Complaint Review: Exquisite Home Products CARICO Products

they tell you you will get paid regardless of whether you sell of not and would be paid for training. i completed a week of training and then they told me sorry you do not get paid.  im currently in the process of having my lawyer look over this. 

Even the honest "marketing" companies are a joke. Sounds like EHP is about the lowest of the low. Maybe my comments will be removed and my account deleted - I don't care. I just stumbled onto this website because I saw a very non-descript help-wanted ad in my paper. The lack of info shouted "SCAM" to me, but I wondered just what the angle was. Then I connect a few dots and find Sibi's posts. They are very entertaining. It sucks that she had to suffer through their s**t, but in a way it's a good thing. She's smart and expressive and principled and determined enough to give a full expose on just what those assholes are doing, and that will no doubt keep a lot of people from falling victim to their scam. So I created this account and posted this message really just to applaud Sibi and tell her to keep fighting the good fight.

This is totally true

I got 10 reasons why Exquisite Home Products, Cariao is a Scam

1st
 you go in there and from the beginning YOU ARE BEING SOLD on how much money you are going to make

If they got more to sell you, than to tell you, more than likely its a ...scam.

It's all a way to warm you up, override your logic, by targeting your motivation to get money,

They also do this on the flip side by showing the customer fear tactics, than "subtly" pressuring to buy.

2nd
I GOT RIPPED OFF!!!
 I didn't even get a $25.00 refund for my deposit on a  supposedly $75.00 in training materials,  which is just paper in a plastic binder, and a dvd-r
Please....

3rd. - If its really "good" why isn't it being sold in retail.
 Rebuttal, quality service, products, that you can't get from retail, plus cut out the middle man "retail" to pass the savings to the customer,
this s**t is F@CKING EXPENSIVE.

4th Fishy..... They give you this line of a free trip to anywhere, old Bait and Hook the Customers.
I ask  because I'm from Jersey, Specifically where in Atlantic City, for friends and family? They don't know where the hotel will lodge you, not in a Casino, probably in some motel in the "bad part of Atlantic City,  There is a Ghetto in every City."

5th.---
f**k the BBB.  This is the second s**t Job I went to supported by those sneaky Bastards.
i.e.
Total Remodeling based in Union NJ is a Scam Door to Door with no experience, supported by the BBB, 1 lady I approached on the door, said that she got ripped off by them I knew right there to quit. Plus they have no formula for "generating leads"
the same thing though more to sell you than tell you in the initial interview.

6th..  It's part time but you gotta read the material, generate clientele, travel to their offices for meeting which takes place during peak traffic hours 6-8.

As said above yeah its a lotta time

7th - IF ITS Residual Income than most likely  = Pyramid Scheme.

8 - I asked ask a question on minimum earnings and other repeated questions, than you get belittled, because trust me when I tell you, they throw numbers around like confetti, its all bright and beautiful promises of Money.


I asked a question repeatedly about Minimum earnings I get a respond like
"Ohh, your thinking down here, you want to think up here (pointing to higher earnings by commission)
She was implying that I'm an underachiever you want to be up here selling like a truely successfull person

9th -

Its the people were unprepared for who present the greatest threat. The fast-talking salesman puts us on alert. But the nice guys, the friendly thieves who sell beneath the threshold of our awareness, put us at their mercy.
-Power of Persuasion by Robert Levine

(I recommend reading some  books on persuasion, and other sales tactics, textbook sales procedures to watch out for)

A little bit of kindness goes a long way, too much than watch the f@ck out

10th
They are using "trainees" for what ohh lets see the s**+tload of referrals yeah,
what do they want 50 referrals,  existing customers my a*s....

 I am a man of principles I can't pressure my family or friends to buy things (which may or may not work and is absurdly expensive) or see them pressured to buy it than something goes arye I get the blame.

I got friends that have kids for example

I'm gonna have some sneaky smiling snake oil salesman, using FEAR tactics and pressure them to buy a product. 

Example _ ohh you have a 2 year old and you are washing her in that toxic bathtub.well you don't need to buy it, if you want your kid to get mercury poisoning, a poor immune system, and cancer. (imply bad parenting, being cheap, and disregard for safety.. in the most subtlest of ways)


How does that saying go don't mix family and business. 

