Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 
18 Comments
18 Comments
Two weeks ago I went to a bridal expo in Sacramento with my mom, sister, and future sister in-law. It was good experience for us, although we weren’t as into it as some of the other brides were. We were there more to get ideas whereas a lot of women were doing some serious vendor hunting. Majority of the vendor booths had raffles going on so we signed up for quite a bit of them hoping we’d win something. If it’s one thing I learned it’s don’t give out your phone numbers unless you want to be bothered to death by vendors. They’ve been bugging me all week!
One of the raffles we signed up for was to win a Mary Kay bridal package. From what I understood it entitled me to a bunch of “free goodies” (apparently $500 worth to be exact) and something about make-up for my wedding day and a facial. Somehow Amber and I got talked into doing a pampering session to try stuff out. We figured why not, it’s free, and we can invite our bridesmaids over for a little get-together. So that’s what we did.
I got a call from my MK rep a couple days before the scheduled get-together telling me I had won the bridal raffle. She kept emphasizing the “free goodies” I would be getting and that she would explain everything at our scheduled party. I was excited about it, but I was warned by a friend who was a former MK sales rep.
One of the first things I learned in training was that EVERYBODY WINS. A strategy of MK is to place out those drawings/raffles and then literally call everyone who enters to tell them they won. They don’t feel bad about technically “cheating” people like this, it’s just another way to drum up clients. They get “winners” to book a session with them and invite other people, who they hope will also become one of their clients. We were taught to call it a “party”, a “pampering session”, whatever sounds best. They say the more people you invite and the more they buy at the party, the more discounts/freebies you (as the party host) will get.
Yesterday I had all my bridesmaids over (except one) and Amber had her bridesmaids over as well. The MK rep was scheduled to come over at 4pm. When I talked to her two days prior to confirm our appointment (she called me at 8:30pm in the evening 
) she said she’d come over at 3:30pm to set-up. I figured no problem since I told all the girls to come over around 3pm; the MK lady mentioned free goodies for people who showed up early.
Everyone arrived at my house by 3:30pm but no MK rep. I get a phone call telling me she was running late and would be at my place in 30 minutes (she also said we’d get some extra free goodies because of her tardiness). She didn’t show up till 4:30pm, an hour later! One of my bridesmaids had to leave at 4:30pm so she didn’t get to partake in anything.
The MK lady shows up in a brand new Chevy Equinox, which I found out upon research is awarded to sales reps that keep up X amount of dollars in sales. She comes in, apologizes for being late and immediately helps herself to the food I prepared for my guests. A little unprofessional, but I brushed it off.
After she sets up in the dining room we all sit down and go around the table introducing ourselves, what our skin-care concerns are and ‘how everyone knows Christine’; the MK lady kept calling me Christine to which my sis and friend kept saying “nuh” afterwards, haha. Finally the MK lady introduces herself and went from talking about herself/the company to showing off her new car which she offered us the keys to go check out. I thought this was a little unprofessional as it had nothing to do with why she was here.
Also while we were sitting at the table I was drinking some Perrier and she says, “Christine could you get me some water? I’d love some Perrier.” 
I was taken aback, but being the polite hostess I was, I poured her a glass.
Once everyone came back inside from checking out the car, we began our session starting with skin care products, apparently MK’s version of a so-called facial.
The term “facial” refers to a skin care class, where you and/or other girls you invite all sit down and listen to the consultant explain and demonstrate how to USE their products. You give yourself a “facial”, pretty much. The products are nice, but you do all the work! You just learn about and sample their face wash, microdermabrasion, face lotion, lip mask and then their hand products during the class. Not much real pampering to it, unfortunately.
Now, my flower girl was at this party (she’s 9) hoping to play with make-up, but for the most part she was forced to sit and watch us put on beauty stuff. When it did come time for make-up all we got to try was some mineral foundation, eyeshadow, lip gloss, and mascara. We were limited to an extremely small representation of the Mary Kay line. Considering the suitcases she brought I thought we were going to have a LOT of product to play with. I got to play with more product at the Bare Minerals Master Event at the Sephora University than I did here.
When we were done she took the girls one by one into the living room for a private consultation. In other words, trying to get them to buy something (apparently none of the girls bought anything). Amber and I were the last ones to have our consultation and we wanted to do it together, mainly because Amber wanted me there for moral support so she wouldn’t get sucked into buying a ton of products.
As a hostess I was entitled to $25 off a purchase so I got $29 worth of stuff. Amber got a $25 hostess discount too even though the MK lady made a snide comment to me on the phone about how she couldn’t get ahold of Amber so it’s really my party. Once we filled out the appropriate forms, the MK lady went out to her car to get our products. 15 minutes later she came back into the house informing us she didn’t have our stuff on hand and that she’d send it out to us the next day. She also had the nerve to ask if I was making alcoholic drinks due to the fact I was making Shirley Temples for a couple of the girls. 
