Ultimate Fragrance - Ultimate Wholesale -[ Scentura Creations Ah, the sweet smell of perf, err Scamming? Bridgeton Missouri

First I would like to commend you on taking excellent notes in the interview. Next I would like to point out that most of your complaints can be easily researched with decades of information through the mother company. As for the interview you described the kind of person that will make it. Obviously you dont qualify. Its ok blow outs happen every day.

As for this opportunity being a scam I agree. Success Comes After Merching and just because you werent willing to put in the sweat equity doesnt mean that stronger people wont make it. You are acting just like every other person in the very crowded 80% of the just over broke population. You dont want to be alone in failing to see the bigger picture.

Dont worry youre not alone there are many of you.

 This was 10 years ago when I applied did the meetings etc ! And just wanted the author to know that my interview /traing was almost exact ! I don't rember much but her story did trigger my memory ! It was called Capital managment and the only differnt things I can add was the office managers played out scenrios to sell to people on the street . One I rember was the one girl pretended to be sitting at a bar and the other so called mangers pretended to sell to her ! Why they made us write all that crap down is beyond me !Well i went on the "field " with some girl and I had to drive cause her car broke down ! I was wearing kinda big heals as I thought we were going to be in an office and I tripped on a grassy hill ! At the time I didn't realize it was fractured cause you don't feel it at first so I continued peddleing for another hour ! At the end of the day we all met up at some wing place ! Where they orderded a bunch of food and played games ! the girl I was with husband was there with her kids ! Wait I thought her car broke down ! I even asked her if her family needed a ride cause I was worried her family would not be safe in a so called broken down car ! She shook her head and then stared down at the floor ! My ankle was killing me by then cause the pain was setting in and told them I have to leave ! Another girl followed me to my car ( not the one I was training with ) bugging the hell otta me about coming back the next day ! I was trying to be polite at first but then got mad and yelled " Listen I have to go to th hospital I don't know " ! and got in my car and drove off ! I went to my parents and my dad took me to the hospital and it was fractured ! the next day my dad called Capital Mangement cause he was a supervisor himself at Ionics to see what they would do for me not sure what they said but he told him off ! And my mom never got her perfume from th ffar ! 

This company is now in Deerfield beach Florida under the name Southern Distribution Group. I want to get this info out somehow. I was called for the interview got accepted for the second interview but with so little info on the parent company and history of the company I went on my own search and found so many horror stories with the same lines as mine. I just want to inform! ... The names connected now are Dan Long regional manager, Dan Chasin branch manager, Roweena (no last name) office manager, and Neal Johnston Personal director. As of now they are based out of 10 fair way suite 127 deerfield beach fl 33441 with the phone number 9546354401. Please dont become a victum!

Unfortunately, it seems theres a lot of negativity and false information circulating the internet regarding Scentura, and I think its based mostly on peoples misunderstanding of the Scentura Opportunity. I thought Id post something brief that would help make things clear.

First of all, Scentura Creations is a manufacturer and supplier of rendition fragrances. They distribute their product line to Independent Wholesale Business owners throughout the U.S. and have been in business for more than 35
years. Theyre unique in that they provide merchandise without any capital outlay to these Independent Wholesale Distributors, meaning they dont pay Scentura until after theyve sold the merchandise. This is key because it
removes a huge barrier of entry into business Inventory costs.

Second, the sales model used by most independent businesses that sell Scenturas products is that of Direct Selling. Its a business to business, face-to-face sales strategy that has worked for over 35 years. Its not glamorous, and its probably not for everyone, but it just works.

Last, and most importantly, Scentura doesn't ask you to invest any money, it's not a franchise, it's not a pyramid or multi-level marketing business, there's nothing to purchase, there are no sign-up fees. The only thing required from
you is your time and hard work, and youll get a chance to run your own business. How many companies out there are willing to offer that?

It probably sounds too good to be true, but it makes sense when you understand Scentura's incentive: It's a Win-Win scenario for everyone. You get a chance to own your own business, and Scentura gains a new customer, which means more volume. If Scentura only dealt with individuals who had hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest, they'd be waiting a long time,  especially in this economy. So they're willing to take all the financial risk.

Again, this is not for everyone, but the opportunity is definitely real, and many owners have gone on to make six-figure incomes running their own businesses that sell Scentura's products. Please visit the following website dedicated to new business owners that answered the ad and started just like everyone else: (((ROR REDACTED)))


If youd like to read more about Scentura Creations, please visit the following
sites:



www.ScenturaCreations.com

www.TruthAboutScenturaCreations.com

www.Larry-Hahn.com


If you have any further complaints, please direct them to
pr@scenturacreations.com



Thank you.


CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Now I was waiting for the time for me to be able to say my story on this topic. My name is Mukwelle Njie. Originally from Prince Georges County Maryland. I went thru the training program in Maryland under Earley Gaynor. Now it took my 13 weeks to finish the program but now I opened the doors to my own busniess in Boston MA. Now everyone who says this is a scam, they are 100% correct. I swear that man Earley scammed the shit out of me, let me tell you the shit he did. He took a young black male from a bad situation. He taught him how to run a busniess. Not only did he teach him how to run a busniess,but he gave him one of his own. That Scentura gave somebody who didn't have a future, the right tools so he can make something of himself. I swear that Scentura Creations scammed a young black boy straight out the streets. I mean I understand what eveyone is talking about, everyone can't be a boss, everyone dosn't have the drive and determination to make it. But Imma tell yall this once, I started this busniess when I was 20 years old, the only life I knew was the "street" life. (I know when I break my first quater million, you gonna post it all on the internet anyway) Check my rap sheet, its very extensive. But who thought that same dude would be the boss of hisown busniess, be making more money then your mother and father, would be talking about going on vacations (and I ain't talking to Ocean City)*BONG*, or talking about retiring one day. The only retirement plan I was introduce to came with 3 hots and a cot, or with a wooden box. This busniess ain't scam you, you scammed yourself. So imma keep it 100, for those of you don't understand what that means, I'm a be all the way real with you. I'm a focuse on getting this money, yall can keep focusing on whatever it is that you do. My doors goona be open forever so if you have any questions, problems or concerns you can take it up with me. I'm in Boston baby, just ask about me. Imma be waiting to see you blowouts at the top (if you ever make it).

