chefann
Gold Member
- 22,111
There was a thread here about consultants being professional and I mentioned a terrible experience I had with a rep from another company. This is that story.Back in early 2002, I met TC, a consultant with TW, a company specializing in food storage and prep products. We met at a bridal fair and, both being fairly new in our respective businesses, decided to trade shows to get some new customers and some products.There were a few things that I wanted right away from her catalog, so I collected a few orders and put together a small catalog show. As is typical with her company, checks were made out to the Distributorship, rather than the individual consultant. (The cons. pay a small fee to have the Distributor handle checks, which helps protect the cons. from bounced check fees.) That particular point will come back later.I did the first actual show. I made a couple of calls to coach her, but she was slightly resistant to coaching. You know the type, "I do this for company x and already know the drill." TC told me that she would have great attendance and was looking forward to receiving some free stuff. She ended up having 3 people at her show. If that's great attendance, then I'm a potato. 
It ended up a $300 show, in part because I had a few individual orders that I tacked on to that show (we've all done that, right?). So she got a few things that she wanted, and I scheduled my TW party.I wanted to have my TW party in April, but TC pushed for March, because of some sales promotion she wanted to hit. I buckled, even though that put the show on Good Friday, and I knew that some of my family would be unable to come. And the way she handled the date issue was a little heavy-handed. We all know that there's a way to direct your potential host to a date you want her to take. And if she doesn't, then you make her happy. Without hosts, we wouldn't have any business, right?TW consultants send out the invitations for the hosts. So I got TC my list of names and addresses in plenty of time. Did I mention that my "host pack" from her consisted solely of an address sheet and a single catalog? It's pretty hard to collect pre-orders when you only have one catalog. I started to get nervous when I had no coaching calls from TC. I had no idea what type of materials she'd need - a table, snacks, anything! About a week before my party I called her to check on things, because I had received no RSVPs from my guests. Turns out, she had never sent out the invitations! "But I can send them out now if you move your party 2 weeks." The date she suggested was the date I originally wanted, but I was mad at her, so I told her no. (I actually bent the truth and told her I had a full show schedule myself and the planned date was the only day I could do the party.) Then she told me that she wasn't going to contact the guests, that was my job. OK, whatever. I managed to get a few (I think 4) people there. Her demo was the pits. She'd pick up a product and say, "This is the xxxx. You can use it for yyyy." Then she'd repeat that for the next item on the table. No variation on the wording, no additional tips for alternative uses, just 90 minutes of things we could have figured out from the catalog. Then she got to the special (get a bowl free with purchase) and payment options. She said that she wasn't participating in the check pool any longer and checks should be made payable to her. No alarm bells went off in my head, because I have checks made out to me for my shows.Somehow, I managed to pull together a decent show, about $300, I think. We closed relatively soon, so that TC could get the sales in for the promotion that was going on. She gave me receipts, so that I had them for distributing the orders when they came in. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the delivery.After a month, and still no products, I decided to call TC and find out what was up. She told me that she had just checked on it, and found out that she had submitted the paperwork incorrectly and had to do it again. But I should have everything in a couple of weeks.Two weeks later, still no product. I called her AGAIN and got a similar story. At this point, I was getting a little nervous. It was already into June, and I was leaving at the end of the month for a 10-day trip to Italy. Compounding the possible glitches, while I was in Italy, my DH and I were moving to another house (same city, bigger house and lot). DH was going to be handling the move himself, so I didn't want him to have to worry about TW deliveries on top of everything. No worries, TC told me, everything should be there soon.Of course, nothing was delivered before I left. You saw that coming, didn't you? When I got home, still nothing. So I picked up the phone, and called TC AGAIN: "Where's my stuff?!?!?" This time, the story was different. Yes, there had been an error in the paperwork, and now she knew how to fill it out. But because it was so long after the original party date, she couldn't get the special from March (the free bowl with purchase). I don't know about you, but when I mess up with my PC shows, I make it right out of my own pocket. TC made me feel like she was taking no responsibility for the errors. She told me that I would have to call all my guests and ask if they wanted the bowl and if so, they would have to pay for it.Of course, nobody wanted to pay for the bowl. In fact, everyone wanted to cancel their orders. While I was calling people, I discovered that while the checks had been cashed, none of the credit cards had been charged. That told me that the order had not actually been processed. So I phoned TC again and told her that everyone wanted to cancel, and when could we expect our