gas, that my Upline Emerald was mocking and putting down people who were asking questions when they were contacted.
He mentioned that he and/or his wife were out "making friends" and would run into someone that is "sharp" and then that person would start asking questions about what type of "business" opportunity this was. My Upline Emerald (in the URA AMO by the way) would then talk about how these were selfish people because they asked questions and they were "in it for themselves" because they wanted "all this proprietary information."
Such BS. If Amway was so f'ing great, everyone would be doing it, right?
He went on to say that with these people, he would stop the conversation right there and tell the person he contacted that the person was "obviously not ready" and should contact him when they are interested in "getting more information" and just walk away.
What an arrogant prick. So not only is the name of the AMO so intentionally analogous to deceive people, and the information on their website is vague (URAssociaton.info), and you're too scared to bring up Amway at the top of the conversation, but the very people they've spent hours a day stalking and harassing are deemed selfish when they ask questions to want to know what type of business opportunity they may be signing up for.
This right here folks. If this deters one person from joining, then I've done my job. It's not worth it.
Also, a word to the wise. If you go to a mall or work in a mall, be on the lookout for these people. They are everywhere and they genuinely don't care about you.
Anonymous - smart people do their research if they're making an expensive purchase, planning a vacation, investing in the stock market, or entering a business venture.
DeleteAnd part of that is asking questions.
To be CORE in Amway it costs around $500 to $700 a month. More when a major Amway cult meeting is planned like Family Reunion, Spring Leadership or FED. To many people that's a significant monthly investment. And not to ask questions or research the likelihood of not losing your investment and hopefully making a profit is sheer stupidity.
And you notice how Amway cult leaders dangle carrots to entice the prospect by saying you're not ready or I don't think this business is for you or you don't have what it takes. Many people see that as a challenge. Why not me? Who says I can't do this?
The smart thing is to walk away whenever an Amway loser insults you that you're not ready to be a business owner.
Yup Amway losers are stalking prospects everywhere. I'm suspicious whenever a random person says something to me in the grocery store. Like which of these brands do you recommend. You never know when its an Amway Ambot about to hit you up with a sales pitch.
If you are propositioned about a business opportunity, and the person trying to recruit you immediately insults you when you ask simple questions about what the opportunity involves, then right away you can make the following conclusion:
ReplyDeleteThe guy doesn't want to tell you what it's all about, and that's because it is a scam, and because he's looking for stupid people who don't think clearly. He also wants to get you to come to a meeting, where intellectual discussion is drowned out with mindless, rah-rah enthusiasm.
Persons who ask probing questions about a business proposition are intelligent and perceptive. That scares Amway freaks, because they need to leech onto people who are trusting, silly, immature, and unthinking. Only stupid people like that will spend $300 per month to get a ten-buck refund check.
Thanks Anonymous. That’s all very good advice. As you pointed out anyone who is cagey or secretive about a business opportunity it’s probably a scam.
DeleteAmway losers seem to think sneers and insults are the secret to good customer service and building team moral.