I would just like to take a few moments to corroborate the above mentioned. I was one of the unfortunate "dummies" to fall prey to this scheme, and was completely disgusted by the unethical practices of this company. I attended both the first and second "interviews," and will affirm everything mentioned in the above complaint. In fact, the authors' experience was so precise to my own that I really need not add any more except this: DO NOT WASTE YOUR VALUABLE TIME! I am a recent college graduate, and find it horrible grotesque what this company does by playing off the emotions of honest hard working people.   

I've been running my own office now for over 2 years.  In the interview we tell them it's hands on learning you'd be expected to learn the job of every person that you'd teach train or manage in your own office.  And the learning program is up to 90 days.  Then in the second interview we say "you have to learn how to sell perfume"  I don't know how much more direct you could be.  The income in the training is 200-500 or more for the average person that makes it more then 2 weeks.  I made 500-800 in training a week.  95% of the people that blow out are there less then 3 weeks so they can say what they want to say buy most of it is crap.  For example this poor girl didn't even make it to her first day.  But more people will believe her because she was in the second interview??  I've been here over 3 years what to you do?  And people wonder why the unemployment rate is so high.  I'd triple the size of my office today if it weren't for people like her.  And even to be a distributor and make 300-500 a week just doing sales is gotta be better then unemployment.  If only they listened......

Thanks for posting this in such detail! Same scam still going on even now. Calling themselves AED enterprises / Scentura here in Memphis. So sad that people do this...

First of all let me introduce myself my name is Earley Gaynor alot has changed since my above post. I been open in my own office for about 3 months so I can only talk what I have experienced with the company Im not anyone amazing I just stuck with the company threw thick and thin. I Have just won the Rising Star award for my office we have went straight from nothing to the #4 office in the country. We are the #1 office on the east coast when it comes to rookies. Jasmine, and Terika are my partners and we are going to become the rookies of the year just from working hard and just dong the business correctly by being honest with people and telling the truth and Im not going to stop Now with this guy Noah who is above me with his little post that he keeps on posting every where so ill answer the questions he keeps asking but even when I do answer the questions at the end of the day it wont change anything about the company in his mind and the only thing he can do is write negitive shit on the internet because he is bitter that he is broke with no job Lol Noah why dont you have a job? If u did have a job you wouldnt have time to be posting stuff on the internet all day. You Blow out's are funny you got nothing better to do then type on the internet but ill answer these small questions This is how my office does it


1.You asked why dont we give sales permits right ? First of all I give all of my car leaders[ which since u are a blow out u dont no what im talking about] the people who lead the cars have a sales permit for each car. Its licensed from p.g county legislation I had to get 12 of them all $100 a piece so that sales permit thing is a lie I dont no what rob and ricki did when u were there in chicago but let it go that was a while ago why are u so bitter lol ur funny blowout.
2.u asked why do we hold ffaar contest if were not going to really going to give out the money right. Easy I heard the same thing when I was in training and i seen so many people complaining about the contest that I was like when I get open Im not going to do that. Which means in my office we dont do a ffaar contest because we dont want people to think that we made it to the top by cheating or tricking people we do everything legit bottle for bottle. { i firgured the only way to change something is from within rather than bitching and complaining and thats what I did I got open and I run my office diffrently .
3.u asked y do we post ad's for recp- asst manager, this is also easy this is another thing that each individual owner can or cant do . Which I chose to do it diffrently and if u dont believe me come to dc and check out the washington post. My ad say's ELM entry level managers must love , money , music and fun no exp required
4.u asked why do we lie about how much u will make. I tell my people that they will make $100-250 a wk while they are in my training program and I promise them that if they work hard that they will get the same opportunity that I got where they can run their own office I am not any better than anyone I just wasnt weak like u noah I dont quit anything that I start all the company ever did was give me everything they said they would and whats funny is people like u are so quick to call this a scam but all they do is promise u an office and answer the question do u actually get an office in the end and then answer is yes ? Me and you both no that u actually get an office because in your ad u said that owners said they dont make no money lol no thats some funny shit I made 11 thousand dollars last month and I am no better than anybody , I am 22 years old , a young black male and I am making this money legally/ Noah so go get a job cause u arent strong enough to run an office.Just to throw out some numbers real quick we sold 808 bottles last week we broke the rookie record right[ oh and check the record if u think Im lieing. We make $10 oer bottle so right there is 8080 dollars that week right there yeah we got to split the money but my business is still pulling in $8000 a wk in a recession most companys are folding and we are expanding were else can a young black man make that kind of money legally ? ANSWER MY QUESTION NOAH ? DONT U HERE ME TALKING TO U , U BLOW OUT ANSWER ME . I AM ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS BECAUSE IM TAKING OUT TIME MY DAY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS SO ALL I WANT IS ANSWERS LOL CUASE I NO U ARE ON THE COMPUTER RIGHT NOW TALKING ABOUT SCENTURA CAUSE YOUR OBSESSED WITH US UR JUST MAD THAT U WAS TO WEAK TO MAKE IT .
5.I dont promise company vacations again your judging scentura threw a blow outs point of view and your not noticing that we are all in diffrent org. we dont do that , this is the schott division we tell them the only way your going on a company trip is when u are an owner. By the way the company trip is Jun 19 2009 South Beach We are staying at the Hard Rocke Hotel Holl@
6.we call u names because u make me laugh noah u are really giving it your best shot at trying to stop people from working for us which is fine. Im not quiting for nobody its to much money to be made and its fun. I cant compare this to a job this is the most fun I have ever had in life @ 22 six figures aint nothing better. But really noah let it go stop writing neg stuff about the company u seem obsessed with rob- ricki and me and u dont even no me lol your probaly a nerd.
7.last question was why is there so many reports against the company.

