Worst Pampered Chef Party?? I Got Mooned!

[mistym]

k, I just got home from a disaster party! The host was wasted, she set the over to broil not bake and ruined my recipe, she mooned me and then paraded around the room while people signed her bum! She then took most guests outside and gossiped with them on the deck while i tried to press on with my show....grrrr

Last night I had a show with 4 kids under 3 and every single one of them had a meltdown and all the parents were running around trying to control them. So no one listened as they were trying to control the kids....

I have only done 3 shows and have become mighty discouraged!

I need inspiration - quick!

Misty

 

[cmdtrgd]

Misty - sorry for your bad experiences! Maybe you are getting your bad ones out of the way? Who hosted these shows? Was it friends or family. One thing that could possibly have helped is host coaching. Alcohol can increase sales IF it is served about halfway through the demo. That way they are tipsy enough, but not drunk. As for the kids, I have no help. You might want to host coach in the future that if there are going to be kids to let you know and you will have something for them to do...playdough with the creative cutters set or something.

 

[mistym]

Good ideas!Thanks - like those ideas...I ordered Host Coaching training material from PP...i will study up!

M

 

[gilliandanielle]

Don't get discouraged Misty! Sometimes these shows just happen. It sucks that you had three in a row, but keep your chin up and your shows will be better soon!!

 

[ange13]

oh my gosh, I'm sorry but that is just too funny. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if a host ripped off her pants and had everyone signing her rear!!! I think I'd be laughing by pants off (pun intended!)

Wow, really I'm sorry you had a horrible experience, I can only say that it'll get better! It has too, I don't think you can get much worse!

Good luck with your future shows! They'll get better! promise....

 

[lacychef]

Wow, I can't even imagine
My show today; the host is expecting several kids. She was wanting them to make & decorate cookies with our kids' set. I was concerned about baking/cooling time though, so I suggested something else. So the kids are going to make the mini fruit pizzas out of the Lets Eat book, while I'm doing my demo.

 

[SusanBP0129]

Misty - that is horrible, but what a GREAT story to tell down the road! It really is one for the books!! I can't believe it. I admit, it made me laugh. It is just so unacceptable!!!
Just wondering...how much did you sell at the mooner's show?

 

[AJPratt]

Oh my word!!! What is wrong with people?! It drives me nuts when people drink too much. I had one drunken party where I was heckeled all night by this one b*tch. I was talking about making pizza with the bakers roller and she says to me,"Haven't you ever heard of takeout". Everyone laughed. Well, I had had it with her. I said, "Well, my husband just lost his job, so takeout is a little out of our budget right now." Sadly, it was true. Can I tell you the room got silent. I think I killed their buzz.

 

[mistym]

i think the show will be about $500.00. Certainly doesn't make up for my troubles!!

m

 

[MicheleC]

Wow! Sorry to hear about your shows. I think this has got to be one to top the charts for worst experience at a show. $500 is awesome considering all of the distractions you had. You must have been doing something right to get to that point.

 

[Nanisu]

So sorry for your disappointing show, but we'veall had em. I have been attacked by a host's cat, kicked by a 4 year old boy while I was cooking, and lost count of hecklers in the past 6 years. But 400+ shows later it's not the norm, and this really is a fun job. Try to roll with the punches and keep your smile on!

Nancy Collins

 

[chefjeanine]

Mooned by your Host!!! Not having to live through the event, I think it's a scream. I can't wait for you to tell that story on the stage at National Conference! At least everyone here will know who you are.

Just try to roll with the punches. By the way, a $500 dollar show is above average. Be happy.

Little kids? Sorry, if I knew the magic in that I'd let you know. I don't think shows are any place for children.

 

[sivlepa]

Wow!Oh Misty, that is almost unbelievable! Poor you. I can see how discouraged you must be. If it were me, it would be enough to make me toss in the towel...almost.

Remember that this is NOT about you, but about inconsiderate people. You need to trudge forward and find DECENT hosts (and they are more common than the mooning ones). You will do fine. Be sure to make your host coaching calls to "bond" with your hosts too.

Please don't give up. This business is amazing in so many ways and you'll be glad in the long-run if you keep at it.

My hugs go out to you.

 

[mistym]

thanks for all the encouragement! I still have to close her show and also check her order as she was too drunk to realize she ordered hundreds of dollars of stuff. She called the new Deep Dish Baker the "Chicken Cooker" as i talked about the 30 min roast chicken recipie (which sold me 2 bakers btw).

sheesh, this ain't gonna be pretty!!

thanks guys - i knew i could count on you to make me feel better!

m

 

[cmdtrgd]

Misty,Don't "check" her order...that is her responsibility. If she is "mature" enough to get stinking drunk at her own show, she is "mature" enough to know what she wants to order!!!!

