Hey everyone! The Cookie Lee Black Sheep is back! (Someday, I’m going to get that sheep over there to make a “baaaaa!” sound.)
Today we’re going to do an in-depth session of Q & A. All of the questions come from offline e-mail exchanges, with permission from the authors to use part of the exchanges on this blog. Many of the questions, though, do come from one conversation in particular that I had with a woman on the east coast (she found my site after inquiring to have a show with a woman who sells Cookie Lee as well as purses.) Let’s dive in, shall we?
Q: What’s the latest on the Cookie Lee Lawsuit against one of its former Executive Directors who left CL for another company?
A: The case was dismissed and closed on August 21, 2008. Since I am not an attorney for either party, I cannot state why. But, being the “spoon” that I am, I can speculate that it’s likely that they’ve settled out of court.
Q: How is it that you don’t get into trouble for what you write about Cookie Lee?
A: I have become very intimately acquainted with this nation’s First Amendment. I make it very clear when I write about my personal experiences, offer advice, or pass on information I’ve received by stating it as such.
Q: Why are you spreading negativity behind a fake blog name?
A: My blog name is not fake. It’s a persona that I created because “Kathleen Lancaster” just seemed, well, boring. My real name also happens to be the name of a Hollywood starlet who is much more beautiful than me. And I wouldn’t want anyone confusing me with her, so I decided to pursue writing under the persona “Fashion Paramedic.” But my real name is Kathleen Lancaster. (Or Kathy Bonilla, depending on who you talk to.)
Q: Is Cookie Lee really the “fastest growing direct sales company in America”?
A: Go ahead and Google the term “fastest growing direct sales company in America,” and you’ll get 348,000 hits. So, it could be said that Cookie Lee is one of 348,000 fastest growing direct sales companies in America.
Q: Why are you starting rumors about Cookie Lee and airing names of consultants?
A: Oh! This is an easy one. I believe the “rumor” that you are referring to is the “company in jeopardy” rumor. I didn’t start that rumor. Nor have I started ANY rumors. That one in particular was broadcast publicly at wahm.com, although the person who posted it was not the one who started the rumor.
I don’t start rumors here — I use this blog to pass the information I receive from inside of Cookie Lee corporate and from current and former consultants (as well as would-be hostesses and consultants.)
ALSO, I never “name names.” There are consultants and corporate employees who read this blog that do that, though, in the comments section after a Cookie Lee blog post. The comments sections also contain updates from the field as well. Give them a good read.
Q: How was it that you knew I had been to your blog?
A: Whenever anyone visits my blog, their location and IP address gets logged into a database. I can also tell what that person “googled” to get to my site. For example, just today (and yesterday as well) someone checked to see if a certain name had been mentioned on my site. I saw the search string as “Cookie+Lee+FirstName+LastName,” which should have brought them to the comments section of a Cookie Lee post where a consultant had rattled off remarks about another consultant’s unit.
Q: Is it possible to win all of the awards at a single convention?
A: That’s actually a trick question. You can certainly earn a recruiting award by recruiting a certain amount of consultants in one year, a sales award by purchasing a set amount of wholesale jewelry in one year, the rising star award by recruiting a high number of consultants and purchasing a large amount of jewelry within your first year of being a consultant, and even earn regional recognition for sales and recruiting. You can also earn the coveted “Heart to Heart” award, which is a peer award. But to “win” the awards, one has to be #1 in all sales, #1 in all recruiting, #1 Rising Star, etc., as well as win the Heart to Heart award. But, I don’t think you can win them ALL, since if you are #1 in sales and #1 in recruiting, you are not able to win the regional awards (unless the rules have changed). So, I guess the answer is no.
One more thing: Awards for recruiting and sales are based solely on numbers. Whether or not the consultants who are recruited stay active, as well as if the jewelry purchased is actually sold, is not taken into account.
Q: I thought Cookie Lee didn’t allow the selling of other products (i.e. purses) along side of their jewelry. Is that true?