First of all you have never seen anything up here about Earley or Selah Management thats the name of my business because we do things right in Lanham Md. Thats why we are going to be the rookies of the year cause we do right by the business and and by the people who come threw our doors. Most people stories are all the same they stayed for a couple of days and they quit and now there complaining about how the company didnt work for them well for 1 they said it will be a 6- 8 wk program and most of the people quit before 2nd interview. Ladies and gentleman kisa of all Ages The person Im talking to name is Noah he went threw a training program i chicago and he quit so he is asking questions and judging the company from a quitters perspective so if u are thinking about joining the company then talk to a real owner. Believe me I was not a scentura supporter at first but I wasnt negitive because i didnt no enough to be neg. So I wanted to see if I was really going to get an office and if I was , then I swore that I would give mstions or comments about scentura call me 301 577 6694 office number and 240 286 7471 how real is that I am an owner and Im leaving my name and number on the internet only for people who really want to no info or have questions or wanna no if it is real or whatever the case is NOAh I answered all your little questions so what are u going to bitch and complain about now about how rob and ricki scammed u give it a brake. the real definiton of scam is success comes after merching. I love the business and I love all the Owners thank you Larry Hohn for the opp. thank you donny and holly Ill make u proud Ill do the business correct I swear Peace and blessings see you guys at the top.

Has anyone else read all of the Employee Responses? They all sound absolutely identical, no individual thought is portrayed at all. They all have mild sob stories about growing up poor, and cite that they were 'just like everyone else who had sat in that room on their first day of training' and to look at them and their accomplishments now.

It's almost eerie now that I've had some time to step back. And I too am concerned by my idiocy in giving them my personal information. Though I think it's true that con artists usually stick to just one con, to keep from muddying the waters.

I'll keep my thoughts updated as new developments arise, or don't. Good luck to everyone. I'm not a Christian, but I empathize with the masses of parents and commenters that hope for a divine retribution in a world where legal retribution is all but impossible.

In my belief system, a person is made to relive all of the pain that they inflicted on others before they pass on so that they're able to understand the repercussions of their actions - a way of seeing when pain is needed for growth, and when it is abused for personal gain.

These people are not living the mile in your shoes like they want you to believe. They cannot and do not see the world from your eyes, and with your thoughts and feelings. So it becomes impossible to argue the point from either side. I don't know their point of view. I don't know if they've come to believe their lies or not.

I've read that most, if not all of con artists - given an unlimited amount of time to showcase their con will begin to believe it themselves. That's how cons turn to cults. I did my research once I started reading all of these reports, and I've come to find that the group Scentura/O.W.O/et all of their pseudonyms is indeed engaging in the three classic cult brainwashing techniques.

1. Separate the Mark from their family with belief that the family is wrong (or misguided) and the Group/Cult is the only true way to go.

2. Encourage them so long as they are following the cult edict. Berate those that aren't. Encourage peers to do the same.

3. After exploiting time from the Mark, take them somewhere to get their mind off of how bad it really is. Drinking, games, vacation, whatever - make sure that all attendees are part of the Brainwashed group to ensure maximum retention of values and ideals.

In closing, nothing should EVER pull you from your family or friends as a support network. Let me say this - FRIENDS ESPECIALLY. Friends are people you have selected to be close to you, that you've given your feelings and doubts to, and for whatever reason they've chosen to be there with you. You chose your friends for a reason, you should value their advice. Any job that tells you not to is changing who you are. They're pulling you to their will.

If you want to motivate yourself to be the best that you can be - then take some time and soul searching to figure out who that person is. I am fairly certain that no one wanted to peddle merchandise in a hot parking lot to people that don't want it under constant threat of being arrested. Forgive me for saying, but I think I missed that booth at career day in Middle School...

John; Looking up these towns shows that they are fairly close to each other. why did you say you left this wonderful company? because you moved? You're probably still an employee!

They are honest, caring and should be the business model for how a company should treat people! I worked there for 5 years, loved every second of it and miss it every day. If I wouldn't have had to move I would retire from the company.

I sympathize with Dummy in St Louis--I could be called Dummy #2. However, I didn't go as far as she did, but would have had I not found this site first. I had a first and second interview and, lo and behold, I was chosen out of almost 250 applicants too!!! My boyfriend has his suspicions and doubts, as did I, but his were rather strong. I had my first day of training today so before I went for my second day of "training" I decided to investigate the company. It was hard to know where to begin because none of the 8 of us "lucky ones" were ever told the company's actual name. When I called back to set up my first interview the phone was answered "Paradise". However, today when asked who customers were to make their checks payable to we were told "Enterprise". And I also noted that there is no company information on the order form; name, address, phone--nothing. And the order form is for the sales person only; there is nothing to leave with the customer showing what they ordered or how much they paid for it.
Needless to say this is a prime time for folks like this to take advantage of as many down on their luck people. People who need a REAL job that has a REAL PAYCHECK!! I am one of those people but I won't be returning tomorrow. I'll just chalk this up to experience and learn from it.

I sympathize with Dummy in St Louis--I could be called Dummy #2. However, I didn't go as far as she did, but would have had I not found this site first. I had a first and second interview and, lo and behold, I was chosen out of almost 250 applicants too!!! My boyfriend has his suspicions and doubts, as did I, but his were rather strong. I had my first day of training today so before I went for my second day of "training" I decided to investigate the company. It was hard to know where to begin because none of the 8 of us "lucky ones" were ever told the company's actual name. When I called back to set up my first interview the phone was answered "Paradise". However, today when asked who customers were to make their checks payable to we were told "Enterprise". And I also noted that there is no company information on the order form; name, address, phone--nothing. And the order form is for the sales person only; there is nothing to leave with the customer showing what they ordered or how much they paid for it.
Needless to say this is a prime time for folks like this to take advantage of as many down on their luck people. People who need a REAL job that has a REAL PAYCHECK!! I am one of those people but I won't be returning tomorrow. I'll just chalk this up to experience and learn from it.

I sympathize with Dummy in St Louis--I could be called Dummy #2. However, I didn't go as far as she did, but would have had I not found this site first. I had a first and second interview and, lo and behold, I was chosen out of almost 250 applicants too!!! My boyfriend has his suspicions and doubts, as did I, but his were rather strong. I had my first day of training today so before I went for my second day of "training" I decided to investigate the company. It was hard to know where to begin because none of the 8 of us "lucky ones" were ever told the company's actual name. When I called back to set up my first interview the phone was answered "Paradise". However, today when asked who customers were to make their checks payable to we were told "Enterprise". And I also noted that there is no company information on the order form; name, address, phone--nothing. And the order form is for the sales person only; there is nothing to leave with the customer showing what they ordered or how much they paid for it.
Needless to say this is a prime time for folks like this to take advantage of as many down on their luck people. People who need a REAL job that has a REAL PAYCHECK!! I am one of those people but I won't be returning tomorrow. I'll just chalk this up to experience and learn from it.

