Looking back at my IBO days, I can now laugh at some of the weird stuff we did and believe it or not, I have reason to believe that my old LOS, WWDB still teaches some of this and some other major groups also teach it. I believe some of these practices were the reason why some people refer to the Amway business as cult or having cult like qualities. If you recognize some of these practices, you might be in an unethical group and you should ask your upline the tough questions and possibly reconsider or reprioritize your involvement in the business.
Late meetings. Our upline was into late meetings, many occuring after midnight. I suppose it was a show of loyalty and dedication to the upline and the system. In reality, it made most people angry at their jobs because they had to wake up early to go to work. For me it made me mad at our upline because the meetings taught us nothing of substance and it just made us tired. Our upline used to talk about time being important but it was never important enough to make him show up on time for his own late night meetings. Another cult like factor - sleep deprivation. Our upline described this practice as Amway being a business of incovenience, designed to weed out the weak and undedicated.
Submission to upline was one of the things we were told. Our group was told that upline would never purposely lead us astray so we should trust them and never try anything without checking upline. Afterall, upline had experience and probably had all the answers. Some of this checking upline included asking permission to get married, buy a car or a home, or even something as small as purchasing a camera. The upline said maybe someone upline might have advice on how to get a good deal on a camera so no harm in checking upline before making a purchase. It is my guess that upline didn't want your disposable income being spent on anything other than standing orders and functions.
Secrets. Anytime we asked about how much income uplines may have been earning, we were either told it's none of our business or shown a photocopy of a 5 year old bonus check that someone upline may have received. Our proof that the business worked was upline showing off pictures of sports cars and mansions. Of course we now find that some WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed, and one prominent triple diamond had some dealings in bankruptcy court. Looking back, I suspect that many diamonds have mortgages, which would not be a problem except that these leaders scoffed at the stupidity of having a loan. That diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. My former sponsor still lives in a run down rented home beause he won't purchase a home unless he's got the cash. My former sponsor is a physician so I find his position on buying a home preposterous. His oldest child, a son probably grew up deprived of his parents because of dedication to the system and the functions.
Losing money is success. Many times, our group was told that losing money was a sign of success. It was success because we were investing in our futures. That the business really is not about money but about friendships. I suppose upline taught this because everyone was losing money so it was nice to hear that success was around the corner, and that we were all nicer people and on our way to success if we just attended more functions and bought more standing orders. People who sold off some of their personal property were edified if they did so to attend a function. Obviously these folks were not advised to run their business within their means. Upline even said that going into debt was okay, but only if the debt was to invest in the business or to buy extra function tickets.
While some of these practices seem bizarre, I believe it is because the upline advice was self serving and meant to channel their downline's dollars into tool purchases. It is the only conclusion I can make.
2 comments:
Amway is most definitely inconvenient. Even more than that, it is overtly insane.
Forcing people to attend long meetings at midnight, solely to give them sleep deprivation? That's the sort of thing you would expect in a training camp for the SEALS, or the Special Forces. What the bloody fuck does it have to do with a sales-based business?
Asking permission to buy a camera? What is this, a religious order sworn to poverty and obedience? For a company that is named for "The American Way," this is pretty damned tyrannical. How about buying a tie? Do I have to ask my fat-assed Platinum about that too?
Secrets about finances? People who are partnering in a business concern aren't supposed to have any financial secrets that their associates don't know. Your up-line in Amway is your business partner. You have every right to know exactly what the guy is making in the business!
Losing money is success? What is this, George Orwell's 1984? WAR IS PEACE, LOVE IS HATE? You can lose money in a genuine business for only so long. After that, you turn a profit or you're out of business. These Amway jerks don't see that?
All of this nonsense clearly proves that Amway is a completely fake business. And it is certainly "inconvenient." It's highly inconvenient to lose your shirt.
When you really analyze it, Amway is just a front for upline leaders to systematically drain your bank account one cd at a time, or one book at a time, or one function at a time. Who the heck really needs voicemail these days?
I have heard though, that functions are taking place in smaller venues than the old days. Hopefully consumer awareness about the scam is becoming more widespread.
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