Thursday, August 30, 2007

A word to the wise on politeness:

Dear Kindergarten Mom at pick-up today,

Just so you know, I do not appreciate being chatted up to at kindergarten pick-up by a fellow mom, only to be dragged into an elaborate attempt at scoring another person for your make-up marketing thingy. I do not appreciate that I feel like a fool. A fool who thought somebody wanted to be my friend, or at least acquaintance and actually just wanted another salesperson under her belt. For your information, I don't give a flying fart if Arb0nne is made in America or is herbal or whatever. I thought you were desperate for adult conversation and, though I didn't feel a great connection right away, I continued chatting with you as you seemed to need someone to talk to. I felt SORRY for you and your apparent lack of available time to know what the weather was going to be for you are SOOOOO busy. Also, your attempt at making your business venture sound wonderful was sooooo far off the mark. Do you not see that I am sitting on the concrete with my WalMart crop pants, t-shirt and no make up, while playing "find the ants" with my almost 2 year old? If anything, I looked so incredibly crunchy-Mommy that I'm surprised you even considered me a possibility! Do you think I am the type of person who would be interested in selling cosmetics? Do I scream SALESPERSON? Do I appear to want a career that will make it even harder for me to parent my kids the way I so desperately try to achieve?

No. I'm sure you could see the error of your attempt and the loss of another potential client when I figured out your scheme. I'm sure you could see my face go from supportive fellow mother, "way to go for YOU and your ventures!" to annoyed and disgruntled mom, half smiling and nodding while feeding her child Honey Nut Oh's. Puh-lease.

Signed,

The scruffy mom that sits on the dirty sidewalk while everyone else stands...

25 comments:

Sheryl said...

Ugh, this happened to me at CHURCH once!! Can you believe?!?! We were new to the church and I thought I was making a new friend. Turns out, they wanted me for their stupid at home business. No thanks! Why OH Why do people do this?!?!?

Type (little) a aka Michele said...

I'm sorry to say, and hope I don't offend anyone, but I HATE all of these home-party based businesses. Pampered Chef, Premier Designs, Lia Sofia, At home america, creative memories, PartyLight, i could go on and on.

And these people are slobbering for "representatives" or "consultants" or whatever the fuck they call them. They prey especially on SAHM's.

Also, I don't want to have a party for you. I say it's because I live in an apartment, but I just don't want to have a stupid party. I have sometimes been suckered into "catalog" shows. GRR

And the people who won't return my calls for a playdate or just to talk sure as hell invite me to their stupid parties so I can buy a bunch of crap I don't need, and they can "earn" free crap they don't need.

Although, the Passion Parties? Yeah, I'll go to those.

painted maypole said...

i am not a fan of this stuff, either. I have had so many people try to convince me I would be good at it. No, I wouldn't. I don't want to be hitting my friends up to buy things. I turn down nearly every party invitation I receive to these things (the exception being scrapbooking stuff. I do like and buy scrapbooking stuff. but I'm interested in that. I use it. I don't need another overpriced candleholder or a kitchen tool I can buy at walmart for half the price)

And I, too, have had those moments when I thought perhaps I was making a friend, but I realized instead the person was trying to make a sale. Look, I understand wanting some extra cash, but at the expense of having REAL friends and a REAL social life. No thanks.

Michelle said...

the least she could have done was waited until she scored a playdate with you! LOL J/K sorry you met a pushy sales rep at pick-up!

Jamie said...

This happened to me by my neighbor! We had lived here for 2 years and never met him, then he came walking over and chatted it up with us. I thought it was cool until he started asking me about my knives and how he sells and could give me a presentation if I was interested. That was a year and a half ago and I haven't heard from him since. Ugh.

Hope school is off to a good start for you guys!

Anonymous said...

Oh, now THAT is annoying. Gahhhh. Do you think she had a list of "Moms to approach at Kindergarten pick-up"? Your name has been checked off and she's moving in for the next kill.

Elle*Bee said...

I love this post and I agree completely. I don't mind being invited to the occasional Pampered Chef party or whatever by someone I know. I'll go, eat their snacks, drink a glass of wine maybe, and if I'm so inclined, I'll place an order. Usually I don't order, though, and that's ok.