I sympathize with Dummy in St Louis--I could be called Dummy #2. However, I didn't go as far as she did, but would have had I not found this site first. I had a first and second interview and, lo and behold, I was chosen out of almost 250 applicants too!!! My boyfriend has his suspicions and doubts, as did I, but his were rather strong. I had my first day of training today so before I went for my second day of "training" I decided to investigate the company. It was hard to know where to begin because none of the 8 of us "lucky ones" were ever told the company's actual name. When I called back to set up my first interview the phone was answered "Paradise". However, today when asked who customers were to make their checks payable to we were told "Enterprise". And I also noted that there is no company information on the order form; name, address, phone--nothing. And the order form is for the sales person only; there is nothing to leave with the customer showing what they ordered or how much they paid for it.
Needless to say this is a prime time for folks like this to take advantage of as many down on their luck people. People who need a REAL job that has a REAL PAYCHECK!! I am one of those people but I won't be returning tomorrow. I'll just chalk this up to experience and learn from it.

I, too, responded to an ad on craigslist.com for an "Administrative Assistant" in St. Louis. I got an email response on a Saturday, which seemed kind of odd, but o.k., they were "expanding in St. Louis" and needed to interview this week to fill positions immediately. So, o.k., I called the number in the email. Right away I'm pressured to come in TODAY, in, like, an hour. Well, no. I already had an interview with another company set up and so I got them, finally, to agree to later this afternoon. I show up - to an office park with lots of companies who have their name on the doors.... but this door is surprisingly blank. I go in anyway. What the heck. I'm dressed for it.

So, first off, there's a bleached blonde in a tee shirt and capri pants at the "desk", and rap music blaring from a radio. Shoulda turned around right then.

But no, I went in. Filled out the "application" (carefully scrutinizing to make sure no truly revealing personal information such as SSN, dob, etc. would be required), attached my resume (which, in hindsight, I could have completely left out - I doubt anyone in that office appreciates the 80% linen content paper) and my letters of reference. Then I was escorted in to the "interview".

What a freaking joke. First, he tells me the job is "managing"... not really "administrative assistant". Then, he's off like a used car salesman.... asking me all these leading questions like "are you more of a leader, or do you just follow" and "do you consider yourself an enthusicastic person" (umm, no, I'm a freakin bump on a log, you idiot), "do you like money"..... I mean, come on! This was not a job interview, it was a sales pitch. I'm not an 18-year-old kid. When they don't want to give you a straight answer to the question "So this job isn't really being an office assistant to an administrator, is it?", well, kids, what do YOU think?? I had to ask TWO TIMES what the actual full name of the company was (so I could research it on the web when I got home!).

I feel very, very sorry for all of the 18-year-olds out there who will be drawn into this "job" out of economic desperation or lack of world experience or whatever - the lure, maybe, of "working" for people who blare rap music in their lobby.

I knew in my gut it was a sham operation by the way the guy talked on the phone, and after my own experience today as well as the posts here, I know I won't be showing up at my second "interview" -- yep, amazingly enough, THEY called ME when I failed to call THEM, as instructed. Imagine that.

Thank you all for your honesty and willingness to share your experiences with this company. And for all of us out here still looking for honest work, well, we're all in my prayers tonight. Blessings.

To Earley Gaynor:
I worked for Suburban Design in Aurora, Illinois. They told us to sell for $27 per bottle and give back $20. I like how you can't answer these questions honestly and resort to personal attacks. What a great way to improve your company's image. Congratulations on your dirty ill gotten gains.

As promised, another rebuttal without honest answers = more FACTS about how this company works.

This is about people that do this for a living

"You tell [applicants] that they can do it if they make enough sacrifice, burn bridges with their family and friends who try to talk them out of it (in effect, alienating them from everyone but other people in the perfume business), Put the blinders on taking all focus away from any 'Pre Scentura' values/priorities and they can be successful" (3) says Mike Barrick, a former employee with 10 years experience in the company. The system is designed to give both the applicants and current participants a sort of tunnel-vision to avoid outside information that invariably dissuades them from continuing selling perfume. While the managers are guilty of repeating this propaganda to new applicants, they too receive a constant flow of "inspiration" from their superiors, keeping them focused on the money and not applicant's best interests.

For the "successful" people in this business, their lives must be ruled by greed. They are trained to rationalize their own immoral actions by dismissing those who fail as somehow not having the business-savvy that they obviously have, when in fact the only savvy they do have is the ability to scam kids into effectively stealing money from their parents and grandparents. Many of those who succeed only see good money for a very short period of time, and as with all pyramid-structured organizations, the money eventually filters to the top tiers, leaving the rest to wonder what happened to the last 5 years of their lives.

Those who have been sold into their system often display a visceral reaction when confronted with the truth of the business. Statements like "I am 20 yrs. old and I went through the training in 4 weeks and I know make 1,000's of dollars legally so just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean you have to get pissed off. People have tried to stop us before and it didn't work so you might as well stop because you are wasting your time" (4) lend support to the idea that any criticism of the business model is to be dealt with quickly and harshly by management. New recruits are trained to ignore the advice of their parents and friends and to believe that any information outside of the Scentura-approved material will be an obstacle in their road to success. Those who choose to realize the true nature of the business and leave are described as "weak" and without the skills to make it in the cut-throat business world. These are very important and powerful psychological operations, critical to the success of the business.

For each one of the thousands of horror stories you hear, Scentura advocators will be happy to provide glossy booklets of the many millionaires who worked up through the system. But where are the publications of people who sank life savings into these companies because of promises of the good life, only to be kicked to the curb when times got tough? Hard work alone does not a successful businessmen make. It takes a lot of work to rob a bank, but are the thieves to be called "good businessmen?"

To Earley Gaynor:
I worked for Suburban Design in Aurora, Illinois. They told us to sell for $27 per bottle and give back $20. I like how you can't answer these questions honestly and resort to personal attacks. What a great way to improve your company's image. Congratulations on your dirty ill gotten gains.

As promised, another rebuttal without honest answers = more FACTS about how this company works.

