They should, yes. But some people can be right persistent, and watching antiMLM videos for ages now has given me the string impression that huns often get taught to push through a no. Also, it can take some life experience to go against all the niceness conditioning and realise it's fine to be "rude" at rude, pushy people. It did for me, at least.
Ex rep here, I can tell you that they actually are trained to counter "no". As creepy as it might sound. If it's someone you don't care about, reanounce the no. If you care about them, clarify that you value your friendship and don't wanna get involved. Then you play the waiting game until they are ready to get back out of the cult...
@@calipzeyou can’t “counter” anything If the other person doesn’t engage in a conversation. No is a sentence. Nothing needs to be said after that. So many women are taught to be nice and be people pleasers that they don’t understand the power of silence. All of these stories come down to women that allow themselves to have their boundaries violated. There is always the option to end a conversation.
Who else loves when Hannah gives the camera that look. It’s like the look you give a friend when you want to be like “WTFFFFFFF” but you aren’t in a situation where you can vocalize it 🏴☠️
This. I never buy from them. Instead I always just ask my kid’s teachers what they specifically need in the classroom and I go buy it for them. Sometimes the teacher is reluctant to say what they need (I get it, it can be hard to ask for help and can feel rude), so in that case I just ask my kid what is the teacher always running out of or what does she complain about the school not paying for? My kid is quite observant, so he can usually name several things that the teacher needs more of. And if it’s not much, some books for the classroom library and a $50 gift card to Walmart or Target usually works just fine. I’d rather that $100-ish go directly to the teacher (and keep her/him from having to spend his/her own money) than to some “fundraiser” that borders on being a scam.
Yeah I hate these fundraisers. My kids feel so much pressure to be the best when they have zero control over how much their parents or friends/family donate. I always feel so bad for the kids whose families aren’t able to contribute. Thankfully the school divides the kids up into teams and everyone ends up getting some kind of prize, so kids don’t “go home empty handed” after a fund raiser.
Yes, this. In fact, I think there was a video or two where one of those chocolate companies that does school fundraisers was exposed as an MLM and that they had done some very shady shit. I don't remember which content creator did it, but I'm like 99% sure that video exists.
He’s probably terribly confused as to why his owner is staring at some weird device and talking to herself. He’s being a good cat and trying to keep things from being awkward by replying to the one way conversation.
@davemccage7918 , there is probably a lot of truth in what you say, but I know Zeke would take issue with you calling Hannah his owner. I guess you don't have a cat because every cat person knows that cats don't have owners or masters. They have human staff. Maybe he wants his human servant, Hannah, to stop talking to herself and get him a snack and then pet him.
I’m late to this video, I’m just discovering this channel. As a true crime fan and someone who had a best friend who sold Young living, your comment made me literally laugh out loud. 🤣 😂😂😂
As someone from Europe, I find these school fundraisers to be very scammy anyway, even without the MLM. The school gets pennies on a dollar for the items sold, kids & parents are forced to shove useless crap down neighbours’ and relatives’ throats… Most of these „goods” are terrible quality & will only end up in landfill & pollute our planet. Fun fact: as an exchange student in the US I actually dropped out of choir because we were forced to participate in a fundraiser like that & it sounded so weird & exploitative (while also kind of mandatory!). Please just donate money to the school!
In the Netherlands that sort of thing doesn't really seem to be that common, fortunately. There's only two I know of from when I was a kid and now hear of from friends' kids, both are generally decent and low-pressure. There's the yearly sale of charity stamps that is organised through schools but don't financially benefits schools, and a lottery that mostly financially benefits whatever club (mostly local sports clubs) someone is selling for with a small part of the money going towards prizes.
True that they’re not that much money for the school, however they are usually good quality. I still have several items I bought 15 years ago from school fundraisers and any chocolates that are sold are good quality most of the time.
I've seen a growing trend of online retailers offering an opt-out for Mother's Day and Father's Day sales messages. If the heartless corporate overlords can manage it then somebody's actual in person real life "friend" should be capable
Story 3... ooof. i am so sorry for that person because like they said, people are indeed complex. You can be a good dad but a bad person and OP is gonna have to wrap their head around this. Her dad didnt just get tricked into an MLM, he STARTED some and paid his workers barely anything and willfully evaded taxes. Good dad, not so great person - you can be charismatic as heck and also still someone to be cautious around. Glad he's in construction now though I suppose.
Yeah, OP is in complete denial. Her dad should he in prison, she didn't even mention how many people he must have robbed of their life savings AND time.
That is what happened with Wildtree. They told reps they were closing for good and the reps were selling everything like crazy. As soon as they were “closed” they decided to “reopen”, but not as an MLM. The reps were mad. I am not pro MLM, but that was crappy too
Yeah, they shoulda at LEAST had the guts to fire their reps rather than just pretending to shut down all together. That would’ve at least been a transparent action towards legitimacy.
Story 5: running a business doesn't excuse sending the triggering promos. There are multiple companies that I'm on the mailing list for that send out customization options to opt out of certain holidays. I know it is an automated system, but if a money hungry corporation can be considerate about triggering holidays, a hun doesn't have an excuse.
Yes, I completely agree - it takes little effort to ask if a person would like to opt out of specific holiday messages, but it does make me feel higher about a company that does it (I know of two smaller businesses that do it). A person who already knows most of the people she is messaging has NO excuse 😑
Oh my god, first story right off the bat. I have a service dog and, while I've never had a hun approach me, but I've heard those sentiments before. My service dog is always with me, day and night, but its not like she's always working and can't have fun. I would say 95% of the time, I don't need Valkyrie, but that 5%? Absolutely essential and she saves my life. I will take her out for "dates" and fun outings where we prioritize her rather than work, and she's a very lazy and goofy muppet at home. She, arguably, has a richer life than a non working dog.
Story 3 is interesting to me…it sounds like the dad did work for a legitimate company for a bit, then chose to leave and start a scam instead. That shows he knew exactly what he was doing - he was the perpetrator in that case. But human beings are definitely complex, so he could be a scammer but a loving dad, good friend etc. at the same time.
Holy moly, I sent in a story a couple of years ago about going to a second job interview where they basically took all of us out for door to door "job shadowing" where we would convince new homeowners to replace their hot water tanks. I told them it wasn't the job for me at the end of that evening and kind of forgot about the experience for a while. That must have been with this person's dad's company. I hope Hannah gets to it eventually.
@@Dreaming5 I sort of do and sort of don't want her to read it now, I found that email and it starts with "I watch illuminaughii, and the algorithm brought me here!" That didnt't quite age well, and stopped being true less than a year after I wrote it 😅
@@octochan Hannah would understand! so many us just didn’t know better! I remember commenting on a Cruel World Happy Mind vid ages ago, recommending one of Blair’s video. I wish I could find that comment so I could delete it - I had ZERO knowledge when I wrote that comment of how horrific Blair had been to CWHM!
Imagine invalidating a minor’s disability and insinuating that her medically necessary support animal is being harmed by her needing him just to attempt to make a sale
So say someone hosts a party and then purchases a starter kit. They literally just asked all their friends to spend money at the party, and then they’re supposed to ask them to spend MORE money because it’s their own business now? There’s no way a customer would already have used up whatever they bought at the first party, but now they’re supposed to buy more? I know I’m on the outside so the manipulation is clear to me, but I will never understand how people are comfortable asking their friends to spend that much money. It will put a strain on every single relationship they have.
For the record, school fundraisers always pay only about %5 to your child's school. Being sent five fundraising packages (one for each child) always made me furious. Especiallysince they got the kids all excited about the junky prizes they hand out. Yes, please just donate cash to your child's school.
As a disabled person with a service dog, my heart goes out to the handler in the first story. We hear enough whispers as we walk around, the last thing I want is some Hun pitching something to me. As a learning point for those that may not know, there are only two questions someone can ask about a service animal. The first question is "is that a service dog?" and second "is the dog trained to complete a task?" I don't have to answer exactly what the task is because of HIPPA. And like the young lady pointed out these animals thrive from doing their job. And when we are home, my service dog isn't wearing her vest she is very much a 70 lbs bucket of love.
Don't forget all, you can use email filters to send emails that are upsetting you straight to trash!~ Set one up with the trigger words so you don't have to see it anymore. It's also ok to unsubscribe from business emails at any time. Unless these emails are addressed to the person's name, they're probably mass emails going out to a large list and not maliciously ignoring someone's past. Ask to be taken off if they're causing you pain.
Writer of the first story: your cats are so adorable!! And I can’t believe that woman would try to use your service dog against you like that. From my knowledge, working dogs retire at a reasonable age and they love performing tasks. It sounds mean but I hope she’s embarrassed for being so boldly ableist.