Yeah you can make money doing this there is an old saying
the only dfference between a drug dealer and ceo is connections.


Hell I rather be a drug dealer, there is more repercussions sure but, its a lot more honest.

Some people can make money doing this, those with a lack of moral fiber, who are easily bought and sold, but force themselves to believe that it's OK because it's the way of the world, manufacturing virtues and beliefs for profit.

I left before I can do any in-home training, with friends or family, I wanted to spread the word my scamy senses were up from the beginning, but I couldn't go through seeing my friends or family being worked over.

First allow me to start with your response to the other person, David, who was feeling just a little off about your "hiring practices". Your response to him and I quote:
 
 
1. ""I'm curious to know if you completed the training process.  When you were interviewed we informed you that the position would be dealing with generating new business and servicing existing clients.  The first two weeks you are considered a trainee and we do offer the minimum earnings guarentee of $1200 or your commission which ever of the two is greater.  The commission is merely a way for you to make extra money like a bonus for doing a great job.  During the training process we also assign you to an experienced manager who guides you through the process. We have quite a bit of information to give you so I hope you were listening to more then just the benefits of the position.  ""
 
 
hmmm...earn extra money for doing a good job, huh...quite a bit of information to give you - yep, that's quite an understatement.  How come you didn't bother to inform this poor David of the fact that in order to get this $1200 guarantee, he must sell a certain amount of merchandise. I say it was $5000 for the 1st 2 weeks, you say that there is no stipulation to get that minimum, but that you must sell the $5000 in order to become certified...ok...hmmm...thats weird cause for the first 4 days I went to "training", we were told, day in and day out, that we did not have to sell ANYTHING and we got that guarantee...then come Friday, when we are signing our contracts with them, they say the guarantee is if and only if you sell $5000 of merchandise within the first 2 weeks. (ya I know you're going to say, but we offer an extension for people who cannot make it within the first 2 weeks, woopie, good for you). And I distinctly remember this because Elizabeth (the woman who did most of the training classes) kept saying that the 1200 was a GUARENTEE cause people in my class kept asking this exact question, "So you're saying that we don't have to sell anything to our family/friends and we still get paid the $1200??" and she would say, "You can sell nothing or you can sell everything. The only thing that we ask you to do is go out there, get the referrals and make sure you are at each and every single training class and they give out important info during those classes". I dont know about you, but I took that to mean exactly what she said, if we did not sell to anyone, we still got the earnings, since we were still working and generation referrals for the following week. But, Ms. Elizabeth was in fact just talking in circles, not answering the question truthfully. 
 
By the way, the definition of guarantee is: an assurance for the fulfillment of a condition.  If we met the condition of going to all the appointments and training and generating referrals, then we should have got the amount we were promised.
Oh, and just in case anyone was wondering - what happens if you don't sell the $5000 in merchandise? You get the 9% commission on what you sell, minus some, since you probably had to give the discount, seeing as the prices are outrageous on most of these items and people dont really want to buy a $1900 set of cookware when Macy's or Amazon or any other major retailer will carry a wide selection of very good cookware for nowhere near that price.
If you don't sell a certain amount of merchandise per week, same thing goes, you get commission on the items, nothing else....maybe that's why in your fabulous rebuttal to me, you neglected to mention anything about the poor person who couldnt pay his d**n auto insurance cause he was jipped out of his commission soo many times....hmmmm...conveniently forgot that guy right? But when he was there, everyone was sooo friendly to him saying he was an up and coming star within the organization cause he was sooo good....if that's sooo good....f**k...i wonder what real bad is like....wow...that does not sound like any kind of guarantee to me....except the guarantee of being broke and miserable.....
 
2. ""There are three areas that we need to get you trained on.  The first being the product line.  The second area is on the concept of referral marketing .  The majority of our business is word of mouth and after having been in business almost 30 years we have become quite sucessful this way.  We ask you to use people that you know to help get you trained so that you can establish a small referral base of about 50 potential clients.  The other reason we like you to learn the presentation with people that you know is if you make a mistake we need to be able to correct you in front of the client.""
 
