Did I Handle the Reimbursement Situation Correctly?

[britishchef]

I did a show tonight, and the host and I talked on the phone about how I would only do one recipe. I said if she wanted, I would make a dip or something beforehand and bring it and she could just reimburse me. She said that was fine, so I did that.

My Mum got the stuff and didn't keep her receipt, so I apologised and told her the amount (£7) and she paid me no problem. However I just got this e-mail:

Subject: reciept for food
Hi amber,
I forgot to ask for the shop reciept for the things you bought because i could have got them myself from the local shop for less and also i had most of the ingredients for it it my fridge anyway. Could you please send it to me as soon as you can as i need it to keep my books right.

This was my response, is it OK? Should I have said something different? I feel sick to my stomach over this! I feel like she's accusing me of trying to stiff her of the £7.
--
Hi Carol

I haven't got it I'm afraid, my Mum got the stuff and she threw it away.
It was 300g Philadelphia I think £1.60 odd, Salsa x 2 at 99p, celery £1,
cucumber 69p, bell peppers were £1.19, and carrots 60p. I just used cheese
I had in the fridge.

I tried ringing you earlier today to see if you had any of the bits but
you weren't in, so I just picked them up as we'd talked about before.

Hope that's ok!

It doesn't sound like you're very happy about it, so I apologise if there
was any misunderstanding. We'd talked about it before and I said I would
just pick up the bits for the 2nd recipe and you could reimburse me.
Pampered Chef does give you about £17 free product to thank you for buying
the ingredients (actually you get double that though just now, lucky
you!).

Thanks again for having a show! I had fun, and I hope you did as well.

Amber
--

Ugh.

 

[dannyzmom]

I think your reply was perfect!

 

[sslangley]

Your response sounded good to me.

 

[britishchef]

This is the type of thing that will keep me awake at night.

 

[Chef Kearns]

let us know what she says

 

[britishchef]

Here is her response to me:

Hi Amber,It wasn't the price of the things that I was unhappy about it was the fact
that you were getting things to do a demonstration with but instead you
turned up with it already made and also there wasn't a reciept.
If I knew that you were going to make it in advance I would not have agreed
to it. And would have got you to demonstrate the stoneware more as I had
ingredients for a lot of the different croissant recipes for the round stone
as I make them a lot and your mother wouldn't have had the inconvience of
having to do the shopping for me. Also most of my guest had never seen the
stoneware and it would have let them see it being used especially when it
was on special.Also you said that you phoned yesterday I was wondering when as I was in
most of the day getting the house ready for the party I had to take Nicola
to the doctors but my husband was in then and the phone never rang you might
have had the number wrong as I get a lot of calls for someone who's number
is very similar to ours.
I hope you don't mind this advice but from my experience doing party plan I
went to see the hostess and gave her plenty of notice of what I was making
and I supplied the ingredients or a bottle of wine if I wasn't cooking as it
was a nice gesture for them having the party also this also help me as it
soon spread around their friends and I got loads of parties from it and made
a lot of money from it as well.
You also said that they get around about £17 of products from Pampered chef
which is good but Tupperware gave really good free gifts for hostesses and
guests but I found that the little gesture from me made it all come
together.
Hope this might help you as from my experience of your party planning I did
not feel I could promote you to any of my friends hence I think that is why
you didn't get any bookings from them.

 

[britishchef]

And my reply back again

Hi Carol

It sounds like all a big misunderstanding, so I'm sorry. I thought we had agreed this on the phone but apparently you came away with a different impression. I got feedback from past guests that the show was boring and too long, so that's why I said I would only do one recipe at the actual show.

I do appreciate your comments, with Pampered Chef though the hostess is always asked to provide the ingredients, that's why they're rewarded so well. I would love to be able to provide the ingredients as a courtesy but I just can't afford to at this stage. I do think it would be nice to go and visit hostesses instead of doing host phone calls, I will definitely bear that in mind! And I will definitely give more notice than 2 days. Less chance for misunderstanding then as well.

I'm really sorry you feel you can't recommend me to friends, I'm still really new at this and I'm trying my best to be a good consultant. Obviously not doing very well!

Oh, and the time I rung was about 11:15am. It was 623185 I rung, is that correct?

In regards to your other e-mail, I have double and triple checked and I only have 16 orders. There were 6 outside orders you gave me, plus 10 orders at your show. If it would be helpful, I could type in the guest names so you could see if there's one that somehow didn't get to me.

Thanks again for having a show, I'm really sorry you were disappointed.

Amber

 

[cmdtrgd]

Amber,She is a snotty host that you don't want to work with again! I would do customer care calls after the products arrive and make sure everyone is happy. At that point, you can ask if they would like to have a party and go from there. Hopefully she won't badmouth you to her friends, but it is likely to happen. Oh well. I think you did everything you could!And one more thing, with her first inquiry for the receipt, how would she use it to keep her books right? That doesn't make sense.It seems to me that she hears and reads what she wants. I know you are a good consultant and she is not someone worth worrying about!!!

