Can't Get Host to Send Me Check - Help!

[n8vtxn]

I did a show on Feb 16 for a lady - good sized show, around $700 - but my problem is, despite the fact that the host has already gotten all her products, I STILL have not received a check from her for her order! 3 times now I have contacted her and each time she has said she's sorry and will drop the check in the mail in the morning. I'm tempted to drive to her house, but its over an hour's drive and I'm not sure I want to do that with my 2 year old.

Next time I think I might tell the host that they can send me a check for their order, but I won't close the show until I have it in my hot and sweaty little hand! In the meantime, what can I do with this one? I had to transfer funds out of our joint acct so my PC acct wouldn't be overdrawn when PC took out payment and my husband is getting VERY miffed! Please give me some advice!

Thanks!

 

[tiffanypc05]

I would drive to her house!!!!If I were you, I would drive to that lady's house and get my money....after three times of calling, she hasn't forgotten! She's probably spent the money. Maybe you could find someone to keep your baby for a couple of hours where you could go up there.

 

[pamperedteresa2005]

I would go to her house tooThe only problem is what if she's "not home." I had this happen to me once before and it will never happen again! Like you said, it's best to wait until you have the money in your hands before you close the show. I know some consultants take a blank, signed check (if the hostess feels comfortable with this, of course) and that way she's ready to close without the wait.

What I did in my situation when the lady would not get me the money...I called UPS and had the shipment delivered to my house instead of the hostesses. Then I called the customers and said their products were in and they owed X amount of dollars. They would say, "Oh, I already paid Suzie hostess." And I would say, "she didn't forward the money to me and I haven't been able to get in touch with her. Maybe if we both tried contacting her we'd have better luck." After a couple people calling her she finally got back to me and we had to wait until payday for her to give me the money (which she already had collected from the guests but obviously had spent and wasn't planning on giving to me!)

I'm just glad that little voice inside told me "CONTACT UPS---DON'T LET HER GET THE PRODUCTS!"

That's only happened once in three years so I am not leary of my hostesses doing this but it is best to be safe and make sure you have the money before sending in the show.

I'll pray that your hostess comes around and gets a conscience and gives you the money.

 

[AFwife]

I did a show on Feb 16 for a lady - good sized show, around $700 - but my problem is, despite the fact that the host has already gotten all her products, I STILL have not received a check from her for her order! 3 times now I have contacted her and each time she has said she's sorry and will drop the check in the mail in the morning. I'm tempted to drive to her house, but its over an hour's drive and I'm not sure I want to do that with my 2 year old.

Next time I think I might tell the host that they can send me a check for their order, but I won't close the show until I have it in my hot and sweaty little hand! In the meantime, what can I do with this one? I had to transfer funds out of our joint acct so my PC acct wouldn't be overdrawn when PC took out payment and my husband is getting VERY miffed! Please give me some advice!

Thanks!

If it were me, I'd call her and actually speak to her not her machine and say, I will be there at this time on this date to pick up the money, if you are not there or do not have the money I will be seeking legal advice. And leave it at that.

Ain't no way in he!! I would let her get away with not paying me.

Good luck!

 

[nikked]

Been there...done that!I had a host who became upset with me because I wouldn't do something to her satisfaction that was not even part of my job. I always operate on the "everyone is as nice as I am" theory, and usually that's okay, but not this time! So, my hosts usually pay by CC for their order, but if not, mail their check the next day after closing, and I've never had a problem doing this.

Anyways, not only did she not pay for her order, she had given a guest a "shopping spree" for her birthday, and owed me $40 for that! And, she is a Stampin' Up! Consultant! It was like 3 months! Finally she called me up as sweet as could be, and said I could come pick up the cash. When I was there, she was so nice, like nothing had ever happened. I found out later that she had recently started going to church...I guess God got a hold of her!!! Unfortunately, I lost a string of bookings and customers who were good from this incident!

My Director told me that if I could get a CC from her, I could call HO and talk to Finance, explain the issue, and they would run the CC over the phone. I think then it would show up as a commission adjustment???