She then told us she’d like to spend 20 minutes talking to us some more about the company (aka trying to recruit us). All the girls except one followed my lead when I told her I wasn’t interested. In the middle of cleaning up the dining room the MK lady suddenly decided she needed to leave and didn’t bother doing her 20 minute recruiting session. Although we weren’t interested for the most part, I thought it was kind of rude of her to suddenly be in a big hurry to leave when she showed up late.
Oh and you know how I was told several times about receiving free goodies? I didn’t get a single thing unless you include the tiny fingernail sized sample of lip gloss that everyone got. What about my so-called bridal package? She didn’t say a word about it to me. Did my guests get any free goodies for showing up early and the MK lady being late? Nope. Nothing.
To be honest, I was not impressed with how this pampering session turned out. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun with my girls and getting to meet Amber’s friends. We had a great time playing with my sister’s Guitar Hero for Wii and eating good food and playing with Baby Renee. Other than that, the Mary Kay session was a complete waste of time. The lady was a bit unprofessional with her tardiness and presumptuousness, and I felt a bit mislead with what she kept offering (the supposed free goodies); she also seemed to care more about recruiting and talking about the business than getting us to try/buy stuff (after reading this it makes sense now).
After this experience, I honestly wouldn’t recommend a pampering session with Mary Kay. Anyone out there have any similar experiences?
Other articles to check out:
Yeah it’s funny cause it’s a pyramid scheem with the whole recruiting process. If you recruit enough people who do well, then you can get paid for doing nothing.
I do like that they have you put the makeup on yourself though. I feel you really get to decide if it’s rift for you when you do it. I feel the same with any product someone’s trying to sell me. Sure, the trained sales person can make it look easy, but if I can’t do anything, it’s not worth it.
This lady seemed like she really didn’t know much about the make-up (she had no eyebrows – all pencil) because a lot of the girls wanted to learn the smoky eye effect and it came off rather quickly. If the saleslady can’t even do the make-up properly then it’s definitely not worth it!
Mary Kay doesn’t seem to be that big here in NZ (I’ve seen more Avon stuff, personally) so I’ve never experienced anything like this, but it definitely sounds like she was pretty rude!
I’d have been pissed off too, that was definitely misleading. :/
I had to laugh though, at the thought of her constantly calling you the wrong name, and your friends correcting her after every time! I would have struggled to keep a straight face!
Yeah it was pretty funny, cuz both my sis and my friend kept saying “nuh” every time. I don’t think she ever got the hint.
She was so dumb! I seriously wanted to be like…are you KIDDING me? That all is just ridiculous. Oh, and she never called. If she calls later tonight I am going to have some words with her. BUT. I did have fun having girl time!! So in the end it was pretty worth it…it was just her ruining the makeup experience that really irked me.
I felt really bad afterwards about you putting you girls through that. You all were so patient and came all the way down for this only for it to be a waste of time.
Wow. What a crazy interesting story! I ended up reading the back articles too. I’ve heard of pyramid scheme thingies here and there but for the most part i don’t encounter or think about them.
It’s amazing that those types of companies are legal. The article about how it ruins so many woman is intense!! It makes me think of one of my friend’s mums growing up in high school. She was an Avon rep. I’d go over and walk through the basement to get to my friends room and it was covered head to toe in Avon products she wasn’t able to sell.
I have to say, it sounds like you were way too nice to her. I think i would have lost my temper! Sooooo many people call me Christina, so I know how annoying that can be ~_~
But i’m glad you all had a good time none the less
I felt it would be best to do some research about this company, and as you can see what I found was shocking. Also understanding the ins and outs of being a recruiter let me understand why I was treated the way I was.
ARGH this kind of thing really drives me mad. I really dislike the whole sales pitch thing that everybody seems to push lately. Not everything is about selling! Even my bank is trying to sell me things now! You have access to my account ma’am. You can see that I am in no position to buy anything!
Your MK lady was downright rude, unprofessional and not to mention an hour late! I would probably complain. Though I’m not sure who to…
And it’s unacceptable that they’re allowed to tell you that you’ve won and then not give you anything. That’s false advertising!
*Grumble grumble*
Wow! That is so terrible. I know it probably wouldn’t do anything, but I would try and get a hold of the big guys at head office and complain. The woman’s behaviour was unacceptable. I would have been really mad at her.
But at least you had fun with your friends and such. It might even have been a better party without the MK lady! LOL
I’ve never had an awesome experience with a MK consultant (excluding you know who of course). They have all been rude, inconsiderate, and I’m pretty sure they all promised “free goodies” that no one ever saw. My sister was a MK fanatic… she was always having parties with different consultants. One woman, forgot to bring mascara and asked my sister if she could borrow hers (with new wands of course) and that she would give her another one free for the trouble! Did my sister get a replacement mascara?! No way!! This woman was also late and promised everyone free lip gloss that no one ever saw! She also told all of us that a career in Mary Kay allowed her and her husband to purchase a new one… we later found out she was living in a trailer. We don’t know if the trailer was the new home… or she lied about her success with MK!!
