A Pampered Chef Bridal Shower with a Heartbreaking Outcome

[JoAnne Barak]

Saturday I had my first PC Bridal Shower. I spent a lot of time preparing for this and was so excited. The Bride to be is a good friend of my daughters so her and another attendent gave the shower. They sent out 38 invites, and invited everyone The Bride to be worked with, about 40 other people. One person showed up. I was absolutely shocked and felt so awful for the Bride to be. She is such a wonderful person. There were the two attendents, myself, my younger daughter and a friend of her sons there. I had thought being it was hunting weekend that we'd have a great turnout. But i thought wrong.
The attendents and I did our best to make the shower fun, we still played the games, I showed off some of the great PC Products, and everyone tried them out, I made three recipes, not demo's although everyone was in the kitchen by me and helped, I had made the Barbie Bridal Cake which turned out wonderful. I had two sandwich rings and Deli wraps, plus there was a ton of other food.
I felt so bad for the bride but I was also very disappointed because the total for the show was only $213. I had figured that it would be such a big show, guess I shouldn't count my chickens before they are hatched.
Anyway, i just thought I would share them. How could people not show up. Don't they care about the Bride's feelings?

 

[pamperedbecky]

Wow! That's incredible. That poor bride. Did people RSVP?? Were there lots of people that they never heard from? Didn't the "guests" respond to reminder calls? How many were officially expected in the final head count? Wow, that just shocks me. It sounds like you made the best of it. I would have your daughter and the other attendant who organized it call everyone on the guest list and say something like "I'm sorry you couldn't make it to _______'s bridal shower the other day....." and maybe have her explain to them how they can help the bride start off with a great kitchen full of useful tools by going on your webiste (do you have one?) and browsing the products and getting something for her. Maybe there'd be a way to work into the conversation how low the turn out was and the other invited guests may feel badly and want to get the bride a nice gift. You could post her wishlist on your website or the organizers can send out an email to everyone. Keep the show open for a little while and they can try to collect orders.

That's so sad! Maybe some straggling orders will come in. Good luck!

 

[kitchenqueen]

I agree with Becky! Have the attendants and the bride call those who were invited and didn't come. And id you felt comfortable enough, you could help with phone calls as well. Outside orders really do add up quick!! Make sure the bride understands her benefits. Ask the bride to bring the catalog to work woth her and give her alot of order forms. Even if the guests don't buy her anything and only buy for themselves, their order will still help earn her free products! Good Luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[JoAnne Barak]

some of the guests who didn't show up did RSVP that they thought they could make it. They also sent gifts; pillows, towels, things the bride didn't need. She want the PC because she had been married before and had most of it, when her marriage broke up she left and it didn't. She wants to have it all again.

 

[Wildfire]

Dear friend,I am so sorry to hear about the disappointing turnout at the bridal shower. I can only imagine how much time and effort you put into preparing for the event, and it must have been disheartening to see such a small number of guests.As a Pampered Chef consultant, I know how important it is to have a good turnout at a party or show. But sometimes, things don't go as planned and it can be frustrating. However, I believe that the most important thing is the experience that you and the bride had together.I am glad to hear that you and the other attendants still made the best of the situation and had fun playing games and trying out some of our amazing products. I am sure the bride appreciated your efforts and had a great time despite the low turnout.Please know that it is not a reflection of the bride's popularity or your skills as a consultant. Sometimes, life just gets in the way and people are unable to attend. I am sure they would have loved to be there if they could.Thank you for sharing your experience with us. As a consultant, I have also learned not to count my chickens before they hatch. But I am confident that your next show will be a huge success. Keep spreading the love for Pampered Chef and making people's lives easier and more delicious.Warmly,