Door-to-Door sales of heating and Water heaters was banned in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. So it's not all door-to-door sales. So you can still sell other things but basically not HVAC stuff. All other provinces and Territories it is allowed. Just want to clarify that. I'm Canadian myself and knew I had had sales men come to my door so I had to look it up. All Door-to-Door sales for profit should be banned.
Omg I think I had the HVAC people!! I remember them coming to my house and they accidentally let out my dog and I wouldn't listen to them until they helped me catch him....they gave up after about an hour lmao. Told my parents and they laughed about it as they told me "yeah for future reference, that's a scam. Hopefully they won't come back" they didn't
First story is enraging! My housemate has a service dog and the dog is SO HAPPY when she gets to work! She goes home tired, because she is legitimately working at a complex task, but satisfied bc she was such a good girl who did such a good job. The dog will be crushed when she has to retire. Also essential oils don’t do anything but smell, but we knew that already. The dog comment was just the poop icing on the mud cake.
The first story feels so familiar. I've never been pitched for a MLM but people have so much audacity when it comes to disability. I'm an ambulatory wheelchair user and when I have my chair I have had so many people come up and ask me what's wrong with me. Ableism sucks, and having it used to try and scam someone is even worse
I can’t stand stories of women that are uncomfortable or feel violated and they continue to engage. Get up and walk away. Stop teaching girls to be people pleasers.
That 5th story cuts close for me. My siblings and I been no contact with my ex-dad for nearly 7 years and one of my brothers gets super distressed around Father's Day because it reminds him of what he never had. Honestly OP's better than me because if someone was doing that _knowing_ what I'd been through, I'd have flown off the handle.
Story 5: I just went NC with my mother. You’re totally valid and not silly for being upset about the insensitive text messages. I’m sorry that your friend didn’t have your emotional safety in mind. Sending love. ❤️
I do agree. It was probably not intended, but OP still has the right to be upset. It was Hun's responsibility to check her mail list before sending, and removing OP from it considering their past with their mom. I went NC with my dad too, until I'm ready to talk to him again. I guess it was a horrible mistake, but if that ever happens to me, I'll send a polite but salty text, to make sure hun's gonna be careful next time. No shame.
About the mlm business dad: I understand the conflict but it's important to remember people are complex. He def loves the hell out of you... and he made some decisions that were not great. It sounds like you will want to have a conversation but just remember that parts of him are good. People don't always get it right.
I know Etsy has gone very downhill with drop shippers, but one thing I do appreciate is they send a pre-holiday message for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day to ask if you would like to opt out of those specific promotions. I’m sure it’s not easy, but it’s definitely doable and if the person from the last story is getting mass messages (or copy and paste) the MLMer could make a separate group for Mother’s Day or just not copy and paste 😓 I hope the person who submitted the story is doing okay, no contact is so hard but I’m glad they know their worth and boundaries 💕
I just want to say to that last person that being a tough cookie doesn't mean you have to suck it up and take it. Sometimes being tough means speaking up. And when I do this, I try to look at it that I'm maybe even doing this person a favor by letting them know they're crossing lines. Because chances are, you're not the only one annoyed or hurt by those kinds of messages. It might even help her. Either way, so proud of you for setting boundaries around your mom, because that is really, really tough. Much respect and love and healing to you for what you've endured and thinking of you as you move forward. ♥
My kids had an Usborne/paperpie book fair. When my kids came home with their wish lists I said let's go to barns and Noble instead. I did say something to the office about not being okay about an MLM
Story 3 - I know it's hard to be harsh to someone who is conflicted about the image they have of a love one and the things they did or do outside the house. But the lesson here isn't "Let's remember that not all of those who are deep into MLMs, including those who successfully use their charisma to manipulate people into buying into the scheme, are bad people." The lesson is: Nobody is 100% bad 24/7. Dismissing, downplaying, or denying the bad someone does because they were always nice to you or their family or to dogs and the sick and elderly is a dangerous route. People can be both. A loving father and family man who'd give his last shirt for his wife and children can still be a ruthless, manipulative conman who knows exactly what he's doing. He wasn't brainwashed, he did the brainwashing. He isn't doing it anymore and OOP was young and ignorant of what was going on, so they shouldn't be expected to confront their father or disown him or whatever. Life isn't black and white like this. But if someone is an adult and sees what a loved one is doing, and doing with zest and zero regrets, "This can't be because they are always kind to me" isn't a good excuse. This doesn't only apply to MLMs. "But they always seemed so nice and helped Grandma Patty with her garden and brought cakes to work! They aren't evil, only evil people do this!" is so often heard from friends, family, and neighbours when finally someone gets arrested for serious crimes because of that mindset. Also, it's exactly the reason why so many people get ruined by MLMs. Because a) they trust the one who recruits them because they are nice and a good person, they wouldn't take advantage of a friend/relative! and b) because the relative who fell for an MLM is so friendly and nice, they couldn't possibly decide to do something questionable or bad, so let's not say anything, just roll with it, buy a product to show support, and hope things will figure themselves out. OOP's childhood memories aren't wrong. They aren't wrong when they say they experienced him as a loving, caring father who'd never hurt or scam someone he cared about. It's That's a truth. It's even possible that he had a true moment of change, maybe he asked himself one day what he'd proudly tell OOP's class if she and her classmates were asked to invite a parent to speak about their work. Maybe he had an "Oh, well, it was good while it lasted, but it's time for honest work and become a good role model for my kids!" thought. It's also a truth that he was very much one of the bad guys, and knew it, during his MLM phase. Had OOP been born to a family the town over, he wouldn't have hesitated to scam her alternate-reality-parents.
From what I understand, service dogs are working breeds that enjoy intellectual stimulation. They go through a strict vetting process to verify they have the right temperament for the job. In fact, service dogs can get depressed if they don't work! It's fun and fulfilling for them, like how herding is fun and fulfilling for sheepdogs. Organizations that provide service animals are also incredibly involved in their care, to the point that many make the medical decisions rather than the person living with the service animal. Training one puppy to become a service dog costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, so these animals are incredibly well-cared for and beloved by both their human and their trainers. Molly Burke has great videos about her experience choosing and working with her seeing-eye dogs.
the first story reminds me (not mlm related) of when i was with my cousin at the mall i think it was around christmas. i was hungry so i told my cousin and my brother to continue shopping while i eat something. i remember later my cousin telling me she thought it was sad i was eating alone. i was like "huh? i prefer eating alone." and she was like oh..... and i got the sense that she was confused/surprised that i liked eating alone....in public.....with all these people who can see me eating alone. girl, not everybody wants to live like you do.
For story 3, yeah not everyone who gets tricked into being in an MLM is a bad person, but the dad wasnt tricked he fully understood how the racket works and purposely harmed others to get money, and then put his family in trouble by choosing to not pay taxes, like im glad hes nice to the people around him but from everything im hearing it sounds like hes just a bad guy who knows how to get people to like him :/ sucks for op to have to come to terms with that
So true. And the claim of him being on those organ transplantat lists - yeah, the person should check into that a bit. Their dad could easily lie about it to make himself seem generous.
My grandmother will tell me how her father was the most loving and warmhearted dad, just what you would wish for. But he was also a Nazi and 100% "believed" in the antisemitic bullcrap, even after 1945.
You are SO right about teenagers being targeted! When I was 18 I had a coworker offer to throw me a Thirty One party to buy gifts for a mission trip. I vividly remember her pressuring me to sign up as a rep (even though I was literally moving in less than a month). She actually told me “Look, I won’t make any money on this party unless you join as a rep, and I’m doing you a big favor by getting others to buy you these products.” Long story short, the Thirty One bags were fine, but I will never shop MLM again after that experience.
I want to give a small correction for story 3: In Canada Door to Door sales are only illegal in Alberta and Ontario (Ontario being the latest province to create this law in 2017). In other provinces, it is still legal to do door to door sales, but there are local regulation in certain municipalities where Door to Door solicitation are require to have a permit from town. While it would be great for it to be Canada wide, it is not the case. I live in Quebec myself and last Friday and Saturday I had two represented of a well known telecom company trying to make us switch our internet for them in the worst possible ways. They knocked at our door super late on Friday night and lied to us for the reason of their visit. only the next day they were clear about their intentions. I really wish it wasn't allow to go door to door where I live.
That last story reminded me of something our local Chemist does, a month or 2 before Mother's or Father's day they send an email asking to opt out those specific promotions, which for me is amazing.
I hope the writer of story five can take some comfort of knowing she's not overreacting or alone. I've seen numerous people on social media discuss having similar issues with mother's day, father's day, and other family oriented holiday advertising.
23:53 correction to the email- the Canadian government has not totally banned for to door sales. They were banned pretty recently in Ontario, and restricted heavily less recently in Alberta, but in the other province and the territories, I believe it is still legal.
