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If a list were made of the most reviled species in the professional world, only investment bankers would stand between management consultants and the top spot. Sceptics portray these corporate consiglieri as snake-oil salesmen, bamboozling chief executives and politicians with management gibberish and glossy charts while gorging on fat fees. Indeed, the profession was once the subject of a five-season skewering in a star-studded tv series. Its title: “House of Lies”.

Recent events have provided even more reasons to hate consultants. “When McKinsey Comes to Town”, an exposé published on October 4th, drags its subject through the mud with evidence of decades of scandalous behaviour. On September 30th prosecutors in South Africa brought criminal charges against the firm. (McKinsey says the book is a misrepresentation and denies the charges brought against it.) Its two big rivals, Bain & Company and the Boston Consulting Group (bcg), have also faced controversies. In France President Emmanuel Macron has come under attack after an inquiry this year found the government had spent $1bn on consulting firms with “tentacular” links with the state.

Despite evidence of dubious conduct, business has never been better. The big three firms’ total revenue has tripled since 2010, to about $30bn; the trio now employ around 70,000 people. That implies revenue per employee of over $400,000, hinting at juicy pay packets for the people at the top. By comparison, the figure for the big four accountancy firms—Deloitte, pwc, ey and kpmg—is a comparatively meagre $140,000.

What explains the boom? A shroud of secrecy makes it hard to calculate how much value the industry adds: few bosses or politicians would credit consultants for a successful turnaround. As a result there is a widespread view that all consultants are parasites and those who hire them are fools. In fact the firms have grown because they provide two services that bosses want—one more economically beneficial than the other.

The first is an outside opinion. When firms or governments make decisions, it can pay to buy in rigorous analysis. The danger is that this becomes a self-protection racket. When bosses want to push through controversial decisions, from firing staff to breaking up a firm, a consultant’s backing can bolster their credibility. And legitimate scrutiny, whether from political opponents or board directors, can be easier to dodge using consultants’ reports in pleasing fonts with scientific-looking tables.

The second service is unambiguously good, both for the people in charge and the wider economy: making available specialist knowledge that may not exist within some organisations, from deploying cloud computing to assessing climate change’s impact on supply chains. By performing similar work for many clients, consultants spread productivity-enhancing practices.

One defence against an explosion of bogus advice would be better disclosure. Companies are already required to reveal how much they spend on their auditors and on investment bankers’ fees on deals. The sums that individual firms spend on consultants often exceed this, running into the tens of millions of dollars a year, and should be made public too.

So far the industry has escaped the formal rules that govern lawyers and bankers. If it wishes to keep it that way, it should adopt a second measure: a code of conduct that all responsible consultancies adhere to. They should eschew providing advice that helps bigwigs at the expense of the institutions they run, or helps autocrats oppress their people. They should also police the revolving door between government jobs and consultancies. Consultants have much to offer, but also much still to prove. ■

© (Getty Images) Authentic Close Up Shot of a Young Person Writing with Pencil in Notebook. Teenager Making Homework for School. Education Concept.

Having Advanced Placement classes on a transcript can set an applicant apart in a competitive college admissions environment.

But how many AP courses to take depends on each student and their future plans, say school counselors, researchers and educational consultants.

Students looking to land at a top college should consider taking a more rigorous course load. But for those academically unprepared for the challenge, struggling in AP courses can backfire, with low grades and test scores reflecting negatively on college applications.

"You definitely want to take a rigorous schedule, but you have to balance that,” says Lisa Fulton, counseling coordinator for the Carlisle Area School District in Pennsylvania. "We have students that have part-time jobs. We have students that are three-sport athletes. We have students that are involved in a lot of activities. You have to balance taking those courses with everything else that you’re doing because you want to make sure that you’re excelling."

How Many AP Courses Do Colleges Expect?

Experts say students often feel pressure to load up on AP courses. That's due in part to misconceptions about what colleges expect, says Elizabeth Heaton, vice president of educational counseling at Bright Horizons College Coach.

“I would love for people to get away from the idea that there is some basic number of APs that students need or some magic number that if they take them, the doors will open up at every school," Heaton says. "That’s not true."

College admissions officers "are not impressed when a student takes numerous AP courses and does not earn passing grades in the course or on the AP exam," says Shondra Carpenter, a counselor at Cherokee Trail High School in Colorado. "It shows that the student was trying to compete in a field they are not ready for and are simply trying to enhance their transcript with courses they think will impress a college."