Just so you know that may be an option for you!

 

[Chef Kearns]

When I am host coaching I let the hosts know what I expect. If you have outside orders the best method of payment for them is CC/Debit if they write a check have them write it to you. When we close your party you will pay me with your Debit/CC with the money they've already given you plus the amount for your host order.

I will not accept a check. That's too much dang money most of the time! Some have tried, but I say, You can also use your Debit card that way you don't have to wait for a check to clear before I send in the party.

For your current situation I agree with some of the others; let her know you are coming and go to her home. I like the legal advice part. Although small claims costs will be more than the recovered amount, but still she should get nervous just at the thought. When you see her though explain where the money does come from when she isn't prompt in her payment. We are not Sears and Roebuck here, it's just me and my husband and we're trying to get by the best we can! Ya know!

 

[Jayne]

I'm with the legal adivse too. One other option you may have is, if you have phone numbers to the guests that were at the show you could call them and ask nicely if they have paid for their orders, if they say they have already given "X" the money then you won't recover the money, but if there is a guest or two that has not paid you can get the money from them and a least recover some of it until your Host gets a conscience and "PAYS UP"!! (You will also be letting her friends know that she is not reliable or trustworthy) GOOD LUCK!! And I am really sorry this is happening to you. This is definitely a lesson for me!! THANK YOU!

 

[pchefmomof2]

I had this happen to me once but the kicker was the I had the checks and the Host just needed to sign them over to me. She would not return any of my calls, I went to her place of employment, her home (both of which she was at when I was there but would not come to the door or front desk) and even contacted some of the guests myself to get checks reissued to into my name. After all that she still owed me about $400 plus. A friend of mine who is an Attorney drew up a legal notice giving her 30 days to rectify the issue or she would be going to small claims court. The letter was sent certified mail and boy when she got that letter she was TICKED!!!!! It was all my fault! She said I would not return any of her calls and so on and so forth. Well to make a long story short, the Judge pretty much laughed because all she had to do was to sign the checks over to me but instead she had to pay my court costs, attorney fees, my phone bills (which I took copies of each phone call I made on my CELL PHONE), my mileage for collecting checks that were reissued to me and for the time I spent going to her home and place of employment and miscellaneous expenses. All and all she ended up paying me close to $1000.

Some people just don't learn! Hope you get your money! I know that I learned a valuable lesson from my past mistakes!!!! Always make sure you have the money upfront!

 

[Chef Kearns]

How lucky of you to have an attorney friend! Thankfully, so far I have not had to go to such extremes. I'm glad you were able to recoup the show money and then some!

 

[letscook04]

I always get the $$ up front. Thank God that HO waits until 1 week before it gets debit from your account.

I had a guest check bounced plus a $15 bounce fee. I left a bunch of messages but no call back. I went to her bank handed the teller her bounced check and cashed it (glad she had $ in her account) Do you believe that she (guest) called me and wanted to know why that $ was debited from her account!!! The nerve of her!! I ate the $15 bounce fee and I threw out her info about having a show with me!

 

[AFwife]

Another important tip:

NEVER CLOSE THE SHOW UNLESS ALL MONIES ARE TURNED IN!!!

I tell my clients that until the hostess has turned in all of the money, I WILL NOT CLOSE THE SHOW!

I find this puts pressure on the hostess to turn in the cash ASAP and if she doesn't, her guest who are usually friends, will be pissed at her and not me.

 

[sivlepa]

The cheque's in the mail!I don't know what others do, but I've come into the habit of leaving a stamped, self-addressed envelope with my hostess' the night of their show. Then I tell them that in the event you have additional outside orders before we close on ###, and if you don't plan on using a credit card yourself, then please send the money to me with this envelope.

The expectation is then set and they don't have to waste time worrying about postage or an envelope. No excuses, and it's understood from the get-go. So far, so good. Although there always will be someone who may take advantage...

GOOD LUCK!