I just started a new job (like last week) on a placement. I opened the fridge today to get milk for my tea and I thought I saw a Herbalife logo in the fridge. I did a double take and when I put the milk back I double checked. Up. A Herbalife cup sat proudly in the fridge. I don’t know if one of my coworkers is a hun in disguise, just buys the products, was given it as a gift or used too and stopped. Whatever it is I’m not asking… I just hope I don’t get pitched mid work day 😂
When it comes to service animals I want to know what they do but solely bc them being able to do all that they do is mind blowing. I’d never ask but to me the persons disability isn’t my focus, it’s the the fascination of the animals powers 😁
Regarding story 1, the service dogs are working to help to the person they're with so NEVER EVER ask to pet one. At best, personally, I'll mention to the person "Such a clever dog with such an amazing person" which always makes a person smile. If you say this you give the person a positive moment in their day if that's needed. Remember that smiling causes good endorphins to go through one's body and help with pain management and mental health. Such dogs just amaze me, and I kind of had my own working dog when I had an Alsatian called Charlie and she realised whenever I was have a bad day with my depression.🥰
Story 1, something that’s so infuriating about situations like this, is there’s a person with zero clue about what the other’s disability is and they’re insinuating somehow they know more about it than the person going through it. This poor person has probably been to every doctor, every specialist, to desperately try to find solutions to realize there aren’t many. And for this person to think the scheme they financially benefit from is the secret miracle oil is so offensive, invasive, and naive. It’s really invalidating of the person’s valid illness
My kids’ Catholic school did fundraisers with Pampered Chef, Scentsy, and 31 bags and this other bag company that I’m not sure if it’s an mlm*!or not ( also can’t remember the name of it anymore). This was before I knew how predatory moms were. I wish i had known about it then. But I do now and do not support these companies any longer.
I binged watched your videos the past few days. Thanks to my Bipolar Disorder and thanks to me not being able to manage university I'm currently not in a good place. And I have to admit that all these post from the reps I've seen/heard in your videos are kind of getting to me...and that's while I watch an anti-MLM video. A part of me is like "maybe it's working, maybe the products are good, maybe it's really not that hard earning money that way". Now imagine someone just as desperate and who has no idea about MLMs. It's no wonder people get sucked into this system. It's just soooo wrong that those reps use that vulnerability.
Concerning story three, I do think it’s important to note that in the 80s and 90s, MLMs weren’t really considered super predatory? I even find that people over 50 tend to not have any qualms concerning these business models. However, now that we have all this information about them and people speaking out on the internet with their stories, we can see the problems that come with it. So I wouldn’t doubt that this dad just viewed it as another company structure that people use and there’s no harm in it.
Ehh, I'd like to remind you that his "company/companies" were shut down by the government. When law enforcement gets involved, you've really messed up. He ran the same business structure several times, so he pretty much saw himself above the law.
Your consistency is so admirable! I love getting so much good content so regularly. (I'm excited to catch this video early! I watch every single video you post and love them 😊)
Story 3. Her dad was a con man. He didn’t just work at a mlm. He created one and screwed people over. He was predatory and paid people barely anything while he made big bucks for scammy products.
Thank you. I was hoping I wasn't the only one who felt like this. A few videos ago, Hannah talked about another story in which someone went from being the prey to an MLM to becoming the predator with their recruitment and pushiness. This man was a predator and treated others awfully, to boot. He IS the person these videos often have horror stories about. I know to the writer he was just "sweet, loving Dad", but he sounds like a monster for everyone else not in his inner circle. He was not a victim.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValleydefinitely, humans are multi-faceted. You can be the sweetest and most loving person with your family and still be a shark with others. I heard about people like this flexing about it, and it's definitely not a flex. They say the world is cruel, but it's because of people like them, who gain a lot while exploiting other's work
TW: parental death One of the few things that has been weirder about my father dying was realising how differently he was seen by other’s compared to my own experience. I guess I had the opposite experience, I had a mostly absent father who when present minimised my issues, gaslit me (one of the few times I confronted him about him being a shit father, he denied my experience, I mentioned my grandma would confirm it, called her a liar, only stopped when I started crying). However, people loved him! He was always there to help, was fun to be around and his brother idolises him still( 8 years later). People tell stories about him and I’m like “I didn’t know that person”(usually internally). TW over I had a great prof who talked about his daughter in glowing terms, I find out through a friend that she got fired because she was too harsh on young students. I was telling my cousin “how can an amazing educator create such an awful one? Do they not talk?” and my cousin was like “well everyone also thinks your father was great”. That has been rattling around my brain ever since. TL;DR it seems like some people have wildly different sides. The person in the story even roped his own family into his scammy dealings. The author mentions him being aggressive and bullying with sales tactics.
YL is miserable... I once was stuck at a rehabilitation center for hours with a lady that obviously was an YL rep and I had to listen to the endless stories about the oils and how I should try them on my autistic child. She even gave me oils as a present... I politely took them, but threw away. I am not ingesting nor giving it to my kids! I did not know about MLMs then, but glad I sensed BS. also glad after I received that gift, our paths never crossed again!
It is absolutely vital for those of us who have disabilities--either visible or invisible--to be able to say: It's none of your business, No, Leave me alone when people push for information. People have NO right to invade privacy.
You're right. I'm valid and it would never occured to me to ask something like this, especially to a stranger... and telling her oils could cure her disability is downright disgusting. They count on people pain and dispair that might come with their disability to pry on them. Plus, telling service dogs are slaves... they're raised to help disabled people and are well treated by their owners. Service dogs are four legs little blessings.
I got caught up in the wild tree crap too! Not as a participant but prepping meals trying to support a friend. Several of the meals we would unfreeze and cook just tasted horrible, and the spices were so bland. I could have made better freezer prep meals without the overpriced spices.
I understand that people don't want to be rude to strangers, even when the stranger is being rude. However, some people will push and push to wear you down. If you need it, I formally give you permission to be "rude." Tell them to fuck off. Tell them that if they want to ignore reality, that's their choice, but you're not a moron. Tell them they're wasting their time and go bother someone else. They will huff and accuse you of being mean. You are just defending your right to not be accosted by strangers who have no concept of boundaries. You can use your "rude" reply immediately or after politely declining, but remember: You don't owe this person anything.
Some of the brands/companiesI get emails from do send out messages asking whether or not I wish to opt out of Valentine's day messages, Mother's/Father's Day messages, etc. It's pretty thoughtful.
So interesting Mary and Martha (mlm) just announced they are getting away from the mlm side of the business. So just like you brought up in story 2 alot of people woke up to an email saying they were getting rid of their jobs.
I don't think I have ever heard you use the phrase "too bad, so sad" before. Perfect! Is it a teacher thing? I am newly retired from teaching high-school and used it so often. Probably way more than I should have. Thank you for your amazing content. You are kind and patient and, even if you don't think so, so very very funny.
32:40 the interesting thing about this is businesses CAN curate these kinds of ads. Etsy, for example, will actually ask you if you want to opt out of Mother's Day, Father's Day, and even Valentine's Day ads. One extra step like this can go a long way for a lot of people
I was in Wildtree - I was technically in when they dissolved, it was super shady. They also have a connection to Southwestern Advantage, that scammy door-to-door book sales company. It was crazy.
Woah that was an interesting one! I’m really impressed with the teen in the first story. You go girl. And to the person in the mothers’ day sale, you are not being silly. That kind of stuff STINGS. People are so weird around folks that have to set hard boundaries with their parents. It was super inconsiderate of them to send you that promotional message…. you’re not alone
Door to door sales is not banned in Canada. Ontario banned it for Air cleaners, Air conditioners, Air purifiers, Duct cleaning services, Furnaces, Water filters, Water heaters, Water purifiers, Water softeners, Water treatment devices, Bundles of these goods and services. Problems still continue though, despite the ban.
That first story made me so mad. I had a Doterra hun come for me because we have a mutual friend, and she found out I have Multiple Sclerosis. She not only tried to convince me she could cure my symptoms, she got her Kangen water filter friend come to me and try to convince me the MS itself could be CURED with her water filter. She used the fact that she is a pharmacist as a way to boost her reputation, which I found disgusting and I wonder if that’s even legal. MS currently doesn’t have a cure, but mild symptoms can sometimes be controlled. Thankfully I was already deep into the anti mlm world, and didn’t fall for it. However i know there are plenty of people with MS (or other chronic progressive diseases) out there, particularly newly diagnosed, who will be looking for anything to ‘fix’ them. It’s so predatory. When someone finds a cure for MS I’m certain my neurologist would let me know very quickly.
OMG That water heater scam was huge. They have been to my door more than once. Even when I directly told them I know you are not with the water company and that my brother is in HVAC they were quite pushy. I didn't let them in,, of course.
