Director Family Party - Words to Help Discourage?

[dannyzmom]

Got her guest list and it's all "Jane and John Doe" or "The Smith Family"
So I wrote back to her:

Question -- a lot of them are listed as couples - are we doing this as a couples party? My suggestion would be not to - because then people have to pay for sitters (thus less money to spend on Pampered Chef items and less free products for you). To open it up as a "bring your children" type of event is risky unless you have someone a who is going to act as a sitter & keep all the kids in a separate part of the house. Let me know how you want me to address the invitations
They will be mailed out about 3 and a half weeks prior to our show.


She replied with:

I was thinking about inviting spouses & children as well so they wouldn't have to get babysitters. That way it could also be a social event for my husband too if any of his friends attend. I would send a separate email letting them know they can bring the kids.

I have a playroom for the little kids and my son (age 9) and older kids can play upstairs in his room. I think that I can get my neighbor's older kids to babysit.

Thanks,


UGH - I am hating the idea of this. TOTAL CHAOS and I don't want them to think they're coming to a dinner party & I am the caterer...help?? Words to use to gently but firmly tell her "NO"

 

[baychef]

My words would not be ones I could use to still keep the party. I did this last year and no one ordered! Everyone had a great time...but! Haven't had a booking from that bunch since...and I catered.


Ok..how about...Jane, the service I provide for my hosts is to have them have the best party they can have and help you save on all of the great products PC has to offer. As part of the party, guests are shown how our products work and for them to determine how our products will best help them in their kitchens to give their families a fast, buget friendly meal in very little time. To help them get the most from this experience guests need to fully participate and focus their attention on the demonstration.

And I don't know how to wrap this up....oh wise and wonderful women of DS...what say thee?

Last night I had a Mommy and me party. We started 6 kids doing cupcakes (many had ill children and the 6 were plenty...and 2 babies) Then I did the Festive Cranberry Crunch Bark for the Moms...barely had time to talk to them much during the party. They were military Moms some with 3 and 4 children and their husbands are deployed to Afghanistan (God bless the husbands and their strong wives). The kids had a blast and the Mom was so patient...the carpet was a mess. My point is..it was hard to have them engaged but in this case, their husbands aren't here to lend a hand. So tell the guys to get together at another house and have a Daddy Daycare moment!:bugeye:

 

[Sheila]

LOL at Ann's Daddy Daycare comment!

Here you go ...

______,

Although I understand your reasoning, I would highly advise you to reconsider. I've been a Pampered Chef Consultant for ____ years and in my experience, having children present at a show can be a safety hazard as well as a distraction for the parents. Since there will be hot stones, knives, etc. in the room it concerns me that a little one might unexpectedly try to grab something from the table. I'm sure you would agree to the fact that we don't want to see a little one get injured at your show.

It's also very important that your guests are able to participate in the show. If they are distracted by their own child or another person's child, they tend to miss important tips that might be a selling point for them. Statistics have proven that the guests who have a fun time and leave in a good mood spend more. Frustrated guests rush through their selection process or leave without ordering which means lower show sales. Since your host benefits rely on the show sales, I would like to see you have higher sales and earn more products! I feel confident that you are hosting a Pampered Chef show so that you can earn lots of items on your wish list for free and at a discount. The most successful way to achieve that goal is to have a fun-filled show where your guests can participate without distractions.

We still have a good 3 weeks until I'll be mailing out the invitations, so think about it & try to get back with me this week or early next week with your decision.

If you have any questions, please do not hesistate to call or e-mail.

 

[finley1991]

Yikes! Good luck Carolynn!!!!

 

[pckelly]

I would advise you to NOT handle this via email. This is a situation where calling will be best if you want to keep the show. People tend to put their own 'spin' on the intonations of an email and what they hear in their head as they read it can often be far different from how you intended the message to sound.

I tell my team, email is for facts, not for feelings.

Take Sheila's note above, make a short script for yourself and call her. I can almost guarantee that if this is handled by email only, you'll lose the show.

Good luck!
D

 

[dannyzmom]

LOL at Ann's Daddy Daycare comment!

Here you go ...

Sheila - I love it!
Can you add something in there about leaving the husbands at home, too??
This particular crowd - I had a show with this group last week - 16 guests - 6 orders - sales under $300 when I left - 10 took catalogs with them (43c each) and "will order online" and never did. They're not exactly "spendy" to begin with...

 

[Chef Kearns]

I like Deb's suggestion to call her and then you have a resolution right then. She can hear the concern and honesty in your voice (you do convey that, right? lol). My favorite reason to call her is to have an immediate response. No waiting and wondering what she's going to do.

 

[Sheila]

When hubbys are there, I put them on the grill and the girls are busy doing a side in the kitchen. Then we join together to eat. The guys get to play with the various rubs and grill tools and are all ready to buy! LOLWhy do you NOT want them there? I can't think of a valid reason.

