Plan B for Inclement Weather: Tips for Handling Event Cancellations in Winter

[wadesgirl]

I am supposed to do an open house with 3 other DS businesses tomorrow and we are supposed to get rain, sleet, ice and snow all day (not in that order either!). Between the four of us we invited over 400 people! Now I don't know what to do. It will probably be cancelled. I don't know if I want to reschedule, I will not send out invitations again, wouldn't be worth my money. If we rescheduled I would just do email invites, but most of my weekends are taken through the X-mas guarantee.

I do plan on making alot of phone calls that day to extend the special I gave to my past hosts as part of my anniversary special. I'm just not happy that this may not go on. This is the 2nd show in December that isn't going to happen now.

I just would like some suggestions on how you normally handle shows when you live in an environment like I do! With the winter season coming up, I can see shows getting cancelled due to weather.

 

[JAE]

With a host, I would ask her to do a catalog show and still give her cooking show credit unless she has another date available in the same month. For you this weekend, it may work out better because you can call everyone you invited and speak to them personally. That is always better than just sending a mass mailing of invites with no RSVP's or follow up. It will take some time, but you now have some extra time if the open house is cancelled.

 

[wadesgirl]

I won't be able to call everyone. I sent over 150 invites myself, plus over 40 to past hosts. I do plan on calling all my past hosts and looking for preferred customers to call.

If we decide to cancel, I'll send out an email this evening. That will cover alot of the people I invited. I thought about offering a "White Sale". 10% off anything that is mostly white. I want free PC$'s!

 

[chefjeanine]

If you live in an area where this weather isn't that uncommon, you may want to carry on with your show. The four of you have invited a lot of people and someone is bound to show up. . .we get everywhere else we need to be when the weather is bad.

Do you have a cell phone? Laptop or a list of those you invited with their phone number? Bring it to the open house and make your calls from there.

I think I've had to cancel only one show since I've started my business (6.5 years ago). I've been lucky -- I live in the dreaded Lake Michigan "snowbelt".

 

[climbercanoe3]

Yes I would say that you should carry on. I live in MA and we have dreaded Nor'easters. There are going to be a number of people that still drive anyway. While you are there you can make your phone calls to the ones that do not go out in lousy weather. If they won't make it to you more than likely they will be at home.
Good luck!

 

[janetupnorth]

Carry on - weather can change - at least it does by me ALL the time!

 

[wadesgirl]

I'm going to call one of the other ladies after work tonight and see what she thinks. Most of us are within 20 minutes but one of my friends would have to drive 30-40 minutes. I don't think she will if it's bad enough. My problem is my husband. He's such a worry wart, he's already told me I'm staying home if it gets too bad.

Luckily it's at 2 in the afternoon so we have all morning to figure it out also. Who knows, maybe they'll be wrong!

 

[chefjeanine]

Luckily it's at 2 in the afternoon so we have all morning to figure it out also. Who knows, maybe they'll be wrong!

They usually are where I live!

 

[wadesgirl]

Although the last time they were wrong, they said we were just going to get a dusting and we got 4"! Our first snowfall of the year

I'm crossing my fingers! I really want to do this open house!

 

[lacychef]

I was crossing my fingers all last night too; I'm doing a similiar type vendor event today from 9-4 (in a town 30 mins away)....we're supposed to get the freezing rain/sleet too. It's raining here, but it depends on which radar you watch as to if we're under 32 degrees or not.....and by the afternoon it's supposed to be almost 60 degrees!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I wouldn't cancel anything based on a prediction. The weather forecasters, over the last several years, seem to quickly shift into "Oh-my-gosh-we're-all-gonna-die!" mode very quickly. Weather it's a threatening storm, the remotest possibility of a tornado and this time of year, snow, it's like one television guy has to predict dire circumstances before the guy on the other channel does.It's all crazy - and very seldom is the weather as dire a circumstance as they predict it will be.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I wouldn't cancel anything based on a prediction.

The weather forecasters, over the last several years, seem to quickly shift into "Oh-my-gosh-we're-all-gonna-die!" mode very quickly. Weather it's a threatening storm, the remotest possibility of a tornado and this time of year, snow, it's like one television guy has to predict dire circumstances before the guy on the other channel does.