 

[gilliandanielle]

I got an awesome order from my wasted host! She called me the next afternoon to ask if she gave me a check or not. She couldn't remember. I offered to let her see her order but she said it will be more like Christmas this way and ponied up the $120 she owed me (her order only). She got her products later that week and was happy because she bought everything she had been wanting!

 

[tiffanypc05]

I wouldn't double check her order either...I would call her and tell her you owe me such and such amount, I need it by a certain date, and I'd close the show when you got the money!!! It will do one of two things:

1) get her what she wanted
OR
2) teach her not to get wasted when she's going to be spending money...lol

I'm so sorry that your parties that were horrible.IT WILL GET BETTER!!! We've all had them!!!

I had one lady who did two shows for me-she'd never send or give invites to anyone and then was loud during the whole demo and she would always have the tv blaring and the lights so dim I couldn't see the cookbook to make sure I was doing the recipe right!!! At her second show, she was drunk and decided to give away her "free" product b/c she didn't like to cook!!! I didn't say a word to her and I closed the show without asking to see if she wanted anything. Needless to say, I will never do another show for her and the bad thing is that her sister booked a show from hers and her sister is 100 times worse than she could ever be!!!
Her sister wants me to demo products without any food? Not sure how that's going to work out!! LOL!

Alright, well this post was long enough!! Sorry again about you getting mooned!!1

BTW, did the guests not look at her like she was crazy, if they didn't it must have been a normal thing for her!!!!

 

[RachelNguyen]

I had a run of drunken parties at one point. It IS mighty discouraging, and truly, I found that the total sales were far less than I was averaging with sober guests. Now I will actually let hosts know that if they are planning to serve alcohol. (Especially the hard stuff. Wine seems to be ok!)

I cannot believe a host MOONED you, though. Wow. LOL.

I think I would have just died laughing. Maybe I would've just had to have had a drink too, at that point.

Love,
Rachel

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Misty,

I have got to say that in doing PC for 8 years (and hearing TONS of horror stories) your "mooning" show is by far the worst (okay....and funniest) I've ever heard!!

The first thing that popped into my head was...if this was your 3rd show and we usually do our first shows with friends and family, did you know this girl? Was she a friend or worse...a family member!? I'd love to know what she says when she closes the show (BTW.....I agree with the others, don't check her order with her....let that be your payment for putting up with her!!). I wonder if she'll show any remorse

Things will get better. Believe it or not, the great/fun shows FAR outnumber the bad/frustrating shows!!

 

[jenniferlynne]

All I can say is...........Oh my gosh!!!! Were any of the other guests drunk or was it just the host? Did anyone say anything to her? Have you talked to her at all since the party? I wonder if she remembers any of it.

My worst show had to be the one where the hosts kids were out of control. When I got there, I noticed all the doors on her SUV were wide open. I only noticed two of her three kids were there. I asked where the other one was and she said he was asleep. Turns out, he had fallen asleep on the way home from somewhere, so she just left him in the car!!! Even if she left the doors open, it was like 90 degrees that day. I already knew her kids were terrors, so I asked my step-daughter to go with me and help watch my stuff so nothing got broke. It was a good thing she came because this mother pays no attention to her kids and lets them do whatever they want. During the demo, her youngest son (the one she had left in the car), got a bamboo stick out and swung it and whacked me right across the back. The Mother didn't even notice but his Aunt did and took it from him. Then when the pizza dip was done, her older boy grabbed my bamboo tongs off the table before I could stop him, stuck them up his nose and then in the pizza dip. I got out my small spreader for the dip and her one year old daughter grabbed the spreader and started hacking up the dip and sticking her hands in it. I had one other set of bamboo tongs that ended up get snitched and played with, so I told her to just keep both of them. To top it all off, only one guest came (the Aunt) and her order and the two outside orders she got were only a total of $70.

 

[mistym]

Yes unfortunantly this is a "friend" but I am very upset with her!! My other friend went outside and told her off, so the host came back inside but she was even more disruptive! The hosts sister then began to have several conversations on her cell phone while still sat in front of me as I went on with the show! Other people were tipsy but she was just wasted. I called her today but she has caller ID and didn't pick up. I took your advice and just called to get a Visa Number. I won't even bother going over her order. She ordered stones but didn't take advantage of the Special...oh well thats her tough luck!

The icing on the cake??? The only booking I got was from....you guessed it...her mother! And trust me, the apple did not fall far from the tree!

m

 

[gilliandanielle]

At least you know what you are in for next time. Bookings are bookings, and sales are sales, no matter how wasted the host gets!

 

[jaye]

WOW!! Congrats on having such a great show amid adversity... just goes to show you what a great consultant you are!!! Keep up the good work!!!

