Dealing with a Flakey Catalog Show Host: Tips and Strategies

[PamperedK]

Flakey catalog show host - I give up!!!!!!!!My friend said she'd do a catalog show for me. I had pretty much given up on her after a month of emails and unanswered phone calls. Then on Tuesday she emails and says she has some orders (this is after me leaving her a message that the catalog is only valid until the 28th). I asked her if I could come pick up her orders, and she hasn't written back or called back since!!!

So if/when I finally do get the orders from her, do you think I should have them delivered to my place and I'll call the guests and arrange to drop them off to them?

I know that if I have them delivered to her, she'll take FOREVER to get them to her friends, and since some of them have been waiting since the beginning of February for their items.

what do you all think?

 

[jenniferknapp]

I think that you should!! Just in case she has been collecting orders for a long time now, so that you can kind of personally make it up to them by giving your apology. Your name is on those receipts - you don't need her to take a long time to hand them out!Good luck!!

 

[CAmomCookin4U]

I think that you should!! Just in case she has been collecting orders for a long time now, so that you can kind of personally make it up to them by giving your apology. Your name is on those receipts - you don't need her to take a long time to hand them out!

Good luck!!

I agree this gives You the opportunity to display what Gr8 customer service YOU can offer. They are probably wondering why it's taking soooo long. You could even call them as soon as you get the orders and say something like" Hi ...... this is .... with TPC I just received your order and want to thank you bla bla bla." This way they KNOW it is not PC that takes so long.

P.S. I have one going on right now myself (also a feb. catty)Yikes
WTheck why don't they answer the phone

 

[PamperedK]

I agree this gives You the opportunity to display what Gr8 customer service YOU can offer. They are probably wondering why it's taking soooo long. You could even call them as soon as you get the orders and say something like" Hi ...... this is .... with TPC I just received your order and want to thank you bla bla bla." This way they KNOW it is not PC that takes so long.

P.S. I have one going on right now myself (also a feb. catty)Yikes
WTheck why don't they answer the phone

Good idea!! I will definitely call everyone and let them know that I just received their order and to expect their items in a week or so...

I don't understand it! I'm sure the only reason she emailed me is because I told her I had to order everything by the 28th....but then I made the mistake of alluding to the fact that it could wait a couple of days and now nothing!

SO FRUSTRATING!

 

[CAmomCookin4U]

Good idea!! I will definitely call everyone and let them know that I just received their order and to expect their items in a week or so...

I don't understand it! I'm sure the only reason she emailed me is because I told her I had to order everything by the 28th....but then I made the mistake of alluding to the fact that it could wait a couple of days and now nothing!

SO FRUSTRATING!

You could e-her again or tele- and say unfortunately the final day for Feb orders is Sunday night do to limited quantities(for the going goin gone items). Hopefully she want say "Oh no problem they aren't"
Good luck I'm going to try it myself tomorrow

 

[Chef Diane]

Forget Sunday I would tell her they're due tonight. That way when she doesn't call until Sunday afternoon you're still safe. So frustrating, this is one reason I don't like dealing with friends

 

[PamperedK]

Well, I called her on Saturday and she said she was heading out. I told her I had to close the show tonight...she said she'd call me and she hasn't yet...=SI hope she didn't collect orders at the beginning of the month.

 

[PamperedK]

Ok, so I finally got ahold of her last night on MSN Messenger...she said she'd call me tonight. It's now 815p. Should I call her or wait until it's later?

 

[PamperedK]

Ok I officially give up. It's now 10p. She told me yesterday she would call me "for sure, I promise promise!" She even apologized for not being available.WTF? This makes me mad simply because this is supposed to be a friend of mine. While I appreciate her offering to help me out, this is really frustrating for me. *sigh*

 

[pcchris]

Do you know for a fact that she even HAS orders? She might have just said that, but not have any. (experience talking here). Sometimes people will tell you that they have orders, but don't, and they just kind of want to keep things going so you think there's a reason to hang on while she actually gets some orders! Like Jim Morrison sang... "People are strange".
I actually had one one time that kept telling me she had orders, would call me, blah blah blah...but she didn't have any orders. When I called her, she frantically ran around trying to get some. She apologized, and she had nothing. Oh well...at least she finally admitted it. No biggie...ya gotta keep on keepin' on...that's why it's my sig line. Good philosophy.