A 2013 study conducted by admissions officials at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill found almost no difference in the first-year GPA for students who took five college-level classes (defined as AP, dual credit or International Baccalaureate classes) during high school compared with those who took six or more. However, they also found that students who took at least five such courses typically outperformed those who did not take any.

The study's authors wrote they would encourage students "to pursue at least five college-level courses ... throughout their high school careers, because our research suggests that will best prepare them for success at UNC." They also wrote they would not discourage students from taking more "if they have a genuine interest and inclination to do so."

How to Evaluate Which AP Classes to Take

When deciding on which AP courses to take, Fulton suggests students start with classes they are most interested in and where they are the strongest academically.

Students should also consider their chances of passing the AP exam, which they must do in order to earn college credit. Students can typically earn a credit by scoring a 3, 4 or 5 on the AP test, though colleges differ in their requirements.

"There seem to be no academic benefits for students for merely enrolling in AP courses," Russell T. Warne, an educational psychologist who has researched the AP program, wrote in an email. "The increases in academic achievement occurs in students who take the test – especially if they pass it."

The UNC study found that students who take a heavy load of college-level courses – sometimes to the tune of 15 or 20 – during their high school careers get to college "exhausted and unprepared for the challenges and opportunities they will face."

Such a course load can negatively affect students' mental health, Fulton says. It's better for students to take a handful of APs while still allowing time to be involved in extracurriculars or other community activities, which is viewed favorably by colleges, she says.

“They’re still looking for a well-rounded student,” she says. “So to be involved in 10 AP classes in your career but have never done anything beyond academics, that doesn’t make a well-rounded application either.”

Be Strategic About AP Credits

Part of the appeal of AP classes is the possibility of earning college credit and saving time and money, but Warne says there are some misconceptions around how this works. Taking Advanced Placement courses rarely leads to significant savings, he says. While some colleges offer credit or waive prerequisites for high scores on AP exams, others limit the amount of credit they will offer or don't offer it all – particularly selective schools, like Brown University in Rhode Island and Amherst College in Massachusetts.

There are other factors to consider as well, he says.

"To graduate early from college," Warne says, "a student would have to take a large enough number of AP courses; pass the tests; have the college agree to grant credit for the student's scores; receive enough credits toward graduation to eliminate at least one full semester; and never have any other delays – such as changing majors or having opportunities or requirements (e.g., internships) that make it advantageous to stay in college a little bit longer."

Very few students meet that criteria, he says.

"If a student is determined to graduate from college earlier via AP credits," Warne says, "then they need to strategically plan their AP courses to line up with their intended university's credit-granting policies, graduation requirements and the required courses in their intended major."

To help identify schools that do offer college credit or allow students to skip prerequisites for passing AP exams, the College Board offers an AP college credit policy search on its website.

Take A Challenging Course Load

While experts say AP courses are viewed favorably by admissions officers, Brennan Barnard, director of college counseling at Khan Lab School, a private K-12 school in California, notes colleges will consider a students' applications in the context of the curriculum offered at their high school, meaning applicants won't be penalized if few or no AP classes are available.

Khan Lab School does not offer AP courses, so he encourages his students and others at similar schools to take the most rigorous courses offered to a point where they can "bend but not break."

“Colleges are looking at the context of what’s available to that student and how they have challenged themselves accordingly,” he says.

Students should consider where they plan to attend college and whether taking a full AP course load is necessary, as many colleges have high acceptance rates and don't require as stringent a course load.

Above all, students should be honest about what they can handle. “You have to start with your own abilities first," says Heaton. "If you start with, ‘What do colleges want?’ then you’re probably going to make a bad choice because you’re not thinking about what you’re capable of doing.”

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

Copyright 2022 U.S. News & World Report

Pioneering concierge medicine management company Specialdocs and physician clients to offer compelling perspectives at the Concierge Medicine Forum October 20^th – 22nd

CHICAGO, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Terry Bauer, CEO of Specialdocs Consultants, a 20-year pioneer in concierge medicine transitions and management, and several of the company's affiliated physicians will offer insights on the extraordinary growth of this dynamic and enticing practice model at the upcoming Concierge Medicine Forum (CMF) in Atlanta. Reflecting the surging demand for personalized care, the industry's signature event is on track in 2022 to be the most well-attended conference to date, according to organizers.