And we have all had horrible shows... my most recent one was a bunch of loud mouth drunks... who didn't buy anything (literally, I left the show with $60 in sales and the host had to rely on outside sales just to get it to qualify) and didn't listen to me at all during my presentation, so I just quit speaking.... you are doing great!!!
((((HUGS))))

Jaye

 

[gilliandanielle]

That sucks Jaye! I'm glad that all your shows aren't like that!

 

[AJPratt]

You know what the BEST part about rude people is?

Getting to take their money! http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/travesmilies/smilie_lol.gif

 

[DebbieJ]

I got a tip from one of the Hispanic Sales Managers about kids at shows. Be prepared for them! Print out coloring pages of chef's hats and tell them you're having a contest to see who can color the best one. Obviously, bring crayons too. Then put them all on the floor right in front of you. Let them work while you do your demo! Check in on them every so often. Give away cheap dollar store prizes to the winner.

This of course will work only with children who can sit and color somewhat independently, but at least it's something we can try!

 

[jrstephens]

I just cannot believe people can act like this - I mean grow up!!!! OMGoodness!! I have not had to deal with this, but I think I would end up just walking out and forgetting about the show or bookings. This is not the kind of headache I need to deal with! Especially when I owe the success of my business to God and I do not think these actions are Christ-like at all.

 

[jaye]

Nope, Gillian,
Not all of my shows are like that! Thankfully!!
We have all had them tho, where the host has a nightmare of a friend or whatever. I take it with a grain of salt, close out the show and then remember... bless and release.
I full believe that what goes around comes around!
Look how awesome we all are! We all have a way of overcoming.
Best to you all!!!
Jaye

 

[AJPratt]

I got a tip from one of the Hispanic Sales Managers about kids at shows. Be prepared for them! Print out coloring pages of chef's hats and tell them you're having a contest to see who can color the best one. Obviously, bring crayons too. Then put them all on the floor right in front of you. Let them work while you do your demo! Check in on them every so often. Give away cheap dollar store prizes to the winner.

This of course will work only with children who can sit and color somewhat independently, but at least it's something we can try!

What a great idea! I am going to do that!

 

[gilliandanielle]

I am going to do this too!! I have tons of hosts with kids and friends with kids! I am so surprised that PC hasn't come up with something like this yet to sell on the supply order!

 

[schel]

thanks for all the encouragement! I still have to close her show and also check her order as she was too drunk to realize she ordered hundreds of dollars of stuff. She called the new Deep Dish Baker the "Chicken Cooker" as i talked about the 30 min roast chicken recipie (which sold me 2 bakers btw).

sheesh, this ain't gonna be pretty!!

thanks guys - i knew i could count on you to make me feel better!

m

Chicken Cooker that one cracked me up! Guess you have to have a dry sence of humor like I do!
I agree also!!!
I would just tell her what she owes and "Take the money and Run!!"
Submit the show and be done with it!

As for the mother booking off her show, I don't know what to tell you.
That one is up to you I guess.

I'm still trying to figure out why I booked a "Mom and Me" show and if I really want to do it after reading all the horror stories with kids on the site.
I was thinking though maybe having the sugar cookies already baked and making a small batch of dough, and doing the cut outs to bake on a stone,
and then the kids could just use the decorator bottle set to decorate how ever they want.
Schel

 

[tlennhoff]

I'm still trying to figure out why I booked a "Mom and Me" show and if I really want to do it after reading all the horror stories with kids on the site.
I was thinking though maybe having the sugar cookies already baked and making a small batch of dough, and doing the cut outs to bake on a stone,
and then the kids could just use the decorator bottle set to decorate how ever they want.
Schel

Just make sure you have a way to keep the kids occupied. Decorating cookies sounds like an idea - you might want to have them do this on the floor - put down a plastic tablecloth, give each of them a plate with a cookie, and then put the decorating bottles & sprinkles (in a shaker if you can) down for them. Be aware that they do not always share well so you may have to stop the show occiasonally to remind them to share & be prepared for them to make a mess. When I did a mommy & me show I paired up with a friend, she took the kids into the other room for their part of the activity (rolling out mini-pizzas & putting sauce & cheese on them) and it worked pretty well. The kids were so excited to show their parents what they had made while I had time to do a quick/short presentation for the moms.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

Some people have a lot of nerve, My second show that I have ever done, their was this one lady in their that thought she knew more than idid about PC, and she kept talking and talking and I finaly said.... would you like to demo something for me.. she looked at me all wide eyed ..... LOL

Oh my word!!! What is wrong with people?! It drives me nuts when people drink too much. I had one drunken party where I was heckeled all night by this one b*tch. I was talking about making pizza with the bakers roller and she says to me,"Haven't you ever heard of takeout". Everyone laughed. Well, I had had it with her. I said, "Well, my husband just lost his job, so takeout is a little out of our budget right now." Sadly, it was true. Can I tell you the room got silent. I think I killed their buzz.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

I am sorry that this happend at a show for you... I can't believe people act that way... I tell my hostess that I don't drink but if they want to serve wait until after the demo is over before they serve.

