Stephanie S
- 202
Okay, I am sorry but I just have to vent to get this off my chest. One of my friends hosts a show regularly, every 6 months ~ she is a Saint, always has a large group together, and we all have a great time! During her show in February I got 3 show bookings for January. My first was last Friday and was a huge success. The host is thinking about joining part-time after her wedding this summer (she currently works full-time, as do I ~ and I therefore attrach part-timers), she had a great big group together, and she is still collecting outside orders!
My second show was last night. This host was a little gun shy from the start. When I started the host coaching (I do a pretty thorough job, you can see the scripts that I use posted in another thread), she seemed surprised about the fact that she would have to put effort into inviting people. I slowly worked through her anxiety with her and she came around. We chatted quite a few times, and her excitement continued to grow. She got a little nervous once people said that they were not available, and I let her know that was normal, just like with any party, not everyone is free! She started wondering about changing the night. She started worrying about snow (it was + degrees outside). She flipped and flopped, never really answered the phone, etc. etc. etc. I finally got her settled on the original night, with a "snow date" of the following night. I spoke with her on how she should invite people to come earlier than the start time, so we could start on time (I even pre-print labels with the party information so I set the arrival time 30 min in advance of start time). I like to start my shows at 7:00 p.m. in the evening, so I set the arrival time for 6:30 p.m. on the invitations. Well, either this host threw out all of the invitations that I had prepped for her, or her guests were not ones to be on time. 3 ladies arrived around 7 p.m., and the host wanted to wait a bit until others arrived. For a long while I though it was just going to be the 3 ladies, the host and myself (which at that point would have been fine because I would have at least been able to start!) Anyways, 7:00 p.m. came and went, 7:30 p.m. came and went. I tried to encourage the host to allow us to start, and others could join in when they arrived. She pretty much ignored what I was saying, and continued to pour and serve drinks to those who were there.
We finally got started just after 8:00 p.m. Others had arrived, and I had to interrupt to say that we were going to get started. I tried to make it easy for everyone by saying that they could stand and gather around as the demo wouldn't be long. Well, the host wanted to organize everyone, and have everyone sitting down - that took at least another 5 min, then they couldn't see from where they were sitting, so I had to do everything in the air!!!
After the demo, I cleaned up while the guests flipped through the catalogues and wrote their orders down. When I was finished cleaning up, I did the draw and announced that I was ready to help them with their orders. No One Moved....for what seemed to be like forever. Eventually the occasional person came up, and then no one moved.... It was getting later and later, it was past 9:15 and I was ready to go. I eventually started working my way around the room, calculator in hand, and started asking guests if I could help them with their order. I felt as though I was being completely intrusive, interrupting conversations, and pretty much suggesting that everyone order, which I was not...
I finally worked my way through everyone, and then there was one left....one lady who could not make up her mind.....one lady who asked question after question after question about the Rectangular Baker. She was confused because it is pictured in 3 places in the catalogue! I tried to explain that it was all the same size dish, just different styles (vanilla glazed, cranberry glazed, and natural). She hummed, and hawed, and hummed, and hawed. I was getting so anxious to leave and so I suggested that she could let the host know in a couple of days time once she had decided.... Finally she chose!
I packed up my car, after interrupting the host to ask for my jacket, it was 9:45 by this point and I was soooooo ready to go. I went back in to say hi, and let her know where she was $$ wise, and they were all in the middle of a conversation. I tried to hint that I was ready to leave. Coat on, gloves on, hand on the door knob. Nothing! I finally had to interrupt and I just let her know that I would give her a call in a couple of days.
My second show was last night. This host was a little gun shy from the start. When I started the host coaching (I do a pretty thorough job, you can see the scripts that I use posted in another thread), she seemed surprised about the fact that she would have to put effort into inviting people. I slowly worked through her anxiety with her and she came around. We chatted quite a few times, and her excitement continued to grow. She got a little nervous once people said that they were not available, and I let her know that was normal, just like with any party, not everyone is free! She started wondering about changing the night. She started worrying about snow (it was + degrees outside). She flipped and flopped, never really answered the phone, etc. etc. etc. I finally got her settled on the original night, with a "snow date" of the following night. I spoke with her on how she should invite people to come earlier than the start time, so we could start on time (I even pre-print labels with the party information so I set the arrival time 30 min in advance of start time). I like to start my shows at 7:00 p.m. in the evening, so I set the arrival time for 6:30 p.m. on the invitations. Well, either this host threw out all of the invitations that I had prepped for her, or her guests were not ones to be on time. 3 ladies arrived around 7 p.m., and the host wanted to wait a bit until others arrived. For a long while I though it was just going to be the 3 ladies, the host and myself (which at that point would have been fine because I would have at least been able to start!) Anyways, 7:00 p.m. came and went, 7:30 p.m. came and went. I tried to encourage the host to allow us to start, and others could join in when they arrived. She pretty much ignored what I was saying, and continued to pour and serve drinks to those who were there.
We finally got started just after 8:00 p.m. Others had arrived, and I had to interrupt to say that we were going to get started. I tried to make it easy for everyone by saying that they could stand and gather around as the demo wouldn't be long. Well, the host wanted to organize everyone, and have everyone sitting down - that took at least another 5 min, then they couldn't see from where they were sitting, so I had to do everything in the air!!!
After the demo, I cleaned up while the guests flipped through the catalogues and wrote their orders down. When I was finished cleaning up, I did the draw and announced that I was ready to help them with their orders. No One Moved....for what seemed to be like forever. Eventually the occasional person came up, and then no one moved.... It was getting later and later, it was past 9:15 and I was ready to go. I eventually started working my way around the room, calculator in hand, and started asking guests if I could help them with their order. I felt as though I was being completely intrusive, interrupting conversations, and pretty much suggesting that everyone order, which I was not...
I finally worked my way through everyone, and then there was one left....one lady who could not make up her mind.....one lady who asked question after question after question about the Rectangular Baker. She was confused because it is pictured in 3 places in the catalogue! I tried to explain that it was all the same size dish, just different styles (vanilla glazed, cranberry glazed, and natural). She hummed, and hawed, and hummed, and hawed. I was getting so anxious to leave and so I suggested that she could let the host know in a couple of days time once she had decided.... Finally she chose!
I packed up my car, after interrupting the host to ask for my jacket, it was 9:45 by this point and I was soooooo ready to go. I went back in to say hi, and let her know where she was $$ wise, and they were all in the middle of a conversation. I tried to hint that I was ready to leave. Coat on, gloves on, hand on the door knob. Nothing! I finally had to interrupt and I just let her know that I would give her a call in a couple of days.
