Arghhh!!! It happened again!! I was walking through Fry’s, really tired, I had just picked up a pack of CD-Rs and was milling around, minding my own business, when I met another freakin’ Amway guy!!! (For those of you unfamiliar with my prior experiences, a little historical reading is in order, see my posting on September 3, 2001).

He was a dead giveaway, using all of the familiar tag-lines: "I own my own business" (he *is* president after all :), "It’s an e-commerce business that deals in goods and services", "I do it on the side", "I’m looking for a select few people to help me", "Can do in my part time, without affecting my life (that cracked me up, he knows my life so well!)", "Very lucrative if I keep an open mind" etc. He sported a business card with the company name of GK Business Solutions, that provided – get this – "e-Commerce Business Development" (whatever the hell that means). As per Amway (Quixtar, i-commerce, whatever) standard operating procedure he wrote his cell phone number on the card as he handed it to me and asked me if I had a card. Unfortunately I had *just* run out or else I would definitely have given one to him ;-). He then suggested that we get together and have coffee at some point and he would be able to explain the whole thing in more detail, I told him that I would get back to him.

However recognizing who he was almost right off the bat, I had a little fun with the guy watching him squirm when I tried to get some specifics out of him…

     "So what does your business do?"
     "We are an e-commerce business that provides online services."
     "What kind of online services do you provide?"
     "My business deals with goods and services, utilizing the internet to better enable people."
     "Better enable people, what does that mean?"
     "Well, we work with the manufacturing sector, moving valuable goods and services to people that need them."
     "What kind of goods?"
     "All kinds of goods that people need."
     "For example?"
     "Well, mainly recession-proof goods, stuff that is not subject to the fluctuations of market conditions."
     "What does recession-proof mean?"
     "Standard goods that all people need. [Seeing my blank look] You know, like what you can get at Walmart."
     "Well, I’m sure Walmart was also affected by the recession."
     "No but the goods that they sell are universal, needed by everyone."

This went on for a while before I grew tired of playing with him.

If I had an infinite amount of time, I would be really interested in taking one of these guys up on their "offer" and seeing how they target people, *just* so I can learn, what the hell is it about me that makes me such a mark for these guys???