 

[yummy4tummy]

Do you know for a fact that she even HAS orders? She might have just said that, but not have any. (experience talking here). Sometimes people will tell you that they have orders, but don't, and they just kind of want to keep things going so you think there's a reason to hang on while she actually gets some orders!

Hmmmm, we must have had some of the same hosts, because it baffles me that there would really be that many inconsiderate people around. I have had 7 of these kind of hosts in less than a years time.

 

[JaimeQ]

I'm getting so annoyed with my catalog host. She has had her show open since Feb. 16th... Here it is March 6th and she is still not wanting to close her show... I have her a date of the 5th to close so I could get the double points and I heard nothing from her... I sent her an email telling her the longer she waits to get the orders there is a possiblity that some of the items won't be available do to them being discontinued... she finally email me back today saying well if i'm inconvienicing(sp) you then just move on and i'll tell the people that order that the show is canceled. WTF?? I'm trying to let her now important info and she is going to bite my head off.

 

[PamperedK]

ugh. Well, she did send me 3 orders, but they only total $80. She wants to keep it open to try to get $200. The worst part? No one ordered anything DC'd or any Stoneware AND the "guests" are her mom, her sister and her MIL. So I can't exactly use any of my normal lines to get the thing closed.

 

[PamperedK]

Holy cow! She finally gave me her orders but now i'm trying to get hold of her to get her stupid c/c number!!! The worst part is, I now have some other orders I was going to add to this to make it a show...this is really ticking me off.

 

[pcchris]

bummer deal. sorry to hear of your trouble. i'm not real crazy about catty shows...but you know, desperate times call for desperate measures...sometimes I'll take what I can get! LOL!!! Hope this doesn't happen to you again!!!

 

[DebbieSAChef]

Really??

bummer deal. sorry to hear of your trouble. i'm not real crazy about catty shows...but you know, desperate times call for desperate measures...sometimes I'll take what I can get! LOL!!! Hope this doesn't happen to you again!!!

I love catty shows! Especially being pregnant, I don't have to drive or carry products to anyone's house. I just love having the host do all the work gathering orders, mailing me or meeting me somewhere to get those orders, handing me loads of money and checks, and then she is in charge of handing out the products when they come in!! And I get the commission!

IT'S GREAT!!!

I have never had a problem with a catty show. I always make sure I let them know when the show must be closed during host coaching to ensure their guests get their items in a timely manner. I have never had a host do anything like this. It would be so frustrating for me. Some people are so inconsiderate. But take a while to answer their calls back and you will get your head bitten off!! LOL

Hope it all works out for you.

Debbie

 

[gilliandanielle]

I love catty shows too! There is something to be said for going to the show and having it be over with too though

 

[PamperedK]

It's the weirdest thing because I told her from the beginning that we were closing FEB15th (in time for my SS3). It's STILL not closed and it's March 14!!!I think it's because she's a friend of mine so she's not taking me as seriously as she should...

 

[spoiledchef]

I'm dealing w/the SAME thing. Our realtor offered to help me out by doing a catty show, and it was for JANUARY. Well, when it was time to close, she told me she didn't have enough orders, so we'd make it a FEBRUARY catty show. Well, then March rolls around, and she STILL didn't have enough orders. So, now, it's time to get her new catalogs and make sure no one ordered stones or discontinued items. Well, luckily, no one did (according to her). We were set to close out her show yesterday, and I've STILL not heard from her. I've emailed her numerous times, and she's been so flaky with me. I finally sent this email this am. We'll see what happens. I'm about ready to say "FORGET IT....thanks for your help, but GEEZ!!!!!!"

I still haven't heard anything back from you regarding any more orders. In all fairness to the people who ordered, can you please just let me know there names and the items they ordered. I'll just add it to someone else's show so they can get their products. You can then just mail me the checks. I don't think it looks good to make them keep waiting to receive something they wanted to order. If you're okay with this, then please just email me the information (name/items # ordered) for each person. If this all totals $150, then I'll gladly enter it as a show for you. But -- if not, then I'll just add it someone else's. I can't keep waiting to know what's going on. I truly hope you understand. This is my business, and I have to keep running it effectively to provide the best customer service possible. Thanks again, and let me know today if at all possible.

We shall see what happens!

 

[PamperedK]

Great email! Please let me know what she says.