A: I don’t believe so. The last time I read a Policies and Procedures manual, it stated that consultants were only prohibited from selling other products once they reached a certain director-level status, or became a National Trainer. The P&P manual gets updated fairly frequently, though, so the policy I’m referring to may be out of date.
I would be very careful about the types of products that you allow into your home for sale. Purse parties in particular are a hot point of contention across the United States (see forum here), especially those who sell designer knock-offs. I know that there are legitimate DSA-registered purse organizations that do home parties, though, so maybe its best that you stick with a company that is trustworthy before you find yourself sitting in the back of a police car wearing handcuffs for buying a fake Fendi at a home vendor show.
Q. Do you know anything more about the Weekenders debacle?
A. No, except for what is mentioned in the comments area of this post. Shameful!
Q: Why are you so negative?
A: I’m not a negative person. I’m actually quite nice, funny, outgoing, and loving, and have a network of family and friends who support that theory. I’m perceived as negative only because I’ve brought to light that direct sales (among the other things I’ve ranted about at this blog) is not as easy as it would seem, and have received comments from other readers who state publicly that they agree (in addition to offline conversations I have via e-mail or by phone). I am perceived as someone for whom direct sales “didn’t work out for,” either because I didn’t work hard enough, or work “smart” enough, or didn’t put forth the effort it takes to become a success.
I will not be guilted into that line of thinking. I was happy to jump off the hamster wheel and my family thanks me every day that I did. (Even though my husband wishes I’d done it sooner.)
Technorati Tags: answers, Cookie Lee, Cookie Lee and Purse Parties, Cookie Lee Black Sheep, Cookie Lee Complaints, Cookie Lee Jewelry, Cookie Lee Rumors, Direct Sales, questions, Rumors
Fashion Paramedic @ August 27, 2008 under Cookie Lee, Cookie Lee Complaints, Cookie Lee Consultants, Cookie Lee Corporate, Cookie Lee Jewelry, Cookie Lee Lawsuit, Cookie Lee Questions, Cookie Lee Start-Up
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It seems as though I’m not the only one who has encountered issues with DirecTV and its league of technicians. I’ve received several e-mails containing stories (both good and bad) about the satellite service since I posted about my experience last night.
I should state that our problems with DirecTV had been minimal prior to last Saturday (August 16). The service was always exceptional and we never had any problems with our signal.
Many of you wanted to know if I’d called or gotten into contact with DirecTV today. If you read the comments contained in my original post, you would have seen that one of my friends had sent them an e-mail regarding my post, and they were quick to respond to her.
I have not been that successful.
I sent a note of my own to the DirecTV customer service department this morning at 10:30am PST (five hours ago). I have not received a response, probably because they’re thinking I asked for too much. As far as I’m concerned, my time is money, and DirecTV wasted too much of it on Saturday, as well as did some damage to our house. If they don’t want to compensate, I’ll take my business elsewhere. What do you think? Here is the letter I wrote:
FROM/RE: Kathleen Lancaster
Account #XXXXXXX
Message from [Name removed] #080824-003814 “Trouble With Techs in Sacramento”
Hello Alex:
I have to hand it to my readers – they know me better than I know myself sometimes. The friend who forwarded you the link to my blog knew that I was at my wits end, and that I had not contacted you yet because I was frustrated beyond existence. I am also quite sure that you will be needing to forward this message to your supervisor, since what I am about to request will more than likely exceed your level of authority.
I am trying with every ounce of my being to remain civil. To describe what happened to my husband and I over the weekend as ‘unacceptable’ is an understatement. What was supposed to be a fun “last weekend before school” was turned into a long, draining trial on our nerves. Not only did I spend a collective FOUR HOURS on the phone with various employees of DirecTV on Saturday, but we also had to stay close to the house all day because we thought someone was coming back to install a new dish. And yes, we were pleased at the fact that the technician returned on Sunday, yet we had NO WARNING of his arrival. He then proceeded to hack into our house, leaving a wake of destruction from the street to the side yard and all the way into our home, endangering our 1-year-old son. We had to get on our hands and knees to make sure that all of the garbage left behind by the technician was up out of the carpet before we let our son back into the living room.
