Oh No! I'm Such a Scatterbrained Idiot!

[babywings76]

What is my problem!! I feel like such an idiot. Why with every show, do I end up messing something up or saying the wrong thing!

So here I am reading the post about someone not being able to submit a show where her host can get her bamboo bowl, and it hits me....I told my friend/host of a show from Tues. that she had 11 orders and just needed one more so she could get the bowl! What was I thinking! I am used to the past couple months where it was a 12 orders thing. She is no where near the $550. So now what?! She had to leave for vacation the next day and decided to keep her show open till she gets back in the hopes that she could round up one more order. Now after all that if she gets one more I have to tell her I goofed and I'll probably end up buying her one just cause I messed up and feel bad. Oh and get this, someone ordered the rectangular chillzanne. Now that she's waiting to submit, am I going to be out of luck with fulfilling that item?

Nothing seems easy. My program is slow, so when I'm on the phone with a host it is embarrassing that I'm taking forever to do things. I wish I could afford to have a laptop to take to shows so this doesn't happen, but...I AGAIN messed up someone's order at the show, just a typo when I used my calculater. Had to call the customer the next day and tell her the real total. How embarrassing.

I felt really stupid doing the show on Tuesday. It was the warm, nutty, caramel brownies. How easy is it to make box brownies, yet here I am struggling to keep track of where I am in the recipe. And the girl I had to "help me stay on track" didn't help. They all just stared at me. Before hand, my host says they were excited to be doing an interactive show, but by their faces it didn't seem that way. No one was really taking me up on jumping in to help. A couple did because I point blank asked them, but they didn't seem to ooh and ahh about the experience. I kept thinking maybe this recipe is too simple to be impressive. It tasted great and they loved it though.

I was hoping to get bookings from this show because it was my first show with guests I don't know and I NEED to break out of my circle of family and friends. No one booked.

Okay, I'll stop venting now...

 

[PamperedDor]

Amanda - we all have shows like that - just simply state to your host that you made a mistake - (your the Pampered Chef not Perfect!)

I also give my host a copy of the host special in her "show is over" packet - it has 1 extra catalog so she can do her shopping, 2 -3 outside orders (for those who cancel last minute) all her receipts, and the host and guest specials - this way they know what goal they need to hit as well -

And vent away..... that is what we are all here for!

 

[Humble Beginnings]

It does happen. I had my first show outside of the circle, I screwed up on the tax % and was going to fast to realize that some people ordered 2 of something and I only charged for 1. It all worked out in the end. People understand that mistakes happen and with all the excitement that goes on at our shows it can be a little overwhelming. Good luck and vent away that's why I love this site.

 

[KellyTheChef]

I feel for you! I have shows where it feels like that, too...sometimes it just depends on the guests...

Maybe she will surprise you and get enough orders to hit $550...can you call her now and give her that goal while you are on vacation?

Also...my P3 runs SUPER SLOW sometimes. When that happens, I back it up, close it down, and reopen it. Most of the time that helps. It is still slower than it should be, but at least it's not snail slow!

 

[pampered.chris]

I have had issues at shows that become very embarrassing. I live about 20-30 min from the NY state border and here in PA we have 6% tax and NY is 8% or 8.25% in the areas near me. I ALWAYS check before going on the tax rate and I had a guest at a show FLIP OUT on me b/c I charged her 8.25% and that is BS and yada yada. I finally looked at her and said, I am sorry but this is the tax rate I have to charge you. I told her that there were people from PA at this party who were NOT complaining about the tax rate and they actually pay 2.25% less at their house. She walked out of the room started complaining LOUDLY about me and left. I was so embarrassed. Everyone including the hostess was telling me they were sorry for her actions.
While this wasn't my mistake it did make me very uncomfortable. It happens to the best of us.

 

[AmaraJ]

Oh! You are not alone. I have only done 6 shows, but my last one was the worst. First, I forgot my calendar at home, so I had to go back during my set up - fortunately I was close. Then, the show itself was a disaster because all the guests sat down at the stations I had set up and finished their tasks in just a couple minutes and I couldn't get a word in anywhere.
During checkout, I told a guest that they were eligible for the free item...but I told them that after looking at the total after tax and shipping....ugh! Then, as I was pulling in the driveway I realized that I completely forgot one of my two crates at her house.
Wow! You think that was bad...for some reason, I entered a wrong zip code on the host address, so her order was en route to a town 20 miles away. She also ordered as a guest...and that address was right - go figure!

Anyway, I'm waiting for her to call me and tell me that her order got to her okay. It should be tomorrow and then I can put it to bed.

So, no, you are not alone!

 

[babywings76]

Thanks everyone. It's nice to get input from others and get reassurance sometimes. I know it's impossible to have everything go perfectly. I just feel so incompetent sometimes. Thanks for letting me vent. My friend gets home today but plans to call me tomorrow to close her show. I'm still nervous to tell her about my mistake over her getting the bamboo bowl. Wish me luck!

 

[Flamingo]

I would tell her you figured wrong but you would give her the bowl anyway and order it on a sept show with a discount. She might just say oh don't worry about it or oh thanks that would be great.................

 

[cookin to the top]

I've had really uncomfortable shows, where no one wants to volunteer, and avoid eye contact when you ask for a volunteer. My last show, however, I had someone at the door writing both a name tag for each person that came through the door and put their names on slips of paper that went into a bowl. I did the first step of the recipe, then did a drawing for the next person. The person that did that step drew for the next "volunteer", and so on. It was great! Everyone cheered for the people coming up to the table to demo, and everyone had a lot of fun with it.

 

[Flamingo]

I've had really uncomfortable shows, where no one wants to volunteer, and avoid eye contact when you ask for a volunteer. My last show, however, I had someone at the door writing both a name tag for each person that came through the door and put their names on slips of paper that went into a bowl. I did the first step of the recipe, then did a drawing for the next person. The person that did that step drew for the next "volunteer", and so on. It was great! Everyone cheered for the people coming up to the table to demo, and everyone had a lot of fun with it.

Cool idea.....................

 

[babywings76]

I've had really uncomfortable shows, where no one wants to volunteer, and avoid eye contact when you ask for a volunteer. My last show, however, I had someone at the door writing both a name tag for each person that came through the door and put their names on slips of paper that went into a bowl. I did the first step of the recipe, then did a drawing for the next person. The person that did that step drew for the next "volunteer", and so on. It was great! Everyone cheered for the people coming up to the table to demo, and everyone had a lot of fun with it.

That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing!