Creative Memories Questions

[sarah24]

I have a few questions relating to Creative Memories and any help/insight is greatly appreciated. I have been cropping for 2 years now and the consultant with whom I had always ordered was moving to another state and I introduced what I thought at the time was one of my friends. Anyway--she started selling in February and never has anything in stock and is not very knowledgeable about the products.

I have a group of friends who go to her crops with me and they and I have been increasily frustrated by all her antics. The last straws were on Croptoberfest we had a challenge to see who could get the most pages done, our group or another consultant's group. Our consultant said we each win a pack of stickers if we won and vice versa for the other group. Well when we asked about the stickers (WE WON--198 total pages) she said oops...I forgot. Then she said it wasn't a pack per person, it was a strip per person. OK.....she sent a nasty email to all of us last week saying how our group had some miscommunications and we were only supposed to get a strip a piece, but she would buy sticker packs for each one of us since this big fiasco.

STRAW 2--she did a party for one of my friends on Friday, November 2 and said she would order stuff on Tuesday so she would have time to deposit checks and such. Friday, the hostess of the party gets an email from the consultant asking if she can figure out who ordered what because the consultant lost the orders. Then she finds them and says never mind.----WELL today, we find out, she is blaming CM on how slow we are getting the merchandise because now she says she ordered last Wednesday and they are just shipping today.

I am so sorry rant--but what do you guys think? And to any consultants, do you think this is ridiculous or are we being too "nit-picky" as she said we were.

THANKS

 

[My~Rumbly~Tumbly]

I would say she is lacking in the customer service department. First rule if you want to keep your good customers- THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! She should have admitted her error with the sticker packs and took responsibility by making it right, without sending out nasty emails. That would have done it for me. And honesty goes a long way. We do not live in a perfect world and people are expected to make mistakes. She could have come up with a fair enough reason for being late in getting the order submitted and left it at that.

I personally would look for a new consultant. There are enough of them around. Good luck!

 

[My~Rumbly~Tumbly]

I would say she is lacking in the customer service department. First rule if you want to keep your good customers- THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! She should have admitted her error with the sticker packs and took responsibility by making it right, without sending out nasty emails. That would have done it for me. And honesty goes a long way. We do not live in a perfect world and people are expected to make mistakes. She could have come up with a fair enough reason for being late in getting the order submitted and left it at that.

I personally would look for a new consultant. There are enough of them around. Good luck!

 

[sarah24]

Thanks Tammy! We are checking on a new consultant now. I just need to think of my response to why I am leaving her group.

 

[Lainy67]

I am a CM Consultant, fairly new, but still. As far as keeping stuff in stock. Our unit does keep inventory. Other people, however, don't do it that way. A lot of people can't afford to have a couple thousand dollars of inventory sitting around waiting for people to buy it. I understand that. I kinda cringe when I realize I don't have any classes scheduled and I have two collections and a closetful of albums and refills, etc... not to mention stickers, paper, tape runners. YIKES. CRINGING NOW!!!!

As for not being very knowledgeable about the products, that is a little odd. At least I think it is. However, my SIL (Sister in Law) is my unit leader and her upline is one of the top in the biz. So, I have a REALLY great line and they do know the stuff inside and out. I have a friend that is selling it in another town, and the way she is being taught is completely different. Where we are taught to teach classes with our own books and to have if at all possible the collections there ready for them to take home, she has been taught to teach out of the demo book and order everything... not to keep inventory. It is just a lot different mindset.

I also tend to be VERY anal. It is my nature. Even a year or two ago, before I became a consultant, I many times knew dates things were available, what was available, details about new stuff by reading my SIL's SCRAPS, and retained the info. My SIL would look at me sometimes like what was that, how much was that, etc... and I would be able to answer her. She was thrilled when I became a consultant for her. Her forte is teaching really energetic classes and getting people motivated. I tend to be more anal / creative... she is more people oriented.

As for the contest... well... there might have been a miscommunication, and she might have said something she did not think she said. Fair enough. But, she should have NEVER sent anything approaching nasty e-mail. That is a no-no in any business venture.

Regarding the ordering... she could very well have lost the sheets as to WHO ordered what AFTER she placed the order. Then she has it coming in, and doesn't know who gets what. I have seen it happen on occasion with consultants of all types. Especially ones who have a lot of parties / classes or who aren't the most organized (ok anal). They place the order, then can't find the forms to say how to divvy it up. Or get them mixed up with orders already filled, etc...

Don't know about the shipping stuff. I do know that sometimes the end of the month gets them in a backlog, and shipping is kinda nutso. I haven't had any problems, but I have only ordered twice so far, and it has been really quick in getting here. My SIL has had problems around the end of the month not getting things until a week and a half later though.

For me, I would not put up with a consultant who didn't have good customer service. But if she is a friend, I would talk to her about it first, calmly. Let her know your expectations and find out what hers are. Then you can go from there. I know if I had a customer that came to me and said she was unhappy I would really try to work it out.

 

[pattyT]

Here is an idea -
since it sounds like you do this regularly - become a consultant yourself!
I have been debating this for a while! The start up cost is not bad and it sounds like you would have 'instant' customners!

Just an idea!

 

[sarah24]

Thanks for all your input. I would like to sell CM, but just don't have the time. I work Ft and that keeps me busy enough. I just want a consultant who cares about her clients. I have talked with her before about keeping stock and timely orders and she thanked me and said she just started selling in February and was still learning and trying and would do better.