This is about people that do this for a living

"You tell [applicants] that they can do it if they make enough sacrifice, burn bridges with their family and friends who try to talk them out of it (in effect, alienating them from everyone but other people in the perfume business), Put the blinders on taking all focus away from any 'Pre Scentura' values/priorities and they can be successful" (3) says Mike Barrick, a former employee with 10 years experience in the company. The system is designed to give both the applicants and current participants a sort of tunnel-vision to avoid outside information that invariably dissuades them from continuing selling perfume. While the managers are guilty of repeating this propaganda to new applicants, they too receive a constant flow of "inspiration" from their superiors, keeping them focused on the money and not applicant's best interests.

For the "successful" people in this business, their lives must be ruled by greed. They are trained to rationalize their own immoral actions by dismissing those who fail as somehow not having the business-savvy that they obviously have, when in fact the only savvy they do have is the ability to scam kids into effectively stealing money from their parents and grandparents. Many of those who succeed only see good money for a very short period of time, and as with all pyramid-structured organizations, the money eventually filters to the top tiers, leaving the rest to wonder what happened to the last 5 years of their lives.

Those who have been sold into their system often display a visceral reaction when confronted with the truth of the business. Statements like "I am 20 yrs. old and I went through the training in 4 weeks and I know make 1,000's of dollars legally so just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean you have to get pissed off. People have tried to stop us before and it didn't work so you might as well stop because you are wasting your time" (4) lend support to the idea that any criticism of the business model is to be dealt with quickly and harshly by management. New recruits are trained to ignore the advice of their parents and friends and to believe that any information outside of the Scentura-approved material will be an obstacle in their road to success. Those who choose to realize the true nature of the business and leave are described as "weak" and without the skills to make it in the cut-throat business world. These are very important and powerful psychological operations, critical to the success of the business.

For each one of the thousands of horror stories you hear, Scentura advocators will be happy to provide glossy booklets of the many millionaires who worked up through the system. But where are the publications of people who sank life savings into these companies because of promises of the good life, only to be kicked to the curb when times got tough? Hard work alone does not a successful businessmen make. It takes a lot of work to rob a bank, but are the thieves to be called "good businessmen?"

To Earley Gaynor:
I worked for Suburban Design in Aurora, Illinois. They told us to sell for $27 per bottle and give back $20. I like how you can't answer these questions honestly and resort to personal attacks. What a great way to improve your company's image. Congratulations on your dirty ill gotten gains.

As promised, another rebuttal without honest answers = more FACTS about how this company works.

This is about people that do this for a living

"You tell [applicants] that they can do it if they make enough sacrifice, burn bridges with their family and friends who try to talk them out of it (in effect, alienating them from everyone but other people in the perfume business), Put the blinders on taking all focus away from any 'Pre Scentura' values/priorities and they can be successful" (3) says Mike Barrick, a former employee with 10 years experience in the company. The system is designed to give both the applicants and current participants a sort of tunnel-vision to avoid outside information that invariably dissuades them from continuing selling perfume. While the managers are guilty of repeating this propaganda to new applicants, they too receive a constant flow of "inspiration" from their superiors, keeping them focused on the money and not applicant's best interests.

For the "successful" people in this business, their lives must be ruled by greed. They are trained to rationalize their own immoral actions by dismissing those who fail as somehow not having the business-savvy that they obviously have, when in fact the only savvy they do have is the ability to scam kids into effectively stealing money from their parents and grandparents. Many of those who succeed only see good money for a very short period of time, and as with all pyramid-structured organizations, the money eventually filters to the top tiers, leaving the rest to wonder what happened to the last 5 years of their lives.

Those who have been sold into their system often display a visceral reaction when confronted with the truth of the business. Statements like "I am 20 yrs. old and I went through the training in 4 weeks and I know make 1,000's of dollars legally so just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean you have to get pissed off. People have tried to stop us before and it didn't work so you might as well stop because you are wasting your time" (4) lend support to the idea that any criticism of the business model is to be dealt with quickly and harshly by management. New recruits are trained to ignore the advice of their parents and friends and to believe that any information outside of the Scentura-approved material will be an obstacle in their road to success. Those who choose to realize the true nature of the business and leave are described as "weak" and without the skills to make it in the cut-throat business world. These are very important and powerful psychological operations, critical to the success of the business.

For each one of the thousands of horror stories you hear, Scentura advocators will be happy to provide glossy booklets of the many millionaires who worked up through the system. But where are the publications of people who sank life savings into these companies because of promises of the good life, only to be kicked to the curb when times got tough? Hard work alone does not a successful businessmen make. It takes a lot of work to rob a bank, but are the thieves to be called "good businessmen?"

First of all , u blow out I dont know what company or division u worked for but the bottles have never been 27 dollars . @nd what company / office did u work with or for becuase obviously u either were told wrong information or you a fucking idiot. I dont depend on ffaar for profit. It was my 2nd week in the business and we sold 425 bottles this week and we sold 27 bottles in ffaar . So this week we did 402 bottles legit in the field @ 20 per bottle. I train my own people which means I still go into the field. Which means anything that I ask my people to do , i do it myself If im asking them to go into the field im going to go into the field to and show them the right way to do the business . I simply tols my story in my rebuttal on how i was an average person , that was skepical like everyone else but the business worked for me .

Yet another rebutter fails to address the real issues, choosing to just spout off Scentura Talking points instead. So I guess that means the Better Business Bureau doesn't know what the f**k they're talking about when they define Scentura as a multi-level selling company?

So I will retort with some honest job posting facts:

These job postings serve as the only advertisement most of these companies need, and many do not sponsor any other form of ads beyond job postings. These advertisements are essential to keeping a steady flow of new applicants. With an attrition rate of 90% per week (only 10 out of every 100 applicants stay on past one week, according to some former managers), this constant flow is essential to keeping the business running. If a distribution center neglects to run these ads for even a week, the flow of people is cut off and the center's sales are impacted for about 5 weeks due to not having the cash-generating "Friends and Family" sales from trainees (6).

While managers are free to post whatever help-wanted ads they please, they are given a list of tried-and-true ads to run in local newspapers. They are told not only what section to advertise but what days the ads should be run. If the company runs the same ad during all the days of the week, people reading the paper will start to catch on and, more importantly, the newspaper editors will get suspicious. Many newspapers will not run ads from direct-marketing companies in the "General Employment" section. They are relegated to the much less-often perused "Sales" or "Business Opportunity" sections. To avoid this, managers are instructed to tell newspapers to get creative with their business descriptions (something they will have to do time and time again) and say "cosmetic distribution." They are told never to mention the words "sales" or "independent contractors" or "training to run ones own business." The ads include phony names to allow the company to track which ads are generating the highest responses. Likewise, the companies invest in multiple phone lines; not to handle a large volume of calls, but to have the ability to publish many different phone numbers in different ads to avoid suspicion (7).