 

[dannyzmom]

When hubbys are there, I put them on the grill and the girls are busy doing a side in the kitchen. Then we join together to eat. The guys get to play with the various rubs and grill tools and are all ready to buy! LOL

Why do you NOT want them there? I can't think of a valid reason.

I have found at "couples" shows, the sales tend to be way lower because the hubby's limit the wives' spending. I've never had a high-sales couples show...in 7 years.

 

[finley1991]

I have found at "couples" shows, the sales tend to be way lower because the hubby's limit the wives' spending. I've never had a high-sales couples show...in 7 years.

My couple's shows have been the same way. One or the other is the *saver* and the other is the *spender*. NEVER big sales for me.

Good luck with this Carolyn... one of my consultants did a show like this just this afternoon... but she didn't know what she was getting herself into unfortunately (and it was just her 5th show!!!!) She came home exhausted, frustrated and sad with only ONE order. Everyone else said *they'd call*...

 

[Chef Kearns]

When hubbys are there, I put them on the grill and the girls are busy doing a side in the kitchen. Then we join together to eat. The guys get to play with the various rubs and grill tools and are all ready to buy! LOL

Why do you NOT want them there? I can't think of a valid reason.

If they are both cooking who is watching the kiddos? Sounds like her host and friends have a lot of kiddos. They could be a handful to deal with.

 

[baychef]

Couples shows rarely work out for me, but some have. But again, the kids will be coming if the husbands are there as well.

Great suggestions, everyone. Good luck with this Carolyn and let us know how you make out with her.

 

[Sheila]

I put the blurb about little hands not mixing well in the first host coaching e-mail. Before they have time to start inviting people. They either do all one gender, or figure out a group sitter ... like an older teen upstairs with the younger ones.

 

[Sheila]

I can't think of a nice way to put "no kids or hubbys" - I've been thinking about it all day!Maybe start marketing your shows as a Ladies night away from the family" to alleviate future issues?

 

[Sheila]

Okay, I had to go look. My first couples show was $1,346.75(cs)/$1,234.75(gs). The second was $1,215.45(cs)/$1,215.37(gs). The third was a host who had me babysit the first time while her guests chatted and had only had $267.58(cs)/$277.50(gs) the first time around. When she called to book a second show I hesitated, but agreed. I told her (in a polite way of course) that she would do better if she followed instructions. I actually posted on Chef Success about how nasty her house was the 2nd time around. It smelled like the pets had been using the carpet vs going outside. Then one of the kids came down & made a big deal about child poop upstairs on the carpet (from earlier in the day)!!! That one closed at $757.20(cs)/$751.20(gs) with a male booking a catalog show which closed at $634.25(cs)/$645.15(gs).I've only done 3 couple shows, but having the men there didn't seem to hurt sales or participation.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I agree with Sheila, my couple shows are high, I tend to really concentrate on cookware & forged cutlery and things guys relate too APCS, bbq tools etc I get only 1 of the guys involved working next to me. I dont split them up or have more than 1. many times they want to "out buy" each other and sales per couple are $150 or more

 

[PCJenni]

My couples shows are always crazy but so what! I have recruited husband 1 time. Have an amazing race show and have the men prepare one recipe and the women another.

 

[Inomiamenda]

My couples shows are usually higher... but they have all been for older couples with no kids around. I usually hear the husbands telling their wives to buy x, y, or z....when often the wife would not have given herself permission to spend that amount of money.
Maybe the kicker is couples and kids at a show. Sounds like bad juju.

 

[Sheila]

Kids are usually a problem, with or without Dad. I've only had one show where they blended well. It was 3 teen/tween aged girls and they each paired up with their Mom on the recipe. There were two younger ones and their Dads played with them in 1/2 of the grand room while we cooked in the other half. And one infant who slept through the show. That was one of the $1,000+ shows listed above. Oh, and the host gave bad directions! I was 20 minutes late (after calling multiple times). Then 2/3 of the guests came in behind me. The ones waiting had been there before, so they found it easier, and luckily they didn't care that we started 45 minutes late! The business the host gave as a landmark was vacant and under repair with zero logos visable. She didn't know that they had taken down the signs that morning! LOLI gave 10% off to the 4 couples who beat me there.

 

[Sheila]

Oh, I split them up if possible to alleviate arguments! Especially if the host has alcohol.

If they don't see their spouse until time to eat, then their mouths are full and there's no time for one to offend the other. You have to realize, I'm dealing with military where the guys are usually co-workers, have been talking at work about how they keep their wife in line and like to use group settings to prove it.

If everyone is still in a good mood come time to order, they agree easier on what to buy and seem to buy more.

 

[baychef]

But the issue is they do not want to hire a sitter. So it is either a ladies show or a family gathering. When you get the kids in the mix it makes it more of a challenge. Don't get me wrong...I love kids and we have fun at parties, but I see where this is a challenge for Caroyln. And I too can not think of a way to paint the words in such a pretty way that no offense will be taken.

When you have a play room and the children are a little older, it is one thing but when you have babies and toddlers, they require more attention.