 
Referral marketing = walk up to strangers in the street, ask friends and family for people they will know, go around knocking on doors, leaving "free water testing" signs on door knobs of people who dont answer and then coming back around and knocking some more so they can let you in thinking its a free water test...I went on one of those...ya, not fun at all. You walk around aimlessly hoping people will just let you in to their houses and they do, seeing as they THINK its a FREE water test, not that it's part of the SALES PITCH to try to get them to buy a $600 (one of the cheapest) water filtration system. Yes sir, that is how you get those referrals up there.. And yes, my trainer actually got mad that all his trainees were brining him to friends and family who were not buying any merchandise, he said and I quote "WHAT A WASTE OF TIME. I HATE WHEN TRAINEES BRING ME TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO INTENTION OF BUYING ANYTHING". hmmm....that DOES NOT sound like training to me...that sounds like youre trying to sell merchandise to people who you originally said DID NOT HAVE TO BUY ANYTHING SINCE IT WAS JUST TRAINING.
 
3. ""After your training you are given a promotion to a certified consultant and given an increase in your minimum earnings to $1500 every two weeks or your commission , whichever of the two is greater.  The position is not easy.  Especially the training.  It takes dedication and hard work which is why the benefits are so great.  Exquisite Home Products is the highest paid hard work and the lowest paid easy work you will find.  Additionally, once you get out of training, there are opportunities to move into a management position where you will learn more about the company, our distributor, and also we will teach you about professionalism and business management.""
 
 
Minimum earning of $1500...hmmm.....right after you sell $3500 worth of merchandise. Again, maybe you should have informed the whole group of trainees you had that day, I GUARENTEE that most, if not all would have left. 
And now I will go into what you so tenderly responded to me:
 
4. ""At orientation you are also supplied with a list of local parking areas and are given time to put money in the parking meter. If you were not happy with the parking here then I do not recommend you drive in Manhattan . They are much worse. As far as your time management I cannot say much. How you manage your time is your responsibility.""
 
 
I used to live in Manhattan , and work in Manhattan and I know what the parking is like genius. And how I manage my time is my responsibility....well on that, you're right. I cannot disagree with you. How anyone manages their own time is their own responsibility.  Ok so let me break down just how much you need to get done within a 2 week period:
1. go to all the meeting on time (there are about 5 - 7 a week - I'm getting that # based on the amount I did that 1st week, the meetings take anywhere from and hour to 5 hours a day so whats that, about another 20 - 30 hours doing that)
2. schedule 30 showing for every 2 weeks (which take about 2 hours each, so 60 hours doing that, alone).
3. Getting those referrals, which can include the following:
   Going Door to Door
   Asking friends and family
   Going Business to Business
   Asking strangers in the street
I dont about you, but I do believe that would take some time too....Lets put that at about 10 hours every 2 weeks.
4. Driving from appointment to appointment. Waiting on the manager to arrive so you can begin.  During the one week, I must have driven about 6 or 7 hours. Probably more around 10 hours, just driving and waiting.
Bringing a 2 week total of hours worked to: 120 hours for every 2 weeks approximately. Thats about 60 hours a week working.
The reason it takes so much time is that you're scheduling appointments with people according to the persons schedule. Which means a typical day would be something along the lines of:
9 - 11am - showing #1
3 - 5pm - showing #2
7pm - 9pm - showing # 3
With the hours in between spent finding more people for the next day, driving around, eating in my car, and basically just waiting. I dont about you, but how the hell do you manage a schedule like that? This is not including if you have a training class that day...if so, your schedule would be back to back allllllll day long. Yep, sounds great!
When I first got there, we sat thru all these bullshit classes on how to scare people into believing that anything and everything they have, if it was not purchased from Carico, is going to give them some horrible disease! No - Dont cook out of the cookware from ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD, they are going to give you cancer! Cook using Carico cookware, it is the only one in the world that will make sure you dont get cancer...and they are soooo great, and they have a lifetime guarantee!...ok so google Carico and look at the horror stories from people who bought that crazy a*s ($1900) expensive cookware and then have problems using it from day 1...but NO RETURNS, just exchanges for other crazy expensive stuff. 
Google Carico scam, see the list of things you pull up. its AMAZING!
"Please contact our office and if you were involved in a sale then there is a commission check here waiting for you. "
If I have a check there, why wouldnt you do like ALL OTHER employers do and put it in the mail??? What the hell are you waiting for? This was July that I "worked" there and now its November. Good job taking care of your "employees". By the way, why do you send out everyone's commission checks from the week I was there?  A whole mess of people sold merchandise here and there, but dropped out of the "program" seeing as its a load of bull. Why not automatically mail it out so we can be paid for the "work" we did??? Oh...probably seeing as if you do that, you'd probably go bankrupt seeing as I'm sure there are many many many "checks" there for former employees. Right, I'm sure you do have a commission check, minus the $20 in "training materials" right? So how much would that check be?? Somewhere along the lines of $.32?? I believe that's about right. And don't try to say you don't dock checks cause one of your "former employees" explained to me how they have a running tab with you guys that is automatically deducted from their check even tho they don't know why you are charging them.
 
