You can find out a lot about Melaleuca on their web site, such as having been in business since 1985, being named after the “tea tree” native to Australia, generating billions in annual sales, the difference they’ve made in people’s lives, and so on. I just wanted to write from my customer perspective, personal experience, and life lessons.
I find it interesting that for a company that makes everyday products that wouldn’t normally be very exciting, they are truly unique and generate a good deal of enthusiasm from their customers and those who choose to take advantage of the income opportunity. That income opportunity option is what really sets them apart. You’ve probably met multi-level marketing (MLM) people and I certainly have a great deal of experience in seeing through their hype. I would venture a guess that some Melaleuca people could go over the top too but it’s completely unnecessary and doesn’t fit the Melaleuca model.
For the record, Melaleuca does not subscribe to the term MLM or multi-level marketing. The official heading they claim is consumer direct marketing (consumer “shopping club” purchases at a discount direct from the manufacturer). It may at some points appear similar to certain aspects of MLM if you’re looking at the income opportunity part of it, but even then, the similarity evaporates if you compare Melaleuca to actual MLM models. The emphasis is on the shopping club since that represents about 80% of Melaleuca customers. When you join, the main changes in your life are your quality of life, the easier method of shopping and getting better products, and skipping several aisles at the store.
You will have to adjust to using considerably less product though. For example, a load of laundry requires only 1/3 ounce of Mela Power Laundry Detergent. Melaleuca offers pump dispensers that measure the correct amount but considering the extreme amount you’re used to, even with “ultra” products from the store, you will need to retrain your brain given that the system that has trained us all wrongly. Another benefit is far less packaging. A 32 oz. bottle does 96 loads and costs about half the price per load compared to leading brands!
Melaleuca is a quality product driven company. Every customer is valued as a customer, not pressured to buy “business materials” and spew out sales pitches to unsuspecting people minding their own business—and certainly not placing unwanted calls with vague details to woo people into a presentation as an opportunity to try to swoop in for the kill.
No, Melaleuca is primarily a different way of shopping, and customer satisfaction is the engine that drives sales…exactly the way business is supposed to work. For those who wish to earn extra income, maybe even build it to the point of replacing and/or exceeding their current income, they don’t have to resort to ambiguous cloak and dagger tactics.
That’s Melaleuca from a customer perspective.