money back? "It'll be right out." Yeah, right. A few days later I got a call from her Manager (like our Directors), wanting to make sure everything was OK. She told me that she wanted to make everything right, so if I ever had a show with her, she'd give me an extra-nice host gift. EXCUSE ME?!?!? How does that correct things for my guests?If you guessed that I didn't get the check from TC, you're right. I wrote a letter to TW HQ, complaining about the service I had received, and how was the home office going to make it right. I never heard back from them.I sent a certified letter to TC, informing her that if I did not receive the money from her within 30 days, I was going to take her to small claims court. She was out the day the PO tried to deliver, and never went to the office to pick it up. In the meantime, she had started avoiding my calls. I would call at varying times of day, and different days of the week. I'd either get her machine, or her husband would tell me that she was at a sales meeting. Eventually, I did end up taking her to court.But that's not where it ends. The judge gave everyone a last opportunity to settle before he heard evidence. TC told me a sob story about how her car was totaled, and while she was driving a borrowed car, she was hit again, and she'd had to file personal bankruptcy. She had cashed the checks and used the money to pay her rent. Now, she tried to make it sound like it was after the party that all this happened, but she must have been planning something like it, because she had us write the checks to her (remember?). At that point, I just wanted to be done with the whole situation, so I agreed that she could pay us (everyone who had paid by check was party to the suit) what we had paid for product and we'd be even. So I was going to be out the money that I paid for the registered letter and for filing the small claims suit.TC didn't have all of the money, but gave me cash for half and a post-dated check for the rest. I distributed the cash to some of my friends. Then, on the date of the check (when her paycheck from her day job was supposed to be direct deposited), went to a branch of her bank to cash it. I was not about to risk being hit with an NSF fee cashing it at my bank. Good thing I did that, because her bank wouldn't cash it - not enough money in the account! I went back to her bank every day for 2 weeks before I could cash it and finish repaying my friends and family. At that point, I didn't even care if she bounced a check to the gas company. (I know, I'm such a b*tch.)Because of this fiasco, Dan doesn't like me to purchase TW-brand items. Yes, the HQ could have responded to my letter, but they were not the cause of the problems. You can see, however, how the actions of a single consultant can tarnish the reputation of an entire company. (I do continue to purchase occasional items from TW. A former coworker of mine sells it - I just sneak it into the house and tell Dan that "we've had that forever, you just haven't noticed it before.")I'm also still stymied by TC's reasoning. If money was that tight, why did you have to steal it? You already had the perfect vehicle for making more - just book some more parties and make some commission! I heard somehow after this was over that the TW HQ kicked her out and put her on a blacklist, meaning that she will never again be allowed to sell for them.So let this be a valuable case study in how NOT to treat your customers.
It ended up a $300 show, in part because I had a few individual orders that I tacked on to that show (we've all done that, right?). So she got a few things that she wanted, and I scheduled my TW party.I wanted to have my TW party in April, but TC pushed for March, because of some sales promotion she wanted to hit. I buckled, even though that put the show on Good Friday, and I knew that some of my family would be unable to come. And the way she handled the date issue was a little heavy-handed. We all know that there's a way to direct your potential host to a date you want her to take. And if she doesn't, then you make her happy. Without hosts, we wouldn't have any business, right?TW consultants send out the invitations for the hosts. So I got TC my list of names and addresses in plenty of time. Did I mention that my "host pack" from her consisted solely of an address sheet and a single catalog? It's pretty hard to collect pre-orders when you only have one catalog. I started to get nervous when I had no coaching calls from TC. I had no idea what type of materials she'd need - a table, snacks, anything! About a week before my party I called her to check on things, because I had received no RSVPs from my guests. Turns out, she had never sent out the invitations! "But I can send them out now if you move your party 2 weeks." The date she suggested was the date I originally wanted, but I was mad at her, so I told her no. (I actually bent the truth and told her I had a full show schedule myself and the planned date was the only day I could do the party.) Then she told me that she wasn't going to contact the guests, that was my job. OK, whatever. I managed to get a few (I think 4) people there. Her demo was the pits. She'd pick up a product and say, "This is the xxxx. You can use it for yyyy." Then she'd repeat that for the next item on the table. No variation on the wording, no additional tips for alternative uses, just 90 minutes of things we could have figured out from the catalog. Then she got to the special (get a bowl free with purchase) and payment options. She said that she wasn't participating in the check pool any longer and checks should be made payable to her. No alarm bells went off in my head, because I have checks made out to me for my shows.Somehow, I managed to pull together a decent show, about $300, I think. We closed relatively soon, so that TC could get the sales in for the promotion that was going on. She gave me receipts, so that I had them for distributing the orders when they came in. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the delivery.After a month, and still no products, I decided to call TC and find out what was up. She told me that she had just checked on it, and found out that she had submitted the paperwork incorrectly and had to do it again. But I should have everything in a couple of weeks.Two weeks later, still no product. I called her AGAIN and got a similar story. At this point, I was getting a little nervous. It was already into June, and I was leaving at the end of the month for a 10-day trip to Italy. Compounding the possible glitches, while I was in Italy, my DH and I were moving to another house (same city, bigger house and lot). DH was going to be handling the move himself, so I didn't want him to have to worry about TW deliveries on top of everything. No worries, TC told me, everything should be there soon.Of course, nothing was delivered before I left. You saw that coming, didn't you? When I got home, still nothing. So I picked up the phone, and called TC AGAIN: "Where's my stuff?!?!?" This time, the story was different. Yes, there had been an error in the paperwork, and now she knew how to fill it out. But because it was so long after the original party date, she couldn't get the special from March (the free bowl with purchase). I don't know about you, but when I mess up with my PC shows, I make it right out of my own pocket. TC made me feel like she was taking no responsibility for the errors. She told me that I would have to call all my guests and ask if they wanted the bowl and if so, they would have to pay for it.Of course, nobody wanted to pay for the bowl. In fact, everyone wanted to cancel their orders. While I was calling people, I discovered that while the checks had been cashed, none of the credit cards had been charged. That told me that the order had not actually been processed. So I phoned TC again and told her that everyone wanted to cancel, and when could we expect our money back? "It'll be right out." Yeah, right. A few days later I got a call from her Manager (like our Directors), wanting to make sure everything was OK. She told me that she wanted to make everything right, so if I ever had a show with her, she'd give me an extra-nice host gift. EXCUSE ME?!?!? How does that correct things for my guests?If you guessed that I didn't get the check from TC, you're right. I wrote a letter to TW HQ, complaining about the service I had received, and how was the home office going to make it right. I never heard back from them.I sent a certified letter to TC, informing her that if I did not receive the money from her within 30 days, I was going to take her to small claims court. She was out the day the PO tried to deliver, and never went to the office to pick it up. In the meantime, she had started avoiding my calls. I would call at varying times of day, and different days of the week. I'd either get her machine, or her husband would tell me that she was at a sales meeting. Eventually, I did end up taking her to court.But that's not where it ends. The judge gave everyone a last opportunity to settle before he heard evidence. TC told me a sob story about how her car was totaled, and while she was driving a borrowed car, she was hit again, and she'd had to file personal bankruptcy. She had cashed the checks and used the money to pay her rent. Now, she tried to make it sound like it was after the party that all this happened, but she must have been planning something like it, because she had us write the checks to her (remember?). At that point, I just wanted to be done with the whole situation, so I agreed that she could pay us (everyone who had paid by check was party to the suit) what we had paid for product and we'd be even. So I was going to be out the money that I paid for the registered letter and for filing the small claims suit.TC didn't have all of the money, but gave me cash for half and a post-dated check for the rest. I distributed the cash to some of my friends. Then, on the date of the check (when her paycheck from her day job was supposed to be direct deposited), went to a branch of her bank to cash it. I was not about to risk being hit with an NSF fee cashing it at my bank. Good thing I did that, because her bank wouldn't cash it - not enough money in the account! I went back to her bank every day for 2 weeks before I could cash it and finish repaying my friends and family. At that point, I didn't even care if she bounced a check to the gas company. (I know, I'm such a b*tch.)Because of this fiasco, Dan doesn't like me to purchase TW-brand items. Yes, the HQ could have responded to my letter, but they were not the cause of the problems. You can see, however, how the actions of a single consultant can tarnish the reputation of an entire company. (I do continue to purchase occasional items from TW. A former coworker of mine sells it - I just sneak it into the house and tell Dan that "we've had that forever, you just haven't noticed it before.")I'm also still stymied by TC's reasoning. If money was that tight, why did you have to steal it? You already had the perfect vehicle for making more - just book some more parties and make some commission! I heard somehow after this was over that the TW HQ kicked her out and put her on a blacklist, meaning that she will never again be allowed to sell for them.So let this be a valuable case study in how NOT to treat your customers.
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