The post to my blog has already resulted in offers to switch to other providers free of charge. When I left a comment that I didn’t know if we could afford the installation fee for Comcast’s triple play, I received a note stating they would waive it for me. Dish extended an offer to me for free installation, two HD DVRs, and free HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax for four months. This is all happening in real time – as soon as I write something new, I get a response. It’s safe to say that the sharks are in the water, Alex.
You told my friend that you wanted me to write you and let you know how you can help. Here is what I am requesting.
First, we would like to have someone (OTHER THAN BEN) come back to the house, remove the old broken satellite, and have the new satellite stabilized so that it doesn’t wiggle.
Second, we would like to receive a package from DirecTV similar to what Dish offered. A second HD DVR free of charge for the master bedroom, as well as free HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax on both receivers through the end of the year. If you want to throw the NFL Sunday Ticket back into the mix, we would not object. That should be sufficient compensation for what we’ve endured for the past 48 hours.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Lancaster
Technorati Tags: Cable, Consumer, customer service, DirecTV, DirecTV Technicians, Satellite
Fashion Paramedic @ August 25, 2008 under Put My Bitch On, Rants & Randomness, complaints
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Note: This post is a Ted Kaczynski manifesto of a rant — the longest I’ve EVER written. It’s also RATED R. Lots of profanity is used. With little apology. Because Mama’s PISSED!
Timeline:
Friday, August 15: Power goes out at my house. When lights finally come on, our TiVo receiver stays off. It’s BUH-ROKEN! Oh . . . the HORROR!!!
Saturday, August 16 — 8:00am: On the phone with DirecTV. Representative is trying to help troubleshoot. Yes, hon. We’ve tried all that shit. No, there is no reset or on/off button. Our receiver is THAT old.
Saturday, August 16 — 9:17am: Still on phone with DirecTV. The screaming and crying kids in my living room have no effect on the representative. Why is this taaakkiiinnnggg sooooo loooonnnngggg?
Saturday, August 16 — 9:24am: Finally. An appointment to have technician come to our house and install a replacement. We’re going to get an HD DVR. On September 2nd. Two days AFTER College Football starts.
Thursday, August 20 — 2:12pm: Wonderful man from DirecTV calls and says there’s been a cancellation and wants to know if we’d like to get our receiver on Saturday. Uh, ye-ah. Our appointment is the 8:00am to 12:00pm time slot.
Saturday, August 22 — 7:19am: I leave to drop off clothes at a local same-day dry cleaner. They should be done by 4:00pm. It’s a great day — we’re getting a new HD DVR, I got my clothes in early, and the fam and I are going to the California State Fair in the evening. I’m in a good mood. I decide to get my car washed.
Saturday, August 22 — 8:17am: Technician arrives. I am not home but LOML lets him in. LOML says we don’t need a new dish. Just the DVR. And that’s about all the LOML can understand, since the guy speaks Chinenglish. I’m just happy we don’t need a new dish!! Woo hoo!! No holes in our new roof!!!
Saturday, August 22 — 9:12am: I return home. Technician is still in the house. Something about local channels not working. WTF?? I can’t understand a word he says. Which is pretty bad, since I’m usually pretty good at translating broken English into a viable, understandable language.
Saturday, August 22 — 9:37am: Signals from local channels are coming in loud and clear. Tech fixed the problem and has left the building. Thankfully, he leaves a sheet listing his and his supervisor’s phone number.
Saturday, August 22 — 10:12am: I notice that we’re not getting any more HD channels than before. We used to have 7. We’re supposed to have over 40, now that the new HD DVR is installed. I log on to our account to see what’s up.
Saturday, August 22 — 10:29am: I hunker down for a long winter’s call and dial up DirecTV. After 5 minutes of automated system stupidity, I finally get a human. I ask why we don’t have more HD channels with our new receiver. Am passed on to tech support.
