Hostess "Burned" By Previous Consultant - What Do I Say?

[ndbigler]

I just got back a little bit ago from meeting with my hostess for a Jan 31 show. She told me that the last time she hosted a show, the consultant took her money and ran. She hasn't hosted a show because of this for years. I know she's nervous about this. I didn't really know what to say to her, except that I did retardedly let her know that I'm an honest person and she has no need for worry. I guess I'm wondering what you guys say to your hosts who've been burned in the past and its an obvious concern for them. I mean, what DO you say? I've only been selling Pampered Chef since the end of August, so I'm still pretty new. ALTHOUGH, I already signed my first recruit the end of December. YAY!

 

[wadesgirl]

She must trust you somehow if she is willing to do a show with her. Host coach her so that she knows you are a team working together. Her reward will be all the products she gets when her show closes. I don't really know what else you can say to her in this situation though.

 

[chefann]

You can also let her know that guests are more than welcome to use credit/debit cards, because then you handle NO money.I know where she's coming from. I had a TW consultant run off with money from a party I hosted. And she lied about it, saying that there had been problems with the orders and that was why we didn't have any product. It was a while before I felt comfortable as a host asking my friends and family to buy anything. You don't want to trivialize her experience, but sometimes acknowledging that it happened and was terrible is a good start to building a good relationship. She obviously feels some sort of connection with you, since you're the one she trusted to do her next show.

 

[PCJenni]

After the show stay in touch by phone or email through the entire closing and shipping process. Let her know that the show has been received by PC, that it is being picked and shipped and what day to expect it etc. She will know that you are on top of things and not trying to scam money from her friends.

 

[kspry]

Just a thought, but you could tell your host

If everything is put on a credit card, you can't steal it.

Also, the Pampered Partner program x's out credit card numbers so you can't do crimes with them later.

 

[KateD]

Perhaps you could promote to her using her debit or credit card to close the show instead of writing a check. It would be a lot harder for someone to run off with the credit card than the cash, and (not that you would say this ) even if you did turn out to be unscrupulous, there are a lot more resources for righting the situation! And a paper/electronic trail I am a slightly paranoid person:blushing: and that's why I often use the plastic route (in fact, I'm more likely to use a credit card than debit, just for that reason).It stinks that she was given such a bad impression of PC in the past, but it's great that she's even willing to do another show after that! Like wadesgirl said, she obviously trusts you enough to have a show. Once the show is over and done she'll be so happy that she trusted you when she gets that big box on her doorstep and all of the free product she earned!

ETA - Heh heh: I'm a slow typer and long winded - the credit card point has already made it on here a few times!

 

[ndbigler]

Wow guys, GREAT tips! Customer care calls, encourage debit/credit, and just staying in touch with her... thank you all so much! If anyone has anything else to add, please do! Customer care is where I'm needing to pick up in my business too...

 

[Jules711]

I'm afraid my first recruit did this too! She said that she submitted the show, but they never sent the product. Well, they never got a show and I don't think she'd ever called. I don't even know if she GOT orders or if she just said she did. It's so sad that people feel the need to lie and steal! I wouldn't have cared if she just said that she changed her mind and didn't want to do PC after all (I'm hoping this is what happened). I wouldn't have put anymore thought into it (this was 1.5 years ago).I think just keeping her updated and keeping in contact will help her a lot. If you wanted to take her money, you wouldn't want to get to know her and her guests, right?

 

[cmdtrgd]

Just a tip - whenever a host/customer/potential recruit says something bad about another consultant I reply with "I'm so sorry that happened" and go from there. Sometimes I will say something along the lines of how I will keep that from happening - not that I am better than the past consultant or what that person should have done. Does that make sense?