To ditch a friend over the Thermomix cult.

[habibihabibi]

My friend has been brainwashed firstly to spend an incredible amount of money on a thermomix and then has signed up to convert others to do the same. Is it not pyramid scheme ?
Nothing she posts all over SM or says in RL is without some reference to the overpriced appliance. In my favour we live faraway from each other but wait...she found me a local dealer. I do not trust things sold in this way nor feel comfortable with the concept of only being able to purchase something through another cult member having attended their special induction.
I ditched others over Forever Living.

[shinyredbus]

She can’t be that good a friend if your willing to ditch her over this. I would just ignore her.

[littlemeitslyn]

'Fuck you? ' No

[habibihabibi]

She can’t be that good a friend if your willing to ditch her over this
I should have worded it differently. I am concerned that that these type of products and marketing them take hold of peoples lives so easily and it is so cult like.

[ActuallyItsEugene]

I was interested in the Thermomix but where do I buy one without filling out a form on their website and waiting for a 'consultant' to get back to me?

I don't want to listen to a load of spiel. I want to buy one and that's it.
Frustrating.

[Mypathtriedtokillme]

Don’t they also have a tendency to blow up and cover the user in hot liquids?
Which the company uses non-disclosure agreements or no refunds to keep quiet?

I know in Aus they were fined a couple of years ago $4.6 million for misleading the public about their products safety.

www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/kitchen/all-in-one-kitchen-machines/articles/thermomix-fined-four-point-six-million-by-federal-court

[Mypathtriedtokillme]

I have one of those pressure cookers.
Most things just kinda taste like disappointment when cooked in it.

[HeronLanyon]

Hang on everyone who is saying it’s great - why can’t you list use a pan and a timer and a spoon or whisk etc. Why spend so much on something so god awful ugly and huge and expensive when you can just cook with what you have ???!!!!!

[Brefugee]

Because they like the convenience?

Aside of the MLM thing which i didn't know about i can't understand why everyone gets their knickers in a twist. The fact that a lot (and i mean a LOT) of brilliant chefs use them and that people are free to buy what they like i just don't get the hate.

FWIW: offered the choice of Thermomix or a whole load of Kitchen Aid things (do the same thing but not all in one machine) my own chef went for Kitchen Aid because he knew I'd never use a thermomix (too lazy to learn how to use new things)

I also have about 6 metres of worktop and the KItchen Aid gadgets are beautiful. So all the win for me.

[Rightmovenewbie]

@Brefugee thank you so much for the vac recommendation ! I wish they sold them in stores like on the continent and didn’t brainwash people into repping, but don’t really get the whole Luddite-like animosity going on here.

[alwayscrashinginthesamecar1]

They don’t brainwash you into repping at all though. It wasn’t even mentioned to me, although it was in a leaflet that I got when I bought it. I know the reps aren’t even allowed to contact people unless they request a call. I’m on a few Thermomix Facebook groups and if a rep even puts up their contact details they other reps encourage people to report them to Thermomix. When I bought mine the rep gave me a demo (not compulsory but encouraged so you can see what it’s capable of). And that’s the last I’ve heard from her, as I told her I didn’t need follow up emails. Not my experience with MLMs at all!

[SheWranglesRugRats]

It’s not really Luddite because the advantages are not that clear cut and there are clear disadvantages to using it as well, largely the cost and the manner of selling, which I find very offputting.

[Brefugee]

Well i didn't realise it was an MLM so that was a new one on me. They have actual shops here in Germany though, too, I'm guessing they don't try to recruit people?

glad to have been of service, @Rightmovenewbie when my spit Bloody spit Dyson spit gives up, it will be another Vorwerk for me :)

[Plump50]

I can't comment about whether the product's any good but I really don't like the sales techniques. I got suckered in to a demo. My neighbour said she'd recently started selling a kitchen product as a 'hobby' and asked would I do her a favour and come round for lunch so she could practise her presentation and I could give her feedback. I felt like such a fool when it became clear she'd already sold loads of them (including to other neighbours) and was actually trying to sell me one. When I said I couldn't afford £1,200, she tried to get me to buy one on credit.

I said no and she hasn't spoken to me since.

[nanbread]

My MIL has a thermomix, has had it 50 years and it still works well. There are some things it makes that i think would be very difficult to replicate. No idea if they are still made to last now though.

[PineappleUpsideDownCake]

"Practice her presentation." I got sucked into a utility warehouse one like that thinking they needed some help.... oops!

Was wis to it the second time someone wanted to "practice their presentarion."!

[Brefugee]

The joke in Germany, because it's one of the things all demonstrators make, is that when you ask a Thermomix owner what they make with it, people (who use it at home) say "egg nog" (Eierlikör) which people only drink at Christmas.

So what's the British equivalent?

[SheWranglesRugRats]

My mil makes averagely ok sorbet in hers. I can buy a lotttttttt of sorbet got a thousand smackers.

[Weebitawks]

I get really peeved off by friends /people I know trying to sell me shit I don't want/need and you're dubbed as "unsupportive" if you don't buy their tat.

I've stopped accepting the group invites on Facebook and you actually have to delete the invite or it still shows on your Facebook feed.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with people and see what their up to, not to be flogged hand cream. One woman invited me to her page like 8 times after I deleted the invites. I've had a couple of local people add me on Facebook (I know them from kids sports etc.) Only to invite me to their candle page or whatever straight away. One neighbour keeps inviting me to like her friends page selling dildos. Dildos are fine but I actually just don't want them all over my Facebook feed.

It just really annoys me. Especially as people seldom make any real money from what they're doing after they've paid for the start up costs.

[myusernamewastakenbyme]

@Weebitawks i'm having the same problem...in the last couple of weeks i've had fb invites to Yooooooooooooooonique.....Body Shop and Party Lite....bloody riles me.....mlm scams should be made illegal.

[Kittenlicker]

I felt the same about pampered chef.

[YouokHun]

MLM activity is right up at the moment as they’re trying to exploit the COVID situation and the employment instability it brings by offering bogus WFH opportunities. People signing up stand to lose money. There has been a lot of bogus fundraising for the NHS too. Getting people to buy MLM product which they then donate to the NHS; it raises the profits of the MLM and helps reps achieve volumes and bonuses.

Today there’s been a segment on MLM on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour - worth a listen. Also, if you’re interested in this scam then have a look at mlmtruth.org and Talented Ladies Club.

[SuperMedium]

Pampered chef is actually worse because of the emotional blackmail to "just buy something small" which you don't need on a regular basis to "support" your acquaintance/ friend's friend/ sister's sister in law while they're all setting up "businesses" and raving about spatulas...