Nightmare Host: Dealing with Unreliable Hosts and How to Respond Professionally

[pampchefrhondab]

Okay, those of you who think you have had nightmares from people not closing a show, I have a story for you!:yuck:

Right now I am so angry w/a host!

Background: I worked a booth last fall, offered incentives to have a show w/minimum of $350. This girl booked for end of JANUARY, sent out invites, was supposed to have 10 people, etc. I show up to her house (45 miles one way) on a snowy evening and only 2 people show up. One more shows up a little later, picks up a catalog and leaves. I end up w/a whole $70 in orders when I leave!!

I'm an optimist and still have hope she can collect orders from those who didn't show, because of the light snow. She claims she will see all of them at church on Sunday.

I get orders from her via phone and she does get the show up to $200. Not great, buy it's a show. She needs to collect the money though. I ask her if she would just like to give me a credit card and collect, etc. She says she will collect.

Since then I have called and emailed several times. I started w/emails w/no response because it's a long distance call anyway and I had a very hard time reaching her when I did tried to call. I called about 2 weeks ago and she was very ill w/cough, etc. She said she should get the money to me w/in a couple of days. A weeks goes by, no check. I call again last week and left a message stating we really need to close this show. If I don't get payment soon I will have to send in just the orders I have payment for. No response.

Fast forward to tonight - I get a phone call from one of the customers. She wants to know where her stuff is. I nicely explain I have not received payment yet from the host. I tell her I will call the host again to see if she has received all the payments. She tells me she gave the host a check made out to me a month ago. I apologize and tell her I can't send the orders in w/o payment, etc.

So I call the host - I was nice. I had to leave a voice mail. I tell her I received a call from "guest." I ask her if she has received all the payments yet. I tell her we need to get this show closed. I would like to close by the end of the week. The guest who called me said she was also going to call the host.

No call back, but I was just checking my email and she says this:

"Return everyone's money to them via the mail and I will return the two that
I have collected and cancel the party. I do not have time to deal with this
and trying to track down people."

What the heck!!

I so want to tell this women off! I drove 80 miles, gave up my night, spent hours and now this!!

Please help me respond in a professional but blunt way. I didn't get any bookings from this show. If I did I wouldn't even respond, but I don't want to let this go!

Sorry if this was rambling - trying to get advice fast!

Thanks!

 

[urbnk8]

Can she just give you the guests information so you can call THEM to collect the payment? Then she doesn't have to track anybody down and all she would have to do is stick the checks she has in an envelope and mail it (which I know is tough for some people too!).

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

I don't have a nice but blunt response But wonder...do you have enough from what has already been given to you, to submit as a show? If you have money and a way to contact people, I'd call them and tell them what has happened. I'd then draw a name of one of the guests and make them the host! Or ask the person with the biggest order if they would be willing to be the host and sort the orders. Then have the guests pick their orders up from her house.

No matter what, I'd call anyone you can that placed an order and (kindly) explain that you have held the show pending money from the host and that is why they haven't received their order. No telling what she has said about you. as people have complained to her.

 

[akggirl]

Ouch! I would contact the guests that I had orders for and offer to submit them individually, give them them good customer service and forget about her! Hope it works out for you...

 

[pampchefrhondab]

The money I've received does not equal a show, because I thought about that too.

I only have contact info. for the two people I have money from. I do plan on still placing these orders and shipping direct to them. I'll be out more money, but I think it is the right thing to do.

The other orders were outside orders. She gave me the orders over the phone and didn't give me phone numbers. I think most of these people are older women from her church!

I do now have the phone number on my caller ID of one of the orders - the girl who called me tonight. Plus I have her mothers phone number as well. I may call her and her mother to see if I can combine the orders and collect the money directly from the daughter. These two are related to the host, so I don't want to call her until I calm down!

Thanks - keep the advice coming! I need to calm down about this!

 

[pamperedharriet]

Not to add insult to injury as the expression goes, but the orders that you have are from last season. Have you checked to see if these items are still available and at the same price that you collected? I would double check before you do anything else to be prepared.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Yes, I have checked. Everything is still avail.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Rhonda, I'm so sorry about this, it is rare that I am left with nothing to say, but I can't think of what to say about this- I wish you the best and hope this works out, and if I had a voodoo doll I'd ship it to you so you could pretend it was your host and you could poke the heck out of that thing...but voodoo retribution is wrong so forget I mentioned it. HUGS!!!!!

 

[cathyskitchen]

Yikes! I'm angry for you! I would definitely just submit the orders you have and forget the rest. I would follow up with an email saying that you're sorry it didn't work out, and to please forward your info. to the others if they'd like to place individual orders with you. Then, never talk to her again! It's your business, and you don't have to deal with people like that - ugh!

