I was talking with a friend of my mother who hailed from China, and he said something about Malaysia being "heaven for direct sales". So I paused to contemplate, and I did recollect countless attempts from friends and acquaintances to drag me into the scene, which I dislike greatly.
One huge reason I dislike direct sales, also known as multilevel marketing (MLM) is, for one, the sheer hypocrisy that it instills into the minds of our youngsters. I have heard the following ridiculous statements over the years:
"It doesn't matter how good our product is, we are selling a business opportunity"
"If you don't have enough money now, you can borrow RM50 from each of your friends, small amount like that no need to return"
"We are not doing direct sales, instead we are doing multilevel marketing"
The last statement makes me want to faint.
An even larger reason why I dislike direct sales is that the entire business idea ABUSES the normal structure of friendship in society to push itself. I suspect the inventors of direct sales had the following brainwave:
1. Usually if a friend asks you out for tea we tend to oblige.
2. This is a good opportunity for pushing the marketing plan.
3. We find it hard to refuse friends, especially close ones.
Voila!
The logical result of this is that we are now all very wary when a friend we do not normally see asks us out. Indirectly this affects the dating structure too - if a guy asks you out it may not be an indication of interest. This applies even more if a girl asks you out.
Therefore, I conclude that the idea of direct sales is indirectly damaging the very foundation of friendship in society. It is akin to driving 20-ton vehicles on roads not meant to sustain such weights. Sooner or later the road system gets damaged.
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