"What we're seeing is a genuine recognition of the pillar stone of concierge medicine - the tremendous value of a long-term physician-patient relationship," says Bauer. "The impact of the pandemic made that crystal clear and has inspired thousands of people to thoughtfully reconsider how they chose to deliver and receive care."  He cited a doubling in the number of physicians converting to the Specialdocs concierge medicine model in the last few years, as well as a 10% average annual industry growth rate of the U.S. concierge medicine market over the next 8 years, as forecast by Grand View Research.

Bauer will lead key sessions covering qualities necessary for success as a concierge physician, and how to communicate the enhanced level of care to concierge patients inside and outside the test room. He'll also discuss the expanding plethora of paths to becoming a concierge physician. "The options go well beyond traditional conversions from fee-for-service models to acquiring a practice from a retiring physician, transitioning from hospital employment or within a group practice, or joining a successful local concierge practice," he said.

In addition, Specialdocs-affiliated physicians will be featured at the conference, sharing expert perspectives that include:

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• Dr. Deanna Aftab Guy, a Nashville-based concierge pediatric endocrinologist, recounts her year-long transition to concierge medicine, with "My Journey Started Here."

• Dr. Zev Cohen, a concierge internal medicine physician in suburban New York, will address addiction treatment and management strategies in a concierge practice.

• Dr. Uday Jani, a Delaware-based concierge internal and integrative medicine physician, will provide an inspirational take on moving forward from COVID-19, with "Notes from a Pandemic: Rethinking Gut Health, the Immune System and Personalized Medicine" and participate in a timely panel discussion titled "Cause & Deflect: When You Should Call in the Mental Health Professional to Help Your Patient."

"Sharing our passion for concierge medicine at CMF with insightful, long-time collaborators like Specialdocs and others is a privilege we look forward to each year," Michael Tetreault, CMF organizer and editor of Concierge Medicine Today.  "We're all thrilled to see the soaring interest in membership medicine practices which continue to bring balance to physicians' lives and elevate the care offered to the patients and communities they serve."

A pioneer in concierge medicine since 2002, Specialdocs is celebrating two decades of transforming physicians' professional lives, empowering them to deliver exceptionally personalized patient care.

CONTACT:
mkolof@specialdocs.com 

View original content to obtain multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/concierge-medicines-continued-rise-illuminated-by-specialdocs-consultants-at-the-industrys-leading-event-301648043.html

SOURCE Specialdocs Consultants

Rep. Ro Khanna is paying a cadre of political consultants in the early presidential nominating states, which some say is a possible sign he's exploring a presidential run as early as 2024.

Khanna, a three-term California Democrat, has on his campaign payroll political consultants and strategists throughout the Northeast as well as in Iowa, Nevada and Colorado. The relationships were first disclosed on Friday in filings Khanna's re-election campaign made with the Federal Election Commission.

"He's clearly exploring the possibility of running for president at some point," said Brad Bannon, a Democratic political strategist who has worked on multiple high-profile campaigns. "It might not be in 2024, but he's young and has time to prepare and meet people. Plus, we live in a very volatile political climate. You never know what can happen."

Khanna, who recently published a book on "dignity" in the age of Big Tech, has become a staple of Democratic fundraising dinners in the early nominating states. This year alone, the California congressman has traveled extensively to New Hampshire and Nevada to address local Democratic groups.

BIDEN INJECTS SOME UNCERTAINTY INTO 2024 WITH HIS ‘MUCH TOO EARLY’ RE-ELECTION COMMENT

"Hiring a consultant doesn't always mean you're running," said Bannon. "But it usually means you're at least interested in seeing what the process looks like. A consultant provides introductions to potential staffers and special interest groups that usually form the nucleus of a campaign."

A former Obama administration official and avowed progressive, Khanna has openly expressed interest in a potential White House run at some point in the future. Khanna's campaign filings suggest he's taking the first steps toward that goal.

Over the past three months, Khanna has paid two political operatives that helped orchestrate Sen. Bernie Sanders' early primary victories in 2020.

He has paid Shannon Jackson, a Vermont-based consultant, $16,000 over the past three months. Jackson has long-standing ties to Sanders, I-Vt., and served as a senior adviser on his 2016 presidential campaign.

DEMOCRAT RO KHANNA WON'T SAY IF BIDEN SHOULD RUN FOR RE-ELECTION: IT'S HIS DECISION TO MAKE

In 2020, Jackson was the New Hampshire state director for Sanders' second White House bid. In between the presidential campaigns, Jackson served as the founding executive director of Our Revolution.

In July, Khanna paid $1,000 to a political operative who served as Sanders' deputy caucus director in Nevada during the 2020 campaign.