Saturday, August 22 — 10:43am: Tech support has me running a series of tests when I get cut off.
SHITGODDAMNHELLFUCK. I’m going to have to start this phone call all over again.
Saturday, August 22 — 10:47am: Begin new call.
Saturday, August 22 — 10:53am: A human says hello. A long, frustrating conversation filled with troubleshooting, sarcasm, and impatience ensues.
Saturday, August 22 — 12:13pm: I am still on the phone. Woman at call center is trying to communicate with technician who came to our house (Ben) and/or his supervisor(s).
Saturday, August 22 — 12:17pm: I am told that Ben or his supervisor(s) will call me in 10 minutes. Ben needs to return to our house to fix the problem. Not sure what problem is yet.
Saturday, August 22 — 1:03pm: Haven’t heard jack shit from anyone.
Saturday, August 22 — 1:09pm: I get hold of Ben. He is very short with me, and says he will call back. But he does no such thing.
Saturday, August 22 — 1:34pm: I call Ben’s supervisor, Victor. I get voice mail. I tell him in the most patient way possible that we are not pleased and he needs to call us right away. He never calls.
Saturday, August 22 — 1:58pm: LOML is PISSED. LOML called Ben, and Ben basically told the LOML that the problem was more than likely the fact that our old dish wasn’t compatible with our new HD tuner. And it wasn’t HIS problem to deal with, since the work order that DirecTV issued was for an HD receiver and nothing else.
Oh. HELL no.
Are you f-ing KIDDING me with that? You mean to tell me that a technician, trained in satellite and receiver installation, couldn’t make the connection that our NEW DVR wouldn’t be compatible with our old satellite — while he was STILL IN OUR HOUSE?
No f-ing way. He HAD to have known. He could have had us on the path to a solution five seconds after seeing that we had an old dish. He could have said something like, “Hey. I just took a look at your old dish. It’s not gonna work properly with your new DVR. And I can’t do much about it since I was only supposed to install the receiver. You need to call DirecTV and clear this up. In the mean time, I’ll set it so it receives a signal, but you won’t be getting any HD channels until the new dish gets here.”
We would have been upset, but we would have accepted it — after all, we had been without TV in our living room for over a week. Any signal would have been acceptable at that point. We more than likely would have thanked him for coming out, and told him we’d see him again when the new dish arrived.
But no-oh-ooo. He just left us high and dry to figure it out for ourselves. Asshole!!
Saturday, August 22 — 2:02pm: Begin another call to DirecTV. I have put my bitch on, my fangs are showing, and my claws are out.
Saturday, August 22 — 2:11pm: Finally get a human. I tell human that if the problem is not resolved by close of business TODAY, we are canceling our service and calling Comcast.
Saturday, August 22 — 2:29pm: After speaking with a “Customer Care Specialist” (the people you get sent to when you threaten to cancel service) assure me that Ben will call me with a time he is available to install the new dish. I hang up only after the woman promises me that Ben will call, and tell her that he was supposed to call me during the 12:00pm hour but never followed through.
Saturday, August 22 — 3:34pm: Ben calls. Says “installing new dish not gonna happen.” I lay into Ben and tell him that what he did was unacceptable. He should have told us that our new HD DVR wasn’t compatible with the old dish, and that we needed a new HD dish, even though it wasn’t on the work order. He said it wasn’t his problem. I told him I was hanging up and calling his supervisor.
Saturday, August 22 — 3:39pm: I leave another message with Victor. Who never returns my call.
Saturday, August 22 — 3:41pm: I leave a message with Victor’s supervisor, Matt. Who never returns my call.
Saturday, August 22 — 3:44pm: I begin yet ANOTHER call to DirecTV. This one’s a doosie. After explaining our situation for the fifth f-ing time to DirecTV today, and threatening to cancel service AGAIN, I am transferred to Customer Care. After re-explaining what the technician did, here is how the conversation played out:
Customer Care (CC): “I do apologize for all what happened. Like you said, it was very unacceptable. But, what Ben said is true. Getting a new dish won’t be happening today. I see we have you down for getting a new dish on the 15th.”
