Unforgettable First "Total Strangers" House Party - My Experience and Learnings

[JackieB999]

Ok... so my 6th show was Friday night. This was my first "total strangers" house. I got the booking from a vendor market that I did and I knew absolutely no one that was going to be there.

I was all prepared and I arrived 45 minutes in advance. The lady wasn't home from work yet but her husband let me in. He seemed kind of cold to it all. OMG... the house was a mess! And the kitchen was tucked way back in a corner with no pass through to the living room. So I asked him if he had a table I could use and fortunately he did. He brought me a folding table from the garage. Then the wife came home and said hi, and she went back to the kitchen to start making some snacks. I'm trying to talk to them between setting up and I'm getting 3 word replies, lol.

So I'm setting up on my card table and the cat is on my suitcase. The dog is barking. I'm starting to sweat in the Florida heat with inadequate air conditioning. I'm thinking to myself... shit, do I really wanna be here? Honestly. The cat jumps on the table.... hi kitty, get lost. But they had an 8 year old girl who was really sweet and I asked her to help me with the name tags and catalogs and she was very happy to do it!

Ok so then I'm all set up and 1 guest arrives. She seems to liven up the host, thankfully. Then 2 more arrive, ok, chatter fills the house now LOL. Then 2 more, then 1 more. Wow, ok, so now I have 7 people including the host and her husband. More than I was thinking there would be when I first arrived. I asked her to invite 20-30... she invited 10, 7 came.

I did the show, made a pizza, and tried to hit all the points that I practiced. I gave out bingo cards and that went over like a lead ballon. This was apparently not a bingo crowd. :grumpy:


I got 5 orders and then I had to wait "ONE HOUR" for the host to make up her mind on her purchase! I host coached her to do her wish list in advance (now I know exactly WHY we do this) but she didn't. I'm packing up and she's still looking at the catalog.

In the end it was a $300 show with 1 booking (a bride and groom that want the registry also). Not horrible, but not at all what I wanted or expected!

Please tell me that they're not all like this!? I really want to do this and be successful but there was not a good vibe in that house and nothing I was doing or saying was changing it much before the guests arrived. Do you ever have those parties where you can't wait to get the heck outta there??

 

[leftymac]

No, they're not all like that, but I've had a few "non-vibe" hosts.As far as waiting for an hour, I never have the host make up his/her mind that night. I usually take their order over the phone a few days later. It solves that problem easily. I host coach to do the wish list in advance to get them excited about the products and to help establish a goal of sales.

 

[msmileyface]

They are RARELY like this.. but I feel better reading this because today I literally had a $300 show where the cat kept jumping on my table.. gross! With inadequate AC... oh yes, I had that show today! We got through.. go us

 

[JackieB999]

Msmiley... Wow! How weird is that? I'm glad we got through it too.

Great idea Keith, TY! :love:

 

[msmileyface]

Yep I've never had a cat on a table and hopefully never will again

 

[wadesgirl]

I rarely ever close the day of! It will help your hour wait when you should be home with your family!

 

[heather223]

I agree, I know HO wants us to close the day of, but I really don't like doing that to my host. Even if they have done their wish list, when they see the products in person they may change their mind. I don't want them to feel pressured to select, so I give them 2-3 days before we close. Also helps when they have friends book and the upcoming host specials are some of the items on their wish list.

 

[KaiKendall]

I also do the hosts order 2-3 days afterwards, they also might want to try to get another order or two to bump up their totals. In this case, maybe not if she didn't seem interested... I mean an HOUR to decide, thats a little obsurd. But, yay, you got through it, good job!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I only close the night of if it's what the host wants to do - which is rare.


We've all had "THAT" show. Mine - the host got out her pet RAT yuck::yuck::yuck and let it run on the table where I had my products, and where I was doing the demo. The most bizarre part was that I was the only one there who thought there was something wrong with a rodent running on the table.

I still shudder when I think of it, and it was 2-3 years ago now.

 

[raebates]

Those hosts/shows are definitely rare, though I've noticed that some people encounter more strange hosts than others. You know who you are. As we say here, bless and release. I close on the night of the show if that's what the host is ready to do. However, that doesn't happen often. And, Becky . . . EEEEWWWWWWWW!

