Teachers and mlm

[Adios2011]

Hi there, first time posting so hope this is ok

So lots of school mums at our school sell bodyshop and they've all started this trend of 'pledges', so you pay £8-£15 and the sellers will use the money to create 'treat bags' for teaching/support staff, of course these contain all bodyshop items purchased through them, so they make the commission etc

Aibu to feel really uncomfortable with this? If they used the money collected to pay for nice food/lunches, classroom supplies or even vouchers for coffee shops, I'd be more than happy to do this and surely the money would go further, to go around all the staff?

It just feels like it's all an agenda to get the sales and level up, rather than genuinely want to treat the staff

Would teachers and support staff want bodyshop?

I guess I'm asking if I should just be grateful they're doing something nice or would you think this is quite underhanded and is this a common thing with mlm's and school mums?

Just to add there is usually quite a 'pressure' to donate to these pledges and you're judged if you don't!

Shit way to support teachers = mlm crap

Good ways to support teachers:

1. Email the school to say thank you. Mention any specific staff in the email (cc ing them if possible). Nearly cried on Friday when a couple of parents did this about me.
2. Nice card sent to school with positive message.
3. If a teacher who is normally good makes a small mistake, let it go rather than complain or at least discuss it with them before going to the head.

If you are desperate to give something to the school, a book for the school library or a packet of kit kats for staff but honestly no need to get anything for staff.

We had a forwarded message from the PTA on the WhatsApp group about this asking us to support the idea. No thanks. Term is 2 days in for us and we've only just bought retirement gifts plus class teacher and TA gifts. I dislike the end of term/year/Christmas gift pressure without this nonsense too.

Can I say if anyone wants to do anything for teachers then an email saying a few nice things would make their day. I have had some from my parents and it balances out the 'why are you not doing all day live lessons' ones. When you want to cry because you have a lockdown class of 20 and are trying to manage home learning and have just seen the days figures just a thank you can be enough to bring you back up! Not expected but hugely appreciated.

Reading everyone's replies and it definitely cements what I was feeling about mlm's and these 'treat bags/items'
It's so morally wrong to use these hard times to make sales/level up!!

I'm really liking the idea of emails or cards to say how we appreciate everything the schools are doing at the moment

I was a young sahm mum, (21 & 22) when I had my kids, in leafy commuter belt Surrey, and remember feeling really excluded when I wasn’t invited to a pampered chef party one of the mums at nursery was making a massive deal about. I expect she thought I wouldn’t buy anything. Then I got invited and wished I hadn’t been. I went, bought a few things out of sympathy and because I’d felt judged, and then the host pressured me into going to a company annual meeting with a view to me becoming a representative and in the end had to decline so forcefully that I felt downright rude. That was my experience of MLM in the real world. When they first started on Facebook, I didn’t really understand what they were, one of my jewellery customers asked me to support her make up business, years on, I think and she’s still doing it, just checked, she is, and must be quite high up now. It’s not my bag and smacks of a lack of imagination. With the internet, there are so many ways to do something authentic that you’re passionate about, and properly be your own boss that getting involved with an MLM seems like the worst of both worlds to me, you’re not your own boss, there are targets to meet and people to answer to and I don’t believe you make much doing it unless you rope other people in. I do feel a bit sorry for people who get caught up in them and think people prey on mainly quite vulnerable mums at the school gates. Little as I understand them, I think these schemes make people a bit desperate and it’s sad.

@SquashedFlyBiscuits

Shit way to support teachers = mlm crap

Good ways to support teachers:

1. Email the school to say thank you. Mention any specific staff in the email (cc ing them if possible). Nearly cried on Friday when a couple of parents did this about me.
2. Nice card sent to school with positive message.
3. If a teacher who is normally good makes a small mistake, let it go rather than complain or at least discuss it with them before going to the head.

If you are desperate to give something to the school, a book for the school library or a packet of kit kats for staff but honestly no need to get anything for staff.

Totally agree. I treasure the little hand made cards and notes I receive from parents/children. I keep them in a box. They are very special.

IME biscuits, cake or chocolate for the staff room will be much more appreciated.