5. """As in any corporate structure those who are just starting out in the business will not make as much as someone who has been with the company and proven their loyalty. Anytime you start a new position you are always put on a 90 day probationary period before you are eligible for full benefits. If you can prove to the company that you were worth hiring then and only then will they offer you some of the benefits as a person who has proven their loyalty to the company year after year. """
 
You don't "hire" anyone. Whoever "works" for you is a private contractor as you guys had us fill out that paper work explaining that to us on the last day I was there, even tho when I interviewed, she did not tell me this, she told me it was full time with benefits after 90 days. Independent Contractors are just that - Independent. Which means the only affiliation they have with your horrible company is that they sell your horribly expensive for no reason products.
 
 
6. ""Once again you are anonymously posting on the internet your claim.  However you have offered no actual proof and rather then seek the information you make assumptions.  If theres anyone who can prove that we are a scam, we challenge them to bring proof and documentation and we will pay a $5000 reward. Thats proof and documentation not innuendos, accusations, misinterpretations, and distorted opinions.  """
 
 
Yes I am saying this anonymously on the internet.  I'm sure no one has "proof" that you're a scam cause you're not that stupid. Everything you gave us as "documentation" was written on a d**n blackboard which we then wrote in our notebooks.  That is not documentation, but I know what she said and I know that she lied cause I was there. I got a first hand view of the way you do business. Not even the stupid little trainee form says anything about a minimum amount to sell in order to get the "guaranteed" pay. She wrote THAT on the board too.
So the only thing left for me to say is good job covering your tracks you greedy assholes. I hope you guys rot in hell for making people waste their time and energy for nothing.  In this economy, so many people are hoping beyond hope that they can make it out of the hole they are in. You led all the people there to believe that as long as we attended the meeting and scheduled the appointments, we would get paid, but that was a lie. I told my trainer that NO ONE I knew would buy anything and he told me fine, yet when we went to their houses, he would be annoyed when we left that he wasted his time for nothing. That does not sound like TRAINING to me. That sounds like you're just trying to get more referrals from your "employees". You are not looking out for the people you hire, you are looking out for your own pockets.
Oh and I can see how high the standard are for "employees", seeing as your spelling leaves something to be desired and some of the "trainees" in my class didn't even speak english. Good Job with the hiring process!!!!!! : )