So yeah… very unprofessional!!
Typo! I meant she was able to purchase a new home… not a new “one”
Doh!! :D
In regards to the Consultant who showed up late for an appointment . . . . I would have told her that my time is as valuable as hers and would have told her there would be no party today, “she’d” have to reschedule.
I have been with Mary Kay for 15 years and all the scenarios you mentioned made me sick to my stomach. I cannot believe how “ill-trained” this woman was – AND SHE HAS A CAREER CAR???? Hello!!!!!
I am just sorry that I was not the consultant you worked with because I do not run my business that way. I do not ask my hotess for refreshments, I bring my own water and I do not eat her food. And I do not show up for appts. late, and when I promise someone a gift – they get their gift.
It’s all in the training ladies!
Here is hoping your next experience with MK, should you choose to have one, will be more professional.
My sister-in-law had a MK party a few years ago, and the lady was really good at what she did. She gave us the choice of having her do our make-up, or letting us do it ourselves. I chose to have her do it because I wasn’t sure what shade to get. She chose it for me, and it looked really great. My sister-in-law did get quite a good amount of free stuff, because we all purchased sometimes from the MK rep. She was nice, not rude or presumptuous. My sister-in-law ended up becoming an MK rep herself, and I purchased all my MK products for years from her.
I also had a friend who was an MK rep, and she always passed around the booklet in case anyone wanted to buy anything (but she never pressured). I helped her out one time by giving her my notes to copy, and she gave me some really awesome MK goodies for that. I got mascara, some blush, my foundation, tweezers, a small mirror, lip gloss, and the amazing eye make-up remover (which I swear to this day is the best one I’ve ever tried). It all came in this cute make-up bag.
I guess it all depends on what kind of MK rep you get. Yours sounded pretty awful, and it really sucks that she provided a bad experience from you. MK has some really good products, but they also have some lousy reps as well. I don’t buy their foundation anymore, but I still have my friend send me some make-up remover and lip gloss every now and then.
I never fall into any of the recruiting schemes for Avon, MK and a few candle ones. It takes too much effort to really see any true profit from it and even then, you need to screw over a lot of people in the process.
A friend from high school got heavy into products for Amway’s Artistry and invited myself & my best friend to his place sometime last year to test out products and see if we’d be interested in selling. I guess because I knew who he was and trusted him that I might feel that representing Artistry is more reliable.
He was so sweet and his friend that helped out as as well. He let us test out some of the makeup they had, as well as the facial washes and moisturizers. The cool thing was that he had a little UV detector thing where you put your face into it to see any sun damage, large pores and other things under a UV light. Eessh my skin was all over the place. What was nice about that was that by him looking at your skin under the light, he’d be able to tell you what product would better suit you versus you just guessing.
My favorite was when he actually took the time to give us hand massages with the lotions they sell. OMGGG BLISS.
As far as MK and Avon, I stay the hell away from those crows.
I think I’d call her and ask where my free bridal package is? Why let her get away with that outright lie. You probably won’t get it, but at least you’d get a kick of watching her dance around the question. (from an ex-MK consultant)
At this point I no longer want anything to do with her or Mary Kay. Anything “free” from them is clearly not worth it.
Sorry you had to deal with that — but glad to hear you all had fun anyway!
One of the big problems with Mary Kay is there is no real training. Sales directors are supposed to train their consultants, but they have no real qualifications, and no one actually teaches them to train. Plus, there’s no obligation for consultants to get any real training. Most of their so-called “training” is on how to recruit.
Earning her car has nothing to do with her knowing how to use the products, teach others to use the products, or even her ability to sell. It has to do with how much she orders from Mary Kay, how many people she can recruit for Mary Kay, and how much they order from the company. None of that helps real potential customers.
I feel sorry for that woman, despite her behavior. She spent the time to get the booking, come to your home, set up, give her presentation, talk to each person individually, and she didn’t make anything — the cost of the samples and the $25 worth of products she gave 2 of you came out of her pocket. Very likely she was late because she had something else booked before you, which took longer than she was trained to expect, and probably made her little to no money. After that, she was probably hungry, thirsty, and frustrated, thus the attitude. And when, after all that, it was clear she didn’t have a chance of getting any recruits either, she probably had to run out of there before y’all caught her crying.
None of which excuses the Mary Kay lady, but the real problem is not that individual, or her bad training, but Mary Kay. Be glad none of your friends fell for the recruitment spiel. Maybe her rudeness was a blessing in disguise — if she had the car, she was probably an effective recruiter on a good day.