Everyone who responds to these ads is invited to an "interview." In this interview, a fast-talking company manager will promise anything from management positions in charge of other employees to 401(k) plans to paid vacations; anything to keep the applicant's eyes glossed over so they don't ask what the true nature of the job is. The most common theme in these interviews is "management." Since most people want to be in charge of other people, this stimulates the most positive response from the applicant while keeping questions to a minimum. Occasionally the interviewer will toss out fake programs and acronyms while discussing "benefits" to assess the applicant's knowledge of the business world. The whole purpose is to confuse the applicant into thinking that they have stumbled onto a terrific opportunity, one so great that they have benefits he or she hasn't even heard of before! At the end, the applicant is almost always told they have "made the cut" and are instructed to dress their best to come to the "second interview" in a few days. In the first interview, the applicant (unless they are savvy enough to ask the question themselves) is never told what the job is or what a typical work day will be like.

At the second interview -- in reality it is not an interview at all -- all of the applicants (15 - 20 people, on average) gather together and are finally told a little bit more about what they will actually be doing to make a buck. Somewhere between the promises of free Las Vegas vacations and expensive new cars, it is explained that they will be selling perfume, and that their "management"position means only that they will "manage themselves." Anyone who sticks around after this exposure to the truth will then enter the system, be asked to purchase a seller's kit (which is itself a quick sale for the managers of the distribution company), and are promised they are on the road to success.
Many of these companies claim they are "new to the area" or "opening new branches." This will deter anyone from asking why a business which has been in the area for years would need to hire employees by the score. In reality, this process of indoctrination is the true sales pitch of the company, rather than the selling of perfume bottles. Therefore every aspect of the process must be scripted and rehearsed to ensure that all questions are answered before asked, and those not to be asked remain unsaid.

From a former employee: "They charge $27 per bottle. If they have at least 20 people sell 50 bottles every month they would make a net profit of $13,500. Even after the trainees take there cut the company makes a little over $11,000. That is a lot of money to be making a month and if you quit they can hire 20 more people and make more money."

It is very possible that the next step constitutes the majority of sales generated by the company. There is even an acronym for it in Scentura-speak: FFAR. It stands for "Friends, Family, and Relatives." This is who the employee is supposed to "practice" selling on. This is the cornerstone of the scam perpetrated by many Direct Marketing companies. The newbie salesman must first practice the pitch to their parents and grandparents, and since many of them tend to be teenagers or early 20-year-olds, the relatives usually buy something out of love or pity. What grandparent doesn't want to support their grandchild's ventures? This results in a few quick sales for the company from people who otherwise would have never purchased the product on its merit alone. After these FFAR sales the vast majority of workers realize that this isn't a real job at all, and quit. This resignation does no damage to the company, however. The company has already made a few bucks without any payout, and there's already another sucker just waiting to fill the vacated position.

This initial "warm market" phase of the applicant process is perhaps where most of the earnings of the company take place. Since the business is so decentralized there is no way of looking at the overall flow of capital; any statement made about earnings is only an estimate. Many Direct Marketing businesses require (or at least strongly suggest) that new applicants purchase "sales kits." These result in quick sales for the company, adding again to the bottom line of the local distributor. In reality, job applicants are not being considered for employment, there are being used as customers.
Beyond the activity described here, the company is comprised of warehouses, managers, middlemen, people transporting boxes upon boxes of perfume in the trunks of cars, and other mundane operations. There most likely are no big sales contracts, no mergers or acquisitions, no research and development, no product advertising, none of the honest income generating activities that a normal American business engages in.

First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Earley Gaynor, I went through training a year and a half ago in middlesex, new jersey. When I first started I answered the ad just like everyone else. But unlike the other people that I started with, I stuck with it and I finished the program. When I started I was in Job Corp, I was broke and I had no plan in life. I went from job to job to job until finally I answered the ad, Donnie did my first interview and he gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. When I started I had to do some sales (just like everyone else) but instead of quitting, I had to work harder. Long story short I finished the program in ten weeks (two weeks shorter than my goal). I now run a location of my own in Lanham, Maryland, which means I am a promotion of Donnie and Holly's. I now do the same job that they do, I signed up to be a manager and that is exactly what I am. I didn't get in this to do sales (which no one does). Donnie told me that I could make 30K my first year in the first interview. But in my business in its first year, I made $82,000. I feel like I scammed Donnie. People who blow out in their first or second week obviously didn't understand the business. They give anyone, no matter what race,color,gender, or age, the same opportunity they gave me. Free merchandise, free training, (the day you have to pay for something should be a red flag for you no matter what business) and they also give you the opportunity to move to any state with a business for free. Like I said I went through training in New Jersey and I got the freedom to move to Maryland. Any person with a brain can look at all these negative letters and see that people run offices all over the country. So ask yourself, how did they get there? They got promoted there obviously. Running your own business isn't going to happen overnight, it takes more time and dedication to be successful in this and in any business. Anyone who says this is a pyramid scam or that you dont get promoted doesn't know what THE
F*** your talking about. Everyone has the exact same equal opportunity. All it takes to complete training is working hard( for yourself), dedication, and a little blind faith, believing that Donnie and Holly will get you open. I am so confident that I am going to leave my phone number (NOT FOR BLOWOUTS) but for people who actually want some advice on how to run a successful business for Scentura. 301 577 6694 Ofiice Number or 240-330-7566. I have alot of respect for Donnie and Holly because if I was in the position, I wouldn't even bother running an office I would retire. They are great people and unbelievable promoting owners. I am 21 years old, I am black and I make decent money. Thanks to Larry Hohn for giving me the opportunity. When an opportunity like this comes your way it isn't about what someone else did or does for you but what you do with the opportunity yourself. See you at the top.

