Catalog Show Order Forms Questions

[babywings76]

I had a host want to do an April catalog show. I made her special outside order forms that had printed on there the guest special (one of the new dipping oils for free w/ $60 order.) Also, the top of the forms I stated "Fill out completely and receive a Free Season's Best Cookbook".

So, now I have 6 people that filled out the forms, but they left the e-mail address field blank. Do I still honor the free SB? Because some might not have an e-mail account?

Also, I had one person choose a dipping oil that is shown as the guest special, but now that it's May it's not applicable. I forgot about this being on there when the host pushed it off to a May show. I should still honor it, right? Since it's stated on the guest's form, she'll be expecting it. It's a $6.50 item, so should I put it on the host's order so I can at least use her discount to offset the cost to myself?

I'm pretty bummed that no one gave an e-mail address, but at least I have phone numbers that I can use. Maybe I can call them and see about their e-mail addresses if they want recipes to go w/ their products. (Of course, I did state that right underneath the line that requested that info.)

 

[mscharf]

I would call for emails and just say "I wanted to make sure you didn't have an email address so I could send you the SB".

Does your order form say APRIL on it, b/c if it does I would just call the guest and state why they are the wrong forms (host delayed show), tell her what the current special is and tell her if she wants the oil dipping you could do it at a X% discount!

Remember you are in this to MAKE money!!

 

[babywings76]

Unfortunately, I didn't put April on there. Lesson learned, to fix that for next time! Thanks for the suggestion about calling them for the e-mail addresses. That sounds good.

 

[babywings76]

Oh man, and it really stinks to hand over SB to someone I already had info for. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. Well, I hope it creates happy customers who will develop loyalty.

 

[mscharf]

How many did you already have info for??

 

[babywings76]

Ok, so is it cheaper to give them the SB that I have that I got from the supply order, or to add it to their order and put it in as a $1.06 consultant gift? I get 22% commission.

 

[babywings76]

How many did you already have info for??

7 people filled out their info. A couple left off their street address and the e-mail. But their checks have their house # on, so I got it from there too. 2 of them are also repeat customers.

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

7 people filled out their info. A couple left off their street address and the e-mail. But their checks have their house # on, so I got it from there too. 2 of them are also repeat customers.

If the host earned 20% discount, then it will be cheaper to order the SB on her order (with your commission). In the future I would also add in future order forms that the SB is an offer for NEW customers. If they did not fill it out, and you got the info from their checks, then you do not need to honor the request. However, it may build that customer appreciation you mentioned if they received one.

I would still call each customer who qualified for the april special and state that the order forms were for an April order, and that the host opted to push back the show to May and that it isn't available. Based on the guest reaction, you can then decide if you want to honor the special. Most may be understanding and it will possibly save you money. This can also help you connect with them and mention the June guest special and see if they're interested in hosting a show of their own. You can mention how they can order for Father's Day and toss the 2 free rubs as part of their gift, or keep them for themselves.

 

[PamperChefCarol]

Any chance you could push this into a June show? Then you could call them and offer them a spice rub free in place of the dipping seasoning. Plus, you could use the sales toward sell a thon.

 

[babywings76]

Any chance you could push this into a June show? Then you could call them and offer them a spice rub free in place of the dipping seasoning. Plus, you could use the sales toward sell a thon.

Doh! You know, that would've been the smarter thing to do. No one bought a HWC item and the host ended up not being interested in the host special, so I should've done that. :cry: But I was thinking that I needed the show to stay active this month. (Of course I was also submitting my own show, so I don't know why I didn't think that through better. ) That's what I get for doing things when I'm tired. I was just exhausted after doing my Power Cooking Workshop and everything, my brain was fried. Ugg!

But here's what ended up happening:

So I called one of the people who had it all filled out except for her e-mail. I called her and introduced myself, thanked her for her order, and then said that I see she provided me w/ a phone # and address and that since I had on there that she could get a free SB for filling it all out, I just thought I'd double check to see if she happened to have an e-mail address. She was so happy and pleasant and gave it to me and was appreciative of the SB offer. I also told her that I'd send her recipes to go w/ her products she bought.

I decided that it was getting late and I couldn't call all of them, so I would figure out the other people later and just give everyone SB from my inventory and not put them on their orders. I figured I've already paid for the SB's in my closet and didn't want to have to pay for all of these. I was going to pay for the dipping oil for that one guest because it was my fault and should honor it to please the guest. Soooo, I was calculating everything else and realized that so many of the totals were off. Not by a ton, but enough to be concerned. Then I realized the host wrote me a huge check to cover for all the extra that was missing, but she over-paid. I also saw she didn't select a host special. I decided to call her to let her know that she paid too much and that I'd be mailing her a check w/ a refund plus receipts so she'll know who owes her what. I also told her that I'd be including some SB's for those who filled out their forms fully, and she then told me I didn't need to do that because she was the one who filled them out. (Except for 2 of them, one of which was the person I called.) So I'm off the hook at getting SB for all those others. Then I mentioned to her my mistake on the guest special being listed on there w/o being named the April special, and so since someone selected it under the impression of being eligible for it, that I would honor it still. I said if it was okay w/ her, I was going to enter it in under her hosts order and I'd cover it, but that way I could use her discount to save me a little $ since I was having to eat the cost. She objected saying that I didn't need to do it. It was her sister who did it and she'd understand. She didn't want me to pay for it because I spent the gas $ to go to her house and pick up all the orders and such and that it was just a mistake and her sister would be fine w/ it. She was so kind and gracious. I was so happy to have it resolved!

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

LOL....I assumed a June show wasn't an option and why you had a dilemma! So glad it all worked out in the end. People tend to be gracious and understanding 95% of the time, especially when we are honest. Whew....dilemma solved. Yay!

 

[babywings76]

Yeah, it's too bad someone didn't bop me on the head w/ that idea last night! lol (especially because my June is going to be a bust--I can only do shows on Fridays and Saturdays, and we're going to be on vacation for 2 of the weekends, I have nothing scheduled for this first weekend, so that just leaves the last weekend in June for SAT shows!) I'm hoping to get some catalog shows though. We'll see.

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

Yeah, it's too bad someone didn't bop me on the head w/ that idea last night! lol (especially because my June is going to be a bust--I can only do shows on Fridays and Saturdays, and we're going to be on vacation for 2 of the weekends, I have nothing scheduled for this first weekend, so that just leaves the last weekend in June for SAT shows!) I'm hoping to get some catalog shows though. We'll see.

No worries! Just means lots of catalogs, right....you'll be making money while on vacation....host coach like crazy for the 1st 2 weeks.