Name: Lola
Are You Active or Inactive? Inactive
If Inactive, Date You Left MK: 5/2007
Amount of Initial Inventory You Purchased: 2400
How were you recruited? Tell us all the details.
I contacted a lady who had been my consultant and told her I wanted to be a consultant. I was motivated because I had a new born and wanted to be able to earn money from home.
Do you have a memorable experience from your time in Mary Kay? If so, please tell us about it.
I went to my first meeting and was intrigued by the red jackets. I wanted one and recruited 3 people in 30 days so I could be one. I was my recruiter/director’s dream come true. She called me daily and said I was her super star. I later realized that I was her cash cow.
What are you doing now?
I left Mk after 4 years. I gave it my all and became a director. The longer I stayed in, the more I saw what a scam it was. First of all, the company was always redesigning and discontinuing products to get you to buy more stuff. Secondly, after you have been front loaded with products, they expect you to go out and recruit people and front load them too. Lastly, there was a false element of sisterhood which was a sham! I had many Mary Kay sisters until I stepped down and sent my products back. Everyone cut me off…I was not surprised. I do not regret leaving MK..sending my products back was very therapeutic and I got a lot of my money back. It was so worth it.
So, I am just fuming, right now. I decided yesterday to finally admit to my husband that I think I screwed up. I convinced him, with much help from my director, to let my try the Mary Kay opportunity. He didn’t encourage it, but supported me, anyway. I signed on, and the next thing that follows in my unit is a “mandatory” inventory meeting. My director tells you about all the packages and then follows up by saying, “if you don’t come in with at least $2400, I won’t give you a grand opening party. Rather than being appalled, I listened as she justified that “rule” by saying that she simply couldn’t help you sell product that you don’t have. She left me thinking that without a Grand Opening party, I couldn’t launch my business.
I told her I was serious. I told her that if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it full time. She then broke it down for me and said that the $2400 or less packages are for friends and family or part-time seller. She said that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to get the largest package. I very reluctantly agreed and she, ON THE SPOT, pulled out her phone and opened links to her “favorite credit cards” for me to apply.
Anyone familiar with the rule against persuading a new consultant to buy inventory?
Anyway, I signed on and was pushed, at the start of the very next month to “go on target” by purchasing a minimum order of $600. My director didn’t tell me what that meant, she just used a bunch of Star Consultant mumbo jumbo and made me feel like I wasn’t meeting some unspecified minimum requirement if I didn’t place that order.
The next month that she approached me about that same Star Consultant number, I had done my research and I knew what it meant. I told her I didn’t want to place the order this time because I had SO MUCH PRODUCT, already. She asked me if she could log in under my name and place an order on my account for herself. She said I would get the bonus, but she would get the product.
It made me sick.
Fast forward several months, I decided that I just don’t want to do this. I thought I was going to have flexibilty and a limited work schedule based on her statement, “a full-time beauty consultant works about 15 hours a week.” Tell that to my toddler. Tell that to my husband. I may be out of the house for that amount of time every week, but when I get home… The work never stops. You are constantly getting calls/texts. Constantly filling orders. Constantly answering the door for a customer pick-up. I’m tired.
I went to look into the buy-back process today and found THIS SITE. Although, I had been specifically told that the consultants I signed who were scared off by the inventory talk could NOT have their money back for their starter kit, that’s not true. Although, I had been told that any UNOPENED product could not be returned, that’s a lie. Although, I had been told that the company wouldn’t take your star prizes, that was only a half truth – they take the cost of them from you. What had I REALLY invested myself in?
I am thousands of dollars in debt trying to keep up with my Director’s quotas and “challenges”. I know that I should have just told her no. I get that. No one has to tell me that a lot of this is my own fault. But, the bold-faced lies that she told me. The “rules”, the “mandatory” weekly meetings, explain those to me?
I fell into a car salesman’s game.
I wish I had never signed up.
Fact:
Something is definitely wrong. I as well as my unit all have had grand opening parties, and our director supplied our inventory for us. We have never came out of our pockets, just the initial investment of the 118.00 , and for our website and propay. We joined because we wanted to make money not spend money. It;s working for my unit.so
Oh my gosh. I am fuming for you!!! Your Director is the exact kind of Mary Kay lady that gives us ALL a bad name. My Director NEVER made me feel like inventory HAD to be purchased, and while we are encouraged to place minimum orders each month and earn Star Consultant status…it is NEVER forced upon us. If I don’t sell, I don’t place, and my Director is JUST FINE with that. I actually just had a recruit that wanted the $3600 inventory package, and my Director actually tried to talk her down to something more like a $2400! She thinks that package is TOO large, and she HATES it! My Director doesn’t want women to come in, get TONS of product that is hard to move and causes frustration. Frustrated consultants quit, and we want our ladies to have all the things that were promised to them. We have a very driven Unit, that is actually earning money because our Director and our EESSD do not pressure, they coach us, they TRAIN us, and they help us on the financial end, as well, so that we ARE taking home a profit each month. I am truly saddened by your story. I do hope that you find everything that you thought you had found with the Mary Kay opportunity. I also do hope that you know that not every Director or Mary Kay Lady is like your Director. There are some out there that are doing right and doing it with some integrity!
Rachel, I am so sorry to hear your story! I cringe when I hear this because most directors aren’t like that. That is not how Mary Kay trains us to do business. My director never pushed me to do inventory or monthly quotas and as a director myself that isn’t how I operate either. I am the only one responsible for the goals I set and would never ask someone to order what they aren’t selling. Mary Kay is a great business when you have a director that is more concerned about your goals than hers. Most of the ones I know are very helpful and you can even find one that will take you into her unit and help you out.
I really hate that you had that experience. I must say it sounds like you had a director who was part snake oil saleswoman! I was told all of the things you were lied to about up front – I hate you were lied to for personal gain! I hope things look up for you.
Well said, I too have a Director that gives me all the facts and encourages selling so you can be a star consultant. She also always says don’t stockpile inventory. She wants us and herself to be successful for the long term not just on paper.
People need to understand they need to make informed decisions about THEIR business not just be blindly led. Be adults.