jwagner75
- 38
I am going to post this once to get it off my chest, and than I am going to put on my big girl pants and GET OVER IT…….
Ok had this hostess today, booked from a girl I work with, great. Girl I work with etc. very excited that her friend is having show, she will get the stoneware discount etc. etc. we talk about this all week at work. This lady has all these friends, family, coworkers, knows the whole town.
Well this hostess has been a challenge, hard to get a hold of, I sent her invites with minis all the bells and whistles, go out of my way for her, and she tells me she needs more invites. I already had given her 25--- she says they are coming. I send her more. We go back and forth on recipes; nothing is good enough for a crowd this size. Today is the show; it is over 50 miles away one way, the show is outside. Her husband is a chef, blah blah, everything had to be approved to his standard. It was very long hostess coaching back and forth for weeks. I get nervous, having to cook in front of a chef and all his friends. I make a dish ahead because of the large amount coming and show up at 2:05 for our 3:00 show, she tells me she has had some cancellations due to the rain we had on Friday and Saturday, some kids games got moved to Sunday, not a big deal my daughter soccer game got moved. I made it work. Ok so I start to set up on her patio all is good, she sits down with a glass of wine and her cell, she is on facebook and looks like more are not coming. I say oh that happens, do not worry, it will be great if it is just you and I and some good food, we both laugh. Now she originally said she had like almost 30 people coming. Remember had to send out her extra invites, make additional food.
Well long story short two people showed up, one was her next door neighbor and saw me setting up and walked over, was never even invited, thank god she did because she ordered, and wants to have a show in Oct. The one invite lady is having a tastefully simple show on Thursday and spent the entire show and I mean the entire show over talking me, and that is hard because I am loud and talk a lot. About tastefully simple and the bacon bacon dip and on and on, invites ME, invites the neighbor, she would have even invited the dog if she could. She had invites with her in her purse that she kept pulling out and showing. Host spends the whole show on her phone looking at facebook and talking to people that she said backed out of coming to her show, and telling them they sucked. Honestly it was hard not to just laugh. I made my food like any other show, had the neighbor guest help, the one guest said she owned everything, including our new stuff and refused to look in the catalog. Ok my show usually last 45 minutes than we do orders something along that line, all depends. Well I do all that I do, show is over, the neighbor lady orders, and the one guest she has finally opens her folder, she begins to page thru the book very slowly listing out loud all the things she has and never uses. I was all like you should be a consultant, wink wink. No comments.
Ok so at this point, it is say 5:00 I have been there for three long hours outside and really want to start to drive before it gets dark since I am not too familiar with the area. I start to clean up some, I do not normally do this, usually I take orders, than while people are talking/leaving I pack up and haul out my gear. Well the lady is still looking at the catalog, trying to find something she does not have, because as I heard she has everything, and cannot spend a lot saving it for some bacon bacon dip. Ok I could go on and on…but here is the wrap up:
Hostess, ignored the show the whole time, cell phone attached to her fingers at all times.
Hostess husband. AKA the great chef, missing in action, think he was at the bar watching the eagles game, since the hostess was texting/arguing the whole time with him.
Annoying one invited guest finally found something a bake ware item for 10 or 12 dollars on sale, cannot remember. I think her total was around that. I hope she gags on her bacon bacon dip. Ok that was mean. But it really was in my head.
Neighbor lady, very nice booked a show, I think she felt sorry for me because of the other two, placed a nice order and left like a normal guest.
Ok so I know I rambled but here is the kicker……… so hostess looks up from her phone when she hears that neighbor lady is booking, I was like oh I will mail everything out to you, send you emails, we can do something festive because it is end of October with pumpkins. Etc. I will do this and that and the hostess says oh wait………………………… she goes into her house and comes back out with my priority envelope with her hostess binder in it and ALMOST ALL OF THE 40 invites still pretty in their white envelopes all ready to be handed out…..I almost snatched it from her. The $6.10 shipping was glaring at me in the heat. I was either having a heat stroke or a moment of madness….but instead I just politely took it from her and said I would have to redo the invites with the date. But honestly I am not sure she ever took it out of the envelope.
So long story short, she is still $88 dollars from $150. And no I asked her, she has no more outside orders, just the two one ordered a citrus peeler, and the other ordered a corn cutter. I sent her the website on all her invites with the second page saying if you cannot make it use this order form. I hostess coached, I thought I did everything right.
What do you guys think I could have done different? And also this is the real reason for the posting, do you guys think it was rude of me to pack up before the only real guest placed her order. I mean I was there for over three hours. I can only think of so much to say.
I feel better now that I stopped on the way home for a burger and coke. Maybe it was too much sun, but I really felt like I did something wrong. I guess I am just at a loss, because this show really cost me more than I could ever had hope to get out of it, I guess you have days like this.
Ok had this hostess today, booked from a girl I work with, great. Girl I work with etc. very excited that her friend is having show, she will get the stoneware discount etc. etc. we talk about this all week at work. This lady has all these friends, family, coworkers, knows the whole town.