Sanders, who was endorsed by Khanna, beat President Biden by double digits in both the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucus during the 2020 primaries. His campaign lost ground, however, after being defeated by Biden in the South Carolina primary.

He has also paid El Faro Consulting $4,000 for its political services. The Nevada-based firm was incorporated this past July by a Las Vegas political operative, although this company says it has been retained to provide strategic advice to Khanna in California and with the Latino community more broadly.

The payments to the Nevada consultant and the former Sanders' staffers were the first for Khanna's congressional campaign, according to a review of FEC filings.

Earlier this year, the California Democrat began paying Iowa-based Sage Strategies for political consulting. The relationship appears to be ongoing as Khanna paid the firm $4,000 in July.

Khanna's campaign staff did not reply to questions from Fox News Digital about the hirings.

Khanna's hiring spree comes as Biden, who turns 80 next month, has prompted questions about his appetite for re-election. Biden told CBS News last month "it’s much too early" to talk about launching a re-election bid.

"Look, my intention, as I said, that began with is that I would run again. But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen," Biden said in an interview with CBS.

The comments were followed up by reports Biden had told Rev. Al Sharpton during a White House meeting last month that he was running again in 2024.

Khanna recently refused to say if Biden should run again when asked during a Fox News Channel interview, saying instead the president was the only who could make that decision. In accurate months, the California Democrat has not been shy about criticizing the White House.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Khanna wrote an op-ed in June urging Biden to utilize price controls to combat 40-year high inflation. He also recently called for a tough line on Saudi Arabia in the wake of OPEC+'s decision to cut oil production.

"They get almost 73% of their arms from the United States. If it weren’t for our technicians, their airplanes literally wouldn’t fly," Khanna said when urging Biden to cut off military aide to the country.

Bluetick Consultants, India’s first data driven storytellers, today announced the launch of Google ad services at a low cost. 

The digital marketing consultants expanded their services beyond digital marketing with PPC marketing for business growth. They provide all the necessary design, reporting and Google ads management tools to get a business PPC campaign started.

Since the launch earlier this month, Bluetick Consultants have become the Google ads consultant for approximately 50+ businesses making a success story of almost all of them. The service offers customers highly targeted ad serving technology through a simple to use system enabling their customers to even monitor the campaign besides sharing monthly reports with them. 

By purchasing relevant keywords that targets a businesses potential customers, Google ads management show user an ad that matches their search query. The highly targeted ad appears only if a user enters the same keywords that an advertiser has purchased.

"Bluetick has carefully scaled the Google ad services to address the needs of any business across industries by providing a one-stop service that is easy to use and affordable," said Shivang Bakliwal, co-founder and CEO Bluetick Consultants. "As your Google ads specialists, we use the most technologically advanced features to quickly design a flexible program that best fits your unique business marketing goals, budget and online sales."

Shashank Bakliwal, co-founder and COO Bluetick said, “our Google ad services is designed to offer an advertising solution for every business at a low cost. Be it a brick-and-mortar retail outlet, a small family-run business or a large enterprise, as your digital marketing consultants, we use several features so as a business you can pace your actual spending limits.”

He further added, “the real-time features we use allow us to fine-tune ads, post new ads, monitor ad statistics, track cost-per-day impressions and more. Since the launch, we have seen great results including rise in website traffic, boost in online sales and of course more customer interaction.”

Bluetick Consultant Google ad services offers the following features:
●    Unlimited ad creation: They create and run versions to see which ones get best response 
●    Ad previews: They shows how an advertisement will look before it’s posted 
●    Fine tuning of a PPC campaign: The tuning includes several keyword targeting options 
●    Reporting tools: Instant access to online reporting tools and monthly report from the team
●    Ad performance feedback: Real-time feedback to gauge the overall effectiveness of an ad
Google ads is a popular advertisement tool for businesses to reach audiences far and wide. With the recently launched low-cost Google ad services by Bluetick Consultants, it makes it easy for businesses, big or small, even those who have little or no online advertising experience to make use of their digital marketing services to get ranked on one of the web’s most trafficked and popular search engines.

About Bluetick Consultants
India’s first data-driven storytellers, Bluetick Consultants is a digital marketing company with offices across Indore, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Dubai. Using tools like data-driven analytics, AI, AR and a great sense of humour, at Bluetick Consultants it’s all about getting you that BlueTick from your customers and audiences online. 