 

[DebbieJ]

Never ever ever close a show unless you have the money in hand. If you need to close it for double points or another promotion, I would have it shipped to my house and then not give her her products until she pays you.

Hindsight is 20/20...

Send her a certified letter requested payment along with a SASE.

 

[sailortena]

I have only done a few shows (one cooking and three catalog) and I tell my hosts (and guests) that if they don't pay with CC or debit card, to write out checks to ME. I then cash the checks, and deposit the cash into my checking account for my business.

I find that this works well, because:

1. I don't have to worry about a check bouncing. In general I know people are good. But I don't look at the world through rose-colored glasses. I handle money this way so I don't get burned.
2. I control my business. I do not want to have to depend on people giving money to host, host to turn around and write another check.

 

[LindaK]

I personally would not turn in a show that I had not received payment for. I just don't have that kind of extra money.

Having said that, I agree with the message giving time/day to meet if I don't hear from you before then. If you are not home I will need to seek legal advice as my small business can't afford to have this outstanding bill go unpaid.

 

[DebbieJ]

My new policy:
--I will accept a check from everyone I meet at the show.
--for ALL outside orders, the check should be written to the host and then the host will pay me, even if she collected them BEFORE the show.

I absolutely positively will NOT submit a show unless I have all money in hand or the show is shipping to me.

 

[Chef Michelle D]

Leesa how much does she owe you? I would do what ever you can to get the money. If that means going to her house then I would do that. I am sure you learned a lesson and not to submit a show until you have all the money. I like the idea of the self addressed envelope to put the money in. I have not had any problems getting money from hosts. Most of the time they don't mind using a cc/debit card to close the show. Good luck, keep us informed.

 

[jenniferlynne]

If I really want to close a show but the host just doesn't have the money at the moment, I will let her write a check and date it for a couple of days down the road. I would rather have the check in my hand then have to wait on it. I had a show Sunday where I had let the host do this in the past. One of the guests wanted to place a large order ($90) but just didn't have the money then. The host jumped right in and said, "Just date your check for Friday. You can trust her not to cash it. She's held them for me". So, that's what she did and I got a $90 order!

 

[RachelNguyen]

I may be facing this issue! I had an outside order from someone whose credit card was rejected. This was an order that was not really associated with the show, though. She had just called me and I added it to the show to save her shipping. Well, I couldn't hold up the show for that order, so I covered it. But now I am wondering if I will get stiffed. Luckily, the products will by going to my host's house, so at least I will get the stuff. But at full retail. I am keeping my finger's crossed. I would have just deleted the order except it got my host to the $500 mark.

 

[AFwife]

I may be facing this issue! I had an outside order from someone whose credit card was rejected. This was an order that was not really associated with the show, though. She had just called me and I added it to the show to save her shipping. Well, I couldn't hold up the show for that order, so I covered it. But now I am wondering if I will get stiffed. Luckily, the products will by going to my host's house, so at least I will get the stuff. But at full retail. I am keeping my finger's crossed. I would have just deleted the order except it got my host to the $500 mark.

I did the same one time and had the order shipped to me instead. If they don't pay up, they don't get there stuff and I will just put it towards gifts when I do open house. Or keep it if I don't have it already. lol

 

[erinyourpclady]

I actually have all local shows shipped to me. It is part of my customer service! All the host has to do is then pass out the product to her guests. I do this for a few reasons.....I can take care of missing or broken items right away, I can add a business and recipe card to each order and if someone has not paid me...I can keep their items until they do!
The amount of returns and adjustments I have had since implementing this policy have drastically lowered. My hosts LOVE the little extra I give them!! Not sure though if my UPS man hates me yet..............

Have a Pampered Day!
~Erin Smith
Future Director & Trainer
[email protected]

 

[chefmelody]

Maybe this isn't a usual thing, but I usually meet up with my host in person to close their show. That way I can go over their order face-to-face, talk about the opportunity, etc. Also, I can get a check from them right then! I have had to hold checks for a few days on occasion, but that's not a problem for me.