Story #2 - I was actually with Wildtree when they dumped all their consultants. It was so awful and the most shady thing I've ever experienced. We all got emails saying that the company was shutting down. So I notified all my customers that Wildtree was closing and we stocked up on our favorite spices and mixes. Then the month after "closing", all of my customers got an email saying Wildtree was back. A customer texted me that she was so happy that they were back. I asked her to forward me the email. There was no mention of no longer using consultants. All my customers think I'm still sending these emails. It looked exactly like the emails I would send out to my customer. Basically the company just kicked out all of us worker bees and stole our customer lists.
Years ago when my oldest sons moved up to the Boy Scout troop, one of the mothers came up with a fund raiser for the troop that was selling Avon. She wasn't a rep, I think one of her friends or a family member was. Boys age 12 to 17 or 18 (I can't remember who all was in the troop at the time) were not thrilled to be selling Avon products! Needless to say that with only brothers, no female cousins or aunts living close and mother who seldom wears any make-up my sons probably sold the least. The boys, that age were not going to ask their female classmates. Needless to say my boys probably sold the least amount, I think I bought a pair of earrings and some hand lotion. Maybe their grandma and one of my friends bought something. It was the weirdest fund raiser I ever dealt with and I have done school, band, scouts and church fund raisers. The troop never did another Avon fund raiser so it must not have been very successful.
With the mother’s day story - I actually did get a bunch of emails from large stores that asked if I wanted to opt-out of marketing around mother’s day this year. Which is pretty cool tbh, it’s nice that someone’s out there thinking of this stuff
The Pampered Chef fundraiser story reminded me that when I was with Pampered Chef there was actually an option for people/companies to do a fundraiser specifically. I wonder if the person who set up the fundraiser actually had good intentions for raising money for their child's school and all the icky things we are seeing associated with it was just a "happy accident" or something like that for the hun. I remember thinking that the fundraiser was a cool idea but I didn't stick around long enough to learn more about the process. After my "free" 3 months I left cause I wasn't about to pay for the website monthly when I wasn't making at least that much in sales lol
I was listening to this video while working and so not following along with the screen. At the beginning of the first story I heard: “My name is Blake, please keep me anonymous.” The way my heart STOPPED 😂 I was thinking “how could Hannah make this mistake?? That is so not like her at all!!” Nope, all is well. I just need to turn the volume up hahaha
lol - you should edit in some captions for Zeke since he always has so much to meow about these mlms - I have a feeling he’s got quite the sarcastic little personality.
Outsider fundraising is always a "raised eyebrow" worthy thing. Don't get me wrong, fundraisers can and are very nice things for people and groups, specially when it's done for something nice (not a need, that's another can of worms) for a group that would rather not accept charity. Hell, a chunk of my high school allowance went to seniors doing fundraisers for graduation parties. But "give the money to me so I can give to them"? Sus, sus, sus
The Mother's Day story is wild. Also, just have to point out that that hun is in fact worse than the big retailers. Most online shops will give you the option to opt out of Mother's Day/Father's Day emails and sometimes other holidays as well.
Oh that first story makes me so ANGRY. While not an MLM incident it still reminds me of when I worked in a retail pharmacy and a total stranger walked up to our vaccination tech with note about how we were "m*rd*ring children" because she was prepping a vaccine for a TWELVE YEAR OLD. Welp that stranger made an extra-serious mistake that day because the moment he walked out of the store the child's father followed him and beat him up in the parking lot!!! These hardcore MLM people are so lost and entitled and gross with their sales pitches they don't stop and THINK about the very minimal but very real possibility someone may be on their last hair-thin straw and ready to throw down. Makes me wonder if the hun waited until the teen with the service dog was alone, the stranger waited for the father to rush into the bathroom then pushed his way past the crappy privacy screen (this was still early on when most pharmacies weren't equipped with patient rooms yet).
Story 1- I think that hun approached her exactly because she looked young and with a disability. She probably thought it was a good opportunity to sell the oils to the kid before the parent showed up.
Recently I've seen a couple of retailers send an email a few weeks before mother's and father's day offering the option to opt out of receiving emails specifically with that type of marketing and I think that is very considerate. If you're not going to purchase anything anyway during those promo times, it doesn't cost them sales, and it's saving the customer from an unpleasant experience.
The first story about people randomly pitching people, plus a different video about a girl getting invited on a “date” when it was really a pitch struck a chord with me. I was invited by some ladies at the church. I had started attending to go do a flower arrangement party. I honestly can’t remember if they mention skin care or not. She may have said Young Living party. Anyway, I wasn’t aware that I was going to be pitch to buy some way over expensive skin care products while I was enjoying this “girl time.” So the gal starts pitching the young living products, and I politely listen. And she goes around the circle and asks people what products they use. Of course, all of them used young living unbeknownst to me. I had never heard of this brand before. I used Mary Kay.( I know, I know. It’s a generational curse I’m trying to break.😅) She tells everyone. Oh yes your skin is beautiful. Oh yes, your skin is beautiful too. And then looks at me and asked if I’ve used it and I said no of course and then she said, “Well, this product can help you.” Implying that my skin did not look just as good as everyone else’s. 😠 To say I was embarrassed and offended is an understatement. I couldn’t believe she just made me feel bad about my skin to get me to buy beauty products. (Full disclosure: I had been sucked into Mary Kay previous to this encounter. We were taught to do nothing but compliment and ask if they were having any issues, not imply they needed the product. 🤦🏻♀️) Anyway, I finished the time, made my pretty flower arrangement, and left. Said I was not interested in $60 for 2oz of product, but thanks anyway. I wouldn’t have paid for it, even if I could have afforded it. Which I couldn’t. P.S. I was 33 at the time. My skin looked fine. In fact, now at 40, my obgyn told me I have high estrogen levels, which keeps me from having wrinkles. So no amount of any product did that for me, just good ol’ DNA. 😂
UGH, as a Southern Ontario resident I can confirm about how bad the furnace, water tank, and smart thermostat sales people are/were. They claim the government sent them to see if you qualify for grants (they didn't), that the government is paying to install water filtration units (they're not), they've been sent by the government to check your furnace or water heater (they haven't been), anything to get in your door and then they don't leave while they pressure you to sign forms. Now that it's banned there are fewer, but some still pop up and I just asked for their ID as I reach for my phone to call the relevant government department to report them and they leave pretty quickly.
Dogs of all breeds enjoy working! They were literally bred to do jobs for us. Even the breeds we consider to be "lap dogs" were usually, originally hunting dogs for small prey. Ridiculous that someone would think a dog getting to go our with its owner and do what it was literally born to do, out in the world, is suffering. Ri.dic.u.lous.
Get 25% off on Paired premium! Start your 7-day free trial by clicking the link here: www.paired.com/hannah25
Thank you Hannah for the recommendation my wife and I are anxiously awaiting our order so we can try on date night.
My husband and I used it a lot when we were dating long distance!
I just want to remind everyone: "No" is a complete sentence. You don't need to justify it. Others need to respect it.
They should, yes. But some people can be right persistent, and watching antiMLM videos for ages now has given me the string impression that huns often get taught to push through a no.
Also, it can take some life experience to go against all the niceness conditioning and realise it's fine to be "rude" at rude, pushy people.
It did for me, at least.
Ex rep here, I can tell you that they actually are trained to counter "no". As creepy as it might sound.
If it's someone you don't care about, reanounce the no. If you care about them, clarify that you value your friendship and don't wanna get involved. Then you play the waiting game until they are ready to get back out of the cult...
@@calipze yikes. I'm so glad my exposure to MLMs was very limited when I was younger and hadn't quite learned to deal with rudely persistent people.
I feel like you can follow up on that no with a "this conversation is over" but polite excuses they seem to take as invitations to continue speaking.
@@calipzeyou can’t “counter” anything If the other person doesn’t engage in a conversation. No is a sentence. Nothing needs to be said after that. So many women are taught to be nice and be people pleasers that they don’t understand the power of silence. All of these stories come down to women that allow themselves to have their boundaries violated. There is always the option to end a conversation.
Who else loves when Hannah gives the camera that look. It’s like the look you give a friend when you want to be like “WTFFFFFFF” but you aren’t in a situation where you can vocalize it 🏴☠️
Exactly!
She and Briannah Jewel have the best looks.
Yes! I love her for those looks🙌🏻
And her "Sure, Jan." look.😅 Just perfect!!❤
School fundraising feels like MLM for kids anyway, given the prize levels and high pressure pitches to young children.
This. I never buy from them. Instead I always just ask my kid’s teachers what they specifically need in the classroom and I go buy it for them.
Sometimes the teacher is reluctant to say what they need (I get it, it can be hard to ask for help and can feel rude), so in that case I just ask my kid what is the teacher always running out of or what does she complain about the school not paying for?
My kid is quite observant, so he can usually name several things that the teacher needs more of.
And if it’s not much, some books for the classroom library and a $50 gift card to Walmart or Target usually works just fine.
