Quixtar/TEAM

Quixtar posted its first message since November on its Media Blog and it has discussed something we already know. Mainly that Quixtar and TEAM are in arbitration and nobody is talking about it and most likely never will because the terms of the arbitration will most likely be kept confidential.

Instead of Quixtar just moving past this whole TEAM fiasco and working to better its business for the transition to Amway, they have decided to file a lawsuit against TEAM in the state of Nevada, for what sort of damages they do not disclose. I just don’t see how that action is going to help their business or their reputation heading into such a transitory period for their company.

The Amway name is already tarnished and I did not think it was a good idea to go back to that name when they announced it, but now they are becoming the aggressor instead of the company that was taken advantage of and I don’t think that will sit well with prospects in the future. It will be just one more negative thing they’ve heard about Amway and turn them off on the idea of working for the class bully – remember, IBO’s are no longer business owners, they are business OPERATORS.

Technorati Tags: quixtar, amway, team, team of destiny, lawsuit, litigation, shaun carter, mlm, network marketing, ibo, signature management, arbitration

Amway UK announced recently that it is being taken to trial by government authorities because of the way that ABO’s (Amway Business Owners) were promoting the business opportunity. In response to early criticism from the government, Amway UK instituted its own moratorium on signing up new distributors and did not renew the contracts of some very high level ABO’s who it felt were part of the problem.

Mr. DeVos and Mr. VanAndel wrote an open letter, found below, to explain the situation and that Amway will fight all the charges in court. A loss for Amway could result in the immediate shutdown of operations in the UK.

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To: Global Directors and above
From: Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos
Subject: UK update
Date: November 9, 2007

We have important news from the U.K. that we want to share with you.

Despite recent, far-reaching reforms we have made to the UK market, the UK Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has chosen to take the company to trial in London later this month.

We disagree vehemently with that decision and will defend the case vigorously on behalf of the 106 employees and 12,000 Amway Business Owners who have built the business since we opened the market in 1973.

Many of you know the background on this matter. Over a yearlong period, DBERR (formerly called the DTI) conducted an investigation of Amway UK, as well as sales organizations operating in the market, and took issue with the way some IBO organizations were promoting the business. Amway was criticized for not taking decisive action to correct the misrepresentations.

Since that time, UK and Amway Europe staff have worked tirelessly to address BERR’s complaints – and in the process, reinvented the UK business almost from the ground up. We have also initiated a global review of business practices to make sure we operate under the highest standards possible in all our markets.

Our self-imposed UK changes – which included steps like suspending BSM sales, a sponsorship moratorium and terminating or sanctioning IBOs – were comprehensive and difficult, but we made them without hesitation. After a terrifically successful September relaunch, we are on the right track to grow in a sustainable way, featuring a balanced business that works for ALL our ABOs and IBOs.

We have also taken a strong stance with the sales organizations, including refusing to renew the contracts of some leaders who would not endorse our reforms.

The fact is, in the wake of this sobering experience, every one of us – employees, IBOs, and others – should renew our commitment to hold ourselves to the highest standards of behavior. The marketplace – and in the UK, the government – has made it clear that they expect no less. And when falling short of those standards exposes our company to such grave risk, there can no longer be any such thing as “business as usual.”

So you can see how seriously we have taken this matter. But still – despite these serious and significant changes – the BERR believes the best solution is to close us down in the UK. That is unwarranted and unnecessary and we will fight it in court with all our energy.

Please share this memo with employees and IBOs at your discretion. We will keep you updated on developments, either in emails or on the Amway Media Blog, http://amwaynews.alticorblogs.com. In the meantime, reach out to your friends in the UK and let them know we stand behind them.

We have faced significant challenges before. We are ready for this one.

Steve and Doug

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It’s very interesting to note that Amway UK has existed since 1973 and has only 12,000 ABO’s. That does not sound like a successful operation to me. It is also interesting to note that a potential negative ruling in the UK could have drastic repercussions in other parts of the world that Amway operates and result in more government interventions.

The focus seems to be on the sale of Business Support Materiels (BSM’s) and poor sponsoring tactics. Quixtar terminated diamonds Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady for that very same reason here in the US and has terminated several UK diamonds who operated a successful BSM business, International Business Systems, alongside their Amway businesses. I think at this point Quixtar and Amway are shooting the very hands that feed them. These individuals represent and directly influence the levels of growth the company experiences and without BSM’s I think you will see Alticor’s number of ABO’s and level of product sales fall. The fact is, Amway and Quixtar do not have an adequate motivational system to retain people in the business, and their new rollout of an Amway University is not going to do the trick.

Already, Quixtar’s decision to change its name back to Amway in the next couple of years is looking like a strategic nightmare. The UK situation will only add to the negative connotations that the Amway name is associated with here in the United States and will not make it any easier for the new ABO’s to market the Amway products or business opportunity successfully.