First let me clarify a few points that you made.
1. there is a $1200 min. guarantee the 1st 2 weeks as a trainee...if and only if you sell $5000 worth of merchandise within the 2 week period
The minimum earnings guarantee is given regardless of your volume. The $5000 in volume is for you to get certified and be able to do presentations on your own without your manager. This is an advertising service sales position.
2. And as a Trainee, youre supposed to get 9% commission on each sale, 18% commission after that and the percentage of the commission increases based on the position you are in. If I remember correctly, the highest commission is about 23% or 32%, or something along those lines.Do the mathif you sell $5000 worth of merchandise, your commission is greater than the minimum, so thats useless. You do not get the $1200 or $1500 every 2 weeks if you do not sell that amount period.
You are correct about the 9% commission paid to a trainee. If you actually do the math that breaks down 9% of $5000 which is $450 paid to you in commission as a trainee. Just to clarify this is less than the minimum earnings guarantee of $1200. Once you are out of training you do have a required volume every two weeks of $3500 which is paid at a rate of 18% which breaks down to $630 in commission. Once again this is less than the minimum earnings guarantee of $1500. Once you reach a management level that is when you are eligible for commission up to 30% and your minimum earnings guarantee increases to $2100 every two weeks. Additionally in order to be eligible for your minimum earnings you must attend all trainings and meetings held here in the office and do 30 consultations to a qualified potential client or existing client. I have attached a copy of the Trainee Fast Start Contest which you signed and have a copy of which explains the program in complete detail.
3. they try try try try like there is no tomorrow to pressure your family/friends to buy things
We ask you to see your friends and family first because this is the fastest way for us to get you trained and get you a referral base of up to approximately 50 referrals. We have been in business almost 30 years. We have tried every different way possible and this has proven every time to be the fastest and most effective way to get you trained. No one is every under an obligation to purchase however this is a sales position. You are told at the interview that this position deals with generating new business. You must learn to handle objections and make sales. If your friends or family does not want the product after seeing our presentation they are not going to purchase it.
4. And another thing, they give a discount to 1st time buyers (whenever its the first time you have been to a certain residence)the discount is 25% off with 5 referrals and 50% on store merchandise with 8 referralsheres what they neglect to tell you..that nifty little discountcomes out of the sales persons commission
We do offer a first call special to first time buyers. And yes as the consultant that does come out of your volume, not your commission. You as the consultant do not have to give a discount, however this is a tool that we give to you to aid you in your presentation.
5. The managers (trainers, whatever you call them), they pay $40 for each trainee since the turn around rate is so high, they cant afford to pay for all the materials they lose (they give you the water purification book and the air purification book for free you have to pay for everything else).
At orientation you are supplied with over $20 worth of literature and materials at no cost to you. You do need to pay for your showcase and sales materials once you are out of training. However we do offer financing and work with you to get your materials. No other direct marketing company offers this. Every other direct marketing company requires you to pay all your materials up front prior to you starting work.
6. Well like I said, I worked there for a week, got a ticket, since the only parking they have nearby is metered parking, drove around endlessly, didnt see my boyfriend (who I live with) d**n near the whole week cause they make it seem like each presentation is going to be 45 minutesthats til you do itthen you realize each one takes at the very least an hour and up.
At orientation you are also supplied with a list of local parking areas and are given time to put money in the parking meter. If you were not happy with the parking here then I do not recommend you drive in Manhattan. They are much worse. As far as your time management I cannot say much. How you manage your time is your responsibility.
7. I made 4 sales2 for a $700 knife set, and 2 more for $150 vacuum Tupperware setummmyanever got any commission on anything
Please contact our office and if you were involved in a sale then there is a commission check here waiting for you.
8. all the money I used in gas, tolls, and that d**n ticket are lost. They make you buy your training materials, business cards everything.
Please keep all of this information as it is all used as a tax deduction for you at the end of the year. Once again, no other direct marketing firm supplies you with any materials, however we do supply you with training materials and materials to help get you started in the field.
9. Its a huge pyramid scheme with the higher ups making all the money and the people at the bottom just barely making it by, if that.
As in any corporate structure those who are just starting out in the business will not make as much as someone who has been with the company and proven their loyalty. Anytime you start a new position you are always put on a 90 day probationary period before you are eligible for full benefits. If you can prove to the company that you were worth hiring then and only then will they offer you some of the benefits as a person who has proven their loyalty to the company year after year.
Once again you are anonymously posting on the internet your claim.  However you have offered no actual proof and rather then seek the information you make assumptions.  If theres anyone who can prove that we are a scam, we challenge them to bring proof and documentation and we will pay a $5000 reward. Thats proof and documentation not innuendos, accusations, misinterpretations, and distorted opinions. Signed President Exquisite Home Products PS This challenge will also be on our website www.ehpcarico.com