I’d rather that $100-ish go directly to the teacher (and keep her/him from having to spend his/her own money) than to some “fundraiser” that borders on being a scam.
Yeah I hate these fundraisers. My kids feel so much pressure to be the best when they have zero control over how much their parents or friends/family donate. I always feel so bad for the kids whose families aren’t able to contribute. Thankfully the school divides the kids up into teams and everyone ends up getting some kind of prize, so kids don’t “go home empty handed” after a fund raiser.
And that chocolate is just sad. I will only buy from my scouting "greats" or for their French immersion school because those are worth it to me.
@@Annie_Annie__ ❤
Yes, this. In fact, I think there was a video or two where one of those chocolate companies that does school fundraisers was exposed as an MLM and that they had done some very shady shit. I don't remember which content creator did it, but I'm like 99% sure that video exists.
Don't apologize for Zeke. I always enjoy hearing him express his thoughts on these predatory hunbots.😊
Zeke is the channel's Ceiling Cat. Or maybe the channel's Off-Camera Cat...
Yes Zeke has lots of thoughts on hunbots! He needs to let them out!!! ❤❤❤❤
His little mrrrps are the best ☺️
He’s probably terribly confused as to why his owner is staring at some weird device and talking to herself. He’s being a good cat and trying to keep things from being awkward by replying to the one way conversation.
@davemccage7918 , there is probably a lot of truth in what you say, but I know Zeke would take issue with you calling Hannah his owner. I guess you don't have a cat because every cat person knows that cats don't have owners or masters. They have human staff. Maybe he wants his human servant, Hannah, to stop talking to herself and get him a snack and then pet him.
'I'm a true crime watcher' and then she pulls out the essential oils? I'd be thinking 'gosh, I wish you had been a serial killer instead'.
I’m late to this video, I’m just discovering this channel. As a true crime fan and someone who had a best friend who sold Young living, your comment made me literally laugh out loud. 🤣 😂😂😂
Love it!!! I agree!!
As someone from Europe, I find these school fundraisers to be very scammy anyway, even without the MLM. The school gets pennies on a dollar for the items sold, kids & parents are forced to shove useless crap down neighbours’ and relatives’ throats… Most of these „goods” are terrible quality & will only end up in landfill & pollute our planet. Fun fact: as an exchange student in the US I actually dropped out of choir because we were forced to participate in a fundraiser like that & it sounded so weird & exploitative (while also kind of mandatory!). Please just donate money to the school!
In the Netherlands that sort of thing doesn't really seem to be that common, fortunately. There's only two I know of from when I was a kid and now hear of from friends' kids, both are generally decent and low-pressure.
There's the yearly sale of charity stamps that is organised through schools but don't financially benefits schools, and a lottery that mostly financially benefits whatever club (mostly local sports clubs) someone is selling for with a small part of the money going towards prizes.
True that they’re not that much money for the school, however they are usually good quality. I still have several items I bought 15 years ago from school fundraisers and any chocolates that are sold are good quality most of the time.
I've seen a growing trend of online retailers offering an opt-out for Mother's Day and Father's Day sales messages. If the heartless corporate overlords can manage it then somebody's actual in person real life "friend" should be capable
Story 3... ooof. i am so sorry for that person because like they said, people are indeed complex. You can be a good dad but a bad person and OP is gonna have to wrap their head around this. Her dad didnt just get tricked into an MLM, he STARTED some and paid his workers barely anything and willfully evaded taxes. Good dad, not so great person - you can be charismatic as heck and also still someone to be cautious around. Glad he's in construction now though I suppose.
Yeah, OP is in complete denial. Her dad should he in prison, she didn't even mention how many people he must have robbed of their life savings AND time.
Omg! As someone who lives in Ontario - learning who was behind that hydro scam is WILD 😂
That is what happened with Wildtree. They told reps they were closing for good and the reps were selling everything like crazy. As soon as they were “closed” they decided to “reopen”, but not as an MLM. The reps were mad.
I am not pro MLM, but that was crappy too
Yeah, they shoulda at LEAST had the guts to fire their reps rather than just pretending to shut down all together. That would’ve at least been a transparent action towards legitimacy.
Story 5: running a business doesn't excuse sending the triggering promos. There are multiple companies that I'm on the mailing list for that send out customization options to opt out of certain holidays. I know it is an automated system, but if a money hungry corporation can be considerate about triggering holidays, a hun doesn't have an excuse.
Yes, I completely agree - it takes little effort to ask if a person would like to opt out of specific holiday messages, but it does make me feel higher about a company that does it (I know of two smaller businesses that do it). A person who already knows most of the people she is messaging has NO excuse 😑
Oh my god, first story right off the bat. I have a service dog and, while I've never had a hun approach me, but I've heard those sentiments before. My service dog is always with me, day and night, but its not like she's always working and can't have fun. I would say 95% of the time, I don't need Valkyrie, but that 5%? Absolutely essential and she saves my life. I will take her out for "dates" and fun outings where we prioritize her rather than work, and she's a very lazy and goofy muppet at home. She, arguably, has a richer life than a non working dog.
Story 3 is interesting to me…it sounds like the dad did work for a legitimate company for a bit, then chose to leave and start a scam instead. That shows he knew exactly what he was doing - he was the perpetrator in that case. But human beings are definitely complex, so he could be a scammer but a loving dad, good friend etc. at the same time.
He may have been a good dad, but he was an absolute dumpster fire of a human being. He should be in prison.
As a person with a disability, the hun from story 1 can take a long walk off a short pier and f*ck off into the ocean.
Cute kitties!!
Holy moly, I sent in a story a couple of years ago about going to a second job interview where they basically took all of us out for door to door "job shadowing" where we would convince new homeowners to replace their hot water tanks. I told them it wasn't the job for me at the end of that evening and kind of forgot about the experience for a while. That must have been with this person's dad's company. I hope Hannah gets to it eventually.
Oh wow! I hope Hannah finds this comment and your email!
@@Dreaming5 I sort of do and sort of don't want her to read it now, I found that email and it starts with "I watch illuminaughii, and the algorithm brought me here!" That didnt't quite age well, and stopped being true less than a year after I wrote it 😅
@@octochanwe all watched illuminati. Don’t stress about it
@@octochan Hannah would understand! so many us just didn’t know better! I remember commenting on a Cruel World Happy Mind vid ages ago, recommending one of Blair’s video. I wish I could find that comment so I could delete it - I had ZERO knowledge when I wrote that comment of how horrific Blair had been to CWHM!
Imagine invalidating a minor’s disability and insinuating that her medically necessary support animal is being harmed by her needing him just to attempt to make a sale
So say someone hosts a party and then purchases a starter kit. They literally just asked all their friends to spend money at the party, and then they’re supposed to ask them to spend MORE money because it’s their own business now? There’s no way a customer would already have used up whatever they bought at the first party, but now they’re supposed to buy more? I know I’m on the outside so the manipulation is clear to me, but I will never understand how people are comfortable asking their friends to spend that much money. It will put a strain on every single relationship they have.
For the record, school fundraisers always pay only about %5 to your child's school. Being sent five fundraising packages (one for each child) always made me furious. Especiallysince they got the kids all excited about the junky prizes they hand out. Yes, please just donate cash to your child's school.
As a disabled person with a service dog, my heart goes out to the handler in the first story. We hear enough whispers as we walk around, the last thing I want is some Hun pitching something to me. As a learning point for those that may not know, there are only two questions someone can ask about a service animal. The first question is "is that a service dog?" and second "is the dog trained to complete a task?" I don't have to answer exactly what the task is because of HIPPA. And like the young lady pointed out these animals thrive from doing their job. And when we are home, my service dog isn't wearing her vest she is very much a 70 lbs bucket of love.
Our school did Avon sales every year. Now I'm wondering who was profiting from that.
When you mentioned the penny auction Zeke was actually yelling 'its a TRAP!'
Don't forget all, you can use email filters to send emails that are upsetting you straight to trash!~ Set one up with the trigger words so you don't have to see it anymore.
It's also ok to unsubscribe from business emails at any time. Unless these emails are addressed to the person's name, they're probably mass emails going out to a large list and not maliciously ignoring someone's past. Ask to be taken off if they're causing you pain.
Writer of the first story: your cats are so adorable!! And I can’t believe that woman would try to use your service dog against you like that. From my knowledge, working dogs retire at a reasonable age and they love performing tasks. It sounds mean but I hope she’s embarrassed for being so boldly ableist.
Every time Zeke mews, my cat comes running over and is very interested in the video...pretty sure he has developed a parasocial relationship
The first story really demonstrates the insanity and desperation of the hun lifestyle-a child with a disability 😮WOW
I know right. They’re unhinged.
Door-to-Door sales of heating and Water heaters was banned in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. So it's not all door-to-door sales.
So you can still sell other things but basically not HVAC stuff. All other provinces and Territories it is allowed. Just want to clarify that.