I'm a man who fell for the exact same swindle back in early 2005. You can look up my original story dated 2/21/2005. Not much of a difference from everyone else's story except I didn't get screwed out of house and home like so many other unfortunate people. Now that I've moved on to a real job doing what I want to do (helping people find steady paying jobs and improve their skills), I'm looking to become an advocate against this company. I'm still in my early phases of planning but rest assured it's in the works.
The first phase involves this site in with which I've been giving my upmost effort to squeeze a little bit of truth out of these crooks. I started by posting a consumer suggestion and I received a response from Rob Zuckert the head scam artist in the Chicago area. Below is our back and forth. I'm confident enough to say I clearly won this debate.
Before you read this let me know if you want to get involved hit me up at noah2314@yahoo.com
MY POST - Any Honesty Out There?
Scentura insiders will always tell you how great of an opportunity it is and how much money you can make. If you're willing to make a career out of selling cologne without a sales permit in questionable neighborhoods for little to no money that's your choice, but that's not the point. The point is that the ads this company places are full of lies and inaccuracies. They're also very reluctant to give you an accurate job description so it catches a lot of people by surprise which would account for so many people reporting to this site.

I honestly don't understand why Scentura can't take a different approach. Perhaps if they would just advertise the job for what it really is they wouldn't get such a bad reputation. Maybe just be straight up with people and tell them it's a commission based sales position with potentially fast advancement opportunities, something a little less deceptive. Also, why not encourage questions rather than demeaning intelligent people with legitimate concerns?

Some of those you call blow outs" are upset because they quit a career with a steady paycheck only to find out they'll have to go weeks with insufficient income. For someone living check to check that can literally ruin their life especially if they're not cut out for sales.

So do any of you successful rebutters or Scentura insiders have the balls to give me an honest answer?

ROB'S POST - We keep goin' round in circles!
Dear Noah,

Yes, it is true that people that OWN their own business that sells Scentura products will tell you that it is a very lucrative business to be in. Because it is! But, let's not forget the tremendous effort, long hours, sometimes discouraging moments they had to persist through. Also, the development of the good personal habits it takes to be at your best for your people on a daily basis. And, thats not even scratching the surface because there is also good money handling and empathetic people skills to develop. All very difficult for most people, let alone for someone in their 20's. Yes, it is true that our people have the opportunity to market the products wherever they would like. And perhaps,even some people would choose to go to less than savory areas that others like myself would never go to for the purpose of marketing the products. But, that is a wonderful thing in that some people that LOVE our product work in these areas and appreciate the fact that some of our people feel very comfortable in those areas. Don't insult others just because they don't have your 'affluence'. Also, areas can seem to be very 'seedy' but, are otherwise, regular areas of business and trade during daylight hours. I by no means liked to work low income areas when I was learning to sell the product. If I'm looking to do lots of business, then working those types of areas would be very self defeating. There is business to be done in those types of areas, but I felt like my product and myself, for that matter, could appeal to a more professional business environment. There are people that I work with that do feel more confident and comfortable dealing with people more similar to their heritage or background. That is true of people of all industries. That is why there are other business owners who open business' in what we refer to as very diverse areas.
We advertise in a way so as to appeal to a very diverse group of people. That is what most successful business' do. We do advertise for management and assistant management opportunities, which is what the job ultimately is. What a person has to go through to train for the position is disclosed though the interview process. If you have been on the interview trail, you should know that we are way more forthcoming with the description and details than any other business that offers advancement opportunities. Perhaps you are trying to correlate with and then confused by the business' that hire for a particular position that requires little to no training. A cashier or sales clerk or front desk attendant or restaurant server, for example. But, these positions offer little to know upward mobility. The people who have advanced from a job similar to above to a more responsible position must have certainly exceeded their beginning job requirements. That is typically why a company considers a person for advancement. The beauty of owning one of these business' is that there is no ceiling and the financial investment out of pocket is nil. Therefore, we take down all the roadblocks or pitfalls to someone owning and operating their own business i.e. lack of capital, lack of education, lack of expertise at continuing to grow and operate their own company, or just the need to have professional or personal advice from someone who has gone through similar experiences. I'm not sure where someone would have interviewed where questions were not allowed. Maybe, we just weren't going to pick that person, so their questions would have been of no consequence anyways. AS FAR AS QUITTING A CAREER? My wife and I quit what others perceived as GREAT(ugh) JOBS, if there is such a thing when you work for other people. I was at mine for 6 years and was making 28k back in 1989-90. She was at hers for 3 and was making 17k. Together, 45k!!! We not only quit our careers but we invested thousands of dollars to relocate to a new city to begin training! I know of no one who quit their chosen 'profession' to just give this business a try. I do know people who quit deadend jobs to join our business and just give it a try. Why not try getting committed before you start. If the people you allude to weren't ready to move on from their current position, then why were they looking in the first place? We have people that tell us in the interview process that they may not be a good candidate because they don't want to leave what they currently do. Remember, the reason people can't go multiple weeks without their same level of income as previous is because of lack of proper money management or the previous job paid them just enough to get by. Some life!!! What if that person were to get sick and be out of work for 10 days? Or, heaven forbid, an auto accident? And the list goes on! WAKE UP, A 2 DAY RELATIONSHIP OR A WEEK RELATIONSHIP WITH US IS NOT THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM!!!! The people who do the best in our business are not necessarily good salespeople, but, are actually the most committed and have the most conviction for what they are doing. Therefore, the general public receives them very well because of this committment. Don't insult other people's intelligence with the hubbub that the only people who thrive in our business are the ones who become expert salespeople. If a person is a good candidate to run a business, they are a good candidate to run a business. But, results do speak volumes about a persons committment level, work ethic, trainability, and enthusiasm. Don't tell me some people aren't cut out for sales. People aren't cut out to do a lot of things. It's called development!!! And in this case, it doesn't take long to teach and show someone how to peddle a $20-$30 product that smells good and lasts for months. Please! Its not a car, real estate, insurance, a knife that costs $100, a vaccuum that costs $2000 or any other sales opportunity that takes months, and in some cases, years to develop. And, not to be forgotten, learning the peddling of the product leads to long term SECURITY! So, I don't know if I have 'balls' and that is why I responded to your suggestion. Moreso, I call it experience! I was once the person who you described above, but, I GOT SICK AND TIRED OF BEING THAT PERSON! I did something about before I was too old and had too many debts and responsibilities and, therefore, become enslaved to my crummy 'career'. Rob

MY POST - I said an honest answer, I'm not an applicant Rob
YOU have obviously done well at YOUR branch (I'll be fair and forego asking how many people you had to ream in order to get there.) However, there are a number of branches out there that place completely phony ads, give no job description, promise money without delivering and threaten people with termination for asking questions. As large of a company as Scentura is there doesn't appear to be any sort of company oversight as to how owners run their offices. It reminds me of modern Wall Street, regulations were removed and the big wigs ran things however they saw fit.