 

[Kelley Sells]

Wow
Yeah, your getting the bad ones out of the way quickly!!!!

I have to admit, I did laugh too, I would have signed it "amazed at your stupidity"....LOL....500.00? Absolutley you where doing something right...way to go......

I did a show a couple weeks ago, supposed to be 25 women, 13 showed, that was cool.....but too I had an older woman that constantly had something NEGATIVE to say....fresh garlic "have you heard of garlic in a jar?" (laughing at herself hysterically)....and I looked up and stopped what I was doing and glared at her for a second, everyone got REAL quiet....and smiled and said, "they you should DEFINATLEY get the garlic press and find out what REAL FRESH garlic is all about...oh and did you know if you ate a clove of garlic daily you will NEVER get a cold?"......She DID order the garlic press...but she was MISERABLE.....

I also had two children there, it was a FRIDAY night....one was 10, the other was about 5 and the 5 year old was getting screamy and distracting....so, this was my solution.....I was starting the chopper and decided these kids could make my life easier....SO, I had the older one passing around the door prize slips for everone to fill out and the little one demonstrated the chopper for me....AND she did AWESOME......so then we did more, so they became my handy helpers.....kids LOVE helping out and being in the spotlight......

Don't despair, it can't get worse than that....the only way is up from there......

 

[letscook04]

I am sorry that this happend at a show for you... I can't believe people act that way... I tell my hostess that I don't drink but if they want to serve wait until after the demo is over before they serve.

I would of said to her, wow, you seem to know your products and you would be good doing this. Would you like to sign up? LOL

 

[letscook04]

Some people have a lot of nerve, My second show that I have ever done, their was this one lady in their that thought she knew more than idid about PC, and she kept talking and talking and I finaly said.... would you like to demo something for me.. she looked at me all wide eyed ..... LOL

I would of said to her, wow, you seem to know your products and you would be good doing this. Would you like to sign up? LOL

 

[gilliandanielle]

I would have signed her up too! You have to say "What is stopping you from giving this a try" That wording is magic!! For booking I have a lot of luck with "penciling someone in"!

 

[mommyhugz1978]

LOL she was on of those know it alls...... and kept comparing other stuff to PC and the only thing she ordered was the flipping food chopper... she was also the only customer at the show... I was so upset!!!

 

[gilliandanielle]

I just ask someone if they want to sign up right there in front of everyone when they are being know-it-alls. They usually get the point and shutup during the demo, and then I can sweet talk them during checkout and get them to consider it!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I admired the Harvest Moon the other night, and it reminded me of this thread. The thread has slipped from the front, so I'm only bumping it to see the moon on the front page again.

 

[tlennhoff]

The thread has slipped from the front, so I'm only bumping it to see the moon on the front page again.

Thanks soooo much KG

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

My pleasure. Gillian is just happy I didn't bump her thread, too!

 

[mistym]

LOL KG, well I am glad that my mooning experience is still fresh in your memory - I know its ingrained in mine.

Thanks for the bump!

M

 

[tlennhoff]

LOL KG, well I am glad that my mooning experience is still fresh in your memory - I know its ingrained in mine.

Thanks for the bump!

M

Gaaahhhhh - mooning - bump - now that was not a combo I really needed to put together in my mind.

 

[kahluakiggy]

lol This was not what I needed to read the morning of my first show!!! At least I know my host tonight won't be mooning me - my host is my mom!!! lol

 

[mistym]

good luck!!!!

let us know how it went!!

m

 

[jentapp]

LOL

Thanks for reminding me that my last show COULD have been worse!

 

[AJPratt]

How could we let this thread go? LOL

 

[reba515]

How could we let this thread go? LOL

funny Ann because I was thinking about this on my way home from my Sunday night show.

there was nothing specific it was just this 1 woman who knew everything there was to know about everything, who used every ingreident I mentioned and had a better way/tool to prepare it.

then as I was talking about the Microplane grater telling them to use it to grate fresh nutmeg nuts for fresh nutmeg she says, (get ready...) "well then its not nutmeg, its now ALLSPICE"
WHAT?? So i asked her ,"so i grind a NUTMEG NUT it turns to ALLSPICE??? she says "yes" like i am an idiot for not knowing this.
Whatever lady.



I wonder what cinnamon sticks turn into !!

then guess what she ordered- yup - the Microplane Grater.

 

[AJPratt]

WOW! I didn't know you did magic at your shows! Nutmeg into allspice! Amazing! How do you do it?! LOL