 

[sassypip]

I have had a few shows where the house was a mess and the vibe was not there, but then got maybe that one booking that turned into some fabulous shows. I have learned to get on with it and just try to see the bright side of it all. Just because her house is a mess, her friends houses could be way different! One of my smallest shows booked my biggest show and from that show I got a fabulous recruit and I am still doing great shows from that first small show a year later. The 2nd show I did, the hostess had moldy cheese for the recipe. I about died. SHe wanted me to use it too. SHe told me to just scrape the mold off!!!! I called my director when I got home and vented. She told me I got a bad one out of the way right off the bat. She was right. NOw I just go with the flow. I had a show on sat and she told me there were 10 people coming at least. Only 2 showed up, plus her daughter. I went ahead and did my thing and had a great time with the 4 of them. The one lady is thinking about booking in November and if anything, I made some new customers. Here's to bigger and better shows. They are not all like what you had.

 

[scrappergirl7]

"That" show for me happened just a few weeks ago. The only 2 guests were the host's mother and mother-in-law - both of whom are over 80 and needed walkers to get around. The host's kitchen was about the size of my closet, and the counter tops were piled with dirty dishes. For my demo I used a very wobbly teeny tiny table (smaller than my large cutting board). 'Twas a bit of a challenge. And the hosts 2 year old was running around with a stinky diaper for the whole time, and for some reason either the host didn't smell it, or refused to change it. Left there with a whopping $75 commissionable sales. Nice. I'm so glad those kind of shows don't happen often!!!

Becky - a rat?!!!!! That is seriously messed up!!!

 

[wadesgirl]

I have a folded table I keep in my car at all times just in case the host doesn't have anything that is useable at her house. It has come in a handy a lot.

 

[scrappergirl7]

I have a folded table I keep in my car at all times just in case the host doesn't have anything that is useable at her house. It has come in a handy a lot.

I think I'm definitely going to do that from now on!

 

[wadesgirl]

I think I'm definitely going to do that from now on!

I got one at Walgreens, pretty cheap, only $20. It folds down flat and then in half so it's easy to store and take in and out of the car.

 

[chefheidi2003]

I have a folded table I keep in my car at all times just in case the host doesn't have anything that is useable at her house. It has come in a handy a lot.

I do the same thing. I told take it in unless I need it.

 

[sandilou]

I am sitting here LOL as I read these! Oh, the life and times of a consultant. I have to add my story. During my first couple of months, I did a party for someone I didn't know at all. She was a booking from a party from an outside order. I show up, and my table was a piece of plywood across the arms of a ratty chair. Ok -- I am new and need this show = make it work. Then as the guests arrive, they say -- oh, I didn't know it was THIS kind of party. Then throughout the party, they go upstairs 2 or 3 at a time, and the aroma coming down was POT! OMG! I wrap that party up PRONTO and was outta there. I could just imagine: PC Consultant Busted in Pot Raid!! OMG!! :cry:

Sandi

 

[DeannaK1022]

Did you demo Brownies Sandi?? LOL

 

[JackieB999]

Demo brownies - LMBO! Oh misery love company, eh? Really laughing out loud here! I'm actually glad I didn't have a rat or a stinky diaper Did the pot heads buy a lot?

Ya know... I actually DO have a folding table that I bought for the vendor market... it's in my shed now... but not for long. TY!

 

[TheNewMrsRue]

I was going to repeat what Lefty said....You're wasting your time & their time by making them close that night. Plus I've found that the more times they thumb thru the catalog to finalize their free products, they realize they want more things & are either focused on getting a few extra orders to up their free product $ or simply spend more with their discount...Or even take a longer look at the business opportunity. Just a thought. I know for a fact that if my director had made me close the night of my show that I most certainly would NOT be a consultant today.

 

[christinaspc]

Oh yes we all have had those type of shows.... Mine was when I got to the house and it smelled like wet dog and she said don't mind me i am going to vacuum the living room you can set up in the kitchen so as I am setting up i see the living room floor goes from BROWN to WHITE.... I was so grossed out and then I noticed the table had dog hair on it and around the sink handles YUCK so when we got ready to put the pizza in the oven when i opened the door yep you guessed it dog hair on it ..... omg how can people live like that i think 2 or 3 people showed up it was maybe 200 in sales and the whole time while i was there was thinking omg i got to get out of here asap cause i gotta go potty and there is no way i am going into that bathroom since the door was closed and no one else used it, that couldn't of been a good sign.... i came right home went potty and took a shower i felt so dirty and then 2 weeks later i had another show where there was a lovely house and the lady never swept the floor and they lived for 6 months and dog hair every where it was so bad I know sounds bad but i never called them to see if they wanted to do another when their 10% ran out.