 

[lisa717]

Can you add those orders on a close friend or family members show???That is what i would do..please the customers if you can't please the host.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

I could probably add the orders to another show, but I'm going to direct ship them anyway. It would be cheaper then driving 80 miles to deliver them!

My husband says I have nothing to lose. He thinks I should send her a note something like this:

I'm really dissapointed you have chosen to not complete your show. I really wish you would reconsider or at least send me the money for the orders you have collected and explain to your other friends/family that you had to get your show closed.

I really appreciated you opening your home to me and really enjoyed spending time with you, your family and friends, but this is my business. Even with all of your orders I was only going to break even for the evening. Now I will be losing quit a bit of money, not to mention the hours of work I dedicated to it.

I will be processing the two orders I received payment for and will just direct ship them. I will also contact Diane and see if she would like me to process her order. She can pay me when you give her the check back she gave you.

Again, I wish you would reconsider.

Take Care,

Rhonda


What do you think. Should I add/take away anything?

 

[pamperedlinda]

I could probably add the orders to another show, but I'm going to direct ship them anyway. It would be cheaper then driving 80 miles to deliver them!

My husband says I have nothing to lose. He thinks I should send her a note something like this:

I'm really dissapointed you have chosen to not complete your show. I really wish you would reconsider or at least send me the money for the orders you have collected and explain to your other friends/family that you had to get your show closed.

I really appreciated you opening your home to me and really enjoyed spending time with you, your family and friends, but this is my business. Even with all of your orders I was only going to break even for the evening. Now I will be losing quit a bit of money, not to mention the hours of work I dedicated to it.

I will be processing the two orders I received payment for and will just direct ship them. I will also contact Diane and see if she would like me to process her order. She can pay me when you give her the check back she gave you.

Again, I wish you would reconsider.

Take Care,

Rhonda


What do you think. Should I add/take away anything?

Kinda sounds a little but like you are groveling with her for the orders. I would probably just contact those who you have numbers for and see if they know how to get in touch with the others. Did you get them to fill out the DPDS? Maybe you have their contact info there. I would not contact the host anymore. She has already told you that she doesn't want to complete her end of the bargain, contacting her again will only give her another excuse to be rude to you and you don't deserve that!

 

[chefsteph07]

I would forget the host at this point, no letter, no nothing. You are done, she is done, let it die!

The first thing I would do is call the lady who called you about her order and says she wrote a check out to you. I would tell her that the host never gave you payment and ask if she still wants her products, tell her you can take a debit card to come out of her checking acct or a credit card. See what she says on that one. (odds are, she will cancel her order, but you never know)
Next, I would call the two numbers you already have and explain to them that you are getting their orders out by the end of the week and I would tell them that your hands were tied due to waiting to see what the host was doing. So many times, we get blamed for hold ups that are caused by the host. Let the guests ask this host any questions if they start to ask you this or that. Apologize. That's all you can do.

In the future, if I were you, I would also make it a POLICY of yours that you tell your hosts up front that this is the date you are closing, you can extend it for the host to get more orders if they need to, but if it goes 30 days beyond the show you will automatically direct ship orders to the customers themselves and they will lose host benefits. That is ridiculous that you even had to wait on this for 3 months! It is YOUR business and this host just totally walked all over you and treated you like complete CRAP!

Sorry you had to deal with this, keep us posted on how this ends up!

 

[pampchefrhondab]

I really don't want her to complete her end of the bargain now, just wanted to let her know in a nice way that this is my business and she is costing me money! I think a lot of people just think we do this as a hobby - you know!

Okay, I'll just let it die!! I so don't want to!

The only people I have contact info for are 3 people. So I will contact them.

I won't let this happen again, but then I've never had this problem ever. That's why I like to post this info. on CS so others can learn too. I've learned so much from here!!

 

[pamperedlinda]

....... let her know in a nice way that this is my business and she is costing me money! .......

I'm sure she already knows this. Don't give her the satisfaction of letting her know she has hurt you. Bless and release.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

You're right. She has always been nice to me on the phone, so I didn't really think she was doing it on purpose. Just didn't think she was thinking I do this for money. I'm going to give it up to God!

It's a really good thing I had a great bridal shower this week! That helps!!

 

[redsoxgirl]

Honestly, she doesn't care if she cost you money or time so I'd forget about telling her that stuff.

I'd call the 3 you have info for, explain the situation (but don't make it look like the host is a moron) and just double check that they'd still like to order the items and that they should get them in about a week or so.