Pink Truth; the conversation.

Recently Pink Truth posted a list of questions that, left unanswered, would cast the company in a negative light.

However, the answers to those questions tell a different story. Realizing that although Pink Truth (as the name implies) claims to provide the truth, they would not answer these obliquely negative questions in a straightforward manner (if at all) I took it upon myself to answer them here.

You can see my full post here.

In generating and explaining the necessity of that post, I went to the "rules and regulations" of Pink Truth. The rules had previously stated that "no comments contrary to their mission were allowed" or something similar. Upon looking for that statement (in the interest of full disclosure) I discovered a slightly different phrasing. It now reads:

"Comments that are openly hostile to our mission or our friends will not be allowed. Opposing viewpoints that are presented in a respectful fashion will be considered for publication, but may not necessarily be ultimately published."

As an adaptive individual, I felt that perhaps they were now genuinely interested in having those questions answered. Rather than assuming the worst about them, I once again gave them the benefit of the doubt and (selecting the most respectful answers) posted the following comment.

You have raised some interesting questions here. I have some answers. I don’t think that you will agree with me, but respectfully, I submit the following answers.

Why is it that one purchasing the highest dollar amount in products from the company is called “The Queen of Sales”?

It is assumed that products being purchased from the company are being resold. Why would anyone purchase product they had no intention of reselling or using?

Where are the billions per year that Mary Kay Corporate makes from their consultants going?

Have you ever run a business? There are a lot of expenses associated with running a corporation of this size. Where are the billions of dollars that Microsoft makes every year going? I can’t answer that, but why is it important to know that?

What is the motivation of Mary Kay Corporate or the upline to see that consultants sell the product they have already purchased?

If the consultant sells that product she will buy more. Then she will sell that and buy more. Then she will sell that and buy more. How is that not a better plan than a one time purchase? “What is good for the consultant is good for everyone” really makes sense if you just think about it.

Why is there recruiting? If the products are so great and undervalued as to make a 50% profit, why would anyone want to recruit when the product sold so well?

Why does anyone hire people? When you can make money (however much or little) on the effort of someone else it is usually worth while.

We recently bought an acre of property in WA State, built a house on it and sold it. I ‘recruited’ a realtor, a contractor, a painter, a landscaper and many others. They all got paid what they normally get paid and I made money for putting the whole thing together.

Why did I do it? I wanted to make money.

Similarly, when my wife recruits someone, they get paid for their effort. They buy the same product she does and sell it. Provided they sell it for more than their expenses, they are making money. How much they make will obviously vary widely, but they have the ability to make money. She (my wife) makes money based on how well they do. She keeps in close contact with all of her recruits and strives to make sure they are not buying products that are not selling.

People recruit because they are offered an opportunity to make MORE money. It is not a requirement.

Why are people who choose to quit Mary Kay called and begged not to or ridiculed for their decision to quit?

The script in question explains it like this:

“I did my first exit interview using this script (Below) last night with a $3600 inventory. We left each other on a VERY positive note. And while she is still deciding what she wants to do, she’s very strongly considering not sending product back. At the very least, she will leave Mary Kay knowing what a wonderful and caring company we are.”

They are not being begged not to quit or ridiculed. Some people actually care about the problems that others had and want to:
1.Make sure the problem can’t be resolved
2.Find ways to create a better experience for the next person
3.Avoid burning bridges. If someone just wants to take a break, they have options available to them.
4.Make sure that if they do want to quit for good, they recoup as much of their cost as possible.

How is Mary Kay enriching women’s lives…exactly? By providing a product that is needed/wanted?

Yes.

Thanks

This comment sparked some (I felt) good conversation. I was challenged on some of my assertions. I was questioned about specifics of my wife's involvement. All of which I attempted to answer as honestly and respectfully as possible.

Some even commented that they were glad I was "looking for real truth" as my sign in name implied.

By the time I woke up the next morning, I was banned from their site. Interestingly my comments were not deleted. Rather they were further challenged. Some of the questions posed were excellent questions and I would love to answer them. However, I will not be afforded that opportunity.

At 7:25 (5:25 pst) Tracy finally commented:

"While it is nice that "Looking" is supporting his wife, Pink Truth is not the forum for pro-MK people to promote their agendas. I also won't allow him to ridicule our mission or our members on this site."

It is now clear to me that their agenda is to brainwash women into thinking that Mary Kay is as evil as they say it is. I do not ridicule this agenda, I am simply against it. I do not ridicule the members of their site, but I don't agree with what they are doing.

I would be very interested to hear what definition of truth they use in claiming that truth is what they represent.

Ironically, for all their cries of, "Mary Kay is a cult because they won't let people say negative things about the company" is echoed more strongly in their banning of people who say anything contrary to their highly esteemed mission.

Initially my goal in creating this site was to present both sides of the story as a resource to people who were considering whether or not Mary Kay would be a good move for them. I have now added to that mission, "saving women from the cult that is Pink Truth". I am sorry to say that some very intelligent people are being led astray by a charismatic leader. Sound familiar? It should. Pink Truth is brainwashing people to the point that if you say anything positive about Mary Kay, you are not welcome in their community.

I did not promote a "pro MK agenda" as she calls it.

I did not ridicule their mission.

I did not ridicule their members.

I merely answered their questions and posed a few of my own. I challenged their mission. I questioned their staunch believe that Mary Kay is evil. I believe that truth (whatever your definition) requires considering ALL evidence available and discovering the truth based on that.

I have posted my first comment here. The next several posts will be the comments left in response to this comment and my responses to them. I am going to spread it out over several posts so that you, my loyal readers, can comment on individual items.

Please be honest with me. If you feel that I ridiculed their mission or their members, point it out to me. If you feel that I promoted any agenda other than "looking for the real truth" as they claim to, let me know!

If you are joining us from Pink Truth, welcome! Please feel free to jump right in. We believe here that there are problems inherent with Mary Kay. We seek to help people avoid falling into these potential errors and thereby improve their chances of succeeding. We believe that people can succeed in Mary Kay as evidenced by the fact that some do. We believe that some have misrepresented the opportunity to make it sound like success is guaranteed. We aim to warn people that success is not guaranteed.

Please share your experiences and observations if you are willing so that we can build on the foundation that has been developed. If you feel that no one can succeed in this business, you will have to explain why.

Thanks all