Caught Between a Show and a Hard Place: How to Handle It

[randis]

not the song ha ha

Had a show scheduled for today at four. the host was a lady that i work with and she has no personality. Well I have been working with her almost daily host coaching in person, and friday afternoon she said that there were going to be 6 people, so I figured at least three. She didn't know anything about PC, so I figured I would get some hot people! At 445 not one person showed, so I left....

now i have to see this lady again on a daily basis.....

how should i handle this? I have already told her to ask everyone that wasn't able to make it, but I really don't think that she is going to because well, I really don't think she told anyone about the show....

I am caught people.....

 

[Rebeccascabinet]

How did she feel about people not showing up?

 

[Debrachef]

I had a host do the same thing. Although we didn't work together, she was a Special Ed teacher in my daughter's school. I was positive she didn't invite anyone, but the next day she called me and had $450 in outside orders! I think she was embarrassed that no one showed up and she made sure she got some orders!

 

[DebbieSAChef]

That stinks!

not the song ha ha

Had a show scheduled for today at four. the host was a lady that i work with and she has no personality. Well I have been working with her almost daily host coaching in person, and friday afternoon she said that there were going to be 6 people, so I figured at least three. She didn't know anything about PC, so I figured I would get some hot people! At 445 not one person showed, so I left....

now i have to see this lady again on a daily basis.....

how should i handle this? I have already told her to ask everyone that wasn't able to make it, but I really don't think that she is going to because well, I really don't think she told anyone about the show....

I am caught people.....

That is horrible to show up with food, ready to demo and no one shows up.
It happens and we all have to deal with it in a positive way.
I suggest you encourage her and tell her that sometimes that happens with so many busy schedules, kid activities, and last minute situations that come up in our lives. Encourage her to gather outside orders and reassure her that she still has a week since her show to close.
If she made a wish list remind her of her goal. If not remind her of the great host special this month, plus all the host benefits again to refresh her memory and keep her focused.

Debbie

 

[Chef_2_Four]

it does happen unfortunately. i had a friend host one of my first 6 shows, and her mom and sister showed up an hour late and were the only 2 there. all these people she worked with said they were coming (12 confirmed) but didn't and to make matters worse her mom and sister just took over i couldn't even do a demo b/c they were so loud and obnoxious. i felt like crap b/c my recruiter came with me to watch me do my thing and then i couldn't do it! she ended up having a 300+ show b/c she had so many outside orders. she apologized and neither of us have worried about it since. maybe it won't be as bad as you think! try to get something positive out of this experience! good luck!

 

[BethCooks4U]

now i have to see this lady again on a daily basis.....

how should i handle this?

If she really did try and no one came she will be feeling hurt and disappointed. Give her the benefit of the doubt and suggest (as someone else already said) that occasionally this happens. If she is not one who will follow up (she could just be painfully shy) you could ask other co-workers if they want to order on her show. Tell them they missed a great recipe but they can still get some great products for their kitchen and help her out.

I always give the host the benefit of the doubt even when every indication shows that she didn't even tell anyone.

If she is oblivious you would only need to deal with your own feelings. Since you already know that she "has no personality" you can write it off as "that's how she is" and go on. Forget about it and go back to how things were between the two of you before the show. Remember other co-workers will see how you act and if you are upset or angry they won't want to book with you for fear they don't live up to your expectations. Be nice.

 

[kimmers]

If she really did try and no one came she will be feeling hurt and disappointed. Give her the benefit of the doubt and suggest (as someone else already said) that occasionally this happens. If she is not one who will follow up (she could just be painfully shy) you could ask other co-workers if they want to order on her show. Tell them they missed a great recipe but they can still get some great products for their kitchen and help her out.

I always give the host the benefit of the doubt even when every indication shows that she didn't even tell anyone.

If she is oblivious you would only need to deal with your own feelings. Since you already know that she "has no personality" you can write it off as "that's how she is" and go on. Forget about it and go back to how things were between the two of you before the show. Remember other co-workers will see how you act and if you are upset or angry they won't want to book with you for fear they don't live up to your expectations. Be nice.

Very good advice as usual Beth. I always like reading your posts. I actually had this happen last night. A friend hosted a show to help me get my business restarted, and it was her sister & one other person and a bunch of kids. She had a couple of outside orders last night and she said that she will get some more before we close the middle of the week. This was a show that was rescheduled from february ( ), then moved to a new location yesterday afternoon. We're almost at $300, and her sister booked a catalog show for April, so all is not a lost cause. I'm on my way to earning the mid season products.

Like Beth and everyone else said, try and give her the benefit of doubt and if you can help her get orders, it will go a long way in the eyes of others. AND you never know who she will eventually talk to and pass on what a GREAT experience she had with you as her PC Consultant!!

HTH.
Kim

 

[chee65]

Everyone is right. Occasionally this does happen. I have had a few hosts who were like this but the show turned out okay in the end. I actually recently had 1 host who really frustrated me. I host coached and host coached and somehow it just never clicked with her. I would ask her how the invitations were going and she said fine. I had the feeling she never really sent them out. So I would remind her again to send out as many as she can. Then I asked her to make reminder calls. Well on the day of her show, when I arrived 45 min early I found them still cleaning the house, not just finishing up but major cleaning. Then I said that while they were doing that I would start preparing some parts of the recipe and she sheepishly said that her daughter still has to go to the store and buy the ingredients. So about 11:45 rolls around and her show was supposed to be 11:00. guests are already there but no ingredients. So we start the show after 12:00, oh andby the way only 3 guests. Her total show sales at the end of the show was only 30 some dollars. I told her that she would have to call everyone and see if she can get some outside orders. She said she would. Then she gave me what was left of the host packet and inside was the brand new plastic wrapped pkg of invitations. I was doubtful that she was even going to qualify as a show. But Praise the Lord she was able to cough up a $200.00 show. Don't get me wrong this doesn't happen very often but when it does I've learned to laugh at it and say well it was good practice on my part and remind myself that people are sometimes that way. I treated her with respect, and I think she appreciated it. She did confide in me that she has been having problems. She's a single mom with 6 kids and trying to make ends meet. I told her that sometimes our priorities in life are different and that if she was happy with the items she got for free and the host special then I was happy to help her out. I think that she was embarrassed for her lack of inviting, but I think next time she will do a better job. Knowing that I didn't put her down.

Pampered Chef to me is more than just the money, although it's a big part of it. I also love helping and listening to people. I try to be a witness to them. Some shows are really great like my next show after that one turned out with $1500.00 in commissionable sales which really made up for her show.