I'm Canadian myself and knew I had had sales men come to my door so I had to look it up. All Door-to-Door sales for profit should be banned.
Omg I think I had the HVAC people!! I remember them coming to my house and they accidentally let out my dog and I wouldn't listen to them until they helped me catch him....they gave up after about an hour lmao. Told my parents and they laughed about it as they told me "yeah for future reference, that's a scam. Hopefully they won't come back" they didn't
First story is enraging! My housemate has a service dog and the dog is SO HAPPY when she gets to work! She goes home tired, because she is legitimately working at a complex task, but satisfied bc she was such a good girl who did such a good job. The dog will be crushed when she has to retire.
Also essential oils don’t do anything but smell, but we knew that already. The dog comment was just the poop icing on the mud cake.
The first story feels so familiar. I've never been pitched for a MLM but people have so much audacity when it comes to disability. I'm an ambulatory wheelchair user and when I have my chair I have had so many people come up and ask me what's wrong with me. Ableism sucks, and having it used to try and scam someone is even worse
If any of this BS ever goes down at Harper's school, Hannah is going to be so on top of it.
If I walked out of a store and saw an older person making my child uncomfortable, I'd tell them to eff off with the absolute quickness
I can’t stand stories of women that are uncomfortable or feel violated and they continue to engage. Get up and walk away. Stop teaching girls to be people pleasers.
That 5th story cuts close for me. My siblings and I been no contact with my ex-dad for nearly 7 years and one of my brothers gets super distressed around Father's Day because it reminds him of what he never had. Honestly OP's better than me because if someone was doing that _knowing_ what I'd been through, I'd have flown off the handle.
Story 5: I just went NC with my mother. You’re totally valid and not silly for being upset about the insensitive text messages. I’m sorry that your friend didn’t have your emotional safety in mind. Sending love. ❤️
I do agree. It was probably not intended, but OP still has the right to be upset. It was Hun's responsibility to check her mail list before sending, and removing OP from it considering their past with their mom. I went NC with my dad too, until I'm ready to talk to him again. I guess it was a horrible mistake, but if that ever happens to me, I'll send a polite but salty text, to make sure hun's gonna be careful next time. No shame.
About the mlm business dad: I understand the conflict but it's important to remember people are complex. He def loves the hell out of you... and he made some decisions that were not great. It sounds like you will want to have a conversation but just remember that parts of him are good. People don't always get it right.
I know Etsy has gone very downhill with drop shippers, but one thing I do appreciate is they send a pre-holiday message for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day to ask if you would like to opt out of those specific promotions. I’m sure it’s not easy, but it’s definitely doable and if the person from the last story is getting mass messages (or copy and paste) the MLMer could make a separate group for Mother’s Day or just not copy and paste 😓 I hope the person who submitted the story is doing okay, no contact is so hard but I’m glad they know their worth and boundaries 💕
I just want to say to that last person that being a tough cookie doesn't mean you have to suck it up and take it. Sometimes being tough means speaking up. And when I do this, I try to look at it that I'm maybe even doing this person a favor by letting them know they're crossing lines. Because chances are, you're not the only one annoyed or hurt by those kinds of messages. It might even help her. Either way, so proud of you for setting boundaries around your mom, because that is really, really tough. Much respect and love and healing to you for what you've endured and thinking of you as you move forward. ♥
My kids had an Usborne/paperpie book fair. When my kids came home with their wish lists I said let's go to barns and Noble instead. I did say something to the office about not being okay about an MLM
Story 3 - I know it's hard to be harsh to someone who is conflicted about the image they have of a love one and the things they did or do outside the house. But the lesson here isn't "Let's remember that not all of those who are deep into MLMs, including those who successfully use their charisma to manipulate people into buying into the scheme, are bad people."
The lesson is: Nobody is 100% bad 24/7. Dismissing, downplaying, or denying the bad someone does because they were always nice to you or their family or to dogs and the sick and elderly is a dangerous route. People can be both. A loving father and family man who'd give his last shirt for his wife and children can still be a ruthless, manipulative conman who knows exactly what he's doing. He wasn't brainwashed, he did the brainwashing.
He isn't doing it anymore and OOP was young and ignorant of what was going on, so they shouldn't be expected to confront their father or disown him or whatever. Life isn't black and white like this.
But if someone is an adult and sees what a loved one is doing, and doing with zest and zero regrets, "This can't be because they are always kind to me" isn't a good excuse. This doesn't only apply to MLMs.
"But they always seemed so nice and helped Grandma Patty with her garden and brought cakes to work! They aren't evil, only evil people do this!" is so often heard from friends, family, and neighbours when finally someone gets arrested for serious crimes because of that mindset.
Also, it's exactly the reason why so many people get ruined by MLMs. Because a) they trust the one who recruits them because they are nice and a good person, they wouldn't take advantage of a friend/relative! and b) because the relative who fell for an MLM is so friendly and nice, they couldn't possibly decide to do something questionable or bad, so let's not say anything, just roll with it, buy a product to show support, and hope things will figure themselves out.
OOP's childhood memories aren't wrong. They aren't wrong when they say they experienced him as a loving, caring father who'd never hurt or scam someone he cared about. It's That's a truth. It's even possible that he had a true moment of change, maybe he asked himself one day what he'd proudly tell OOP's class if she and her classmates were asked to invite a parent to speak about their work. Maybe he had an "Oh, well, it was good while it lasted, but it's time for honest work and become a good role model for my kids!" thought.
It's also a truth that he was very much one of the bad guys, and knew it, during his MLM phase. Had OOP been born to a family the town over, he wouldn't have hesitated to scam her alternate-reality-parents.
Yes, well I written. Good points.
From what I understand, service dogs are working breeds that enjoy intellectual stimulation. They go through a strict vetting process to verify they have the right temperament for the job. In fact, service dogs can get depressed if they don't work! It's fun and fulfilling for them, like how herding is fun and fulfilling for sheepdogs. Organizations that provide service animals are also incredibly involved in their care, to the point that many make the medical decisions rather than the person living with the service animal. Training one puppy to become a service dog costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, so these animals are incredibly well-cared for and beloved by both their human and their trainers. Molly Burke has great videos about her experience choosing and working with her seeing-eye dogs.
I got an ad for starting your own business while watching this video. It was about making a LLC, but it was still amusing with the mlm context
the first story reminds me (not mlm related) of when i was with my cousin at the mall i think it was around christmas. i was hungry so i told my cousin and my brother to continue shopping while i eat something. i remember later my cousin telling me she thought it was sad i was eating alone. i was like "huh? i prefer eating alone." and she was like oh..... and i got the sense that she was confused/surprised that i liked eating alone....in public.....with all these people who can see me eating alone. girl, not everybody wants to live like you do.
I love these rare insights of the other side's mind. I had no idea being seen eating alone was some kinda freak thing.
She was projecting her insecurities on to you.
For story 3, yeah not everyone who gets tricked into being in an MLM is a bad person, but the dad wasnt tricked he fully understood how the racket works and purposely harmed others to get money, and then put his family in trouble by choosing to not pay taxes, like im glad hes nice to the people around him but from everything im hearing it sounds like hes just a bad guy who knows how to get people to like him :/ sucks for op to have to come to terms with that
So true. And the claim of him being on those organ transplantat lists - yeah, the person should check into that a bit. Their dad could easily lie about it to make himself seem generous.
My grandmother will tell me how her father was the most loving and warmhearted dad, just what you would wish for. But he was also a Nazi and 100% "believed" in the antisemitic bullcrap, even after 1945.
RE: story 3 i remember that hitting all the news outlets and being a featured story on a 60 minutes type show.
This was posted a minute ago, call me a dedicated anti-mlmer!
You are SO right about teenagers being targeted! When I was 18 I had a coworker offer to throw me a Thirty One party to buy gifts for a mission trip. I vividly remember her pressuring me to sign up as a rep (even though I was literally moving in less than a month). She actually told me “Look, I won’t make any money on this party unless you join as a rep, and I’m doing you a big favor by getting others to buy you these products.”
Long story short, the Thirty One bags were fine, but I will never shop MLM again after that experience.
I want to give a small correction for story 3: In Canada Door to Door sales are only illegal in Alberta and Ontario (Ontario being the latest province to create this law in 2017). In other provinces, it is still legal to do door to door sales, but there are local regulation in certain municipalities where Door to Door solicitation are require to have a permit from town. While it would be great for it to be Canada wide, it is not the case.
I live in Quebec myself and last Friday and Saturday I had two represented of a well known telecom company trying to make us switch our internet for them in the worst possible ways. They knocked at our door super late on Friday night and lied to us for the reason of their visit. only the next day they were clear about their intentions. I really wish it wasn't allow to go door to door where I live.
I have Bell coming to my house every year pretty much, Ontario here!