School staff do not want this!
No pressure to give a gift at all but if you want to and want to give something they will really appreciate, just get a voucher but not coffee- many of us hate coffee so Costa etc vouchers are useless.
The broad choice vouchers like Love2Shop are the best!!

I'm a teacher and I like Body Shop, but wouldn't like this at all.

I never really thought of Body Shop as a MLM company Aren't they just the same as Avon? Or are they MLM?

I hate Forever Living etc, but have never seen any pressure from Body Shop sellers. I thought I was doing a friend a favour buying from her rather than the shop, if it means she can make a few quid too?

Body Shop at Home and Avon are both MLMs.

Yeah bodyshop is a mlm, because when your friend sells, the person above her earns commission on those sales and then the person above them earns commission and so on

I'm not sure how Avon works?

@NoOneOwnsTheRainbow

IME biscuits, cake or chocolate for the staff room will be much more appreciated.

I think this would be a lovely idea too and everyone can be included in this (receptionist, care taker, lunch supervisors etc) Bodyshop is quite expensive, so I wouldn't of thought there would be alot to go around to everyone, unless they could get most of the parents to do these 'pledges'

Avon used to be a bit different, in that each rep had a patch for parties and selling. Nowadays I think it's changed to be more like any other MLM, where any area can have any number of reps and if you recruit a friend who lives nearby you're essentially diluting the market and making it harder for yourself to sell. But the lure is the idea of getting commission for someone else's work and then not actually having to do much selling yourself (just personal volume to maintain rank).

@NoOneOwnsTheRainbow

IME biscuits, cake or chocolate for the staff room will be much more appreciated.

Many schools have closed their staffrooms, and sharing of anything isn't Covid safe, sadly.

My daughter spends her entire working day in her classroom, with the very occasional foray into the corridor outside. She has to take her own drinks in a flask.

Without wishing to be ungrateful, anything home made in our school was always slightly feared.
Individually wrapped sweets like Heroes or biscuits like KitKats feel like a much safer option!
I still think the idea of pledges for gifts feels pressuring and wrong and parents should never feel like they 'should' give anything.

@Adios2011

Yeah bodyshop is a mlm, because when your friend sells, the person above her earns commission on those sales and then the person above them earns commission and so on

I'm not sure how Avon works?

Avon used to be more 'direct selling' with reps having specific areas to cover. That has recently gone by the by and reps are encouraged to sign up anyone, anywhere. This is a pity as in the past most reps only made pin money for a huge amount of effort, the drive to recruit will not help at all.

One of my many local BSAH reps has started this this week. I am assuming from her FB posts it's not going well. First post was all sweetness and light and how she's doing a lovely thing etc, then came a post saying how weird people are for not supporting her and that some people have reported her... Now there's an almost terse post telling people to get on with it and make it happen and giving her PayPal address!

@OptimisticSix

One of my many local BSAH reps has started this this week. I am assuming from her FB posts it's not going well. First post was all sweetness and light and how she's doing a lovely thing etc, then came a post saying how weird people are for not supporting her and that some people have reported her... Now there's an almost terse post telling people to get on with it and make it happen and giving her PayPal address!

That's awful!! 😯😯

😱🤯

I'm a body shop consultant myself but I don't agree with this - it is guilt tripping people into buying. Also the constant raffles, tag your friends etc.
At the end of the day, yes it may be helping the NHS, but they are taking advantage of the current situation and at a time when people don't have a lot of money.

We have the same suggestion for Christmas this year. I feel rude, but I want to ask if this mum will be donating her Body Shop commission too?

@IndecentFeminist an old school friend tried this during lockdown. We had arranged an online school reunion and she said she’d turn it into a ‘party’ with her selling her Tropic stuff and donating proceeds to the NHS.

I was really pleased when one by one everyone made an excuse to not attend.

It’s in really bad taste imo, trying to up your sales under the guise of doing something nice.

Now another mum at gymnastics is suggesting the same. Why do these pushy people think this is ok?!

We had it with the dreadful Scentsie. They got a swift erm NO from me. Teachers got JL vouchers and were thrilled.

I am dreading the pressure of "you haven't donated!!"

Simple; just say you're making your own donation to school

And at £8 - £15 each that's a lot of stuff, so best hope it all goes to the school and isn't just sold off elsewhere as happened at our local one