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I've been reading this thread and I wonder what my customers would wish i would do... send them a birthday card maybe? have free stamping nights? call them more?
Advice would be great but not about money. Of course everybody would like to save money. I say if you really want to save money, i'll give you a recruit package and you can be my stampin' sister instead of my customer.
I wish my Demo would have a time when we could stamp with any of her stamps, designing whatever our hearts desire. I would bring my own paper but use her ink and stamps all for a small charge of course.
I agree! I love my demo's Stamp Camps, but I'd love to have a night to come and play with her stuff and MY stuff and get something done! Yes, I stamp at home, but I always feel the pressure...somehow when I'm elsewhere I don't think about the laundry that needs folding or the dishes in the sink!
I also wish (and I've told her this) that when my demo finishes out a month's workshops, she'd put the extras out as "buy and makes" at her next stamp camp. She gives everything she demos (cards, boxes, whatever) to the hostess, but nobody can host every month! I'd gladly pay for them, but I know she cuts extra of everything so she won't run out if she goofs at a workshop, and I'd sure love the chance to make them myself, quick while everything's still in the nice, neat box! (Think Shoebox swap! I'd love it.)
I'd also like her to start back up with hosting swaps, but I know there were flake issues that led to her stopping. Still, it's on my list.
Sorry if this sounds a little cranky. You hit a tender spot. :lol:
My question is if customers really want to have a free stamp night at my house, why don't they show up when I offer it? It's free! It's away from home and housework! They all SAY they want it, but then they all blow it off. :shock:
I've also offered free crops at my house with similar results. It's like they know that they haven't paid for it, so they can blow it off if something else comes up. Meanwhile I'm waiting there in my lonely stamp room, eating chocolate that I really shouldn't and staring at the walls while no one shows :(
So if your demo decides to offer a night like that, do her a favor and GO if you are the one that asked for it. I am sitting here online because I offered a free event tonight and no one has RSVP'd to say they will come. As far as I'm concerned it's cancelled. :? Now I'll be eating brownies I don't need. :shock: :lol:
As far as the extras as "buy and makes" that would be cash and carry which is against SU! policy. I wish I could do that myself...I just keep the extras and if my downline comes over and wants to learn how to do what I showed my students, I have the extras waiting.
>>As far as the extras as "buy and makes" that would be cash and carry which is against SU! policy. <<
whoops! I had already put this on my to-do list. Thanks for letting us know, Jan!
Oh Jan, I'm sorry no one has RSVP'd....that is a bummer. I would love to come! Its just too far of a drive from Dallas to Michigan....the brownies would be dry, or gone, by the time I got there!!
I don't understand why they don't show. We (our circle) have stamp camp about every other month with our demo and, man, we put everything else off and have this marked on our calendar way ahead of time. We wouldn't miss it for the world!!!!
I'm sure you are a wonderful demo and a very creative person! Please don't take it personally. You are "luved!"
What if she does a "buy and make" stamp camp? The interested parties can pay the fee to attend, and get whatever leftover make and takes they want to. Then it's not cash and carry, but instead paying to attend the camp.
I have a very nice demo nearby. Doesn't offer discounts but has lots of stamp camps and other activities. HOWEVER, every time I sign up, I find out that I'm the only one who has signed up and therefore, I never get to go. I went once and it was a little awkward. So, if you are a demo in Fairfax VA and want someone to come to a stamp camp, pm me!!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I offer a Morning Madness for my older customers, who can't or won't drive after dark, and a Girls' Night Out once a month. They can bring whatever they are working on and use my stamps, punches, scissors, etc. And most of these I'm alone, but am afraid to quit doing them because once I had scheduled an Open House, with two sessions, one on Friday night and one on Saturday Morning. No one had responded about the Friday night session, so I put a note on the door saying it had been canceled, and went to check on my Mother, who had fallen and hurt herself rather badly. When I got home I had a rather nasty email from a customer (who told me she had to work that evening and would come on Saturday). She ranted about how unprofessional I was to do that and not call any one and how far she had to drive to get there and that I should not call her anymore because she had already found another demonstrator. This person and her daughter usually spent $300+ each at a time. So now I feel like I'm chained to my stamp room on these dates for fear of losing another of my customers. What's a Demo to do?
