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Rant Will I....or Won't I......(Long, Sorry!)

In summary, the host of a scheduled show has been uncooperative and unresponsive, causing frustration for the party planner. The host has not provided a guest list or confirmed the number of attendees, and is not making any effort to remind guests or make calls herself. The planner is considering turning the show into a catalog party and walking away from the situation.
Karen
Gold Member
300
have a show tonight?

I have had this show scheduled for 4 weeks. I booked this show at a show that I had in April (that still hasn't closed and had to be changed to a May show, and gave my host the complete host packet that night). I reminded her that as soon as I received her guest list I would send invitations out. I went through the whole thing, the more you invite the more successful your show will be, people need 10 days notice, yadda yadda yadda. Well the beginning of last week I called to ask if she sent me her guest list because I haven't received anything and wanted to make sure that it didn't get lost in the mail. I was rudely told "well you don't have it cause I haven't sent it yet". OK, then I just want to make sure that we are still on schedule for next Thursday. "Yeah, but I'll have to make my list and get it to you."

Left another voicemail over the weekend asking about address list and stating that we needed to discuss what recipe she chose so I can get her grocery ingredients that she will need to provide.

Ok....at 10:09 this past Sunday evening I finally receive a few addresses (10 in total) from her daughter's email. Of course, the soonest that I can get these mailed is Monday morning, which I did. (Keep in mind, the show is 45-60 minutes away from my home....)

I called her yesterday to see how many people she is expecting and she tells me she doesn't know. I asked her if she could make some reminder calls and I'm told "no because she works until 8, an hour drive home, she won't be home until after 9" so I offer to make the calls for her and she doesn't have any of the names or numbers with her. So I asked her if she could please call me when she gets home (I let her know that I will be up late waiting for her call) and let me know if she had any messages on her answering machine when she gets home. Now I know she won't have anything different when she gets home because she had me put her cell phone # on the invitations so she would've already received calls if people were planning on attending!

I also ask if she would like the ingredients for the recipe that she chose and I get a very snotty "yes, that would be helpful". Then I needed to ask her what recipe she did choose since I didn't get a returned call from my previous voicemail that I left over the weekend asking what recipe she wanted me to demonstrate. So we left it that when she called me after work with the number of people she was expecting that I would give her the ingredients at that time so she could write them down.

Needless to say, her show is in less than 10 hours and I haven't heard from her........
 
personally, think you should walk away. She is treating you horribly, you only have 10 addresses of which maybe 1/3 will show, and the party is over 45 minutes away. Don't you deserve better than this? Tell her that you are sorry that you were not able to work this out and offer to turn it into a catalog party. Let her know that when she is ready and would like to reschedule her cooking party, you'll do that after she sends you her list of 40 guests...good luck!
 
We learned at Director Express that if you do not have the Guest List within 5 days, tell the person you can reschedule since "things don't seem to be working out with this date". I loved hearing we can walk away from these shows that never seem to get off the ground!! Hang in there. I would leave her a message that you have not heard from her and since you would have to drive 45 minutes each way, you are presuming she wants to reschedule so she can get the most rewards for her show! If she is good friends with the other lady, I am wondering since she took so long to close, she thinks she can do the same thing!
 
Let her know that by x time you need to know that there are at least 5 guests coming (not counting her and her daughter). She's not committed to a successful show. If she doesn't have 5, tell her it will be uncomfortable for the few people there and it would be better to turn it into a catalog show. If she only had 10 names on her list and isn't even saying that she called or e-mailed other people, she's not working her show. Why did she want to have a show to begin with? Not that I'm good at doing this, but host coaching begins when you book the show or during the first call to find out why they want to have the show and then go back to that point during the follow-up calls and e-mails. "I know you're excited about getting the Cool & Serve Tray so we need to work together to make your show successful."
 
I would second Becca's advice about the 5 people... if the show was 10 minutes away, I'd say go for it, taking very little with you, but with up to 2 hours of driving time involved, you'd be better off taking that time to make phone calls...So sorry that you're having a rough time with this hostess!! There are others out there, thankfully, that are great, to make up for these ones!!
 
the thing with telling her the 5 people, she might say "yeah, 5 people are coming" and then they don't show up. I have always had hosts say more than what actually shows up. I would say "since you haven't anyone RSVP, let's reschedule or change it to a catalog show".
 
mrshamel3808 said:
the thing with telling her the 5 people, she might say "yeah, 5 people are coming" and then they don't show up. I have always had hosts say more than what actually shows up. I would say "since you haven't anyone RSVP, let's reschedule or change it to a catalog show".

