Dealing with Overbearing Recruiters in My PC Business: My Bittersweet Goodbye

[aleechef]

my husband and i have concluded that i'm going to stop selling pc if i can't switch my recruiter. the one that i have is overbearing, and she's always pushing her way of doing everything onto my family. my husband can't take it anymore, and frankly, neither can i. i love selling pc, but i've had some problems with both my recruiter and director. they're both the same in that they are always pushing pushing pushing. i know its unprofessional and probably immature, but i've even gone as far as unplugging my phone to avoid her calls. i've tried to talk to them about it, but they just push guilt on me for not wanting to make it a full-time thing, among other things.. (right now its best if i stay at a few catalog shows a month as my life is too hectic for more than that) they're so... over-pushy. they take assertive to the next lvl (my recruiter is always coaching me on how to run my household and raise my son)..

its sad b'c this is a good way for me to get to know more ppl and make xtra $ but i'm at my wits end. if i quit now, my husband will fight me starting it up again, just b'c i'll have to buy a whole new kit, when i already have the kit now.

oh well. i can make it work out for the best though. i've been inactive for almost 3 months now, so i won't have to wait a full year until i can start up again. and i could just host some parties through my mom's recruiter (the one i wanted to switch to).. i'll still be able to help out the friends that want parties (b'c they can book off me or my mom's recruiter) and if i host as well, i can get some free products and maybe stock up on some inventory so that if i can start back up again next year, i'll have a lot to give away/sell at fairs.

of course, if it's ok, i'll stay on these boards and keep up with the biz so i can be ready for next time. ....such a bittersweet goodbye... [for now anyway..]

 

[luvs2sellit]

For goodness sakes!!! You need to call HO and let them know of your problems with your director and recruiter. There is no reason people like that should be making a paycheck off of anyones sales. Give me their number, I will call them!!!!! That just really makes me furious that they would treat you like that. Can you not just tell them to stop calling you that you would like to go at it all by yourself, no help from them. My Director has little to no contact with me, whenever I have a question I come to this board. I do attend meetings as much as I can but I could completely do fine without them. Don't give up yet. Be bold, take a stand and call them and tell them how you feel. Why let them ruin what you want to do. If it is really what you want fight for it.

 

[Jennie4PC]

I agree with Laura, but if they wont listen to you and they wont let you change recruiters then i definitly have to say it is your choice, i have a good director who doesnt push, she motivates with emails and says she is there to talk and my recruiter i have talked to her twice since i moved. Good Luck with your decision

 

[kitchenqueen]

I agree with Laura!! Call HO and fill them in on the details because that is just unacceptable. If I'm not mistaken, the PC business is all about hospitality...maybe your recruiter and director lost sight of that!! And for them to being turning it around on you and making you feel guilty when approaching them about this is ridiculous!! Be firm and tell them exactly how you feel. Let them know that if you do become active again, NOT to contact you because of the stress THEY are putting on your family!! Make them feel the guilt for once!! If all you want to do is catalog shows, they should respect that and applaud you for even sticking with PC with a hectic schedule! Good Luck to you in whatever you decide. Please keep us informed and if you contact HO, let us know what they suggest doing. I feel bad that you are going through this. No director or recruiter should be like that.

 

[aleechef]

want this chapter closedmy husband and i just want this done and overwith. confrontation with these two just doesn't amount to anything positive... only more and more guilt and further instruction. i don't want anything more to do with them. when someone tells you that you need to stop using your husband and son as excuses for not wanting to expand your business...it burns real bad.

the only thing that has kept me from stopping already is the fact that i didn't buy my kit--the $ was given from an anonymous person for me to start up. i feel obligated to that person to keep my business going--b'c my director and recruiter have pushed me to feel that way. i felt blessed in the beginning, but they make it seem as if strings were attached to that person's wonderful gift, and now there is so much guilt they've lathered on.. i feel like i'm under the heaviest weight imagineable.

i find myself constantly trying to please, trying to win over their approval so that i can avoid their constant browbeating and rebuke. selling pc started as a fun thing to do (i went to college for cooking so it's a passion of mine, and i LOVE the products), but now it's turned into a full-time job.. and in all honesty, an obsession. i realize that i spend more time in the day making flyers and emailing contacts and calling people so i can get more bookings and hold more parties and please the two, than i do wrestling around with my 1 year old or spending time with my husband---which is the REASON i started in the first place!!! i wanted the flexibility to sell AROUND spending time with my family, not INSTEAD of spending time with them. pc is a company that promotes time with family... the job is built to go around your life, to fit in the nooks and crannies.. not the other way around.

i've prayed about this and talked about it with my husband and a few sound, guiding people, and i feel like i just need to dust this off my feet and move on. all i have found in the 4 months i've been selling pc is bitterness, anger, browbeating, criticism, pressure, and most of all.. tears. i know selling pc is not supposed to be like that. i want a clean slate, and if i have to wait just shy of a year to get it, then maybe that's the best thing to do.