If you've stuck with me this far, thanks for listening.
As far as the extras as "buy and makes" that would be cash and carry which is against SU! policy. I wish I could do that myself...I just keep the extras and if my downline comes over and wants to learn how to do what I showed my students, I have the extras waiting.
How is it Cash and Carry? The demo is selling a KIT of supplies with which to make a card, which would then be made on site. Like a purchase with purchase at the cosmetics counter. (I.e. "For an additional fee, you may make this card.") If that's cash and carry, then how can demos charge for a stamp camp, with the understanding that people will come and do x # of projects?
I'm not trying to be snarky, really, I just honestly don't understand how that's any different.
Catherine, I feel your pain. If it were me, I'd put a note in the newsletter/e-mail whatever saying that your events are subject to change/cancellation at the last minute (we all have families) and that those who have RSVP'd will be notified. That should get them calling, and at least it gives you an out.
My demo offers come play with all my stamps for $5 or something like that. No make and takes. Or, she'll offer make and takes for $15, with 10 of it going towards a purchase. Great ideas, don't know if they are "legal" with SU, but she always cancels because she doesn't get anyone else but me!!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
As far as the extras as "buy and makes" that would be cash and carry which is against SU! policy. I wish I could do that myself...I just keep the extras and if my downline comes over and wants to learn how to do what I showed my students, I have the extras waiting.
How is it Cash and Carry? The demo is selling a KIT of supplies with which to make a card, which would then be made on site. Like a purchase with purchase at the cosmetics counter. (I.e. "For an additional fee, you may make this card.") If that's cash and carry, then how can demos charge for a stamp camp, with the understanding that people will come and do x # of projects?
I'm not trying to be snarky, really, I just honestly don't understand how that's any different.
Kate
You can do this but just call it a class or some fun name. If they do it in your home and do not buy the product with the intent to take it home unfinished it is okay. Also, if the demo starts carrying extra, on purpose, to sell packets for them to take home, then it is cash and carry. I've asked this question before and that is the answer I received.
You can do this but just call it a class or some fun name. If they do it in your home and do not buy the product with the intent to take it home unfinished it is okay. Also, if the demo starts carrying extra, on purpose, to sell packets for them to take home, then it is cash and carry. I've asked this question before and that is the answer I received.
Thanks. That just totally confused me, but that answer makes sense.
I just wish mine had any kind of stamping nights! I would love to attend a SU stamp camp or open house every month. I am in a Stampers 10 group that I started in August, I have never seen a card made by my demo and I haven't used any of my stamps--but they look nice in my craft room. MY CM consultant has a monthly crop on friday nights. It's nice to get away and play with all the stuff that most demo's have and even if it's only a couple of people, I think that's good!
late night stamp sessions like from 6-12 or something, I usually like to go to things AFTER my girls are in bed (830) so I would get somewhere around 9..that usually is best for me =) I usually dont do all day 'camps'...
buy stamps for me (forget about giving me the discount - how about paying for them!)
mount them for me
clean my house
and cook dinner while she's at it....
Of course I'd like it if ANYBODY did that for me - doesn't have to be my demo! :lol: :lol:
Thanks for the thread - I now know my demo is a SUPER AWESOME Demo....
she does all the things people wish...
