Kristen Almost Joined and Wants to Tell You Her Story

Your Name:                      "Kristin"
Date Joined Mary Kay:           Didn't! (Almost did recently)
When Left Mary Kay or Still Active?: Just a customer
Initial Inventory Purchased:    Nothing, thank God!

How were you recruited?:
OK, so I'd like to share my story, because I *almost* joined recently.

It all started when I was duped into "winning" a "facial" over a year ago by an MK rep who had staked out my gym. After this disappointing facial "party", where I sat in a run-down building next to strangers and applied teeny bits of product to my OWN face, I was pressured until I caved in and bought a skin care product. Over the next year, I occasionally got catalogs in the mail.

Then one day, I got a call from a woman who had taken over the other lady's customers. She invited me to a training session.

Memorable experience you had in Mary Kay:
So I show up to the training thinking that my new MK consultant is going to be there. The director asks me whose guest I am, and I tell her and mention that I'm wondering if the consultant will be there. Of course, the director says she knows her but she fails to inform me that this woman lives clear in another state and never had ANY intention of being there! The director asks me how I met the consultant, and I tell her that she took over for another lady who once sold me a product. Then the director goes, "Well, she must have thought an awful lot of you to invite you here!!!" 

...wtf? Do you REALLY think I can't see through that fake smile of yours? ...I shrug it off and sit down.

Suddenly there appears another consultant next to me who doesn't know that I'm "taken." If we were in a bar, I'd say she was seriously coming on to me. Suddenly the director interrupts us and informs her that I'm already spoken for.

"That's OK! No problem! Golden rule!" the woman next to me blurts out awkwardly.

So I sit through the meeting and listen to the director drone on and on about herself the ENTIRE time- how she's been selling MK since the age of the dinosaurs, how this is her 50th free car, etc. 

And then I watch as people compare notes on how much they sold. I see the cheesy pin prizes, and I watch as the director congratulates one of the consultants on her accomplishment of being eligible to... guess what... BUY an ugly red jacket with an MK logo. (No offense to anyone who particularly likes that jacket but seriously, it's like having to buy a bridesmaids dress that you will never wear again.)

After the meeting they give me one of those facials. That's right, the one where I actually give MYSELF the facial. 

And then all of a sudden, the director is on me like a badger. "So which skincare set are you interested in purchasing?" Umm, didn't I just say like 50 times that I like the cleanser I already have? Why are you trying so hard to sell me the ONLY thing I specifically DON'T NEED???

"Well, I really don't need the cleanser," I protest.

"They are all designed to go together," she says, smiling.

After about 5 minutes of this, she gives up and starts trying to sell me the new EXTREMELY SPECIAL and RARE $50 kit. Everyone ELSE had to pay $100, you see.

"Well, what's in it?" I ask.

Silence.

"I mean, you sort of need product up-front in order to sell, right? Is there enough in here so that I can start selling?" 

You should have seen their faces! They looked like deer in the headlights. I watched them all look at each other and pause and not know what to say. So instead they just hand me a pamphlet which shows how much MORE I'd get with the $50 kit and why I shouldn't delay. Of course, it fails to mention that the size of the kit is SMALLER than the $100 kit and isn't even enough to hold a class.

Meanwhile, I ask, "Does anyone have a kit that I can see, so I know exactly what comes in it?" Of course, nobody does. One woman pulls out a few of those one-time use samples and says how I'd get a bunch of them and how there is enough in them that customers can use them 2 or 3 times each. 

In the end, I bought ONE product- the one that I actually NEEDED. 

I don't have any hard feelings for any of the MK girls. I know they're just doing their job and trying to get by. The director rubbed me the wrong way, but luckily I'm not her customer. I don't mind paying full price for MK products when I need them. I simply don't appreciate being badgered- especially when the person is wearing a totally fake smile. 

What did you learn from Mary Kay?: I learned not to be afraid to ask the "hard" questions and to always check stuff out on the internet and talk to people if I have a funny feeling. And most importantly- to follow my instincts!
What are you doing now?:        At the moment, I'm enjoying a nice glass of wine.    
Additional Comments:            Good luck to everyone out there!