Also, I always encourage debit/credit cards for guest orders. Or I have them write the check to me directly.

 

[onepamperedmom68]

Oh man!I have never had a host not pay me but it sounds like it is something that happens quite a bit.
Here is what I do and SO FAR, it has worked out pretty well.
I have guests write checks out to me. That way I don't have to wait to get the money from the hostess. I have the hostess give me a CC for the balance of the show if it is over $100 (which it usually is). I tell her I will not transmit the show until EVERYONE has paid and checks have been deposited and have cleared the bank. I have only had one person's check bounce and I just called her up. She had written a check from a closed acct (supposedly accidently) she brought me cash with the $15 fee for the bounced check. I was lucky.
The calling UPS to have the shipment sent to your home is a great idea. That way you have leverage. '
Another thing that I have been doing is sending out invites for the hostess. I get the address AND phone numbers for everyone attending...I usually get this at the show but this way I FOR SURE have it. That gives me info I may need for future reference and would be good to have in case the host never pays up!
Good luck to you! Let us know how everything turns out.

 

[nicolespcshows]

Burned onceI got burned with this one time and now I do not submit the orders until I get full payment. I eventually got the money but the hostess admitted to me that she spent the money she was supposed to give to me and was embarrassed that she couldn't come up with it until next months payday. Even though I got the money back it set me back a bit until I recovered it.

 

[mandak]

Calling UPS?I am wondering how you are able to call ups and have a package delievered at a different address insted of the intended address? I can understand why you would want to have that done but how does UPS know that you aren't just some person tyring to get other people's packages?

I couldn't even get the UPS man to deliver a package to me 3 blocks away when I moved! They sent it back to the sender and he had to resend it to my new address.

 

[KellyTheChef]

I did the same one time and had the order shipped to me instead. If they don't pay up, they don't get there stuff and I will just put it towards gifts when I do open house. Or keep it if I don't have it already. lol

Don't forget, you don't have to keep the order unless you want to! Call HO and tell them that you have a return to do for a customer. You would be out the original shipping/handling, but you could get a refund for the products!

HTH

 

[n8vtxn]

I spoke with the host the other day and she said she was sending the checks w/ some catalogs and didn't put enough postage on it. Still haven't gotten the checks yet - and they are old catalogs - but at least I finally spoke to her on the phone...

 

[kristenskitchen]

Sounds like she is stalling on you...next time you talk to her, tell her you will save her the postage and drive up to get them. If she says no or stalls again, I would say something like, "Ok, well when is a good time for you, because not having those checks is really setting us back financially" I would be professional to a point, but if it persists and you don't get anything from her, leave her a message saying you'll be at her house at whatever time on whatever day and show up a day early. That way she won't have a chance to bail on you and you can just say "Ooops! I had it down to be here today! Sorry!"

Let us know how it turns out!

~Kristen

Also, I am interested in how you can get UPS to send products to you rather than the host too. How can that work??

 

[n8vtxn]

I know you can get UPS to deliver to another address (my first show I forgot the "South" in the city name and it went to Windsor - ugh!) You have to call HO and they have to connect you to UPS and then spend a WHOLE LOT of time on with their automated line and... yada yada yada. I got totally frustrated with it but my husband (who had a cooler head at the time) was able to straighten everything out. You can do it, but it is a HUGE pain in the tail. (Chalk that one up to lesson learned.)

 

[chefkristin]

I know you can get UPS to deliver to another address (my first show I forgot the "South" in the city name and it went to Windsor - ugh!) You have to call HO and they have to connect you to UPS and then spend a WHOLE LOT of time on with their automated line and... yada yada yada. I got totally frustrated with it but my husband (who had a cooler head at the time) was able to straighten everything out. You can do it, but it is a HUGE pain in the tail. (Chalk that one up to lesson learned.)

I always get a signed check from my hosts at their show before I leave. I then tell them I will call them with a total so they know what to write in their checkbook. This way I don't have to worry about getting paid later. Either that or you can ask for a credit card or debit card#. Good Luck!