Let’s hope the actual event goes better than the planning has! Suffice it to say, my expectations are low…

I had a party last week which the hostess promised to close by Thursday – I heard from her at lunchtime with a question, and then not for the rest of the day, despite me leaving two messages. For reasons outside my control, this party HAD to be entered by Friday. That is how I found myself leaving messages from my cellphone while driving on an out-of-state turnpike, and logging on from a distant Starbucks to check if she had emailed me. As they day went on and I hadn’t heard from her, my stress level mounted. I was going to have a lot of annoyed customers if this party didn’t get closed.

Eventually the necessary phone call came, just as I was heading out to dinner with my husband. He patiently sat there in the parking lot which I scribbled down the hostess’ order on a scrap of paper, hoping I was hearing her correctly over the background noise. But she didn’t have her credit card number on her, so I was still missing one significant piece of information and needed to connect with her one more time that night. We ate our dinner and returned to our hotel room, where all thoughts of a relaxing evening watching a movie together went out the window. Instead my husband watched the baseball game on TV while I frantically typed in her order, dealt with a customer check made out to the wrong person, and generally got more and more stressed.

Finally it got to 11pm, my husband was fully-clothed but snoring on the bed, and this woman was still not answering her phone despite many messages. I had to make the executive decision to put her order on my own credit card in order to get the party into the system. I hate doing that, but not doing so would have resulted in many angry customers not receiving their products on time. She called me apologetically the next day, and promised to send me a check. I’m grateful that the money arrived in today’s mail, and thankful that my trust in her was not misplaced. Still, it was unnecessary drama I could have done without.

During the weekend I also had to handle impatient leads requesting more information, past hostesses querying things about their deliveries, and several team members with what they perceived as business crises. I had to deal with so many phone calls and emails, it was crazy. Maybe I should have ignored them all? But my conscientious streak makes it impossible to ignore requests for help, even on a romantic getaway. I might need an intervention! “Hello, my name is The Traveling Saleswoman and I’m addicted to providing exemplary customer service, even at the cost of my personal life and sanity.”

When you walk into a hostess’ home, you never know what will greet you. Will there be giant slobbering dogs, a deaf grandma, or rude children? Will the house be a chaotic mess or look like an uninhabited museum? (In both cases I am often scared to touch anything, but for different reasons!)

When the phone rings, will it be your next hostess calling to cancel her party at 12 hours’ notice, or an enthusiastic lead who wants to join your team? It could be a $300 order out of the blue or a team member calling to complain that “no-one wants to have parties anymore.”

At your next party, will you get 3 dates booked and a new team member, or will the crowd stare at you blankly as if you are speaking in Martian? Will there be 20 guests who won’t stop talking, or 3 guests who don’t say a word?

At the end of the month, will your sales and recruiting be enough to promote to the next level in your company, or will you be scrabbling around for sales or worried about missing out on your leadership bonus?

You just never know! That’s what makes this job interesting. You have to be prepared for everything. You have to expect the worst and hope for the best. It keeps you on your toes.

Let’s just say my toes are getting a good workout this week….

Simply scroll down to review the e-greeting to make sure that everything is correct, and then copy and paste everything below the dotted line into your own email. When you’re finished, send the message to all of your contacts!

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I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I usually give clients a second chance. But I’m afraid in your case, you have finally exceeded the limits of even my patience.

I met you at a craft fair in November. You booked a party for a date 3 weeks later. When I called you the day before to find out how many people you were expecting, you told me “only a couple” and that you wanted to reschedule to January “to make it worth my while”. Fair enough; we fixed a January date.

Two days before that, I call you for your numbers – you tell me that you unexpectedly have to work that day and need to reschedule, but you “definitely still want to do it in January because I know people who want to order”. Fair enough; we settle on the last day of January.

Yesterday, I make that courtesy call again. You tell me you are expecting about 6 people, and already have orders waiting for me. You specify a couple of products you want to see in person. We have a brief chat and I confirm that I’ll arrive at your house at 1.15. I begin to get my hopes up at last, concluding that this won’t be the biggest party the world has ever known, but it should still be worth my time.

I locate the requested products, stamp catalogs and load up the car. I get changed into my working clothes and dispatch my husband to entertain the children. I drive to your town, stopping at the post office because I have a few minutes to spare and don’t wish to appear rude by arriving early.

While I’m in the line at the post office, my cellphone rings. It’s you. You need to cancel the party. “But aren’t 6 people planning to show up at your house in 45 minutes?”, I splutter in disbelief. “I can’t do this today”, you say, offering no further explanation. “What about the orders you already have?”, I ask. “I’ll email you, ” you say before hanging up. My mouth hangs open in shock as the call disconnects.

So I just thought I’d write and say thank you. Thank you for messing me around at such short notice – not once, not twice, but three times. Thank you for considering your own time so much more valuable than my own. Thank you for not realizing that this is how I earn my living, and I was counting on this income. Thank you for officially claiming the title of my rudest hostess ever.

I wouldn’t hold your breath if you’re expecting to hear from me again. I have better things to do with my time than waste it chasing after you.

Regards
The Traveling Saleswoman

When did people stop RSVPing to events like this?  I was brought up to believe that it was incredibly rude not to reply to an invitation.  But it’s becoming more and more of a problem.  I hear the complaint from my own hostesses all the time – “Well, I invited 30 people, but I can’t really tell you how many people to expect because only 5 people got back to me.”

Now you might say that it’s less crucial to RSVP to a direct sales party invite than to some other invitations.  I think people tend to think to themselves that, “I’ll go to that home party demonstration if something better doesn’t come up.”  It’s not a priority to them – and to be honest, the amount of cleaning and food that is required to host 10 people versus 15 is not that different.

But I also hear this complaint frequently from friends organizing their kids’ birthday parties.  When the incremental cost for each guest is $15+ and you have to have the right number of goody bags, it becomes a headache when it’s 3 days before the event and you still have no clue how many of your kids’ friends to expect!

So, tell me – do you always RSVP?  Does it bother you when other people don’t RSVP to your events? Have you found any creative ways to encourage a better response rate?

Fast forward to last week, when you sent me a calendar in the mail, along with your business card.  No personal note; no “I remember meeting you at Sue’s party. Hope you’re doing well.  Please think of me if you have real estate needs.”  Just a completely impersonal piece of spam.  What exactly did you hope to accomplish with this?  It would never occur to me to mail out a catalog without a note attached, even to a established client – never mind to someone I met once last March who has never even discussed my business with me!

The realtor I do have an ongoing relationship with couldn’t be more different.  She inquires about my kids; she has hosted two parties for me; she sends me referrals and I do the same for her.  The mailings she sends out are personal and relevant.  She should give lessons in building client relationships!