Text | Zinc Scale reporter Li Jinlin 1: After Zinc Scale’s investigation, it was found that there are indeed multiple problems with Xiaolu’s emotions. The so-called emotional experts, after tearing off their masks, may be a group of spiritual mentors. Flag charlatan. 2: "The actual courses are completely inconsistent with the advertised courses. Not to mention the quality, even the quantity cannot be guaranteed. Xiaolu Emotion is simply a liar." "Meatball" complained angrily. 3: When these consumers are emotionally frustrated, they often lose rational thinking and are prone to impulsive consumption. By the time they wake up, it is already too late.

"Guan Guan Jiujiu, in the river island. A graceful lady, a gentleman is a good man." Throughout the ages, countless literati and poets have written poems praising emotions with pen and paper.

There has never been an effective solution to the love-hate entanglement. Therefore, some people started to start this business, and Xiaolu Emotion can be regarded as the most active one among them.

But such an expert team, which claims to "make love get what it wants and let more people find happy relationships", has received complaints from consumers one after another.

After Zinc Scale’s investigation, it was found that Xiaolu’s emotions do have multiple problems. The so-called emotional experts, after tearing off their masks, may be a group of charlatans under the banner of spiritual mentors.

1/"Spending 53,188 yuan on a relationship package made my ex-boyfriend completely disappointed in me"

In October last year, Chen Xiaoyu (pseudonym) and her boyfriend broke up due to some reasons. After that, Chen Xiaoyu tried various methods but failed to win back her boyfriend's heart. Feeling sad, she remembered the advertisement of Xiaolu Emotion that she had seen before, so she downloaded the Xiaolu Emotion APP with the mentality of "taking a dead horse as a living horse doctor".

But she didn’t expect that this wrong step would bring huge trouble to her life for nearly half a year. On the afternoon of June 11, she hid in the garage of her work unit and made a phone call to reporters. While she was weakly contending with Xiaolu's emotions, she pretended to be fine in front of her family and friends. After the call was connected, she told reporters all her troubles.

More than half a year ago, through the arrangement of Xiaolu Platform, Chen Xiaoyu added a person named "Aiweier Education-Gold Medal Mentor". After explaining his detailed situation and needs to him, the tutor said that to solve Chen Xiaoyu's problem, he needed to purchase a package of 12,888 yuan with a service period of 3 months.

Seeing that the instructor's words were absolute and seemed to be able to solve the problem, Chen Xiaoyu paid the fee without thinking. But within a few days, the instructor told Chen Xiaoyu that her situation was difficult and required a third party to intervene and communicate. That is to say, a staff member was sent from the agency to communicate with Chen Xiaoyu's ex-boyfriend and change his mind. The other party called it "psychotherapy."

Xiaolu Emotional Coach keeps asking Chen Xiaoyu to pay

But if you want this service, you need to pay another 6,000 yuan, reaching a package of 18,888 yuan. "The details of the package depend on how much you pay. If you renew to 18,888 yuan, you will get an extra month of service. If you renew to 21,888 yuan, you will get an extra two and a half months of service." The instructor persuaded Chen Xiaoyu earnestly and told her that this was an extra month of service. Her exclusive discounts are the best activities studied by the company's leadership.

As time passed day by day, Chen Xiaoyu operated like a puppet according to the instructor's instructions, but he still couldn't see the effect. After expressing her doubts to the instructor, the other person said that her situation was indeed difficult, and the status quo could not be easily changed in three or two days. So I suggested that Chen Xiaoyu simply buy a long-term service package until the problem is completely solved.

Chen Xiaoyu made a desperate move and once again paid 25,000 yuan in fees, and changed his avatar and dressing style according to the instructor's requirements, fearing that if he made the wrong step, he would not be able to achieve the effect. But two months later, her ex-boyfriend still had no change of heart. The tutor then told her that "psychotherapy" with third-party intervention might not work anymore, and that direct offline face-to-face communication would be effective.

Of course, this step also requires additional payment. This time it was 9,300 yuan, and Chen Xiaoyu paid the fee obediently. But not long after, Chen Xiaoyu's trusted mentor brought her a bolt from the blue. It turned out that the tutor discovered that his company was suspected of fraud, decided to resign, and told Chen Xiaoyu to find a way to get the money back as soon as possible, otherwise it would be all in vain.