So hang in there you did great.

 

[Laura4]

OMG!!! I am ROLLING!!
I haven't had any shows to joke about yet, one of my hosts did breastfeed her kid during the show. Not that there's anything wrong, but she just whooped up her shirt and went at it in front of all the guests. LOL! Didn't turn out to be all that hot of sales either. I wasn't even sure I was going to hit the $150 minimum to submit either, but I did a few days later thankfully...

 

[raebates]

A note on the tables--I have a wonderful fold-up table with wheels. I got it on sales at Staples, and they seem to run it on sale periodically. It's 5' long and really easy for me to take in and out of homes if I need it.

 

[JackieB999]

A note on the tables--I have a wonderful fold-up table with wheels. I got it on sales at Staples, and they seem to run it on sale periodically. It's 5' long and really easy for me to take in and out of homes if I need it.

Wow, I have the exact same table! I got it on sale for $24.50! I got 2 of them

 

[raebates]

Great deal, JackieB999. That's what I paid for mine. And, yes, I know that it should been "on sale at Staples" and not "on sales." LOL!

 

[iluvmygarlicpress]

I showed up to one of my recent shows and the husband and wife were SCREAMING at one another. She was barking orders at him and he was swearing at her and threatening physical violence. It was SO uncomfortable. Luckily, guests started to arrive & they both calmed down but holy smokes I just wanted to turn & run out of there.

 

[sassypip]

I had to revisit this thread as I had one of THOSE shows this past Sunday. This party was given to me by one of my consultants that is taking a break from PC for awhile, so I had never met the lady except on the phone. I was sort of leery even before the party as she never returned phone calls and kept everything short and sweet. SO she calls me the day before and says there are 6 people coming. I am fine with that. I was making the taffy apple tartlets without the peanuts due to an allergy. SO I get to her house and she answers the door in sweats and a dirty T-shirt in her barefeet. Her hair was uncombed and she had this rash all over her feet. THe house is a mess. There is fur and dirt everywhere. The kitchen is filthy. She wanted me to set up on her island and it was so dirty. She wiped it down with a smelly dishrag. I did not want to put my stuff on it. I ended up pulling out my table cloth to cover what I could to display my items. As I was setting up, the hubby walked in and said he was scrubbing the kitchen floor for hours for his wife. I just chuckled! I can't imagine what it looked like before. So the fridge has dirt caked on the handles and the kitchen table is covered in grime. You get the picture. Well I did somewhat try to clean off the table as that is where the guests were going to sit. So at starting time there were 2 guests. I went ahead and started. They were not interested in one thing I had to say. IT was awful. Then 2 more showed up. and then about 20 min in, another showed up. So I sort of flew through my little talk I do and got right to the recipe. Well the hostess decided to "Change" The recipe a little more. Instead of caramel sauce she bought apple cinnamon sauce. It was basically apple pie filling in a jar. SO I ended up improvising and adding caramels to the apples to melt in the microwave and it was sort of the same I guess. As I was doing the demo, the ladies kept talking about other stuff and the one kept putting down the products(UGH). I went ahead and did the ticket game while the food was baking. These ladies except for maybe 1 of them were so rude. I could not wait to get out of there. I nver packed my bags so fast. MY husband could not believe how fast I got home!! So I left there with $87 in sales. She did have one outside order for $93, but she was sort of shocked that was where she was in orders. I was nice and did what I always do, except a little shorter once I noticed they were not listening anyways and they kept commenting on how expensive everything was. IT was all just a bit weird for me. Oh and when I was setting up, the hostess was watching TV the entire time. NOrmally, they come and chit chat and look at stuff and you have a nice little conversatin going. Nope! She was watching TV! I guess this does not compare to the rat walking around, but I was a little anxious after I left this house. I guess I just don't understand that some people just don't care if their house is gross. MAybe they do not know any different.

