Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Trying out products

Tuesday night (yesterday) I was gone all day. When I arrived home, the package from Melaleuca arrived. I did not open the package.

This morning, I opened the box. In addition to the products I had ordered were a number of sales materials and a "membership kit" box (which I still haven't opened). I got out the products I had ordered:
  • Laundry detergent
  • Laundry oxygen bleach
  • Dishwasher detergent
  • Dish detergent
  • Window cleaner
  • Sports drink mix (like Gatorade, but a powder for mixing with bottled water)

I tried the window cleaner first. My glasses were dirty, so I poured the concentrated cleaner up to the line in the spray bottle, and added water to fill the bottle. I spritzed each lens on both sides and wiped them with a cloth. I was immediately amazed at the crystal clear view. I clean my glasses frequently, and they usually develop lots of light scratches that cause glare and interfere with vision. This glass cleaner seemed to reduce the glare from those scratches. I usually use commercial pre-moistened wipes designed for cleaning glasses. At home sometimes I use dishwater or Windex. None of those products have ever given me the level of clarity I experience using the Melaleuca product.

Encouraged by the success with the experience with  my glasses, I decided to try the dishwasher detergent next. Someone had already loaded the dishwasher with pre-rinsed dishes. Following the instructions on the bottle, I filled one of the dispenser cups half-full of the liquid gel detergent, set the washer on "normal," and ran the washer. All of the pre-rinsed dishes were clean (as expected) but I had used 1/4 the usual amount of detergent, and to my delight, all of the glass and stainless steel dishes had a glassy-clean appearance like new dishes. We have very hard water, and I have grown accustomed to the fact that dishes always have a "used" look after they have been washed, as a thin film of calcium begins coating the dishes. Occasionally I use a mixture of vinegar and salt with a nylon scrubber to remove the calcium film, but even that treatment never removes the film completely. As I unloaded the dishwasher, one of my kids asked me if I had purchased new dishes when he saw the "like new" appearance of one of the dishes.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Melaleuca

Last Friday, a friend told me about a new multi-level marketing plan. Having experienced another multi-level marketing plan in the past, I was skeptical, but trust in my friend's judgement and integrity kept me listening. He claimed this company was different because the products are actually less expensive than comparable name-brand products, and because this company does not require members to sell anything. All sales are handled through the corporate website.

As I listened, I thought about how my friend is a natural salesman, while I am more of a geek who tends to get carried away talking about details until my listeners find a polite way to escape the boredom. My friend must have picked up on my concern, because he promised to help me to sign up new members. I would just need to try the products and refer people to him, and he would sign those people up under me.

The risk seemed small. I would try new products, and either I would believe in them and naturally talk them up to others, or I would quickly know that I had misgivings about the product, and I would discontinue my membership. I signed up, and I ordered a one month supply of products I would have purchased anyway.

When I arrived home, my daughter arrived home about the same time with a grocery bag full of cleaning products she had just purchased, asking me to reimburse her. I immediately began experiencing "buyer's remorse," since my daughter was requesting reimbursement of about 10% of what I had just spent.

Saturday, November 5, 2011


Journal:
Watched Sands of Time, Sorcerer's Apprentice


Prayer list:
Barb Riley Pancreatic stent
Jane Wolfe Son turning 18 wants to move out
Cindy Neisler Canova's Dad
Brenda Veach cancer & chemo

Work list:
City of Plymouth
Start school work
Life insurance cancelled
New Life insurance started
Audra's school pictures
Sears product service agreement
EazyPaper / Office / Adobe Web Design Premium / Remote Control
Answer birthday cards

Reading
Project
Uplink

Sources: