I am truly glad that I wrote my entry The Cult. I wrote it as a warning to other who might be recruited. Honestly, I was not sure how effective it would be, but apprently it is helping some. Please see the comment left by Anthony from Ohio. It’s a detailed account of his experience with recruitment. I appreciate the feedback. His comments were well-thought out, and gave me a good feeling that I was doing something good for people. If you use this site for information and find it useful, please leave a comment. It does not have to be long. Just let myself and the people reading know that you found it useful. Proves how amazing the web is and how great it can be.
December 2004 Archives
I was recruited. Not for a team, not for a political party, not to fulfill my dreams in a marketing position or a law school. I was recruited to join a business cult…at least that’s how I felt. I had a meeting this Monday past with a potential client that I met at a networking event. Let’s call him VD (yes, read deep into the initials.) Everything went well. He was excited about the advertising plan I created for him, so I told him that he’d have a formal proposal in the next few days. Wednesday, I called him to confirm that he received it. He said he had, but wouldn’t be able to discuss it till sometime early next week. No problem. Then the following conversation took place:
"Carson (that’s me), I know you are busy at (my company), but would as we discussed on Monday, I have a few companies on the side and would like to offer you a position on the side."
Cool. I thought to myself. Someone is seeing some potential. "What exactly is it? "
"It’s a web portal company. Basically, we offer a way for web goers to get to sites such as circuitcity.com. The biz is really booming right now. I can’t get into all the details with you now because I’m about to meet someone."
"Where do I need to be me? Do I have to sell things because I’m–" he interrupted me.
"No, you don’t have to sell (My ass). 8pm at the Courtyard."
I guess we just meet in the lobby. This is a little strange. "So you’re picking like 3 or 5 people, how many of us will be there?"
"50."
50. OK come back down to earth. He’s selling something. It can’t hurt though. Never know what will happen.
"See you tomorrow. Be in professional dress."
hang up the phone
No problem. Sounds quirky, but I look damn good in a suit; so we’ll see what shakes loose.
Thursday
After two hours of hanging at my pad in a suit waiting for 8 to stroll around, I left for the hotel.
I get out of my vanilla Camry, slide into my pinned jacket and grab my contemporary folio. As I roll through the auto doors of the Courtyard, I am greeted by a young man that looks like he just stepped off of Wall Street. Black hair with loads of gel to spike it. His suit looks like a Banana Republic (which is a good thing, I love that store) ad. Big smile very classy with a silver metallic name tag.
"Are you here for the e-commerce meeting?"
"Um, I think so. VD invited me."
"Yeah. He’s awesome. Just go down to that table and register."
Lady at the table, "Are you a guest or a member?"
"VD invited me."
"Oh, he’s not here yet, but he’s our head speaker tonight. Just sign on the left pad," she motioned.
She handed me a ticket. It was made quickly known to the hosts that VD had invited me.
All the men were dressed the same…like they were on Wall Street. All slicked out, very well-spoken and very hospitable. A black guy about my height and age with a bald head named ‘Tomas’ guided me to the second seat in the first row. There is no way I’m doing whatever the hell they’re selling tonight. This is bullshit, but maybe I can learn something. I began making small talk with the black guy to my left. Turns out his name was ‘Perry’, 20 years old working at Winn Dixie in Destrehan. I asked if he knew why the hell was here and if he was approached somewhat strangely. He said yes and was anxious to talk. He said he was stacking eggs and a man just began talking to him. He normally doesn’t speak to customers, but this guy just kept talking. We both agreed our being there was bizarre. Someone interrupted me and said that it was great that I knew VD and to keep an open mind. FLAGS GO OFF IN MY HEAD. (If you saw Don’t Be a Menace to South Central…it reminded of the times when the guys says message.’)
A seemingly powerful man began to speak at the front…great speaker and quite forceful. Same description tall, white, spiked hair, suit. Claimed to be the Chief IT guy for a major corporation (no individuals named their companies). He introed VD as a successful biz man. Someone that has made six figures off the program. Sure.
VD got up and spoke about money and the process of moving goods from manufactures to stores, etc. It was 50 minutes of that crap. The whole time I’m trying to figure out what exactly I’d be selling. VD was funny and spoke well. He got the audience involved with laughs and common interests such as making money and working for yourself, but focused most of his questions on the first row. He used me a few times for participation, but focused on a guy named ‘Hernandez.’ Hern was a young Spanish guy who looked a little shaky in public speaking. His everyday job was something to do with taxes. There was a new girl next to him. She was young, attractive and white. She was next to her sponsor (a woman as well). VD asked Hern many questions about what he wanted to do and his dreams. The main goal of the talk were dreams, freedom, teamwork and being your own boss.