It's all crazy - and very seldom is the weather as dire a circumstance as they predict it will be.

And because we are all going to die - they have to keep breaking in to whatever is on TV to give us minute by minute updates......and keep that extremely annoying little map flashing in the corner of the screen.

The winter weather warnings don't even begin here until late this afternoon - but we have been getting "breaking news" updates on the weather since yesterday afternoon.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

A couple of years ago, I was visiting The Rocket Scientist at his home in Alabama. On a Saturday afternoon, we were trying to watch the Michigan football game. Now, they're a little paranoid of tornadoes in Alabama, and rightfully so, but the weather guy shifted into "Oh-my-gosh-we're-all-gonna-die!" mode and pre-empted the football game so he could play, on the air, with his Doppler radar and neat electronic toys to show us where the MIGHT be circular wind activity and could be heavy storm activity and all the other non-sense. They didn't even put the game into a picture-in-picture, we just plain didn't get to see it because of the wall-to-wall coverage of a tornado that never happened, anyway.I believe that anyone who would have broken into the studio and shot the guy would have been acquitted for justifiable homicide.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

A couple of years ago, I was visiting The Rocket Scientist at his home in Alabama. On a Saturday afternoon, we were trying to watch the Michigan football game.

Now, they're a little paranoid of tornadoes in Alabama, and rightfully so, but the weather guy shifted into "Oh-my-gosh-we're-all-gonna-die!" mode and pre-empted the football game so he could play, on the air, with his Doppler radar and neat electronic toys to show us where the MIGHT be circular wind activity and could be heavy storm activity and all the other non-sense. They didn't even put the game into a picture-in-picture, we just plain didn't get to see it because of the wall-to-wall coverage of a tornado that never happened, anyway.

I believe that anyone who would have broken into the studio and shot the guy would have been acquitted for justifiable homicide.

That is exactly the insanity I am talking about! Do you think they just don't realize that the overwhelming majority of the population couldn't care less about continual Doppler radar coverage?
Oh well, good chance to turn off the TV, I guess.....UNLESS it happens in the middle of an important game - and then they deserve any harm that comes to them!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Well, they do care, actually, but the wall-to-wall weather coverage doesn't help. People need to know if there's potential for a tornado or severe weather but the constant drumbeat just gets ignored.In the guy's defense, a tornado can develop RIGHT NOW when there is potential but I believe that as long as you make people aware that there is a danger, the rest is superfluous.

 

[wadesgirl]

Guess what.... CANCELED! We have a nice glaze of ice all over the roads. It didn't ever really snow but all the "snow" on the ground is ice crystals that fell like rain all morning. They aren't even recommending travel for a 50 mile radius around where I live. This evening it's supposed to turn to rain so that can only make it worse. We did decide to reschedule for the 9th. I'm only emailing invitations this time, I'm not wasting any more money on mailing invites. I'll just post in my email to forward the email onto anyone else who may have recieved on invite. Bummer...

 

[wadesgirl]

On the plus side, I sent out my email about rescheduling and I got an email back (within 30 minutes) about wanting to host a February show! I just updated my website last night, so glad I did that.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

It's snowing in the Land of Cheese. Looks like an all-day storm, too.

 

[rennea]

It is -25c here today folks

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

What, are you in Antarctica or something? How are the penguins?

 

[baychef]

I live near "lake effect" areas. Depending on which way the winds blow, you could go from sunshine to white out in a matter of less than five miles. However, they mainly get huge amounts of snow over areas south of where I am. I worry more when they say we won't get much from a storm.

And NONE of them predicted the Ice Storm of 1998 which closed out schools for over 3 weeks because of lack of power...some homes were over a month without power. It hit a massive area in the US and Canada.

As much as they try...it is just a prediction but the "chicken little the sky is falling" drives me batty too!

 

[rennea]

What, are you in Antarctica or something? How are the penguins?

Ha! funny No just a nice crisp winter day in B.C's central interior .