At this time, Chen Xiaoyu finally came to his senses. For more than half a year, he had been treating this organization as a life-saving straw, and regarded everything the other party said as a treasure. But now, it turns out that it was all just a scam.

Even when she later asked her ex-boyfriend for confirmation, she discovered that the "spiritual therapy" he mentioned had never been implemented from beginning to end. No wonder he was unwilling to give it no matter how she asked. Chat screenshot. "No one has ever joined me in the past six months. Please stop believing in these organizations to help you win me back. I am completely disappointed in you." The ex-boyfriend sent Chen Xiaoyu the last text message, which completely woke her up.

Chen Xiaoyu was almost on the verge of collapse. She had just graduated and had almost no savings. Because I believed in Xiaolu's emotions, I not only invested all my savings, but also overdrawn tens of thousands of yuan on my credit card. Now I am struggling to pay off the debt every month. But in the end, she still couldn't save her boyfriend.

Chen Xiaoyu’s ex-boyfriend said that no one has ever joined him

2/ Package courses, regardless of high or low, are all false propaganda

Coincidentally, a reporter from Zinc Scale reported on Black Cat The complaint platform found a large number of consumers who were deceived by the Xiaolu platform. From the most basic courses to customized packages, there are problems such as false propaganda and overbearing clauses.

Liu Guoliang, 28, complained on the Black Cat Complaint Platform that he saw Xiaolu Emotion’s promotional video on a short video platform and was convinced of their experience and skills in coaxing girls. So I purchased a 5,000 yuan love plan and tutorial through her WeChat official account.

Liu Guoliang thought that with the guidance of a mentor, even if he could not become a love expert, he could still keep his current girlfriend. So I devoted myself to studying with great enthusiasm the next day. At the beginning, the teaching plan provided by the instructor was to change the avatar, transform the image, and learn encrypted voice courses.

The instructor also showed a patient and responsible side when helping him choose clothes. But on the third day, Liu Guoliang discovered something strange. The tutor began to respond inconsistently, and only gave basic greetings. The "1-on-1 nanny service" that he had always emphasized in his promotion no longer existed at all.

What made Liu Guoliang even more angry was that during the early guidance process, the other party kept telling Liu Guoliang not to send messages to his girlfriend and not to reply. Liu Guoliang followed the instructions one by one, but a week later his girlfriend deleted him as a friend. Liu Guoliang couldn't bear it anymore and decided to refund the money, but the result was that the instructor said he was only responsible for teaching, and he had to contact Xiaolu Emotional Platform for a refund.

The Xiaolu Emotion Platform also stated that it has a cooperative relationship with the tutor, and refunds need to be negotiated with the tutor. Liu Guoliang was like a ball, being kicked back and forth by both sides without finding a solution.

In addition to these expensive packages, Xiaolu’s low-priced course packages are still deceiving. "Rouwaner" stated on Black Cat Complaint that he spent 68 yuan to purchase the "Flirting Master" course. The introduction showed that the course included 10 micro lessons and supporting teaching materials. But what we actually got was only a case of 3 quarters totaling 1***18 minutes.

When "Rouwaner" added customer service WeChat, it showed "There is no such user". After calling the manual customer service number, the other party said that because the courses have not been updated, there are no courses in the picture. In the end, this matter could only be dropped. "The actual courses are completely inconsistent with the advertised courses. Not to mention the quality, even the quantity cannot be guaranteed. Xiaolu Emotion is simply a liar." "Meatball" complained angrily.

3/Reporter investigation: Xiaolu platform and third-party organizations blame each other

In order to find out how many tricks there are under Xiaolu Emotional Platform, the reporter conducted an experience as a consumer .

When you open the Xiaolu Emotion website, the first thing you can see is the slogan that Xiaolu Emotion has 12 years of experience in the emotional industry and "helps you restore your lost love."

However, according to the Zinc Scale reporter, Xiaolu Emotion was only officially established in June 2013. At that time, it started with male emotional services and established a male emotional and psychological community in 2014.

Scroll down and you can see that there are three main categories of Xiaolu Emotion’s business, namely marriage, love and third party separation. Each category will be subdivided into a variety of situations. For example, the love category includes parental opposition, weakening of the relationship, intervention by a third party, personality incompatibility, etc.

When you learn more about the counselors, you will find that Xiaolu Emotion has divided the counselors into areas of expertise, including 24 areas such as marriage repair, love restoration, chat skills, sniping, and gender relations. .

After selecting a field at will, the corresponding consultants will pop up, as well as their total number of students and personal profiles. When the reporter chose a consultant who seemed to be in line with his eyes, he added him as a WeChat friend through the platform. However, the person shown on the platform and the person finally added are not the same person.

After passing the verification, the person named "Chen Man Emotion-Supervisor Lin Jun" began to continuously send messages asking for specific information. After the reporter randomly provided some fictitious information, the other party said that this situation could be solved by an expert tutor. The service lasted for 30 days and cost 9,800 yuan. At the same time, he also evaluated the case and said the success rate was 95%.

When asked about the specific mode, the other party said that it will adopt a purely online guidance mode, and all action arrangements will be fully taken over by them. And guarantee that if there is no effect within 15 days, you can get a refund. "Are you able to do everything as arranged?" This is one thing that the other party keeps emphasizing.

When the reporter hesitated, the other party began to persuade more actively. He promised reporters that their arrangements were reasonable and would not involve any violation of law or discipline. As long as they were determined, there would be no problem.

However, they are not limited to this kind of package. In addition to solving immediate troubles, they can also control each other's mind in the later stage and comprehensively improve their external image and internal emotional intelligence. All this was completed within 30 days, but the price rose to 16,800 yuan.

When the reporter expressed doubts about the effect, the supervisor immediately told the reporter to look at the successful cases in his circle of friends. But in fact, most of the contents in his circle of friends are brainwashing chicken soup articles with the same content. Take the previous 10 articles as an example, 7 of them are chicken soup articles, and only the remaining 3 are successful cases.

Most of these cases are screenshots of text conversations, but such pictures are very easy to forge. There is also a category of proposal videos and wedding photos, but the quality of the images looks very blurry, and it is difficult to tell whether they were promoted through them.

In fact, this is also the case seen emotionally in the deer. From the writing style to the content, it looks like a fabricated article by an Internet writer, and its authenticity is really doubtful.

What’s more worth mentioning is that this Chenman Emotional Agency has a cooperative relationship with Xiaolu Emotion, and Xiaolu Emotion is equivalent to an intermediary agency. There are countless organizations like this on the Xiaolu platform. Before something goes wrong, this approach can be euphemistically called cooperation, but once a problem is encountered, the two sides will blame each other.

Xiaolu platform counselors come from third-party organizations

According to Xiaolu Emotional Platform data, it has a team of 538 nationally certified emotional counselors and ensures that each counselor has undergone rigorous training. , and has national certification qualifications. However, after investigation by Zinc Scale reporters, it was discovered that there was a problem with the Aiweier educational institution that deceived Chen Xiaoyu.

This organization later changed its name to Beautiful Love Sentiment, and together with Changchun New Thought Education Consulting Co., Ltd., deceived Chen Xiaoyu. But when Chen Xiaoyu found Xiaolu Platform, he said that he had canceled the cooperative relationship with the platform. And because there was an internal problem with the platform, the service voucher could not be provided, so in the end Chen Xiaoyu could only refund 14,300 yuan.

It is difficult to tell whether the so-called successful cases are true or false

4/Lawyer: There are at least five major problems in Xiaolu Emotion’s current business model

Based on the questions encountered during interviews and investigations On the situation, the reporter consulted Zhao Zhanzhan, a special researcher at the E-Commerce Research Center and a lawyer at Beijing Zhilin Law Firm. He specifically talked about the problems existing in the Xiaolu Emotional Platform throughout the process.

Zinc Scale: As mentioned above, in Chen Xiaoyu’s case, is there a problem with Xiaolu Emotional Platform’s failure to fulfill its promise when it originally promised an invalid refund?