Stamp nights at her house - bring your stuff, play with her stamps and hang out - what nice is she has some of the more popular retired sets and a bunch of the hostess sets so if I want to use a certain set I can just play with it at her house. There is no charge to go to her house she does have small fees if you need to use some product - i.e. you need a sheet of cardstock to finish your card - she also has a huge file of scraps so if you just need a small piece of a color you can go fishing
Extra Make and Takes for "sale" - people do them there because she has the stamp set...We have some common friends who will come and pick up a bunch of the make and take packets - sit, gab, stamp and then at the end of the night they have a nice little pile of cards for them to use for the month
She also holds stamp classes and such - ones for Newbies and technique classes for the more experienced stampers for us to learn new techniques...those she does charge for.
Jan - if I lived near you I would come to your free nights
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
I PMed you. Also my demo will hold her events, even if it's two people. What's nice to have a demo as a neighbor, we get to play with each others stamps....
I have to concur with Janine; it is disheartening to schedule specific time away from family at customers' requests, only to have nobody show.
Ditto JanTink and JulieHRR! It's also frustrating when customers say they're coming to a class and then back out an hour before. They must not realize the amount of time and effort (not to mention money) that goes into getting stuff ready for a class. But it must not bother me too much because I keep scheduling classes hoping somebody will come
I am a hobby demo. My upline does monthly workshops, and a friend of mine would go. Not a big spender, but does a little stamping. She indicated that she'd love to stamp with me at my house.
Now, she works, is divorced, has a teenage son, shared custody. The job is one of these "loose" hours, she always leaves at 3 for the workshops.
So, when I agreed to let her come over and stamp for a couple hours, I said it would be nice if she got out of work early and came over. Well, she would call at 4 (or later) and said she hadn't left yet and had to stop but would be here later. (We always planned it when she didn't have her son.) She would arrive at 5 or later!!! Now - *I* have a DH and two children (teens) that I actually like - and this was impacting my dinner and evening time!
It happened every month! I honestly felt like she was taking advantage - because it wasn't an official "timed" workshop. So I finally just stopped inviting her.
I guess you don't get respect unless you do things professionally and formally, eh?
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
I agree with Jan and Julie, though I usually have good luck with my camps and classes and have never had complete no shows. I always have people pre-pay since I had a couple people who were always going to come and then would call at the last minute with an excuse--even if it was a valid one. If they pre pay then don't show, I just give them a packet with the materials they would have used. It has saved me a whole lot of time and energy. I also offer things like free shipping on a particular month's order if they prepay for the classes and also for things like introducing a new stamper to me. These are definitely helpful.
Ditto Jan and Julie......after SEVERAL no shows for free stamp nights, I finally started charging for them...$5 for a "Stamp with me" night. They get to use my stamps and ink, but supply there own "perishables". So, now people come when I have those, but I stopped doing my free night entirely because no one would show. It's just so discouraging. (I always ask for rsvp, too)
So, Jan, what I have done is when I have something scheduled that I'm not sure if anyone is coming, I have alternate plans. Something fun, like a new stamp technique I've been wanting to try......that seems to alleviate the stress!!
I also have regular workshops, mystery hostess, stamp camps (quarterly more or less), team meetings and classes.
I like this thread because it's nice to see what customers really want although I would like just what spammie said (for myself lol)
Leanne in WA
I think that part of the reason people don't come to stamp camps is the camp is usually held at the demo's house and the campers feel too much like guests or that they're disrupting the family. My CM lady used to have crops at her church and she'd get a lot of people to come. Attendance kind of tapered off at those last fall (I think because her downline is getting pretty big and people are just busier) so she has since moved them to her house. I don't think I'll go again unless she has it back at the church. Part of the other reason I don't like going to her house is that her room is in the basement so I have to first haul my cart up from my basement and into my Jeep and then down to her basement. A few hours later I have to repeat the whole process. For that, I'll just stay home.
By the way, I am a demo and I've never had a formal stamp camp. I keep thinking I should have one, but I want to find a neutral location to have it that doesn't cost a lot of money. I do have informal "craft days" and have a few friends over but they're comfortable enough here they help themselves to whatever is in the fridge.
