MLM Survivors Club: Re: [MLM Survivors Club] Re: MLM Physical Stress Symptoms

On Sunday 13 January 2008, Janine Dellinger wrote:
> Hi Hal,
>
> I knew you had to bring up the Star Trek analogy sometime soon,lol.

I brought it up because it was about the best analogy I could think of
to explain the way I see it. I've thought of using bees as an example
before, but few people know enough about bees for it to work and we
don't really know how bees "think."

> That's okay my husband who is also a techie said that a "drone" was a
> good word. Randy saw me headed in that direction and he was starting
> to get on my nerves and I realized he was trying to bring me back
> from drone ville now. I am not mad at him any more for doing what he
> did. He was saving me. I had half my family on my case. Even the ones
> I thought didn't care. So just goes to show you how you can connect
> with people on different levels once you find out what they are
> concerned about. I used to think this group was a bit on the rough
> side, but I realized they where trying to get thru to me so I do not
> have any hard feelings.

It's interesting how so many people could be trying to help you, but to
an MLMer they're programmed to think that all those people are "dream
stealers." It's interesting they've been so programmed that they can't
step back and look at it realistically, but that's another example of
drone think.

> Btw, my former arbonne upline is still trying to sell arbonne at a
> spa where she said she quit doing massage a year ago. She sits and
> waits in the reception area waiting for people to give a demo to. The
> spa doesn't want her there and they have asked her to leave many
> times. The deal was once she left, arbonne left to. That just goes to
> show you how brain washed mlm's can get you. I think they should send
> the cops over and kick her ass out and put a restraining order on
> this woman. She was already out of it before she joined arbonne. This
> woman needs meds and some serious help. People are just feeling sorry
> for her. Any suggestions for the spa?

Is the spa taking suggestions? It doesn't sound like the are.

First, this woman is a great example to use. When she sits there all
day, she's claiming to be successful, but spends all day in the spa
doing nothing but waiting. Do others want to do that? Is that what a
successful person does?

I used to do market surveys. Some stores got ticked off because I'd go
in with a clipboard and record prices, but (at least in VA) the point
was that they were inviting the public into their store and couldn't
invite just some of the public. I heard about that coming to a court
case somewhere. A chain store found the manager of a competing small
store in one section, writing down prices and kicked him out. I don't
know how many times that happened, but he sued to be allowed in and
won. Half an hour after the court case ended, he was back in there,
with his clipboard, writing down their prices.

I would think they could post "No soliciting" notices and make it clear
that their policy prohibits soliciting their customers to sell products
or services or memberships or business opportunities. They can include
that wording in a smaller lettering on the sign. If they're part of a
mall or strip mall that has any security people, they can find out if
they can escort a person off their premises for violating store policy.
If so, then they should have the rent-a-cops escort her out. She may
make a scene, but if she's escorted out every time she shows up, she'll
give up sooner or later. If she does make a scene or refuse to be
escorted, she's doing herself in because that's the perfect chance to
call the police. Especially if she causes a disturbance.

If they aren't in a location with rent-a-cops, they can rent their own.
Call a local agency, preferably one that uses off-duty officers. I'm
guessing they'd cost more, but that way they're getting someone who
should know the law. Work out a deal to hire them for a week. Let the
woman in. After all, she might be a customer. The first time she
approaches someone, he can point out the "No Soliciting" sign and ask
her to stop.

They can also check with the police and ask if they can have the police
remove a person in the store who is violating their store policies.

There are some more, slightly subversive tactics they can do. They
could set up a security camera, which could be any kind of camcorder
set up in a hidden location. Tape can be expensive, so what I've done
is connect the camcorder output to a regular VCR, put in a extra length
tape (some do 8 hours in the slow mode), and record on the VCR tape
instead of the camcorder tape. Or you can use shorter tapes for better
quality, since VCR tapes are cheap and it'll be easier to get to the
VCR to change a tape than to a hidden camcorder. Here's a list of
sites with free video editing software on Windows:

http://tv.isg.si/site/?q=node/873

If you have the camcorder display the date and time, that'll help.
After a few days, someone can take the tapes and edit them to show her
arriving each morning and staying all day. You can also include snips
of her approaching people. It'd be great if she says the same thing
over and over. Then you include a montage of her saying it to a number
of different people. Set up a monitor on some surface and when this
woman starts her pitch to someone, play the tape (or DVD). It'll speak
for itself.

