Just a Few Bad Apples

We’ve often heard the response from active Mary Kay consultants that bad experiences in Mary Kay can be blamed on a few “bad” directors or consultants in the company.

I finally realized that there’s a communication problem here.

The women who have had unpleasant experiences in Mary Kay aren’t saying that the directors and other consultants they encountered are necessarily bad people. It’s their behavior, the required Mary Kay speak and attitude, that is horrible.

There are more than “just a few bad apples” in Mary Kay, and they share many of the following behaviors:

• pushing consultants to spend more on inventory, Seminar and other events than they wanted to
• asking consultants to give up a Saturday morning with their family for a recruiting brunch
• placing phone calls to consultants asking them to place an order so “the team” can make production
• encouraging new recruits to take out a loan to pay for thousands of dollars of inventory because it’s a “business expense”
• teaching consultants that anyone who even questions the things you do in MK is simply negative
• trying to convince quitting consultants to try to sell their inventory rather than send it back to the company
• misleading women by stating that it “only costs $100″ to start a Mary Kay business
• encouraging women to join Mary Kay for a hobby or personal use, then telling them they should purchase inventory and other items because it is really a business and needs to be treated as one
• informing women during the recruiting process that there is a dire need for consultants in their geographical area, when in fact, if anything, there are too many
• pressuring consultants into attending meetings and functions at times that are usually reserved for the family or encouraging them to reschedule family events so that they don’t interfere with Mary Kay events

These are just some of the things that we hear over and over from consultant after consultant.

The whole structure of the MLM and the promotion from corporate makes most women in Mary Kay adopt the same techniques and behaviors.

It’s not just one or two people behaving badly, representing Mary Kay poorly. It’s a common pattern.

They have to buy into the “dream” of Mary Kay in order to keep going. That means the HAVE to promote orders and recruiting and meetings and such. It’s part of the MLM business.

Mary Kay consultants who say that the negative things others experienced while in the company can be attributed to a few bad people are right if they mean that there are a few women in MK who do things that are ethically or morally questionable.

However, the common rah-rah and pushy behavior and is part of the majority of those who buy into the pink dream.