__________________ Sara
Fort Atkinson WI
My favorite color is Relay purple! My Gallery
This is a great topic since I'm a demo.
I have Stamp and Chat. It's the first Thurs. night and first Friday morning of the month as long as one person RSVP's. If no one RSVP's I cancel . I send an email out as soon as I get a yes. Anyone can come and use my stuff. We make two things, usually cards. I have new samples out each month and you can bring your camera. It happened once that I waited and no one showed up, but I just stamped some new cards and let it go.
I also have Private workshops where you can bring a friend or two to my home and I will demo a new tecnique. You are the Hostess. These are fun and it gives me a chance to get to know my customers.
I am new to stamping....only been at it for about 5 months. Anyways, my demo (I really did not care for my first) is really great. I joined her stamp club, which meets the first Thursday of the month. I really liked the fact that I was not pressured to buy anything...if you do not want to buy something that month, then it is okay. I also liked that I can invite friends, she does not charge them and they are not obligated to buy anything. I also like that I can bring my 7 mo daughter (when I can't get my sister to babysit) and she does not mind.
I guess the only thing I would like my demo to do is some scrapbooking technique/hour/class....something. I got into stamping so I can scrapbook for my daughter. It would be nice to know some fresh ideas..
Doesn't this always happen when a bunch of stampers get together? We just get off track. The question for the thread is, please for nondemos finish this sentence
I wish my demontrator would ?? call me, be funnier, go slower, have better projects .. I really want to know girls..
thanks, oh, and the talk about the cash n carry was interesting btw but back to the thread topic...
Hmmm, well, I've got a great demo. She mounts all our stamps for us and delivers everything right to our door the next morning they arrive at her. We never have to wait more than a week for our order, unless shipping is delayed by SU! themselves.
My demo does not hold stamp camps, only because she is part of two local scrapgroups that meet monthly. Therefore we get to see her a least twice a month. She shows us the new stuff, new cards or scrap pages and any new techniques she learned. As soon as she finds out about specials we emails us and lets us know. She also lets us borrow any of her stamps when needed.
I think the best thing that I like about my demo is that she is very friendly and excited about what she does. She has a passion for SU! and it's so contagious.
I also wish she would do more non-card stamping projects...for example, for valentines day we made a little triangle box to hold candy. I like the idea of seeing different ways to use your stamps besides making cards.
Sorry if this sounds a little cranky. You hit a tender spot. :lol:
My question is if customers really want to have a free stamp night at my house, why don't they show up when I offer it? It's free! It's away from home and housework! They all SAY they want it, but then they all blow it off. :shock:
I've also offered free crops at my house with similar results. It's like they know that they haven't paid for it, so they can blow it off if something else comes up. Meanwhile I'm waiting there in my lonely stamp room, eating chocolate that I really shouldn't and staring at the walls while no one shows :(
So if your demo decides to offer a night like that, do her a favor and GO if you are the one that asked for it. I am sitting here online because I offered a free event tonight and no one has RSVP'd to say they will come. As far as I'm concerned it's cancelled. :? Now I'll be eating brownies I don't need. :shock: :lol:
Oh boy Jan, you really hit a sore spot with me. When I started out I was SO excited to hold Stamp Camps and then I would have exactly the same experience that you did! I would invite a ton of people and get lots of "I'll try to make it" responses and I might have just one or two people actually show up. Some nights I wouldn't even make enough to cover the refreshments, let alone the supplies! That is just SO frustrating. Not to mention all the TIME I would spend designing and cutting out all the projects. I work full time and I would have much rather spent that time with my family....
I finally started opening it up for other demos. I only charged them half price because I felt like it would encourage the customers more if I had a big group and everyone was having fun. That actually worked pretty well and the last few camps I had, I at least had a few more people in the room and it at least made it more fun for me!
I've tried the free stamp night too, but I never had any luck with that either. I think people are just soooo busy, it's just difficult to get their attention.