It may not apply to you or myself but there are people who quit both good paying and dead end jobs with steady pay checks because the idea of a management position is attractive to almost anyone. While this may offer a chance to make better money it isn't guaranteed. Nowhere in my experience did they ever make it clear that your pay is 100% sales based. They didn't even tell me what the job duties would be until I had already got into a car on the way to sell. They promised me a reward of $750 for selling the most, which I did (12 bottles in 1 night) and got nothing, not a fucking penny.

Not sure if you're familiar with the concept of benefits but in the normal working world companies offer a wide array of benefits including health insurance, dental coverage, disability and life insurance so that's what happens if someone gets sick, or in an accident.

I admit this was a few years ago and I'm now in a steady career making good money and I don't have to sell a fucking thing. I'll also admit that I'm not cut out for sales and if they told me it was all sales I wouldn't have bothered

ROB'S POST - Thank you for clarifying...!
Thank you for clarifying that you never contacted my business. Never interviewed at my business. Nor, never worked with me or my wife through our business location. It is a bummer that you didn't have a better experience with the business you interviewed at. Sorry for them, as perhaps you were a good candidate for ownership, but, for whatever reasons, it didn't work out for you.
I am very familiar with the concept of benefits. My wife and myself both gave up those company provided benefits when we left our employment status with our previous employers. What I found was the benefits that come with running your own business are much greater than any employer provided, which, by the way, can be taken away for a variety of reasons that do not necessarily only happen from job loss. As you may or may not know, the tax benefits on your income from running your own business are incredible. It is not typical for the common employed person to be aware of this. You sound like you have located quite the employed status with a very generous employer if you receive the benefits from them that you have mentioned. But, realistically speaking, I know of no employer that offers disability and life insurance. That would be up to the individual to acquire, which, if you own your own business, then you know you are eligible to write the premiums off against your income. My wife being from the dental profession happened to mention it is not the norm. for companies to also pay for dental coverages. Which, by the way: If you think the company you work for offers these benefits to you at their expense, you are mislead by them. The employees of companies pay for these coverages somehow, whether you know it or not. Companies do not pick up the tab just because...! And that is also wonderful for you that your job description doesn't require you to do any sales, but, of course, you know you wouldn't have that job if not for the area of that business that generates the income through the selling of a service or product!


MY POST - Still not Honesty Rob
It was in 2004 at the Aurora office and yes I did meet you at the Elmhurst office. Looks like you've been with Scentura for too long because Life Insurance and Disability are fairly common benefits these days. Dental coverage is also a standard benefit these days and is very affordable not matter what salary level you're at. I'm talking $8-20 per pay period and usually the company covers 30-60%. It's true that no company pays the entire expense but they do pay a fair share, just because THAT'S WHAT GOOD LEGITIMATE COMPANIES DO!! I'm not knocking sales people in anyway just the pyramid schemes that Scentura and other multi-level marketing companies implement.

I'm a sympathetic man and my experience with Scentura was by far the worst in my career and I'm willing do whatever it takes to stop more people from experiencing the same disappointment your company has brought and continues to bring on so many others.

Since you continue to dance around the issue of false advertising, deception and false promises, you have now clearly demonstrated how little you know about how good legitimate companies work.

They are also going by the name Paradise and have an office on Weldon Pkwy in Maryland Heights, MO 63043

David's last name is Babb and when I was there, he was married to Stacy. I was desperate and actually was doing pretty good (go figure) until it came time to open our own office and EVERYTHING was in our names and the parent company didn't assist with anything. When it was over and done, I was personally out over $5,000 and was evicted from my home.

Stay very far away from these people. They are nothing but vultures and vampires.

They are using now Five Star Fragrance as the name.

The same happened to me, do you think that they can do something with our personal information? Who can I contact to protect myself in case they use my name and SSN?
Thanks!!

I was with the company for a week and i was eerie about it as well. And when i saw this i called my girlfriends cousin and he was in this for 3 weeks and comfirmed everything word for word to me like how he did in this email and also told me all you are there to do is sell there fragrances any way you can. they pay you in cash and report it as a business expence and write it off that way if i heard wright and as we are going thrue "TRAINING" we have to report our income so its a freaking joke dont get involved in this it wrong and how can they sleep at night

I was with the company for a week and i was eerie about it as well. And when i saw this i called my girlfriends cousin and he was in this for 3 weeks and comfirmed everything word for word to me like how he did in this email and also told me all you are there to do is sell there fragrances any way you can. they pay you in cash and report it as a business expence and write it off that way if i heard wright and as we are going thrue "TRAINING" we have to report our income so its a freaking joke dont get involved in this it wrong and how can they sleep at night

I was with the company for a week and i was eerie about it as well. And when i saw this i called my girlfriends cousin and he was in this for 3 weeks and comfirmed everything word for word to me like how he did in this email and also told me all you are there to do is sell there fragrances any way you can. they pay you in cash and report it as a business expence and write it off that way if i heard wright and as we are going thrue "TRAINING" we have to report our income so its a freaking joke dont get involved in this it wrong and how can they sleep at night

I was with the company for a week and i was eerie about it as well. And when i saw this i called my girlfriends cousin and he was in this for 3 weeks and comfirmed everything word for word to me like how he did in this email and also told me all you are there to do is sell there fragrances any way you can. they pay you in cash and report it as a business expence and write it off that way if i heard wright and as we are going thrue "TRAINING" we have to report our income so its a freaking joke dont get involved in this it wrong and how can they sleep at night

Hello,

I want to say thank you for this email. It just confirmed my suspicions about this "potential job lead". I have also attended those two preliminary meetings and they went just as you described word for word. The whole time that I was there, there were alarms going off on the inside. Finally I decided not to ignore them. So I Googled the company name as well. That is how I found the email you sent regarding the experience you had. So I just want to say thank you for sparing a stranger the misfortune of getting involved with something like this. I really appreciate that.

Sincerely,

A Very Appreciate Person