I’ve had people claim they can “cure” my cerebral palsy plenty of times. You can’t, it’s brain damage, shut up 🤣
That last story reminded me of something our local Chemist does, a month or 2 before Mother's or Father's day they send an email asking to opt out those specific promotions, which for me is amazing.
I’m speechless and horribly grossed out. I mean, free the dog?! That person clearly knows nothing about service dogs at all.
Can we please make it a regular thing for people to send in pictures of their pets?? 😻
I hope the writer of story five can take some comfort of knowing she's not overreacting or alone.
I've seen numerous people on social media discuss having similar issues with mother's day, father's day, and other family oriented holiday advertising.
23:53 correction to the email- the Canadian government has not totally banned for to door sales. They were banned pretty recently in Ontario, and restricted heavily less recently in Alberta, but in the other province and the territories, I believe it is still legal.
I just started a new job (like last week) on a placement. I opened the fridge today to get milk for my tea and I thought I saw a Herbalife logo in the fridge. I did a double take and when I put the milk back I double checked. Up. A Herbalife cup sat proudly in the fridge. I don’t know if one of my coworkers is a hun in disguise, just buys the products, was given it as a gift or used too and stopped. Whatever it is I’m not asking… I just hope I don’t get pitched mid work day 😂
When it comes to service animals I want to know what they do but solely bc them being able to do all that they do is mind blowing. I’d never ask but to me the persons disability isn’t my focus, it’s the the fascination of the animals powers 😁
Regarding story 1, the service dogs are working to help to the person they're with so NEVER EVER ask to pet one. At best, personally, I'll mention to the person "Such a clever dog with such an amazing person" which always makes a person smile. If you say this you give the person a positive moment in their day if that's needed. Remember that smiling causes good endorphins to go through one's body and help with pain management and mental health. Such dogs just amaze me, and I kind of had my own working dog when I had an Alsatian called Charlie and she realised whenever I was have a bad day with my depression.🥰
Story 1, something that’s so infuriating about situations like this, is there’s a person with zero clue about what the other’s disability is and they’re insinuating somehow they know more about it than the person going through it. This poor person has probably been to every doctor, every specialist, to desperately try to find solutions to realize there aren’t many. And for this person to think the scheme they financially benefit from is the secret miracle oil is so offensive, invasive, and naive. It’s really invalidating of the person’s valid illness
My kids’ Catholic school did fundraisers with Pampered Chef, Scentsy, and 31 bags and this other bag company that I’m not sure if it’s an mlm*!or not ( also can’t remember the name of it anymore). This was before I knew how predatory moms were. I wish i had known about it then. But I do now and do not support these companies any longer.
I binged watched your videos the past few days.
Thanks to my Bipolar Disorder and thanks to me not being able to manage university I'm currently not in a good place.
And I have to admit that all these post from the reps I've seen/heard in your videos are kind of getting to me...and that's while I watch an anti-MLM video. A part of me is like "maybe it's working, maybe the products are good, maybe it's really not that hard earning money that way".
Now imagine someone just as desperate and who has no idea about MLMs. It's no wonder people get sucked into this system. It's just soooo wrong that those reps use that vulnerability.
Concerning story three, I do think it’s important to note that in the 80s and 90s, MLMs weren’t really considered super predatory? I even find that people over 50 tend to not have any qualms concerning these business models. However, now that we have all this information about them and people speaking out on the internet with their stories, we can see the problems that come with it. So I wouldn’t doubt that this dad just viewed it as another company structure that people use and there’s no harm in it.
Ehh, I'd like to remind you that his "company/companies" were shut down by the government. When law enforcement gets involved, you've really messed up. He ran the same business structure several times, so he pretty much saw himself above the law.
Your consistency is so admirable! I love getting so much good content so regularly.
(I'm excited to catch this video early! I watch every single video you post and love them 😊)
Story 3. Her dad was a con man. He didn’t just work at a mlm. He created one and screwed people over. He was predatory and paid people barely anything while he made big bucks for scammy products.
Thank you. I was hoping I wasn't the only one who felt like this. A few videos ago, Hannah talked about another story in which someone went from being the prey to an MLM to becoming the predator with their recruitment and pushiness. This man was a predator and treated others awfully, to boot. He IS the person these videos often have horror stories about. I know to the writer he was just "sweet, loving Dad", but he sounds like a monster for everyone else not in his inner circle. He was not a victim.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValleydefinitely, humans are multi-faceted. You can be the sweetest and most loving person with your family and still be a shark with others. I heard about people like this flexing about it, and it's definitely not a flex. They say the world is cruel, but it's because of people like them, who gain a lot while exploiting other's work
TW: parental death
One of the few things that has been weirder about my father dying was realising how differently he was seen by other’s compared to my own experience. I guess I had the opposite experience, I had a mostly absent father who when present minimised my issues, gaslit me (one of the few times I confronted him about him being a shit father, he denied my experience, I mentioned my grandma would confirm it, called her a liar, only stopped when I started crying). However, people loved him! He was always there to help, was fun to be around and his brother idolises him still( 8 years later). People tell stories about him and I’m like “I didn’t know that person”(usually internally).
TW over
I had a great prof who talked about his daughter in glowing terms, I find out through a friend that she got fired because she was too harsh on young students. I was telling my cousin “how can an amazing educator create such an awful one? Do they not talk?” and my cousin was like “well everyone also thinks your father was great”. That has been rattling around my brain ever since.
TL;DR it seems like some people have wildly different sides. The person in the story even roped his own family into his scammy dealings. The author mentions him being aggressive and bullying with sales tactics.
Right. It makes me think that his niceness is just a “if I do this, then what I really did wasn’t so bad.”
YL is miserable... I once was stuck at a rehabilitation center for hours with a lady that obviously was an YL rep and I had to listen to the endless stories about the oils and how I should try them on my autistic child. She even gave me oils as a present... I politely took them, but threw away. I am not ingesting nor giving it to my kids! I did not know about MLMs then, but glad I sensed BS. also glad after I received that gift, our paths never crossed again!
It is absolutely vital for those of us who have disabilities--either visible or invisible--to be able to say: It's none of your business, No, Leave me alone when people push for information. People have NO right to invade privacy.
You're right. I'm valid and it would never occured to me to ask something like this, especially to a stranger... and telling her oils could cure her disability is downright disgusting. They count on people pain and dispair that might come with their disability to pry on them. Plus, telling service dogs are slaves... they're raised to help disabled people and are well treated by their owners. Service dogs are four legs little blessings.
I got caught up in the wild tree crap too! Not as a participant but prepping meals trying to support a friend. Several of the meals we would unfreeze and cook just tasted horrible, and the spices were so bland. I could have made better freezer prep meals without the overpriced spices.
I understand that people don't want to be rude to strangers, even when the stranger is being rude. However, some people will push and push to wear you down. If you need it, I formally give you permission to be "rude." Tell them to fuck off. Tell them that if they want to ignore reality, that's their choice, but you're not a moron. Tell them they're wasting their time and go bother someone else.
They will huff and accuse you of being mean. You are just defending your right to not be accosted by strangers who have no concept of boundaries. You can use your "rude" reply immediately or after politely declining, but remember: You don't owe this person anything.
Some of the brands/companiesI get emails from do send out messages asking whether or not I wish to opt out of Valentine's day messages, Mother's/Father's Day messages, etc. It's pretty thoughtful.
So interesting Mary and Martha (mlm) just announced they are getting away from the mlm side of the business. So just like you brought up in story 2 alot of people woke up to an email saying they were getting rid of their jobs.
I’ve never clicked on a video so fast! I love listening to your videos while crocheting ❤️ hope you have a great new year!
Yes me too. Listening to Hannah reading stories is just so comforting while crocheting🥰
@@KittieCat901 yes! Especially when you’re fighting a cold 😅 are you crocheting? I’m making a dolphin
@@Cheyvi I'm making a temperature blanket for my dad 😄
@@KittieCat901 that is on my list to do.. eventually 😜 happy stitching!!
I don't think I have ever heard you use the phrase "too bad, so sad" before. Perfect! Is it a teacher thing? I am newly retired from teaching high-school and used it so often. Probably way more than I should have. Thank you for your amazing content. You are kind and patient and, even if you don't think so, so very very funny.
32:40 the interesting thing about this is businesses CAN curate these kinds of ads. Etsy, for example, will actually ask you if you want to opt out of Mother's Day, Father's Day, and even Valentine's Day ads. One extra step like this can go a long way for a lot of people
I was in Wildtree - I was technically in when they dissolved, it was super shady. They also have a connection to Southwestern Advantage, that scammy door-to-door book sales company. It was crazy.