Green Ideas Building Science Consultants has provided industry-leading services to develop sustainable, high-performance building projects for two decades.

Featured Image for Green Ideas

PHOENIX, Oct. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- October 2022 marks Green Ideas Building Science Consultants' 20th year of helping businesses, universities and Architecture-Engineering-Construction professionals create resource-efficient projects with minimal environmental impact and maximum return on investment.

Charlie Popeck, President of Green Ideas and one of the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professionals in the United States, founded the Arizona Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2002, which was the second-ever chapter of the national non-profit organization. Charlie has personally trained more than 40,000 industry professionals to pass the LEED Professional Accreditation exams over the last 20 years.

After two decades of performing building science consultation, the company has completed over 150 high-performance building projects, including 110 LEED-certified projects throughout the country. From the iconic Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona (LEED Silver) to the BASF Near-Zero Energy Home in New Jersey (LEED Platinum), Green Ideas maintains its business approach to high-performance building design, construction, and operations. Other notable projects include the Intel Ocotillo Campus, one of the most complicated manufacturing facilities on earth, and the General Dynamics Roosevelt and Hayden facilities, the largest LEED-certified industrial projects in the U.S. at the time of its certification. A complete list of Green Ideas' projects can be found here.

Since its inception in 2002, Green Ideas has worked closely with many building owners and developers to save massive amounts of energy and water. Upon reaching the company's 20th-year milestone, Charlie stated, "We've had some challenges transforming the commercial real estate market over the years but I'm proud of the energy and water savings we have achieved, as well as creating healthy indoor environments for building occupants…all while saving clients operating and maintenance costs."

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About Green Ideas^® Building Science Consultants
Green Ideas is a full-service building science consulting firm offering 3D energy and daylight modeling, building commissioning, and world-class LEED certification services. The firm is designated as a LEED Proven Provider by Green Business Certification Inc. and is a certified B Corporation. Its clients are building owners, architects, engineers, contractors, real estate developers, facility managers, and corporate entities wishing to establish business advantages through high-performance building practices. With a vision as bold as the results they achieve, Green Ideas is dedicated to transforming the market by promoting building science through a "triple bottom line" approach to business operations. Follow Green Ideas on Linkedin for more up-to-date information and latest projects.

Contact Information:
Charlie Popeck
Founder & President
charlie@egreenideas.com
480-220-4330

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Many of the consultants being hired by the Health Service Executive under its Winter Plan will not be in place for several months, the Health Service Executive National Director of the Acute Hospitals Division has said.

Liam Woods said recruitment is under way but the process of hiring takes a long time, at around 40 weeks.

He said HSE has recruited 15,000 people in the past two years, adding that "the capacity to recruit is a key challenge and risk to us, but we are progressing".

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Woods said he would accept the point that there is a need to recruit more consultants but said, "we need to remember for a consultant to disconnect internationally from previous appointments, it may take two to three months. So, there's a significant lag in that."

He said Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was very clear that the commitment to putting additional consultants in place is strong.

"It will take time to get these posts in, but if we don't start now, they won't be there when we need them."

Mr Woods said that in terms of balance of staff "we require health and social care professionals, we require paramedics, and we require nurses, including advanced nurse practitioners, and they can contribute very significantly to providing service on both a specialist and community basis under the governance of consultants.

"So, it is a connected system."

The HSE's Winter Plan aims to provide additional capacity in public hospitals, as well as availing of services in the private system.

Projected expenditure is understood to be €168m, although much of it is already included within existing allocations.

The President of the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association said very few of the 608 new staff that will be hired as part of the Health Service Executive's Winter Plan will be consultants.

Professor Robert Landers said even if more were to be hired it would be winter 2024 before they would be "on the ground" as it takes over 500 days to recruit a consultant in the current framework.

Speaking on the same programme, he said it is "alarming" that there are 900 posts unfilled currently and that Ireland only has 40% of the EU average number of consultants.

He said there was record overcrowding in hospitals this summer, so the hospital system is expected to come under major pressure this winter.

"So, unless we can recruit huge numbers of consultants reasonably quickly, our health service will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis."

He said the HSE has admitted that it has been unable to hit recruitment targets.

"There's no reason to believe they'll be able to hit them in the coming 12 months," Prof Landers said.

He said the time it takes to hire a consultant is "overly bureaucratic".

Prof Landers said it is estimated that by 2030, Ireland will need an additional 5,000 acute hospital beds and that similar to the number of consultants in the system, the number of acute hospital beds is running at just under 40% of the EU average.