Zhao Zhan: The legal nature of Xiaolu Emotion is an online trading platform that provides information services for transactions between consultants and consumers. According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, Xiaolu Emotion, as an online trading platform, makes separate commitments to consumers, such as refunding if dissatisfied within 15 days, and if the consumer is not satisfied with the service provided by the consultant, then Xiaolu Emotion should fulfill its promise. Refunds to consumers.

Zinc Scale: It is understood that Xiaolu Platform is actually an intermediary that distributes customers to multiple third-party organizations. On the one hand, these institutions have doubtful qualifications; on the other hand, they will blame each other when something goes wrong. What are the problems with this model? Has it deceived consumers?

Zhao Zhan: According to the e-commerce law, Xiaolu Emotion is an e-commerce platform operator, and consultants are e-commerce operators within the platform. Consultants should register with the industry and commerce, and Xiaolu Emotion should review their business qualifications. Including having a business license, the consultant has the qualifications to provide relevant consulting services.

If Xiaolu Emotion fails to review the identity information and business qualifications of consultants, it will not only violate the e-commerce law and the Consumer Rights Protection Law, but also need to bear legal responsibility to consumers.

In this model, consultants provide emotional consulting services and provide some experience and skills. However, whether the emotional problems encountered by consumers can ultimately be solved is affected by many subjective and objective factors. Consultants Neither Xiaolu Emotions nor Xiaolu Emotions can guarantee the final service results.

However, in order to induce consumers to pay, Xiaolu Emotion and its consultants do not rule out the possibility of exaggerated publicity and promise of results, which legally constitutes fraud.

Zinc Scale: Looking at the business of Xiaolu Platform itself, what problems do you think exist? (Solving emotional problems through pure online guidance, with high fees and no clear pricing)

Zhao Zhan: There are at least several problems:

(1) Consultation may have been reduced The entry threshold for consultants does not require consultants to have business qualifications;

(2) There is a lack of objective evaluation standards for consultants’ service levels, and the charging standards established lack objectivity and rationality;

(3) The platform lacks effective management of the information released by consultants, and there are false propaganda, exaggerated propaganda, and even promises of service effects that cannot be fulfilled;

(4) The platform promised that consumers can get refunds if they are not satisfied, but it did not fully implement it during the implementation process;

(5) Platforms and consultants should guide consumers to treat emotional counseling services rationally and solve emotional problems In the final analysis, it is up to the consumers themselves to solve the problem. The person who untied the problem must also tie the problem. What consultants provide is only guidance and suggestions. We cannot blindly believe that emotional counseling services can solve all emotional problems.

5/Zinc Scale: Avoid getting caught up in the emotional business thief

In the reporter’s communication with many deceived people, it was found that they learned about the Xiaolu Emotional Platform through various channels. , including WeChat official accounts, Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, etc. They all have the same evaluation of Xiaolu Emotional Platform: Xiaolu is extremely popular.

But when they found out that they had been cheated, they discovered something else. "The little deer is not afraid of us making trouble or defending its rights. It knows that we can't defeat it." Chen Xiaoyu said of her helplessness.

In fact, according to Zinc Scale, since its establishment in 2013, the phenomenon of student rights protection of Xiaolu Emotion has indeed emerged one after another, but this has not hindered its rapid development.

Tianyancha shows that Xiaolu Emotion is affiliated to Beijing Meili Education Consulting Co., Ltd. and its founder is Wu Jiamin.

The company has received five rounds of financing in three years, and its founder Wu Jiamin is the vice president of the Dark Horse New Media Branch. But from the moment Wu Jiamin appeared in front of the public, he was dubbed the leader of PUA. He once founded the "Bad Boy" platform, which specialized in teaching boys how to chase girls.

The reason why institutions like Xiaolu Emotion not only have not disappeared, but are surviving better and better, is that they have captured the weaknesses of human nature. When these consumers are emotionally frustrated, they often lose rational thinking and are prone to impulsive consumption. By the time they wake up, it is too late.

During the process of communicating with the so-called experts on the Xiaolu platform, the reporter felt that in fact, most of what they said had no actual value and was only good at inciting emotions. But if you think calmly, you can tell that their services are neither professional nor valuable. For consumers, they still need to strengthen their awareness of prevention and think rationally in order to avoid getting on this emotional business ship.

Wu Jiamin, founder of Xiaolu Emotion