That's a bit complex, so they may not want to do that, but the advantage
of taping her is that this is a public place so she has no expectation
of privacy and no grounds for complaint if she is taped. Playing a
tape provides an objective display of her performance.

On the other end, if they can keep someone in the waiting room where she
stays so when she starts her speech to a customer, they can recite it
along with her. Or, for a week or so, you can make sure she's watched
and when she starts approaching people, an employee can say, "I'm sorry
for the inconvenience, but this woman is part of a multi-level
marketing system, sometimes called a pyramid scheme. We invite all the
public in, so we can't kick her out, but she solicits all our customers
and tries to get them to buy her products, which we've tested and
compared to ours and found them to be inferior. She also tries to
recruit people. You're free to do what you wish, but we apologize for
her soliciting you. We are powerless to stop her."

The trick is to keep the wording non-aggressive and to not say anything
that she could consider slander or libel.

Or you might do a search on the web, find valid articles and statements
about Arbonne, copy the appropriate text of them and put them together
in a flier, including links to the cited articles, and give that flier
to each person she solicits along with appropriate comments.

Or post a sign saying, "We do not allow solicitation of our customers
but are limited legally in how we can enforce that. We have had some
people try to repeatedly convince our customers to buy products from a
multi-level marketing company or to try to recruit people to join it.
We ask her to leave every day when she comes in, but she refuses. She
has said she is successful in this project, yet she spends all day
sitting here, waiting to solicit our customers." I would think if the
behavior is documented, either by employees logging when she arrives
and when she talks with customers and when she leaves, or on video,
even if she claimed libel or slander, then the spa would be able to
prove her wrong.

That's a number of possible ideas. I think I'd start with trying to
make sure someone was always watching the waiting room who would
interpose themselves whenever she started her pitch, and say something
short like, "Mrs. Smith, we have a no solicitation policy, as posted on
this sign. I'm going to have to ask you again, as I did when you came
in this morning, and as I have every day this past week to please stop
soliciting our customers. Please leave this customer alone and leave
our shop, as we've asked you to do many times."

This may not discourage her, but it will likely kill any chance of
success when she talks with the customer. You can also try something
longer like, "Excuse me, but this woman has been here since 9 am this
morning and arrives at 9 am every morning and stays until we close.
We've asked her to not solicit our customers to buy her products or
join her multi-level marketing plan, yet she comes back everyday and
does this. We've compared our products to hers and found our prices
better and our product better, yet she claims otherwise. She spends
all her days here, at least 8 hours a day, yet has not been able to
gain enough customers to so she can spend her time otherwise. We've
asked her to leave, but she refuses, so we apologize for any
inconvenience she causes."

Another point is that if she is interfering with how they conduct
business or reducing repeat business, then they can take legal action.
A spa is a place for relaxation. If she is interfering with the
atmosphere they create, she is interfering with the business.

Is it possible to reconfigure the waiting room or to have some type of
gatekeeper for a while? When someone comes in, have the gatekeeper,
which could be any employee, ask them when their appointment is, then
admit them to the waiting room. That way those without an appointment
or who are not meeting someone with an appointment are not admitted.
If they're in the mall, a simple podium just outside the door with a
chair for a person to stay may do. Otherwise, if you can somehow put
up a barricade so real customers wait on one side and she's blocked
out, that would work.

Some of these ideas are creative, some far out, some kind of kooky, but
it seems to me that if the shop had truly wanted her out, they would
have either talked to a lawyer or the local police or mall security or
someone to see what they can do. If it comes down to the point that
they have but she can't be removed unless she's committing a crime,
then they should be ready to counter her sales pitch even as she just
starts it. It'll take extra time and effort on the part of the
employees (or perhaps one employee has a relative who can come in for a
week to help them out with this), but if it's done consistently so this
woman knows she's going to be blocked, eventually she'll get
frustrated.

Remember, she's not leaving because it's easy now. She really believes
Arbonne will make her rich. She's studied the situation and thinks the
best way to recruit is to stay there and pitch to everyone that comes
in. At this point, she believes that all she has to do is come in
every day and sit and catch a few victims and she'll be rich. She
doesn't want to leave because then she has to work to find prospects.
She will resist them unless she's forced to leave because she thinks
all she has to do is go and sit there each day and wait and soon she'll
be rich. If she leaves there, then she will have to actually work to
find prospects.

I wish you lived in this area. I'd be more than willing to try a few
subtle ideas I have and get rid of her for them just for the
experience.

Hal