Don't tell her five people until after she tells you how many are coming - I would even ask for names from her guest list. Usually when you ask someone how many people are coming you get to sit there and listen to her go "well, becky said she was coming and bringing Darlene. My neighbor across the street is coming. etc." I would hate to drive that far for one or two people who are going to take their cue on how to act from the hostess...........and we already know how she acts.
 
I agree with the above-sounds like great advice to me! And great advice that I too can use for myself-thank you all for sharing.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Thanks everyone!

I am going to do the show, however we are just going to do it as a small open house, no demonstration. I was going to cancel this completely, however after talking to the host again (after I made the phone call), she did tell me that she had orders from work and she did not want to turn this into a catalog show or reschedule. She would just give the money back to the customers that did place orders and tell them that I wasn't willing to do the show.

And I did get a hold of the host that she booked from (that hasn't closed her show yet) and she confirmed that she will be there. So, I'm looking at it as getting a few orders that I wouldn't have had if we cancelled all together and hoping to be able to close the past host show as well.

She is well aware how inconvenient it is for both of us by not receiving RSVP's and her response was "my family never RSVP's they just show up". So I'm hoping that the "just show up" and I think the open house will work even better because at the last show they didn't really want to pay attention to the demonstration they were more interested in catching up with eachother.

The show starts at 6:30 so I told her I would be there to set up at 6:00 and collect her outside orders, we would start at 6:30 and if there weren't more then a few people there, I would leave by 7:00. That way we aren't keeping extra people longer than they want to be there.

I think I just got in the groove of having awesome hosts and being very busy the past couple of years that I've lucked out. We always have to get one spoiled apple every so often to bring us back to reality.

I'll let everyone know how it goes once I return home!
 
  • #10
Karen said:
Thanks everyone!

I am going to do the show, however we are just going to do it as a small open house, no demonstration. I was going to cancel this completely, however after talking to the host again (after I made the phone call), she did tell me that she had orders from work and she did not want to turn this into a catalog show or reschedule. She would just give the money back to the customers that did place orders and tell them that I wasn't willing to do the show.
And I did get a hold of the host that she booked from (that hasn't closed her show yet) and she confirmed that she will be there. So, I'm looking at it as getting a few orders that I wouldn't have had if we cancelled all together and hoping to be able to close the past host show as well.

She is well aware how inconvenient it is for both of us by not receiving RSVP's and her response was "my family never RSVP's they just show up". So I'm hoping that the "just show up" and I think the open house will work even better because at the last show they didn't really want to pay attention to the demonstration they were more interested in catching up with eachother.

The show starts at 6:30 so I told her I would be there to set up at 6:00 and collect her outside orders, we would start at 6:30 and if there weren't more then a few people there, I would leave by 7:00. That way we aren't keeping extra people longer than they want to be there.

I think I just got in the groove of having awesome hosts and being very busy the past couple of years that I've lucked out. We always have to get one spoiled apple every so often to bring us back to reality.

I'll let everyone know how it goes once I return home!

What a piece of work this one is! Good luck hun and update us when you get home :)
 
  • #11
Karen said:
She would just give the money back to the customers that did place orders and tell them that I wasn't willing to do the show.

I can't believe she actually said that to you. Wow!:eek:

Let us know how it turns out and good luck!
 
  • #12
Yikes! It's like she's blackmailing you to go! Good luck! I hope you get it over and done with and can move on with a better host soon!
 
  • #13
Gee whiz! This Host is "scarey" that she has so much control of everyone....this host has definitely made me sit up and seriously think about how I might avoid this kind of situation! I look forward to hearing how it ends up. Sounds like you have handled it with grace and the best way possible.
 
  • #14
kcjodih said:
What a piece of work this one is! Good luck hun and update us when you get home :)

Jodi, you're too nice. She's a B***H. I would have been so tempted to tell her to take the outside orders and stuff them. I would fume all the long drive to her house and not want to have anything to do with the people there. So much for all that training about putting on a good face.

I like the approach of saying you're going to leave by 7:00. In and out, short and sweet. And don't let her hold it open like the past host did.

Eagerly awaiting the results from this one.
 
  • #15
Becca_in_MD said:
Jodi, you're too nice. She's a B***H. I would have been so tempted to tell her to take the outside orders and stuff them. I would fume all the long drive to her house and not want to have anything to do with the people there. So much for all that training about putting on a good face.

I like the approach of saying you're going to leave by 7:00. In and out, short and sweet. And don't let her hold it open like the past host did.

Eagerly awaiting the results from this one.

LOL - I'm SO not but was trying to be diplomatic...for a change :)
 
  • #16
Becca_in_MD said:
Jodi, you're too nice. She's a B***H. I would have been so tempted to tell her to take the outside orders and stuff them. I would fume all the long drive to her house and not want to have anything to do with the people there. So much for all that training about putting on a good face.