More Quixtar/Amway News

Technorati Tags: amway, uk, quixtar, alticor, shaun carter, doug devos, steve vanandel, orrin woodward, chris brady, jerry scriven, dave butler, pat gregory, abo, ibo, international business systems, team, team of destiny, network marketing, united kingdom

It seems that Quixtar’s post a couple months ago named “Just Go, Team” didn’t accurately convey Quixtar’s feelings toward TEAM.

Quixtar is now filing a lawsuit against TEAM’s parent company, Signature Management Team LLC, and seeking any and all damages possible. The lawsuit claims that TEAM is soliciting IBO’s, using confidential and proprietary company data, disparaging Quixtar,  and more.

I think the most humorous analogy that Quixtar posts on their blog announcing this lawsuit is:

“If you leave your place of work today, you would leave behind your tools and information so that those who remain can carry on the business. You can’t help yourself to your computer, the stapler, the coffeemaker—or the company’s customer list.”

This just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever… if Orrin Woodward or Chris Brady stole a coffeemaker, computer or stapler from Quixtar’s Ada, Michigan headquarters, then by all means prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law! But he didn’t steal anything, Quixtar is trying to reach much further than they legally should be allowed to – claiming that any customers and IBO’s that Woodward brought into the business are the property of Quixtar just like their computers, staplers, and coffeemakers within their walls.

I disagree with Quixtar that all the people leaving the business are only doing it because Orrin Woodward or Chris Brady told them to. A lot of people I talk with are simply upset with the way Alticor is handling this whole situation and dragging their name through the mud. There are also many people upset with the pending name change back to Amway. People still haven’t forgotten all the negative stereotypes associated with Amway and I think that will come back to bite the company in the ass.

Another interesting accusation from Quixtar is that the recent Louisville convention that TEAM put on was a meeting designed to coerce people out of Quixtar and into the TEAM system. But nobody who was at the event every recalls the name Quixtar even being brought up. I’m sure Quixtar had its employees or private investigators in the convention recording everything that was said the entire weekend.

This lawsuit fails to show specific examples of the accusations and just brushes some broad strokes which, I’m assuming, will be filled in with more detail when the case goes to court. It is very possible that a Quixtar win in this case will cause TEAM to go out of business.

Technorati Tags: alticor, amway, quixtar, team, team of destiny, shaun carter, orrin woodward, chris brady, convention, louisville, lawsuit, signature management team

Amway has terminated the businesses of another group of IBOs, this time across the Atlantic. The “Independent” businesses of Diamonds Jerry Scriven, Dave Butler and Pat Gregory, who operate the International Business Systems (IBS) group have all been terminated because of their lack of support for the changes being made with Amway UK’s business.

These sounds very similar to the termination of the Woodward and Brady (TEAM) businesses here in the US – the fact that the termination was over a disagreement with the changes the company is making.

TEAM founder Orrin Woodward is in court today in West Michigan defending against charges made by Quixtar that he broke restraining orders from August that ruled that he must stop using Quixtar sales materials,  not encourage IBOs to resign, and return all confidential Line of Sponsorship information to the company. More details of that story to come.

Technorati Tags: quixtar, amway, alticor, team, team of destiny, orrin woodward, chris brady, mlm, network marketing, shaun carter, ibo, lawsuit

The local paper, The Grand Rapids Press, picked up the story about Quixtar suing 30 unknown individual bloggers and posters and added some more information about the case.

For instance, Quixtar has now disclosed that the reason they chose to file the case in Ottawa County and not their home office location in Kent County is “so as not to slow down a pending case against Woodward and other former distributors in Kent County.” They also continue to insist that the lawsuit is not aimed at the bloggers just giving their opinion but is only meant for those who are operating as an arm of the TEAM or Woodward organizations who would be in violation of a court order by speaking out against Quixtar.  However, the lawsuit doesn’t state that anywhere. It says they are seeking damages in excess of $25,000 against each of the individuals for damaging the reputation of the company.

If Quixtar fails in its quest to discover these sites are operated by Orrin Woodward, he may have a good case against Quixtar for libel. I really don’t think Woodward is stupid enough to be operating any of these sites. When the gag order came down from the judge, he immediately took down all the updates he had been posting on all of his blogs, which number around ten. Since that court action I haven’t seen anything on the Internet purporting to be him. If anything, these people are disgruntled former IBO’s who’s businesses have suffered as a result of the lawsuits.

I am hearing from many TEAM IBO’s that volume in their organizations is down over 50% and some have lost nearly all of their volume as the TEAM IBO’s abandon the Quixtar ship. It will be interesting to see how much of an effect this will have on Quixtar/Amway sales for the year.

More Quixtar Information:

Quixtar Files Suit Against Bloggers

TEAM Loses California Court Battle

Quixtar E-mail

Another Quixtar E-mail

Shaun Carter

Technorati Tags: quixtar, amway, alticor, team, team of destiny, ibo, orrin woodward, shaun carter, lawsuit, class action, pyramid scheme, first amendment, free speech