 

[cla519]

Call HoI agree with the rest who say to call head office. Let them know that if you can't swich directors and recruit then you will have to quit. I'm not sure they would want someone having that much stress on you and your family. Maybe HO can do something about this as it is a reflection on PC and I'm sure that they don't want that. Ask HO to get them to stop calling you and find another director who would be willing to be there for you if you should need someone. I think if there were ever a question that this forum could probably give you great encouragement and answers than anyother director could. If this is really something that you love call HO at least to let them know of the situation and see what can be done. If nothing at least they are aware of the harrassment that you have had to face with these people.

 

[tpchefrebecca]

Oh my goodness!!!You definitely don't have to deal with that mess! I would call HO and tell them why you have gone inactive. As it was said before, PC is not supposed to be pressure and greedy. It is suppose to be a wonderful experience to be able to work around your family schedule and spend more time with them.

It is ridiculous, selfish, and downright disgusting what your recruiter and director have done to you. Shame on them!

Call HO, not to complain, but explain. You will feel better knowing you have taken a stand!

Good luck to you and I wish you the best!

 

[DZmom]

I don't know you or where you are located, but whatever your problem with your recruiter may be there is always a way around it. HO may actually be able to help you out without you having to quit. I don't blame you for not wanting to be apart of their team anymore. Ask your mom's friend about joining their cluster as a hospitality consultant. TELL THOSE WOMEN TO LEAVE YOU ALONE!! Your family is NEVER an excuse. They are the REASON!! I do PC FOR my family not inspite of them or to takeaway from them!!!!

 

[aleechef]

thank youladies, thank you. you're the epitome of pampered chef. my mom's consultant (she's a director) is 6 hours away (she lives in ny and i'm in pa) but i have free unlimited long distance so i could talk to her whenever i needed to. and i have this group.. you're all right. i shouldnt have to give up what i love to do and what benefits my family. my husband said that if i switched recruiter/directors, he would support me doing this more.. right now, he's flabbergasted at the actions of the two and has difficulty accepting why i'm letting this go on. he's supportive, don't get me wrong, but he wants me (and the family) to be free of all of this, so he's upset that i just keep taking more and more of it.

its just that i keep thinking it will get better and that maybe if i get some sales, they'll let me be. i'm working a mall bazaar this week with my recruiter (b'c the cost was too much so we split it) in hopes of getting sales just for that reason. and right now, i'm ready to hand over the 3 contacts and one possible recruit just to be free of it all.. ('cept i'm wanting to hand them to my mom's consultant!)

who do i call? or do i write them? [i feel like such a tattle-tattle.]

 

[kitchenqueen]

I am literally speechless - I never knew your family could be an excuse! Those women are crazy!! I would still call HO and bring this to their attention. No one should be disrespected and spoken to like that!

 

[Laurenncraigory]

as everyone else says...call Home Office...888-our-chef

 

[luvs2sellit]

Please write HO. Just get on consultants corner and go under contacts. I am sure once you email them you will get a immediate response and I would be surprised if they did not call you personally. Write a letter just like you wrote on here, very truthful, heartfelt. Please let us know how it goes. As you can see by all our posts (and I am sure more will come) that we are all behind you 100%. I am praying for you as well. If you continue to pray for guidance you will make the right decisions.

 

[fleurchef]

I know how you feel...I am just signing up with a new recruiter/ director after being inactive for an entire year. It wasn't fun waiting, but sometimes the situation warrants it. I truly hope the best for you and hope that the home office makes some much needed changes in this area. There is no reason for you to work under that much pressure. If you wanted that...well, you could just work at a regular job. You know as well as me that you could find the pressure if that is what you were after. Remember that this is your business and no one has the right to take away your passion for it.

All the best,
Dawn Flower
Cedarburg, WI.

 

[Pampered Zoe]

I am so sorry this has happened to youHonestly it makes me want to cry. I know why I started PC, and family had a lot to do with it. The idea that someone would even bring your family and personal life into your "performance" is despicable! You are supposed to put in as much as you want to put in and nothing more.

Please, please call HO and explain the situation. If they can't help, maybe they can switch you to a Hospitality director at the VERY least.

Please keep us updated, I know you will be in all of our thoughts!

Good Luck, and know that you can always count on us to support you whatever you decide.

 

[jdavis]

I could understand some pushing to motivate you if you were WANTING to do more or better to get more shows or whatever, but if you are fine with what you are doing and it fits you there is no reason for them to be pushing you for anything. It sounds like all they want is for themselves so they are trying to make you feel bad so you will live up to their standards and make them more money, well I would tell them tough luck, make your own money, I am fine with what I am doing, in fact VERY HAPPY and would LOVE if you would STOP PRESSURING ME!!! Maybe it would go better to email them then you can have it all thought out and look it over and all that and make sure you don't forget anything, like say the leave me alone part, lol, a few times thru your message. That way they can't frustrate you and maybe if they just sit and read it they will 'get the message'.