I like the approach of saying you're going to leave by 7:00. In and out, short and sweet. And don't let her hold it open like the past host did.

Eagerly awaiting the results from this one.

ROFLMBO!! Muah ha ha, tsk tsk.;):D

Also looking forward to the results. Glad you'll also be able to close the 1st show. Sadly, I fear that there will be issues and complaints once the products arrive. Be ready and go with the flow. Wishing you luck and success!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #17
Well here I am....home from the show and relaxing. One piece of information I forgot to mention earlier, the host was having this show at her aunt's house because it was closer to those she was "inviting" and had more room.

Well I arrived at 6 as I said I would and the aunt and her daughter were both home and they were wonderful. The host....she didn't arrive until 6:20 didn't even speak to me until 6:35 when I mentioned we were going to get started(show was starting at 6:30). And the aunt (whose home we were using) asked if I needed the oven because their gas was just shut off and the oven/stove weren't working. LUCKILY I could say "no we aren't doing a recipe tonight since Susie Hostess didn't receive any RSVP's from people attending, so we are just going to do an "open house" style show and talk about the products". The one daugther that was there just looked at me like "oops, I forgot to RSVP".

So, all in all, there were 4 guests (one of which was the past host who brought another order for her show AND closed out her show, so that was a plus and she's considering signing on, plus #2). The sales were just under $300 and the host received what she wanted for $18.80 and was THRILLED. Plus she has two bookings.

At first I was worried about the bookings thinking "I'm dealing with the same group, what's going to happen next" however both future hosts made the comment that they would definitely follow up on RSVP's and make sure people were going to be there. One future host even said she will not decide on the recipe until she knows how many people she is going to have and will start telling people early.

So, all in all, it wasn't fun going through the agony with the host before the show, but the show went smoothly, quickly, I got almost $300 in orders that I wouldn't have had (now only if I can get triple points when I submit the show), I have two bookings, and a potential recruit. And the recruit has seen what you should/should not do and the future hosts also saw what needs to be done for a successful show. With all of these positive outcomes, and if others learned from my hard way, I consider this a success! :)
 
  • #18
Karen said:
Well here I am....home from the show and relaxing. One piece of information I forgot to mention earlier, the host was having this show at her aunt's house because it was closer to those she was "inviting" and had more room.

Well I arrived at 6 as I said I would and the aunt and her daughter were both home and they were wonderful. The host....she didn't arrive until 6:20 didn't even speak to me until 6:35 when I mentioned we were going to get started(show was starting at 6:30).

Glad you were able to go with the flow and are kicking back now. That woman has some serious issues. Maybe she's mad at the world. And now you know why no one showed up. Sounds like you did some good initial host coaching with your new bookings. Are you going to turn them over to your past host if she signs so you don't have to make the drive?

Kudos to you for turning lemons into lemonade!
 
  • #19
I'm glad things worked out.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #20
Becca_in_MD said:
Glad you were able to go with the flow and are kicking back now. That woman has some serious issues. Maybe she's mad at the world. And now you know why no one showed up. Sounds like you did some good initial host coaching with your new bookings. Are you going to turn them over to your past host if she signs so you don't have to make the drive?

Kudos to you for turning lemons into lemonade!

Thanks Becca. I decided I had scheduled "business time" for last evening either way and the mileage is a write-off so I was going to make the best of it. Kill 'em with kindness! :)

Yes, I did tell my past host that she would have two bookings all ready for her if she decides to sign. I metnioned that if she would've signed earlier, last night's show could've been hers too.

She's not in it for the long-haul, she just wants the starter kit. Her aunt purchased the kit and was a kit napper, she's already told me that story. So I've been pushing her to see what you can get by having $1250 in your first 30 days so at least she knows she has to qualify. She's also a Mary Kay consultant so she knows how it all works. We'll see....

Thanks for everyone's support.
 
  • #21
Sounds like you handled it very gracefully and professionally!! Thanks for sharing with us!!
 
  • #22
And the more I think about it, the more I like how you didn't do a recipe and just played with the tools and food on hand. No big time commitment of getting ingredients or the cost of them, not a lot of time at the show, but managed to make the host happy (or as happy as she'll ever be!). And, you probably got bookings b/c they wanted to see you actually cook so they had to invite you to their homes to get that done!!

Well done!
 
  • #23
Congratulations as I consider this a true success for you all the way around-yes it was a stressful road to get there but you made it!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #24
smart2cook said:
Congratulations as I consider this a true success for you all the way around-yes it was a stressful road to get there but you made it!


Thank you!
 
  • #25
Karen, glad to hear that the show went well. I agree....definitely successful!
 

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