Me: “Please tell me that the term ‘the 15th’ is some sort of code for within the next 15 hours, and not September 15th.”
CC: “We don’t have anything available until September 15th.”
Me: “Then cancel the service. I’m done with DirecTV.”
CC: “Mrs. Lancaster, I notice that you have canceled your NFL Season Pass service . . .”
Me: “Are you KIDDING me? You’re bringing up the NFL Season Pass? This has NOTHING to do with the Season Pass and everything to do with crappy service. I don’t even WANT your service anymore, and you want to talk about the Season Pass? What the hell?”
CC: “I’m seeing that we can offer you something called an ‘on-time’ guarantee credit. Basically what it is is $100 off your account for your trouble.”
Me: “You know what? I’m not sure that’s enough. I’m going to have to think about it and call my husband.”
CC: “Well, it would basically take care of your bill for over a month. It’s the best we can offer right now.”
Me: “It’s the best you can offer, but we still don’t have service, and won’t have service until September 15th. I don’t see how that’s acceptable.”
CC: “You don’t have a signal?”
Me: “No. Ben rigged the DVR to get a signal, but in the series of calls to the techs at DirecTV, we lost it. The techs had me reset the receiver at least seven or eight times, which erased the settings.”
CC: “Okay. I am so sorry that happened. I will definitely pass this information on to our Colorado headquarters, because they’ll want to know the situation. Unfortunately, we can’t get anyone out there any sooner than the 15th.”
Me: “Fine. Go ahead and credit our account. I’m still going to need to call my husband and figure out what we want to do.”
Saturday, August 22 — 4:27pm: Arrive to pick up dry cleaning. It isn’t ready, and won’t be for a couple of hours. “Um. I hope to be drinking my 3rd beer at the State Fair by 6:30pm.” I decide to leave and pick up clothes on Monday.
Saturday, August 22 — 10:03pm: The fair was a blast. We are tired and wish upon a star that the boys sleep in.
Sunday, August 23 — 8:04am: The boys have been up since 6:45am. I’m still in my pajamas when there’s a knock at the door.
Holy Fucking Shit! It’s Ben the Tech.
“I hook up dish now.”
“Uh, okay.”
I run back and wake up the LOML.
“Ben is HERE. With a new dish. Make sure he doesn’t drill anything that isn’t supposed to have a hole in it.”
LOML gets up and heads out to chaperone. Then comes back in. “He isn’t on the roof yet. He’s still assembling the dish by the van.”
So, we eat breakfast, then I ready the boys for a trip to Kohl’s, and then to the gym. LOML stays behind to keep an eye on the technician.
Sunday, August 23 — 11:38am: Voice mail from LOML while I was working out. Says Ben left “one monster of a mess, and I got lots of pictures of the garbage strewn in the yard and of the shitty job he did screwing in the satellite to the house.”
Upon my return, the LOML gave me the tour. First, there were screws, garbage, and washers left in the street and driveway. Then, next to the side of the house, was the old dish — abandoned and broken. It looked as if it was thrown off the roof. There was also cardboard, bags, zip ties, and bubble wrap left behind.
The dish itself was screwed into the roof using screws that were too small. He didn’t even take the time to try and find a stud — he just screwed everything into the plywood through our brand new shingles. The dish and its assembly rocks back and forth with little effort. I wonder if we’ll lose the signal during our first winter rain. And don’t get me started on the wires hanging in all directions . . .
The garbage left in the living room was minimal compared to what was left in the side yard. At least we found it all — Benny could have easily swallowed some of it.
*SIGH*
Should I have called Comcast to begin with? I can still get their triple play deal, since I didn’t have to renew my service with DirecTV when I ordered the replacement DVR . . .
Technorati Tags: Comcast, customer service, DirecTV, DirecTV Technicians
Fashion Paramedic @ August 24, 2008 under Put My Bitch On, Rants & Randomness, complaints
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