Everything in the beginning was typical of ra-ra type stuff…nothing really suspicious. Things that made me suspicious:
1) It was never really made clear what the hell we’d be selling to make money.
2) Money was made by referrals and people buying products.
3) At one point, the girl next to Hern started answering questions about his family for him.
How the hell does she know what his life is like?
The name of the company was Quixtar (If you’ve heard of the company, you know where this is going). VD told a story about not reading everything you see in the paper because you have to consider the source. If you want the facts, he said, go to Quixtar Facts. I laughed at this in my head. The website with the real facts is run by the company. Yeah, real swift. I’m sure it’s completely unbiased. Side note: If you’re a company, how can you be that dumb in your marketing?
Afterwards, I asked Perry what he thought. He said he wasn’t sure. I told him I wasn’t sure what I was selling…he concurred. Just as quick we were pulled aside by our sponsors (mine was VD). At this point, I knew I wasn’t going to do it, but I wanted to see where it led. So I did one of the things I do best…acted. He asked me if I was interested I said yes. It was music to his ears, so he said he was going to get me a CD. Meanwhile, he introed me to his wife. I made small talk to her, but she had little to say especially when I asked about their marriage. Then, I met some head people including the first powerful speaker. I complemented him on his speaking skills. He asked me what I thought. I told him that I liked it a lot, but wasn’t sure what I’d be selling. He was immediately confused. VD was quick to jump in to explain that this was my first meeting and that I hadn’t yet gotten the full run down. Apparently, VD did something he wasn’t supposed to do. The same conversation took place when he introed me to one of the top people. An older well-dressed woman named ‘Carly.’ She was ra-ra. The next tipping point:
She pointed to an Indian family that had achieved ‘diamond’ status. I didn’t know what the hell that was at the time, but acted impressed. Why is that curious? Because VD had asked them early in his speech what the man did for a living as if he’d never met him. The guy and his family were full fledged members. I looked around and took a quick summary and suddenly realized that everyone except my side of the first row had been sitting in 3′s. Not sure if that meant anything, but find it interesting.
As VD was walking me out a video was being setup for the people still interested in joining, he was hesitant handing me the CD. He asked if we could meet on Saturday to explain further.
"Can we meet at your house?
Hell no! "How about Starbucks? Can I bring someone with me?" My dad would be a nice partner. He won’t get a damn thing past him. My dad later laughed at me for even thinking he’d go.
"Sure on both accounts."
I made sure I was in front of his wife a good bit as she was leaving before him. Earlier in his speech, he’d mentioned about he just bought 4 new Caddys for his fam. This guy was very conservative in his speech with me, so I didn’t believe it. I arrived in my car and sat there with it off for a second. After she’d passed me, I started it. I wanted to see what she was driving. I back up as she pulled around the corner of the lot. She was driving a gold Saturn. No offense to Saturn owners, but it’s not an Escalade. The same as my white Camry is not an H-2. I listened to the CD on the way home. It was a lot of ra-ra from some supposedly brilliant financial mind. It sounded like the yearly Wal-Mart rallies you see when they end the quarter.
Went home and told my parents about it. The gist of it was that it was an old company called Amway, but the online version.
I immediately went online and did some research. Their marketing people are not too bright. I went to the Quixtar Facts website where they have video that refutes an interview done by Dateline. Why the hell would you bring attention to anything like this? I did some 3rd party searches through Google. I found a Quixtar Blog dedicated to talking about the company, but not neccessarily talking bad about it. The guy who runs it is married to a former employee. He also runs Quixtar Forums. Based on my research, this company is truly bad. People’s lives and families have been ruined. Yeah, you can sell only 4 hours a week, but you’ll lose your ass on the deal.
Some things I thought about after I left:
1) That list I signed was only like 6 names long. That member list was about 30 long. Who cares? Well, everyone in the room was acting as if they were brand new. They all new what was going on. It was a fucking youth rally.
2) The Caddys were BS.
3) I called VD yesterday to tell him that I didn’t have enough time to pursue this opportunity. He was disappointed and his tone quickly changed. He said he’d email me is home address and asked if I could drop it in the mail. I told him sure. I’m copying it first though. I may investigate this stuff further. He was too pleasant getting off the phone.
It was a freaking cult. However, they are an EEOE because there was a great diversity of people there, so I guess that’s positive.
Developing…