Do you guys think this is feisty:

The consultant sent this to us on 10/28 and then she sent this yesterday:


There seems to be some confusion among the people from the crop concerning the page competition. We did win the competition and the other Consultant and I had an agreement to give each client 5 sticker strips from the Autumn & Winter Sprinkles packet, regardless of number of clients in attendance.

Some at our crop believed that they would, instead, be receiving a whole pack of stickers.

To end confusion about it, I will be asking the other Consultant to cancel the order for what she owed to us. Instead, I will be mailing to each of you in the near future a pack of our new Autumn Sensations stickers. I will have to order those for you with my next order, so this will delay your prize a couple of weeks. Be patient, the stickers will be mailed to you when they are received.

Thank you for participating in the competition and look forward to seeing you at my next crop on December 7 at the church beside Ramada Inn.

YESTERDAY:

After double-checking it appears that the order was placed on Wednesday--I was extremely ill and couldn't get to work (or my bank). My undestanding is that this is the busiest time of the year for the Creative Memories company. Since this is my first Fall season with them, I am finding that the shipping time has increased as time has gone on. I did place the order Wednesday, and today the CM website tells me that my order has been partially shipped. You're right--I cannot control that in ANY way once I have placed the order. I'm sorry that it is taking longer than you would like--I try to provide the absolute best customer service possible. Lately it seems that that is not good enough and I apologize. You are always free to look on the CM website and select another Consultant who can provide service more in line with your standards. All the other Consultants I know and deal with give their customers a blanket statement of 2 weeks and then if it comes in earlier, then that's a bonus. Instead, I try to give my clients a little more realistic view of when to expect their items, especially when they are in a hurry for something--as you told me that you were. This time I was off by a day because I was extremely ill and that caused a one-day delay in getting the order out. I cannot give you EXACT days and times of delivery, so going forward I will provide only for a 2-week delivery date so there will be no anxiety on either part. I don't mean to sound so harsh, either, and I know that I do, but short of my getting in my car and going to Minnesota to get the stuff, I cannot do anything about when it arrives or how long it takes the company to get it to me. They ship from about 3 different places to get it to me so there are that many more possibilities of hang-ups in the system.

Jennifer, I really do like you guys and have fun working with you. I appreciate your business and want to be friends and provide good service. I just feel that some of my "core group" are nit-picking these days. As for the Croptoberfest sticker contest, I have received as many emails the other way saying they weren't expecting a whole pack of stickers. I have already given everyone my solution to that one and hopefully everyone will be satisfied with the result.

I appreciate that you are frustrated, but rest assured that I will get this order to you the absolute soonest that I can.

 

[My~Rumbly~Tumbly]

Find a new consultant. I would.

 

[Lainy67]

the e-mail from 10 / 28 didn't bother me that much. Seems like there has been miscommunication and she is trying to fix it. The second e-mail was a bit more on the feisty side - but nothing I would take real umbrage at personally.

I do echo My~Rumbly~Tumbly though, if you aren't happy with your consultant find another one. If, however you think you should giver her a time to improve do that as well. Creative Memories is supposed to be a relationship based business. You obviously like the product, and the workshops, and have had good experiences. So go with that and do what YOU need to do to continue feeling the good vibes.

Good Luck.

 

[pattyT]

my thought was not to make a job of it - but rather just keep doing as you currently do with your friends and buy your own products as a group! example-
I am a closet consultant for Mary Kay - I have NO DESIRE to sell the product! I do you use the skincare line though and I figured out that if I bought the $112 starter kit (with $300 in products) I could then purchase my products at 50% off and was only required to place 1 order a year to stay active!
Could it work the same way with CM?
I am checking into it currently as my friends and I spend A LOT of money on CM stuff!

 

[My~Rumbly~Tumbly]

PattyT, I used to do the same thing. I love the Mary Kay skin care products and was persuaded to sign on as a consultant. A few parties later (though successful), I decided that it just wasn't the thing for me. I continued to stay with Mary Kay for another 3 years just for the discount (I basically footed the bill myself, when I didn't need product, I purchased stuff that made nice gifts). This worked out great. Then I found some great deals on Ebay and it made it hard to even bother with the ordering anymore, so I gave up on it. I have a friend who is ready to give up on CM, and I've suggested the idea of us all ordering together. Takes the pressure off her to sell and we all get what we want at cost. It's my understanding that CM frowns on this, and I believe they would actually remove someones selling privledges if they caught wind of it. I think CM needs to work on a few things. I think it makes it hard on some sellers to meet the quota quarterly. It would be easier if all their orders were counted toward the total. If someone orders 100 in January, and then 200 in February, it should count toward the 350 (or whatever it is), but the way they have it set up is that the 350 has to be met at once, regardless of previous orders. I think it's a frustrating system. My friend does not have the resources to keep an inventory. She would never ask her customers to wait and place thier orders at once, so she continually runs into the problem of meeting the 350 at once.

 

[pattyT]

Oh! That is how they work it! I can't see my consultant doing that well though (she hates doing parties - just likes the crops at her house which makes it Very difficult). I e-mailed her about it and haven't heard back yet! I know I had looked into signing on 2 years ago and the start-up was $199. Not bad really! I need to buy 4 books right now and hate to spend the money that way when I could sign on and get more! If you can't tell I HATE paying Full Price for ANYTHING!