Was Last Night's Show a Disaster?

[pcsharon1]

Okay, so last night I had a show that has been giving me grief from the get go. She booked from an awesome hostsess back in September and was originally scheduled for the middle of January. I mailed her host packet, I talked to her about the guest list but never got it, left messages, left messages, left messages, talked to her husband who said "I'll make sure she gets right on that", left message, emailed, finally got her the day before the show and she goes "Oh, I haven't done anything. I haven't even invited anybody! I'm gonna have to change it" I told her she should have called me and she said she didn't have my number. I said I've left you several messages over the past week and she says "Yeah, i got those" and I say "I left my number" and she just says "Oh" She also says she never got her host packet.

So we reschedule for last night. I call her about her guest list and she says "I've filled it out, it's right here I just need to mail it" I never did mail her a new host packet because I had a feeling that she had the first one and I wasn't wasting another $5 to mail a new one - and I was right, she had it the whole time! Anyway, the host she booked from I got because her husband works with my husband. Well, we are Army and this guy has the attitude that if you say your going to do something then you're going to do it and you're going to do it right. He decided that since he is the one who introduced me to her (she's his sister in law or something like that) then it's his responsability to make sure this show happens. Two weeks from the show date, I still don't have addresses and HE calls me and asks what's going on and I tell him - he has an address list from her for me by the end of the day. Why she would send it to him and not me I don't know but there you go. I send out the invites - she had 30 names and get her the ingredient list.

Last night I get there and she answers the door in an old, stained jogging suit and the show finally starts at 7:30 instead of 7:00. She only had a couple of people and told me when I walked in the door she didn't know if anyone was coming or not. They took out their pet snake and played with it while I was collecting orders! I am NOT a snake person. Anything else and I would have been fine - they could have had a tiger in the basement for all I care but I almost left her house and all my stuff sitting there with this snake thing.

It ended up at $300 because of outside orders (I used the mini-cat as invites and put my website on the invite!) and I was sitting with her making her close her show because I wanted this finished. And she says to me "I haven't had a chance to look at the catalog so I don't know what I want" and then she was mad that the 60% off didn't make the cookware "like $30 or something" Are you kidding me? You've had the catalog for two months! Needless to say I closed that show last night - with no bookings because I didn't want to deal with that - and am turning it in today.

The one bright spot is that it put me over Level 1 incentive, so now I can get something free!

Oh, I forgot to mention that she is a direct sales consultant for a candle company!

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Wow, some people. I'm so glad these are more rare then the norm because I don't think anyone would stay in this business!!

 

[chef131doreen]

I would just tell her you need to close out the party and not wait for any more orders

 

[pcsharon1]

I would just tell her you need to close out the party and not wait for any more orders

Oh, I did. I sat there and made her pick out what she wanted and I even got her to write her check to cover the outside orders she did have because I wasn't waiting for her to mail me the money. There were only a couple of outside orders that hadn't paid yet and she was supposed to be getting the money today anyway, so I told her it would be easier for everyone if she wrote me a check and just deposited the money since she seems to have trouble putting things in the mail - of course I didn't put it like that but I was close. The show is going to be turned in this afternoon. I am debating calling a couple of the people that were there and didn't order about having a show because they live in an area that I haven't worked in yet but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

 

[esavvymom]

I'd cash the check at HER bank, and not submit until you have that money in hand. Given all the hassle, it wouldn't surprise me if you saw that check bounce! especially since she was covering the outside orders.

 

[christinaspc]

OMG A SNAKE !!!!! I would of left right away and I horribly scared of snakes I wouldn't of been able to handle it and I would of been probably passing out in fear. Sorry you had such a bad show.