 

[janetupnorth]

Don't feel bad, we're not too much warmer today!!!!

 

[wadesgirl]

I just went outside and everything has a little ice coating. Plus the ground is coated with ice and then all the little ice pellets that feel like rain are frozen on top of that. Made it pretty tricky to get to the mail box without falling! It's not that cold, must have been above freezing because we got rain this afternoon and the wind isn't blowing like they predicted.

 

[MissChef]

It's is really flipping cold where I live too. Lucky if it hit 20 degrees and tonight it's suppossed to get to about 10-12 degrees. It was very lightly snowing when I was driving to my brunch show earlier. While I was there it started snowing a lot harder, by the time I left I had to take about 2 inches off my car. And it was snowing pretty hard while I was scraping the windows, you know when you finish the 2nd side of the car, and you have to back to the first and front and back and try to get what accumulated in that time, could have become a viscious (sp?) game but I wouldn't let that happen! I just sat in the car until the defroster made it where when the snow fell on the window it instantly melted! The show turned out real good though with a recruit lead and 4 bookings!

 

[baychef]

Was actually paying attention to the weather channel today when I had it on...sounds like you will be getting some glorious weather in your section of the country!

We are at a balmy 12 degrees with a light wind to add to the climate!

 

[caynreth]

I had my scouts out unloading Christmas trees from a coast guard cutter this morning. It was COLD but at least the snow/sleet/freezing rain held off until the afternoon! (maybe you saw us on the Weather Channel while you were watching? They were there filming all morning.)

 

[raebates]

I fell pretty blessed with the weather today. I did a Ladies' Day Out expo from 10 to 2. While we were packing up, the sleety rain started. Things were pretty well coated by the time I started home a little after 3, but I made it home without incident. (At which point, I entered and transmitted the expo sales for my first show of the month--$400+ sales, 2 bookings, and 50 contacts. )We decided that the inclement weather probably helped us just a little. Several of the women who came through mentioned that they were originally going to be out of town today, but the dire weather warnings convinced them to stay close to home.

 

[baychef]

Rae, glad you made it home safe and sound...sounds like the weather blessed your business!! SUPER!!

And yes, I did see that Chicago and much of the mid west looked quite "wintery" It is coming our way, but I might be just north enough to avoid it. I can do without the ice, but I will take the snow any day.

 

[climbercanoe3]

Wow and I thought our 17 degrees (but feels like 5) was cold. Brrr!

When it is this cold there should at least be some snow to play in.

 

[ahammons]

My kids have perfect timing... my youngest has been sick, then I ended up taking my oldest to the urgent care center today. As soon as we left the house, the sleet started! On the way to the pharmacy, our windshield kept freezing over - lots of fun! Luckily, there were no accidents! But I have my Holiday Bazaar tomorrow, so I'm hoping it won't be too bad out.

 

[JAE]

We're having some messy weather here on the Lake MI shoreline, Michigan side. Very little snow but enough to cover the ground. After the snow came the freezing rain. Accident, car hit big pine tree (not too bad), just two houses away from us. We heard something, but it sounded like a car door closing. We looked out in the garage and out the window at the driveway and saw nothing. We forgot about it. Then about 15 minutes later my son looked out the front door to see if it was still snowing (he must think the windows don't work for that!) and he saw police car lights and a car looking into a tree. I felt bad that we didn't go help, but we really didn't have a clue what that noise was.

 

[letscook04]

It's snowing here in NY! My son can't wait to go outside and play

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

It's really not as bad here as they predicted, nor is it anywhere near as bad as they continue to tell us it is.I suppose that's okay, it's when I'm shoveling out from 6-8" of "partly cloudy" that I get really annoyed.

 

[wadesgirl]

I just don't think I'm meant to have any parties this month! First the open house was rescheduled. Then this weekend, the party I had Saturday was really small because of the weather and the open house was reschedule for Sunday was really small because of the weather. Now I have my last show of the month/year today and it's way crappy outside. Not as bad as some areas but still bad enough that several people didn't come to work today. I'm holding out hope and will talk with the host tonight. The weather is supposed to get better this afternoon but that doesn't mean the roads will.