 

[KaiKendall]

Oh my!! I get really paranoid about my house and having ppl over cause I'm not Susie Homemaker! I can clean, but I have a lot of clutter, and I don't always dust baseboards and such. But never FILTH, I wipe and dust and of all things keep my kitchen clean! For my Grand Opening, I even wiped down walls lol I was so paranoid, and then hid clutter in another room cause I was too tired to go through it. This is the one, and sometimes only impression of you, that's how you want to be percieved?!

 

[AJPratt]

I did a show with a consultant (Melissa) on my team once. The house smelled like dog and it was visibly not clean. The oven was CAKED with about an inch of crap inside. When I had made the brownie on my stone, for some reason, some of it spilled over and Melissa felt the need to clean it up. Normally, this would be a priority for me as well, but I didn't even want to reach into the oven. Melissa took my Large Serving Spatula and was hoping to lift it off the oven with it. Well, I am doing the rest of the demo out in the living room and all of the sudden I hear the clanging of the spatula hitting the over. I just continue with the demo as if it doesn't sound like a construction site in the kitchen. Suddenly, she comes running out, eyes a-blazing and excitedly says "I GOT IT!" It was hysterical. The guests were clueless. (Probably thought we were nuts)

 

[JackieB999]

:yuck::yuck::yuck: Sassypip!

It almost makes me want to go to the door with nothing in my hands, have a look see at the host and the house, and if it's really bad like that again in the future, I might tell them I'm unable to stay today but I can drop off catalogs for a catalog show.... and call her later! Sometimes $10-30 commission is just not worth it!

 

[sassypip]

Oh my!! I get really paranoid about my house and having ppl over cause I'm not Susie Homemaker! I can clean, but I have a lot of clutter, and I don't always dust baseboards and such. But never FILTH, I wipe and dust and of all things keep my kitchen clean! For my Grand Opening, I even wiped down walls lol I was so paranoid, and then hid clutter in another room cause I was too tired to go through it. This is the one, and sometimes only impression of you, that's how you want to be percieved?!

Same here! WIth having 6 kids, there is always something somewhere that needs picked up, but I do try to keep it CLEAN! LOL! I totally get the wall wiping thing too. I have a 2 year old that thinks the world is his canvas, so my walls always have some sort of mark, handprint etc. If I am having a party though, I make sure the place is tidy and clean. I am sure my standard of clean is different form others, but this house was just gross. My husband is always ranting because the kids leave messes here and there and thinks our house is a mess. After a few of the houses I have been too, I am feeling much better.

I did not get any bookings either, which is fine with me because of the rude factor I really did not want to deal with any of them anyways. It is not worth it.

 

[lt1jane]

I can't tell you how often I've had a show that is $300 when I left the house. By the time we closed, it was double that. I have found if they have a few more days to drum up orders, they do. It motivates them because they have something they want to buy. One such party the host's sister (the past host) wanted the stainless steel mixing bowls, but the party had to reach $650. The past host went to work and drummed up $300 in sales so she could get the mixing bowls at 60% off. Then she booked ANOTHER party!! When I met her, she told me she doesn't cook and was only doing the party because her sister wanted her to. She basically ordered her free products and that was it. Now that she has some products and is using them, she's hooked!! She said she hasn't been cooking because she doesn't have good tools to use.

When I was a hostess, I never wanted to close the night of the show. Personally, I liked knowing what level my sales were at and THEN going through the catalog to figure out my purchases.

 

[colegrovet]

If you don't have THAT type of party at some point of your PC business.. your not doing enough parties!!
I did one in a row home in Baltimore, in late spring, no AC, hotess invited 10.. all 10 showed along with each bringing 1-2 guests!!! the living room the living room had 2 chest freezers in it, along with dining room table. and we packed... yes packed 22 guests along with hostess, boyfriend, and mother into that room.. Her cat's were not happy with that many people.
Turned out to be a great show.. with many bookings!

 

[Hunter Mom]

Worst show ever - we did it at a bank because she didn't want it at her house. In a small town an hour from home. She shows up DRUNK. At 11 am. For an 11 am show. With only part of the ingredients. In a small town without a grocery store.

Did my best with what I had, and turned out ok. Got a booking. Host #1 said she sent me an order for Host #2 when she closed her own show. Host #2 never followed through and hosted. Host #1 calls PC (never called me) to demand her $10 back from the order she said she placed. I get a nasty call from PC. I called her and never could reach her. Figured if she wanted ot send me a copy of her check I'd gladly reimburse her, but she never did. Because it didn't exist.