I like my Avon lady. She leaves a catalog on my porch. If I decide to order, I'll drop a check in her mailbox. A short time later, she'll drop my order off on my porch. I've never met her. I really like her.

I don't like being sized up as "fresh meat" though.

Anonymous said...

Oh man that is annoying!

Christina said...

That is SO annoying! It's bad enough for people to befriend you long enough to invite you to their "party" where they'll try to sell you stuff, but to try to recruit someone they've just met? Rude.

And yeah, like you, I'm probably one of the worst people to sell cosmetics to. I don't remember the last time I wore makeup. :)

TruLove said...

All I have to say is Amen! Preach it, Sister! I had a lady at a coffee shop (she was working behind the counter, made me a horrible drink by the way) come to get my phone number and address for a "free makeover". I only gave her my mailing address. Hee hee hee!

Phoenix said...

type a - I'm so with you, I can't stand that shit. If I wanted tupperware, I'd buy it from Target like everyone else.

Tracy, you have way more tolerance than I do. I'd have told her where to shove her Air. She was really selling air? I'm confused on how you'd make money. ;)

we are reilly said...

how about as your making your way out of the grocery store with all your coupons laying on the counter and a mom (who wasn't all done up) approaches me -- wow, I thought, she looks 'normal' like me! Then, she so sneakingly hands me a card for some fancy 100% juice that comes in wine bottles. I say, "ooohhh wine?" and she says, "no, it's all natural juice".......faux paux on my part, huh?

Well, if she saw my grocery cart, she would see that I don't buy juice -- we drink water and milk at our house...that's a whole other story for a different day!

Life With All Boys said...

Maybe I'm not the norm, but I actually like going to inhome parties. I don't really want to have them, but I have been known to host one or two. I hate it though when consultants hound you. If I wanted to sell the product, I'd ask you about it.

And since some people were so harsh, I will timidly say that I sold Pampered Chef for a short time for extra money when the boys were little. And I want every one to know that I never asked anyone if they were interested in becoming a consultant.

Tonya said...

that stinks about that lady but I would be right there with you on the dirty sidewalk!

Melissa said...

Really? If I was in a business I would not approach complete strangers to join up... and I have to agree with type(little)a - I hate those home-party businesses. They make me crazy!!

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Oh Hon, I'm not saying that SELLING The products is awful! No. I think making money out of your home is great, and I was all supportive of her when she said she was making good money. I sold Discovery Toys for a while. They WANT you to approach strangers and hit people up. They make it sound as though you're going to "Meet new people! Make new friends!" But really? Really what happened was I offended an old acquaintance and never approached anyone else again.

I actually like going to the parties of stuff I enjoy. Which is pretty much just Tastefully Simple, but Oh my God, have you ever had that stuff??? Yum.

Kailani said...

LOL! I sit on the sidewalk, too. It's just so much easier when I have Baby Bug.

That woman has some nerve!

kailani
An Island Life

Mike said...

On times like these, don't you just love to have a 4-year old (like mine) who would save you from these discussions by ... well, farting. Loud.


Have a great weekend.

Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/

Ruby said...

So annoying!

Rima said...

For shame, makeup lady! I am a big fan of makeup and I don't mind the parties, either, but hitting someone up under the guise of striking up a friendship? So not cool.

Mom101 said...

Yikes, I know those companies are horrible for any number of reasons, but I'd never until now considered the social gaffes they inspire. You gotta feel a little bad for a woman who's so desperate for sales that she's willing to act like an ass in front of you - and it won't be the last time she sees you. Her problem, not yours.

theflyingmum said...

Aaaaah! I have a friend that sells that stuff...
I do not appreciate ANY solicitation - PERIOD! NO SOLICITORS!
Plus, how awkward.
-feeling for you,
Becky

Michelle said...

thanks for your comment; Joe will be gone for 4 months - so not terribly long! Hopefully the time will pass quickly.

Oh I just read your comment in here and I love Tastefully Simple too. Have you tried the vanilla bean cooler, or chiller, whatever it's called. It's in their summer line so about to be discontinued...it is so good! I stocked up!

Beck said...

Yeah, that's pretty gruesome.

we are reilly said...

okay, I lied on that last post -- I did buy juice the other day -- as a brib to my daughter to eat breakfast! (it didn't work!!)

Related Posts with Thumbnails