I was Recruited by Quixtar....and Survived

I had never heard of Quixtar until a colleague at work began to accost various members of our company and urge them to join this organization. At the time, I was unaware that Quixtar is owned by Alticor Corporation, which also owns Amway. Both Amway and Quixtar employ Independent Business Owners (or IBO's) to sell the products the companies' market (the majority are Alticor products - which both sister companies have exclusive distribution rights). The IBO's then make a percentage of the sale. They also are able to recruit other IBO's and share in a portion of their sales.

Needless to say, the majority of the population is put off by the sales pitch by these IBO's, as well as the notorious reputations of these organizations being pyramid schemes. My colleague, whom I will refer to as Sanjay, was subsequently reported to upper management and promptly told to cease the recruiting of employees on company grounds immediately.

Later in the year, I was placed on the same team as Sanjay at work. Despite warnings from other friends and peers within the company, I kept an open mind about him. I found that he and I shared many of the same interests (same age, recently married, interested in raising a family, movie buffs, same field of study in college) and became friends. Along with our wives, we began meeting socially. We enjoyed going to movies and trying new restaurants together. Although I was in no way interested in Quixtar (and I mentioned this to him initially), I was put at ease as this topic never came up during our time together.

Looking back, there was one statement he made that raised a question in my mind. He said that he stopped renting or going to as many movies as he had because there was "nothing in it for him by participating in this activity." I then thought to myself, "What is in it for him by spending time with me and my wife." Besides, of course, our charming and effervescent personalities...

Shortly thereafter, he approached me at work and asked if my wife and I could meet that evening at his house. He was vague about the reasoning but I accepted. I knew that instant that I was not going to meet Sanjay my friend, but instead Sanjay the IBO for Quixtar.

That evening, they led us to their living room and Sanjay produced a flip chart. He flipped over the first page and asked me what I would do if I had more free time. The presentation had begun! He went on to discuss the organization and how, through Quixtar, he planned to be "financially free" in two years. His retirement would begin with a limousine picking him up at his job and being greeted by other Quixtar members holding balloons and cheering.

I told him I would be happy to try some of the products and thereby generate commissions (which were 10% of the total sale at that time) for him, but I was not comfortable being an IBO. This seemed to greatly disappoint Sanjay, and only later did I find out the reason. IBO's make the majority of their money off of training materials (manuals, CD's, and DVD's) which their apprentice IBO's need to purchase. My wife then chimed in, "Who makes the other 90% off the sale?" The question was left unanswered.

Following our meeting and lack of interest in Quixtar, there were no more offers for dinner or movies. Sanjay and his wife would move on to the next target and see they could get access to someone else's rolodex of family and friends to fuel his bid to become financially free.

The year was 2000 and both of us have moved on from our positions in the same company. However, I did run into Sanjay recently and he was working at a local bank. Apparently, and not surprisingly, he has not been greeting with cheers, balloons, and a limo yet.