Woah that was an interesting one! I’m really impressed with the teen in the first story. You go girl. And to the person in the mothers’ day sale, you are not being silly. That kind of stuff STINGS. People are so weird around folks that have to set hard boundaries with their parents. It was super inconsiderate of them to send you that promotional message…. you’re not alone
Door to door sales is not banned in Canada. Ontario banned it for Air cleaners, Air conditioners, Air purifiers, Duct cleaning services, Furnaces, Water filters, Water heaters, Water purifiers, Water softeners, Water treatment devices, Bundles of these goods and services. Problems still continue though, despite the ban.
That first story made me so mad. I had a Doterra hun come for me because we have a mutual friend, and she found out I have Multiple Sclerosis. She not only tried to convince me she could cure my symptoms, she got her Kangen water filter friend come to me and try to convince me the MS itself could be CURED with her water filter. She used the fact that she is a pharmacist as a way to boost her reputation, which I found disgusting and I wonder if that’s even legal.
MS currently doesn’t have a cure, but mild symptoms can sometimes be controlled. Thankfully I was already deep into the anti mlm world, and didn’t fall for it. However i know there are plenty of people with MS (or other chronic progressive diseases) out there, particularly newly diagnosed, who will be looking for anything to ‘fix’ them. It’s so predatory. When someone finds a cure for MS I’m certain my neurologist would let me know very quickly.
OMG That water heater scam was huge. They have been to my door more than once. Even when I directly told them I know you are not with the water company and that my brother is in HVAC they were quite pushy. I didn't let them in,, of course.
I did at least 8 Scentsy school fundraisers which is crazy to think of now!
A lot of companies now will send out an email before mothers and father’s day to allow people to opt out of the marketing for those events!
Story #2 - I was actually with Wildtree when they dumped all their consultants. It was so awful and the most shady thing I've ever experienced. We all got emails saying that the company was shutting down. So I notified all my customers that Wildtree was closing and we stocked up on our favorite spices and mixes. Then the month after "closing", all of my customers got an email saying Wildtree was back. A customer texted me that she was so happy that they were back. I asked her to forward me the email. There was no mention of no longer using consultants. All my customers think I'm still sending these emails. It looked exactly like the emails I would send out to my customer. Basically the company just kicked out all of us worker bees and stole our customer lists.
Hahahah 3 seconds before you said it was your cat I paused and ran around my house looking for who was meowing so aggressively ah man
Years ago when my oldest sons moved up to the Boy Scout troop, one of the mothers came up with a fund raiser for the troop that was selling Avon. She wasn't a rep, I think one of her friends or a family member was. Boys age 12 to 17 or 18 (I can't remember who all was in the troop at the time) were not thrilled to be selling Avon products! Needless to say that with only brothers, no female cousins or aunts living close and mother who seldom wears any make-up my sons probably sold the least. The boys, that age were not going to ask their female classmates. Needless to say my boys probably sold the least amount, I think I bought a pair of earrings and some hand lotion. Maybe their grandma and one of my friends bought something. It was the weirdest fund raiser I ever dealt with and I have done school, band, scouts and church fund raisers. The troop never did another Avon fund raiser so it must not have been very successful.
Writer of the last story, your feelings are valid and you not wrong in feeling that way at all, sending healing energy
With the mother’s day story - I actually did get a bunch of emails from large stores that asked if I wanted to opt-out of marketing around mother’s day this year. Which is pretty cool tbh, it’s nice that someone’s out there thinking of this stuff
The Pampered Chef fundraiser story reminded me that when I was with Pampered Chef there was actually an option for people/companies to do a fundraiser specifically. I wonder if the person who set up the fundraiser actually had good intentions for raising money for their child's school and all the icky things we are seeing associated with it was just a "happy accident" or something like that for the hun. I remember thinking that the fundraiser was a cool idea but I didn't stick around long enough to learn more about the process. After my "free" 3 months I left cause I wasn't about to pay for the website monthly when I wasn't making at least that much in sales lol
I was listening to this video while working and so not following along with the screen. At the beginning of the first story I heard:
“My name is Blake, please keep me anonymous.”
The way my heart STOPPED 😂 I was thinking “how could Hannah make this mistake?? That is so not like her at all!!” Nope, all is well. I just need to turn the volume up hahaha
lol - you should edit in some captions for Zeke since he always has so much to meow about these mlms - I have a feeling he’s got quite the sarcastic little personality.
Outsider fundraising is always a "raised eyebrow" worthy thing. Don't get me wrong, fundraisers can and are very nice things for people and groups, specially when it's done for something nice (not a need, that's another can of worms) for a group that would rather not accept charity. Hell, a chunk of my high school allowance went to seniors doing fundraisers for graduation parties. But "give the money to me so I can give to them"? Sus, sus, sus
The Mother's Day story is wild. Also, just have to point out that that hun is in fact worse than the big retailers. Most online shops will give you the option to opt out of Mother's Day/Father's Day emails and sometimes other holidays as well.
10:05 😂😂 Zeke gets me every time! When I hear him, my first instinct is to turn and look for the kitty!
Looking forward to Hannah going off on her own kid's elementary school when they come home with an MLM fundraiser. 😂
BABE WAKE UP, HANNAH JUST POSTED
Oh Hannah, holy f, today I found out here in my city in a mall there is an Amway "store". Im from Colombia
Oh that first story makes me so ANGRY. While not an MLM incident it still reminds me of when I worked in a retail pharmacy and a total stranger walked up to our vaccination tech with note about how we were "m*rd*ring children" because she was prepping a vaccine for a TWELVE YEAR OLD. Welp that stranger made an extra-serious mistake that day because the moment he walked out of the store the child's father followed him and beat him up in the parking lot!!! These hardcore MLM people are so lost and entitled and gross with their sales pitches they don't stop and THINK about the very minimal but very real possibility someone may be on their last hair-thin straw and ready to throw down. Makes me wonder if the hun waited until the teen with the service dog was alone, the stranger waited for the father to rush into the bathroom then pushed his way past the crappy privacy screen (this was still early on when most pharmacies weren't equipped with patient rooms yet).
Story 1- I think that hun approached her exactly because she looked young and with a disability. She probably thought it was a good opportunity to sell the oils to the kid before the parent showed up.
I’m 99% sure that the pampered chef lady was part of the schools PTA.
OMG. Cute kitties! 😻😻
Recently I've seen a couple of retailers send an email a few weeks before mother's and father's day offering the option to opt out of receiving emails specifically with that type of marketing and I think that is very considerate. If you're not going to purchase anything anyway during those promo times, it doesn't cost them sales, and it's saving the customer from an unpleasant experience.
The first story about people randomly pitching people, plus a different video about a girl getting invited on a “date” when it was really a pitch struck a chord with me.
I was invited by some ladies at the church. I had started attending to go do a flower arrangement party. I honestly can’t remember if they mention skin care or not. She may have said Young Living party.
Anyway, I wasn’t aware that I was going to be pitch to buy some way over expensive skin care products while I was enjoying this “girl time.”
So the gal starts pitching the young living products, and I politely listen. And she goes around the circle and asks people what products they use. Of course, all of them used young living unbeknownst to me. I had never heard of this brand before. I used Mary Kay.( I know, I know. It’s a generational curse I’m trying to break.😅) She tells everyone. Oh yes your skin is beautiful. Oh yes, your skin is beautiful too. And then looks at me and asked if I’ve used it and I said no of course and then she said, “Well, this product can help you.” Implying that my skin did not look just as good as everyone else’s. 😠 To say I was embarrassed and offended is an understatement. I couldn’t believe she just made me feel bad about my skin to get me to buy beauty products. (Full disclosure: I had been sucked into Mary Kay previous to this encounter. We were taught to do nothing but compliment and ask if they were having any issues, not imply they needed the product. 🤦🏻♀️)
Anyway, I finished the time, made my pretty flower arrangement, and left. Said I was not interested in $60 for 2oz of product, but thanks anyway. I wouldn’t have paid for it, even if I could have afforded it. Which I couldn’t.
P.S. I was 33 at the time. My skin looked fine. In fact, now at 40, my obgyn told me I have high estrogen levels, which keeps me from having wrinkles. So no amount of any product did that for me, just good ol’ DNA. 😂
UGH, as a Southern Ontario resident I can confirm about how bad the furnace, water tank, and smart thermostat sales people are/were. They claim the government sent them to see if you qualify for grants (they didn't), that the government is paying to install water filtration units (they're not), they've been sent by the government to check your furnace or water heater (they haven't been), anything to get in your door and then they don't leave while they pressure you to sign forms. Now that it's banned there are fewer, but some still pop up and I just asked for their ID as I reach for my phone to call the relevant government department to report them and they leave pretty quickly.
Dogs of all breeds enjoy working! They were literally bred to do jobs for us. Even the breeds we consider to be "lap dogs" were usually, originally hunting dogs for small prey. Ridiculous that someone would think a dog getting to go our with its owner and do what it was literally born to do, out in the world, is suffering. Ri.dic.u.lous.