 

[SusanBP0129]

I totally agree with Kate. Ugh.
There is just no pleasing some people!!
Let it go.....

 

[BethCooks4U]

There are some people that you just can not satisfy. We have all come across them. Bless and release and go on!

 

[SillyChef]

Hi Amber,

It wasn't the price of the things that I was unhappy about it was the fact
that you were getting things to do a demonstration with but instead you
turned up with it already made and also there wasn't a reciept.
If I knew that you were going to make it in advance I would not have agreed
to it. And would have got you to demonstrate the stoneware more as I had
ingredients for a lot of the different croissant recipes for the round stone
as I make them a lot and your mother wouldn't have had the inconvience ofhaving to do the shopping for me. Also most of my guest had never seen thestoneware and it would have let them see it being used especially when it
was on special. ***Really a good tip for Customer Care Calls! Let them know that you would LOVE to get them together and show them what the stones can really do!!***

Also you said that you phoned yesterday I was wondering when as I was in
most of the day getting the house ready for the party I had to take Nicola
to the doctors but my husband was in then and the phone never rang you might
have had the number wrong as I get a lot of calls for someone who's number
is very similar to ours.
I hope you don't mind this advice but from my experience doing party plan I
went to see the hostess and gave her plenty of notice of what I was making
and I supplied the ingredients or a bottle of wine if I wasn't cooking as it
was a nice gesture for them having the party also this also help me as it
soon spread around their friends and I got loads of parties from it and made
a lot of money from it as well.
You also said that they get around about £17 of products from Pampered chef
which is good but Tupperware gave really good free gifts for hostesses and
guests but I found that the little gesture from me made it all come
together.
Hope this might help you as from my experience of your party planning I did
not feel I could promote you to any of my friends hence I think that is why
you didn't get any bookings from them.

I think she did point out a few KEY points though.

 

[SillyChef]

Hey Amber-

You did the best you could with her. I don't think I would like my consultant coming over my house? lol. It is so much easier to just talk on the phone. :/ Also, I would just try to provide great customer care from here on out with the people from her party. Hopefully you can get something out of that! Good luck!

 

[dannyzmom]

Ugh - what a miserable person - I would never want to work with her again!

 

[britishchef]

I think she did point out a few KEY points though.

Could you elaborate? Thanks!

The thing is, I know she's already badmouthed me to all her friends, probably before the show. I wondered why they were all a bit stand-offish and said definitely no to a party. What would I say when I called them? "Even though Carol said I did a terrible job would you have a show?"

 

[britishchef]

PS That was sarcastic, in case anyone can't tell!

 

[cmdtrgd]

Pretend you don't know what she said - cause you really don't know - and ask them if you can tell them about the upcoming specials and would they like to take advantage of them.

 

[britishchef]

Her last e-mail really upset me... I honestly don't know if I can call these people and try and get them to book.

 

[cmdtrgd]

If you don't feel comfortable, then drop it. However, if you keep them on your email list, you might be able to call them at a later time.

 

[raebates]

Like Kate, when making customer care calls I'd just forget what she said. From the way her story seems to change a bit from email to email, it's possible she didn't say anything negative at all to the guests. (Besides, she simply says she "couldn't recommend" you, not that she told them not to book with you.)

As far as her criticisms, take a close look. Read them over carefully. Take away any suggestions you believe could benefit you. Ignore the rest. You'll grow, learn, and get better and better, just like the rest of us.

 

[SillyChef]

SHE SAID: And would have got you to demonstrate the stoneware more as I had ingredients for a lot of the different croissant recipes for the round stone
as I make them a lot.

Also most of my guest had never seen thestoneware and it would have let them see it being used especially when it
was on special.

***Really a good tip for Customer Care Calls! Let them know that you would LOVE to get them together and show them what the stones can really do!!***

 

[britishchef]

She definitely badmouthed me to them. It's a long story as to how I know that..A lot of them did give me their e-mail address to get the monthly newsletter, so I will keep in contact with them that way. I just don't feel confident enough to call them.I was feeling so good about that show, I thought I did really well with it after changing a few things about what I do. I had a lot more fun than normal and was far more organised, I felt really confident afterwards. But now I just feel totally deflated. I shouldn't cry over this but I am!

 

[raebates]

That's okay, Amber. Go ahead and cry. People like that are really frustrating, and crying is a good release.

 

[BethCooks4U]

She definitely badmouthed me to them. It's a long story as to how I know that..

A lot of them did give me their e-mail address to get the monthly newsletter, so I will keep in contact with them that way. I just don't feel confident enough to call them.

I was feeling so good about that show, I thought I did really well with it after changing a few things about what I do. I had a lot more fun than normal and was far more organised, I felt really confident afterwards. But now I just feel totally deflated. I shouldn't cry over this but I am!

{{{{{Huggs!!! }}}}}

 

[Chef Kearns]

Amber--I am not a fan of bringing a prepared dish to a party for the reason your host states. The guests really do enjoy hearing and learning about our products. They know that that is what they're in for when they come...they are looking for it! Stoneware is such an integral part of our catalog/product line that you can't rush it's demo.

Don't let this get you down. Move on to the next show. I know that is hard not to personalize her criticism, but just put it to work for you in your business. I LOVE in person host coaching because I am a busy mom of 4 and a tad (an understatment) disorganized. It allows me to do all the important parts of host coaching at one time and just make quick calls before the party. I meet with my host we go over the packet, pick the recipe, discuss the business, where she lives, and where in her home we'll set up the show (I usually meet them in their home).

Good luck and don't give up!

 

[dianevill]

Amber,

First, big hugs to you. I know that this whole situation has brought you down, but look at the positives you mentioned. You felt good and confident about your presentation - hold onto that!!

Second, remember that you're NOT going to please everyone. Every show's "make-up" is different. You may go to one show where EVERYONE has been to PC shows, another where no one has heard of PC, and another where there's a mix. You have those guests that come in knowing what they want to purchase before ever setting foot in the door, those that are clueless, those somewhere in between. One person may want you to skip the whole demo because she has to get home quickly, another who wants to absorb all the information she can and learn new tips. YOU can't control that. What you can do, though, is at least get an idea of who's coming to the show when you host coach.

Ask your hosts who will be attending, ask her if she wants a demo or something already prepared. Then, at the beginning of your shows, when you're introducing yourself, tell the guests what you're going to do, but let the guests know that you do other types of shows, too. For example, "Hi, I'm Amber, your Pampered Chef consultant this evening (continue w/ your intro)....Joanie Host has told me that most of you have been to Pampered Chef shows in the past year, so she's asked me to prepare the recipe ahead and simply walk you through it. We'll be concentrating on new items this evening. For those of you who are interested in seeing a demo and picking up some new kitchen tips, I would love to come to your house and prepare a broccoli chicken ring at your show. Or, I also offer theme shows! How does death by chocolate sound, or maybe a soup and slippers theme?...."

Please, don't let her get you down. You sound like you're doing a wonderful job! And oh, if you're nervous about calling the guests, you could always go to plan B and send an e-mail a few weeks after the products arrive. Since you know the host bad-mouthed you, I wouldn't ask them to host a show, but I would ask them how their new products are working out, and to let you know if they have any questions about their products.

Best Wishes,
Diane

 

[Chozengirl]

Ugh - what a miserable person - I would never want to work with her again!

Ditto That!
I would just be glad when the party is done and over with.
Honestly, I personally, wouldn't go after any of her friends for a booking.
She was just plain RUDE, and what are her friends like?

You did an awesome job handling it also!

 

[britishchef]

Just to clarify... I did do a demo! With stoneware too. But I made the 2nd recipe ahead.

 

[dianevill]

Just to clarify... I did do a demo! With stoneware too. But I made the 2nd recipe ahead.

OK, so she is just nuts I know it's hard, but bless and release. You've done the best you could and once again, you'll never please everyone!

Diane

 

[rennea]

You did a demo plus did a recipe before the show your host shouldn't expect more from you I think. For some reason she is being a hag!! Just be nice and do your follow up calls to everyone and don't let it get to you.

As everyone says on here: Bless and release.

 

[ChefLisa]

Just one more thing to think about...Most of the time when someone acts this way, her friends know how she is. This type of behavior is not something that just comes around once; never to be seen again.

If the guests were really against you, they would not have provided you with their email addresses. Would you give yours to someone you absolutely did not like?

By providing the guests with awesome after the show customer service, you will really stand out in their minds as someone who is serious about her business. They will have a hard time believing what was said about you. Remember, they already know how their friend is and you can prove her wrong. They probably expect that.

Good luck!

 

[SillyChef]

Most of the time when someone acts this way, her friends know how she is. This type of behavior is not something that just comes around once; never to be seen again.

If the guests were really against you, they would not have provided you with their email addresses. Would you give yours to someone you absolutely did not like?

By providing the guests with awesome after the show customer service, you will really stand out in their minds as someone who is serious about her business. They will have a hard time believing what was said about you. Remember, they already know how their friend is and you can prove her wrong. They probably expect that.

Good luck!

Great point Lisa.

 

[scottcooks]

Take the high road. If you don't want to risk hearing bad stuff, let all of them go and find your business elsewhere. If you can stomach what you might hear (and know how you'll show them wrong at THEIR show) then ring the guests and offer them a show.

Do Not say anything bad about the past host. You can say, I have chosen not to work with her again, but instead to refer her to -N- and leave it at that.

Don't put further bad energy into something. Follow up with what you can, let go of what you can't follow up. There's more business out there!

 

[gilliandanielle]

I say it is your business-

If you feel comfortable calling, then call. I personally would call and half-explain the situation so they don't badmouth to their friends, and on and on.

If you don't feel comfortable calling and want to drop the whole thing, great! Bless and release and you will feel much better.