"Until such time as the country and the Government face up to that fact and employ a lot more consultants and put in a lot more hospital beds, we will continue every winter to have this conversation about capacity, about delays, then about overcrowding."

Tupperware consultants facing the end of their businesses say the past two years have been filled with problems – but the final straw was a “misleading” mystery box promotion.

Ultimately Organised Limited (UOL), the importer of Tupperware in New Zealand, announced in August it would close its business on October 30 after Covid-19 caused a decline in sales and Tupperware parties.

UOL, owned by Ross Dawson and Maria Wadsworth, had been the only importer of Tupperware in NZ since 2020.

Consultants have been barred from talking to the media since the announcement of the closure.

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One consultant said they were told they would instantly lose their accounts if they spoke to media or leaked the news of the closure of Tupperware.

But as their contracts were coming to an end later in the month anyway, more were feeling confident to speak out.

One consultant said they were told on Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day that a stock take was needed and the website would be closed while that happened. It reopened with stock available and customers were told they had until the end of the week to buy what they wanted. Initially, it had been hoped they could order until the end of October.

Consultants rushed to do final orders and were given the opportunity to purchase five different “mystery boxes” of products that had been “squirrelled away in the warehouse”, for $195 each. They were told they were worth more than $500.

But when the boxes arrived, consultants said, only two of the five boxes were over the retail value of $500 and none of the items were new. All were sale items. Some consultants claimed it was false advertising, which UOL denied.

One Tupperware consultant of nearly five years, Pania, who did not want her last name used due to concerns of legal action, said there had been a lot of problems, including threatening behaviour by higher ups, breaches of privacy and deception.

“As soon as Tupperware NZ became its own entity, they slashed our commission from 30% down to 20% and everything majorly went up in price,” she said.

UOL’s Ross Dawson said Tupperware International had decreased the commission before UOL became the importer.

Pania said: “Customers were no longer interested because the warranties were no longer being honoured, so people would be both out of product and out of pocket, and they kept selling stock they didn’t have which left customers waiting up to six months for items. I’d be put off too.”

Pania said one of the mystery boxes she received only had a recommended retail price (RRP) of $390.50.

“The boxes were disappointing, a rip-off, contained only clearance items and consultant items. Just junk.”

Screenshots seen by Stuff show Tupperware listed the prices of all the items in the boxes after it was confronted about the prices by consultants when customers expressed their disappointment.

Tupperware used a higher RRP of the products than what was on the website.

An example was the Aruba 415ml sports bottle that was listed as $17 RRP on the website, $12 for sale but $24 in the mystery box.

Another consultant said she spent $600 on mystery boxes and “was sent leftovers that they couldn’t sell on the website in clearance products”.

“They assured us that it was special items that were put aside. I got sent a Tupperware tablecloth which has no value.”

But Pania said she was most concerned about a breach of privacy, which caused all customer order numbers, names and addresses to be visible to anyone who searched for an order on its website.

“They were notified of it days ago, and yet we can still search to see people’s addresses and information. I know of me and another consultant with protection orders, so this is actually dangerous for us.”

A Tupperware spokesperson said the breach of privacy was brought to the company’s attention and prompt action was taken to remove that function from the site.

She said promotions were an integral part of the business, designed to promote behaviour that supported the business.

Unlike some other Tupperware markets where there were variable commission rates, there was a consistent commission rate for New Zealand consultants which was carried over from the previous business structure. This rate applied to all sales, whether they were online orders or generated at parties.

She said there had been constant and clear communication with consultants and while closure was set for October 30 at the latest, it was always subject to stock availability.

“The Tupperware New Zealand website is still functioning, however, due to unprecedented demand by the public, we have exhausted all stock and our warehouse is now closed. We have therefore removed our shopping functionality from the website.”

Consultants and consumers could still access their accounts and were able to register their interest to receive warranty system updates via email, she said.

She said the mystery boxes were carefully prepared by warehouse staff who had “a combined service of over 100 years and know what they are doing”.

“To say anything else is disparaging to their work ethics and standards, and indeed has been very hurtful to the team.

“They worked diligently to ensure all mystery boxes contained items with an RRP value of $500 or more. Less than 1% of customers who purchased a mystery box have queried their contents and placed a ticket in our customer service system. Each of these have been reviewed, responded to and were found to be valued at over $500 RRP,” she said.

• This article has been amended to clarify the detail of the stocktake that took place, and of the timing of the changes to sales consultants’ commission.