Good luck, (maybe just block their numbers)

 

[chef131doreen]

new Cluster neededHi , Everyone is right call or e-mail HO to let them know whats going on. All you need is a close buy cluster meeting to go to ( thats what a Hospitality Director are there for) Totaly DROP all ties to the past and move on.
By all means keep those contact for yourself let them do catalog partys for you if you dont want to do a show .You can sign on the new people you may get ( more money for you ) and continue to go to a new directors meetings. With anyone that you recuit. I have been with PC for over 5 years and the reason that I like to go to meeting is to network with others and always learn more . I think its a great way to keep the buisness fresh. PC is a job with NO BOSS only yourself to answer to no one else. REMEMBER why you started PC in the first place CUT ALL TIES AND MOVE ON keep up with Pamperedchef don't quit unless you want to

good luck keep the faith and you will do fine
Doreen Zaino Future Director 5 years and 4 months and still LOVE IT
[email protected]

 

[showmehow2]

Call HOOne thing you might want to think about is that if these women are brow beating you, how many other people are they doing it to who aren't aware of this board? They may not know of any way out. Sounds like HO needs to get them to back off. It's not their business - it's YOURS! And you should be able to run it anyway you want (legally, of course! ). Definitely call HO. Don't think it's tattleing. Bully's at schools (which these two are) is viewed with zero tolerance.

 

[Pampered Heather]

Call Home OfficeThese 2 women are ruining your Pampered Chef experience and that is not fair to you at all. Let home office know what is going on and don't give up. The beauty of Pampered Chef is that it is YOUR business not theirs. You're husband obviously supports you in having a PC business so stay with it. I have a great director who is available when I need her but isn't intrusive (and she lives around the corner from me - so she could be if she wanted to).

PC is about having your own business that fits into your life and your families lives. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you stay with the rest of your PC family that cares about you.

 

[SusieChef]

CALL Home office. Talk to them in person. Maybe they can even get you on with your mom's consultant. You don't need to confront your recruiter... explain to HO that you can't even speak to her. They will help you come up with a solution. Be honest, you shouldn't feel that you have to give up on something that you love doing because of them.

Let us know what HO says. I pray it all works out for you.

Susie

 

[ellebeew]

Here's my two centsI had the opposite problem when I started...my recruiter quit and didn't tell me until I happened to call to ask a question a few weeks after my starter kit arrived. (She had never called me once she signed me up.) She told me she decided to move onto an organizing job with another friend. (She'd been in PC for like 10 yrs) Aaanyway, it was hard because I had no immediate support and the next person up in the chain was our Exec Director who although super nice always seemed sooo busy when I called. I think once a recruiter quits, whoever is her upline should HAVE to call and get in touch with the quitter's consultants so they don't feel stranded like I did.

I lamely plugged away on my own trying to figure things out and not doing too well and went inactive last summer. I went to National Conference hoping to be inspired to reactivate - and I WAS!! Many people said to find another cluster in my area to attend monthly meetings and to look for the support I needed if I didn't get it from my Exec Director and cluster. Well I found that in attending each of my monthly meetings, calling my Exec for support and not feeling bad even if she were busy (it's her job for heaven's sake!!) and calling other consultants in my cluster with questions have all made a big difference. This site is also GREAT for getting ideas and support.

I would simply tell the 2 that are calling you that you cannot work with them any longer but thanks for their interest in your success and that you will find someone to help you that is a better fit, and that you would appreciate it if they didn't call you anymore. Not everyone always clicks you know - it may seem harsh but you need to take care of yourself !! Home Office has to be able to intervene for you if necessary.

I LOVE this as a job and would encourage you to keep at it and find what you need. Go to conference next summer and network there too. It was totally awesome.

 

[pamperedbecky]

Is there an upline director above your director that you can contact? If you don't know who that person is, HO can tell you. I'm thinking that MAY be what HO suggests to you anyway. I'm so sorry to hear that something that can be so fun and rewarding has turned into a big headache for you. I HATE hearing that! I think the most important thing for directors/recruiters to realize is that THEIR OWN goals may not be the same goals their consultants on their team have. I truly hope that you get some other support that will enable you to stay with PC. You're right.....you got into this for a reason and to work around your family's schedule. HOpefully you can get back in touch with that and be able to work your business how YOU want to and not have to answer to the overbearing recruiter and director. Good luck to you!

 

[Impampered]

Please make the callI agree with every one I have read. I do think you should call the home office. This is your business to run as you see it. Not as anyone else says you have to. That is the point of the business, it is yours to do as you want to. The Home Office would need to know so it doesn't keep happening to Others. It makes PC look bad. You only have to have $200 in sale every 2 months to stay active and that is it.
I wish you all the luck and pray you don't give up. Unless it is really what you want to do in your heart!

 

[AJPratt]

Your family is NEVER an excuse. They are the REASON!! I do PC FOR my family not inspite of them or to takeaway from them!!!!

Absolutely!!!! Maybe you can find hospitality somewhere. There is no reason for you to feel this way. I hope those two are reading this board! If they know you're ready to quit maybe they'll back off.