Well this hostess has been a challenge, hard to get a hold of, I sent her invites with minis all the bells and whistles, go out of my way for her, and she tells me she needs more invites. I already had given her 25--- she says they are coming. I send her more. We go back and forth on recipes; nothing is good enough for a crowd this size. Today is the show; it is over 50 miles away one way, the show is outside. Her husband is a chef, blah blah, everything had to be approved to his standard. It was very long hostess coaching back and forth for weeks. I get nervous, having to cook in front of a chef and all his friends. I make a dish ahead because of the large amount coming and show up at 2:05 for our 3:00 show, she tells me she has had some cancellations due to the rain we had on Friday and Saturday, some kids games got moved to Sunday, not a big deal my daughter soccer game got moved. I made it work. Ok so I start to set up on her patio all is good, she sits down with a glass of wine and her cell, she is on facebook and looks like more are not coming. I say oh that happens, do not worry, it will be great if it is just you and I and some good food, we both laugh. Now she originally said she had like almost 30 people coming. Remember had to send out her extra invites, make additional food.
Well long story short two people showed up, one was her next door neighbor and saw me setting up and walked over, was never even invited, thank god she did because she ordered, and wants to have a show in Oct. The one invite lady is having a tastefully simple show on Thursday and spent the entire show and I mean the entire show over talking me, and that is hard because I am loud and talk a lot. About tastefully simple and the bacon bacon dip and on and on, invites ME, invites the neighbor, she would have even invited the dog if she could. She had invites with her in her purse that she kept pulling out and showing. Host spends the whole show on her phone looking at facebook and talking to people that she said backed out of coming to her show, and telling them they sucked. Honestly it was hard not to just laugh. I made my food like any other show, had the neighbor guest help, the one guest said she owned everything, including our new stuff and refused to look in the catalog. Ok my show usually last 45 minutes than we do orders something along that line, all depends. Well I do all that I do, show is over, the neighbor lady orders, and the one guest she has finally opens her folder, she begins to page thru the book very slowly listing out loud all the things she has and never uses. I was all like you should be a consultant, wink wink. No comments.
Ok so at this point, it is say 5:00 I have been there for three long hours outside and really want to start to drive before it gets dark since I am not too familiar with the area. I start to clean up some, I do not normally do this, usually I take orders, than while people are talking/leaving I pack up and haul out my gear. Well the lady is still looking at the catalog, trying to find something she does not have, because as I heard she has everything, and cannot spend a lot saving it for some bacon bacon dip. Ok I could go on and on…but here is the wrap up:
Hostess, ignored the show the whole time, cell phone attached to her fingers at all times.
Hostess husband. AKA the great chef, missing in action, think he was at the bar watching the eagles game, since the hostess was texting/arguing the whole time with him.
Annoying one invited guest finally found something a bake ware item for 10 or 12 dollars on sale, cannot remember. I think her total was around that. I hope she gags on her bacon bacon dip. Ok that was mean. But it really was in my head.
Neighbor lady, very nice booked a show, I think she felt sorry for me because of the other two, placed a nice order and left like a normal guest.
Ok so I know I rambled but here is the kicker……… so hostess looks up from her phone when she hears that neighbor lady is booking, I was like oh I will mail everything out to you, send you emails, we can do something festive because it is end of October with pumpkins. Etc. I will do this and that and the hostess says oh wait………………………… she goes into her house and comes back out with my priority envelope with her hostess binder in it and ALMOST ALL OF THE 40 invites still pretty in their white envelopes all ready to be handed out…..I almost snatched it from her. The $6.10 shipping was glaring at me in the heat. I was either having a heat stroke or a moment of madness….but instead I just politely took it from her and said I would have to redo the invites with the date. But honestly I am not sure she ever took it out of the envelope.
So long story short, she is still $88 dollars from $150. And no I asked her, she has no more outside orders, just the two one ordered a citrus peeler, and the other ordered a corn cutter. I sent her the website on all her invites with the second page saying if you cannot make it use this order form. I hostess coached, I thought I did everything right.
What do you guys think I could have done different? And also this is the real reason for the posting, do you guys think it was rude of me to pack up before the only real guest placed her order. I mean I was there for over three hours. I can only think of so much to say.
I feel better now that I stopped on the way home for a burger and coke. Maybe it was too much sun, but I really felt like I did something wrong. I guess I am just at a loss, because this show really cost me more than I could ever had hope to get out of it, I guess you have days like this.
Her show ended up at $267.58 - so I made a $53 commission. BUT the hosts check bounced! She brought me cash for the amount plus the $25 bounced check fee that the bank charged & I gave her back the bad check. But 2 days later, I found out that a 2nd direct debit had also bounced so I had a 2nd $25 fee making my commission $28.52. Not my brightest moment. But my host coaching that I've recently started is really paying off. I took the online courses & bought the CD's off the supply order. My show average used to be $543.70, but the last 6 shows have an average of $899.13! A HUGE difference!!!Just bless & release sweetie. Maybe the booking you got will turn out to be a $1,000 show!!! 
