Backdoor Bless
Do we remember the "Great TC Shortage" in LuLaRoe this past year? Some of us that were in queue or unfortunate retailers and victims of chance watched quietly and angrily as some teams seemed to always have fresh inventory... fresher than most. This included TC leggings when LuLaRoe said there were none to be had. Some retailers would claim that the reason was their uplines and/or mentors had a special hookup with the warehouse. Others claimed that "VIP boxes" were shipped out to the LuLaFavorites before others could get them. According to an anonymous person who was on one particular team, they claim to have had access to a "backdoor system" that was built into Bless by a man named Joseph Farrar. The system would essentially send out real time updates on inventory levels in the warehouse as they would be happening. According to this source, LuLaRoe did not know about this program. Essentially, the source claims that this man was able to somehow gain access to Bless and build in this mini program to update those that they wanted to 'be in the know' about actual inventory levels. A few examples of the messages were forwarded to me to share below. This person also claims that there are now other systems available to retailers to purchase that perform similar tasks. According to the source, this isn't known or approved of by LuLaRoe. The source also claimed that mentors and coaches had access to capsules the day before a release- normally given the info on their coach call. In the screen shots below, the information source mentions something else that struck my interest. They claimed that the person who built the backdoor system was able to call and order what they wanted directly from the warehouse. I'm not sure if this information is interesting and new to all of you, but I think it may help shed a light on how some of these teams seem to have everything any other team could possibly want before anyone else gets it. The ability to call in an order is interesting to me and backs up other claims that certain "VIP" reps were able to get whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. This is just another claim of that occurring being added to the growing pile. If LuLaRoe is in fact unaware that systems like this exist, the accusations being flung about that they were not only willing participants in favoritism (at least with respect to this particular group) may be false. But then again, to be able to call and get whatever you want in your inventory order- if that's true, would infuriate many, many lower reps on the totem pole. It speaks also to the type of people that are enrolled at the upper levels in LuLaRoe. Not all of them, of course... but if LuLaRoe truly did not know that this backdoor program existed, and if it is done without their permission or consent- and hacking is in fact what took place to some level, why is that ok? One might argue that they were looking out for themselves and their teams... but with all of the 'level playing field" speak out there, it seems more like a leg up to me. I'm sure LuLaRoe for all the flack they get for the things they actually do wrong- would be livid to know that the leg up was done by those enrolled down the line. Does LuLaRoe know about this program? I'd be interested to find out. The screen shots given implicate more than just Joseph and Kiera Farrar in the mess. I recognize a few of the names myself-such as Kim (I confirmed later that it was Roylance) and Kira Tuiaki. Is it possible the golden children are biting the hand that feeds them? If LuLaRoe really didn't know that teams of this magnitude were keeping illegal tabs on the inventory, and somehow manipulating the system to their benefit? Wow. Just wow. That's what this information implies... I guess we just wait now and see what action LuLaRoe takes, if any. Shit... the will probably try to sue me instead. Stay tuned.
Updated: Joe Farrar reached out to me to understand his perspective and to further outline what he did and did not do to make this program. He outlined that he did not "hack" the system, and had pulled data from the source code in Bless. That information generated updates to his program that informed when certain inventory was updated. Joe was very quick to point out that other programs exist by companies that charge for the services, some even offering more in depth data than what his did. I do think it is important to point out that yes, there are other programs out there, all of which are not authorized by LuLaRoe, and are often shut down because if it. Joe mentioned two to me specifically- ConsultantAlerts and LuLaTools. Where I try to stay fair in this, I do maintain that my opinion is ALL of these programs are an unfair advantage- at varying degrees, depending on the type of information they offer. Consultants were told by home office that the procedure for ordering was to wait for an announcement and then go in to Build at certain times and place your orders for up to the maximum allotment. Often times, the system would crash, and I wonder if all these bots and programs secretly feeding from the information on the page were affecting the system performance. Within the hour of releasing this blog article, another contact reached out and offered that her husband "also hacked" the system and was generating info fed to a shopping cart that would continuously try and check out until it was successful. How programs like that wouldn't affect a website's performance is beyond me. She did not respond to my inquiry to further define "hacked". (Update 8/27: She did reach back to me and clarified that the process used was also NOT hacking, then outlined a similar process used by her husband. Can we all be careful now with using words like "building a backdoor" and "hacking"?) Yet, Joe maintains that the effort in doing this program wasn't so much in the thought to harm or have a leg up on anyone- but rather stemming from the frustrations associated with frequent and repeat out of stock issues- and just trying to make their living. The Robin Hood in me understands that perspective from a place of empathy, but when Joe talked about how the other companies do it for a profit- and his was just to help his small team, I think back to having to sit there and hit refresh over and over and over- sometimes getting absolutely nothing for my efforts- I sure would have liked a cheat. But how many of you didn't know that they even existed- and sat there, just like me... refreshing for hours....? Joe also asked me to clarify that there was no back door built in as far as he is concerned. The info was strictly taken from the page's own source code- and he provided me a step by step as to how it is done. I am not an authority in the law associated with gathering and using or publishing that type of information, but I do know that historically, LuLaRoe has not taken kindly to obscure web addresses or source code information being handed to the public. With so many consultants mad at LuLaRoe, and rumors flying about preferential treatment, this explanation can put to rest many of the claims. Joe maintains that they never called any special orders into the warehouse- though nowhere did the source allege that, rather that Kim and Kira may have. But he did ask me to clarify that for you all. As a writer and a human being, I can put myself in their shoes and understand why the program was written and I can give the benefit of the doubt that it was done from a point of just trying to swim while wave after wave of out of stocks hit their little ship. But again, I believe all the programs of this type are questionable at best- because so many people are so concerned about compliance- they have done everything to the "t" as LuLaRoe has asked- and yet still can't get in the pool, let alone swim. But some have use of these type of programs to their benefit while others do not. Accusations and allegations aside, I felt it was important to share Joe's perspective- even though I still maintain the creation of the program was wrong from inception (as well as the use of all the other programs out there, paid or otherwise) and at the very least, its existence shows that consultants are hungry for more support, better communication, and more tools to help them be better served in this company. I hope that this blog reaches those utilizing that information, and that maybe the company itself offer something similar for them to utilize going forward. Then the super secret team perks rumors can be quashed once and for all. Meanwhile, Joe and his wife feel that the information being shared was done so in a way that put them personally under attack. Understand that Joe created the program, that can't be denied. He's asked for those of you that feel that he did something that wasn't already done elsewhere to think about that before lashing out. This story may involve individuals, but it does speak to a bigger need for better and more through information to be given to the consultants. I think we can all agree on that. When you are trying to survive, you will get creative. I don't think they even thought they were being dishonest in the least- rather utilizing a skill he had to help streamline a very well known bumpy process. I look forward to the respectful discussion and thoughts to follow this update.