I stopped doing them over the holidays and during SAB, and now that it's time to start up again, I've kind of got "stage fright" because I don't know what to do differently. I do plan to start asking people to pre-pay. I feel a little awkward doing that, but I'm hoping it will save some heartaches.
I'm so thankful for this thread. I was beginning to think maybe something was wrong with me. I am encouraged to know I'm not the only one with a "sore spot". I've experience the same thing when it came to my workshops. Free Demos at someone else's home are never a problem. Attending a workshop is a totally different story.
I have a question though "pre-pay", how could you motivate people to do that? What sort of incentive can you offer to encourage customers to mail-in payment? I know that at this time the crowd I have as customers would think I'm nuts asking for "pre-pay". I love the idea though because these would motivate them to show up.
Jan TK and JHRR thanks for sharing your struggles. This thread has helped me immensely.
I have been in stamp clubs with a few different demos. The first one never had any projects for us to do, whoever was hostess that month had to come up with the project and supply everything. We also did a swap at these meetings and many times she took the cards we all made but didn't have one for us in return claiming she was too busy and would make 2 the next month. But she never did.
The second group I was in was great. The demo always gave little extras to everyone and 3-4 monthly projects. If we regularly placed orders above the $15. minimum she would thank us occasionally with a free stamp pad or a $5.00 gift certificate. Sadly she had to give up this group for personal reasons.
Now I am in another club with another demo. While I am happy that she also has several projects for us each month and participates fairly in our swaps I wish she gave those little thanks yous. Many times I have place pretty high orders in addition to my $15. and I don't get anything for it.
Another demo I had just for a party at my home did a very nice thing. When she delivered my party order she also gave me a thank you card in which she listed each free item I had recieved with the price. This way I knew exactly how money I had save by having a party. You know what I mean? Like with the hostess sets we don't know what they cost and when we get 2-3 of them it is nice to see the cost added. Especially when showing DH. Yes hunny I spent $150. but look how much I got for FREE!
The demo always gave little extras to everyone and 3-4 monthly projects. If we regularly placed orders above the $15. minimum she would thank us occasionally with a free stamp pad or a $5.00 gift certificate. Sadly she had to give up this group for personal reasons.
Her personal reasons may have been that she was losing money! It would take an order of $50 or more to just break even giving away a stamp pad or a $5 GC......customers may not realize that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbbren
Now I am in another club with another demo. While I am happy that she also has several projects for us each month and participates fairly in our swaps I wish she gave those little thanks yous. Many times I have place pretty high orders in addition to my $15. and I don't get anything for it.
I'm not saying that your orders aren't high enough, but just remonding people that demos are usually trying to make $$ at what they do! Would you expect your local grocery store to throw in a free gallon of milk because you spent $35 in their store....just to be nice?
I try and give my regular group a few extras when we get together...maybe a couple of envelopes or a ziploc bag of cs scraps. I also often do a drawing for those spending over a certain amount - usuaully $50 or $75 - and give away an extra set I have.
I wish my demo did some of those things:
a)told us about the specials;
b)had more get-togethers than once in 3 months;
c)sent us mini-catalogs or let us borrow hers to order;
d)taught us new techniques...
Hope that answers your question!!!
__________________ Anna.
"Fearless is not the absence of fear. Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you." (Taylor Swift)
I wish Emily would move to Texas already so I can come play with HER sets! She's been flappin' her trap about "I'm comin' to Texas!" but just DO it already!
I wish my demo did some of those things:
a)told us about the specials;
b)had more get-togethers than once in 3 months;
c)sent us mini-catalogs or let us borrow hers to order;
d)taught us new techniques...
Hope that answers your question!!!
a) yep
b) do that
c) oh yeah...I'm the president of the Land of the Last Hope...I keep sending them even when they haven't ordered anything in a long time.
d) definitely
I wish my demo would ??
