Of Referral Marketing & Changing Lives

My friend called up and asked "Hey what are you doing this Sunday ?" "Nothing" I said but "Why?" I questioned. "There is a Presentation, very interesting..will you come with me ? It all started here, a series of unlikely events in my life.

I am sure referral marketing has touched every body's life in one way or the other. This is an account of my experiences with a "Great Company" with great visions missions and goals. It was September last year when my friend invited me for the so-called Business Presentation at Hotel Suba Galaxy, Andheri East. It was entirely a new experience for me and I thought it will change my life. The presentation started on time and there were about 8-10 people in the room. Then came a heavily edified individual who delivered the presentation. I was silently listening and was getting a bit impressed by the ways of the presenter. The company was called Gold Quest International and the company with which my friend and the presenter were associated was Quest Net India Pvt Ltd. The presentation went through very well and all were very much interested and exhilarated by the promise of 6,90,000 Rs. per week promise on the condition of devoting a few hours every week.

It showed a very sunny picture about the company and even showed us the court cases that were pending against it. We were all convinced and thought everything is transparent and clear. I asked some time from my friend to decide about this business. The only hiccup to join this was the initial investment of Rs 30000. My friend deviated my thought process and portrayed a very rosy picture in front of my eyes. I was spell bound and just swiped my card for the "Lord Hanuman Gold Coin" the mandatory product to be bought in order to join the business. I had defied my closest friends and relatives and my beloved was angry at my decision.

I was always a 1 man show and told everybody I will succeed and shut their mouths with false hopes. I don't know, but I didn't have faith in the business since the start and I thought it would not be so easy to convince people to shell out 30K for a small gold coin. I struggled to get people join under my chain and lost hopes for this business.It was later due the efforts of my so-called Up lines that I managed to get a few people and started to earn some bucks.

I as a person have always been a bit stubborn and didn't hear any good people. I swiped my card again for my friends and juniors in the hope they will return the money and will earn the money from the business for me. It was feeling the heat after 6 months of my joining and realized I had made a terrible mistake to join this business. I lost friends and colleagues made fun of me because I was a part of such a chain marketing.

Meanwhile my Up lines tried best they could to keep the herd running by offering Free Lunches & Parties even some kind of Mauna Yoga to forget all the tensions that the business gives you. I bet almost everybody who is involved into the business has at least 10K hung up on credit cards.

I still am waiting for a friend to return me a large amount of money he borrowed for joining the business. I will eventually come out of this and will not do anything stupid ever again.

I learnt a lesson here that nothing (and I mean it nothing) can replace a mainstream career and all side, passive, dormant, easy incomes are bullshit and will never earn you respect in the society.

Only thing I liked about this was the numerous friends i made during my stint with Gold Quest!!

PS: Eventually the company CEO (The lady whose signature the payment cheques bore) was jailed for 6 months under the goonda act in Tamil Nadu for Illegal Gold Import and Fraud. Even the company's India Operations are shut down for now.

Still my friends are hopeful of a new beginning. I think Gold makes a person blind even to see even to see his own good.