O/T The worst day ever and I am giving up!

SpaceAngel

SpaceAngel

I ate my willpower!
Hi everyone

I just thought I would write this post to get a few things off my chest about yesterday and hoping it will make me feel better!

I run a children's party business part time and I had a childrens party yesterday. We were told that there would be 30-40 children. Nearly 50 turned up!

That would all be well and good but the parents stood in the kitchen the whole time and the kids just run riot. The birthday girls didnt want to join in any of the games and most of the children just ran around shouting and screaming!

At the end of the party the mothers said that they wanted to speak to us and then said it was the worst party they had ever seen and they refused to pay. Then one of them said, "I am a police officer as well," trying to intimidate us into not moaning about receiving no money.

I told her how unhappy that we were in that we are there to entertain the children and not tell them off. We have no right to tell off other peoples children.

Then they said that we "didn't look the part". And I realised then what they were getting at. When we first arrived, one of the "WAG lookalike Yummy Mummys" looked me up and down like I was something she trod in. I had a feeling then something was wrong. My friend and I am both on SW loosing weight, but our weight has never been an issue before.

So we left without any money! Then I went to the petrol station and cracked my front bumper of my new car on a pole! I could have cried.

Anyways, the diet is going ok, so I should be thankful for small mercys! Oh and I am thinking about closing down my party business. Lost all my confidence now :cry:
 
Firstly, don't let the b*ggers get you down..

How long have you been doing this? Do you normally get this reaction? I would imagine that they are the exception..

If you enjoy doing it then don't let one incident get you down... move on, learn from it and put it behind you.

Well done though for not diving foe the choc/ice-cream..

I would be proud of myself if i can keep the diet going under that kind of stress.

Sx
 
Dont let one set back stop you doing what you do, dont let small minded people put you down, you're worth more than them. They should have intervened part way through had they not been happy and you could have explained that you required them to control the children so that you could entertain. Id write a letter to them enclosing a bill (maybe a reduced one) and explaining that you were expecting 30-40 children and that more turned up, and that you were unable to do what you had intended due to the behavior of the children. Her being a police officer is irrelevant (as you and her both know) what was she going to do, cuff you! And how annoying bout your car! well done for sticking to plan though - going off plan would have only made you feel worse xxx
 
They were so rude! I was thinking about it earlier on and thought that they could have come up to us at any time during that party and said they were unhappy. We could have then left, taking all the money we spent out on prizes and wouldn't have wasted all that time.

We havn't been doing it for very long. This was only our 3rd party but the 2 before were great.

We do makeovers of the children and then carryout party games. They even moaned that the children were having to stand in a line. We said, how do you expect us to makeover more than 1 child at a time? We also managed to makeover 50 children in 15 mins!
 
Oh poor you. Your day sounds like a complete nightmare. I couldn't cope with 5 children let alone 50. Some mums these days just want an easy life don't they - let someone else sort out the party, make the food, play the games, etc and 50 guests at a child's birthday party is just a little bit over the top don't ya think!! Sounds like the mums were playing a bit of one upmanship by having so many kids there. Sod the fact she is a police officer too - so what, does that make her above the law?? She should have paid her bill.

Sorry about your car, that's just like having a bucket of water chucked over you when it is already raining.

Don't let the b**ches get you down. xx
 
As an infant school teacher I have to cope with 30 5 year old children day in day out, I also do a whole school assembly once every nine weeks where its just me and 270 kids and I can do it with my eyes closed it doesnt phase me, but the parents can be a whole other kettle of fish. Im fortunate because the parents are very supportive and appreciate what we do, but Ive taught in some schools where unfortunately thats not the case. Do you stipulate how many children you can cater for per party? x
 
We had 3 people for 20-40 children which is usually fine. The other party we did before this on had 24 and there was 2 of us and they were fine. We did cake decorating and the usual party games and they did everything they asked. They sat when we asked and played the games and really enjoyed it.

We didn't do anything different with this party, but every time we asked the children to sit down to play pass the parcel or to come around in a group so we could tell them the next game, they just totally ignored us. At the end of the entertainment, it was time for tea and even the mums couldnt get the children to sit down for tea.

Also, about 10 of the mum's stayed at the party and not 1 of them stepped in to help control the children. They just watched and critizised.
 
I wouldnt give up hon you sound like you know what your doing and were just brats if there were 10 mothers there then at least 10 of those children should have been under control!

I would send the lady a letter with a slighly reduced bill stating that you request payment for any expenses you paid out such as food and toys and that you are discounting the cost of your time as she was unhappy with your service, also explain that they had booked for 40 children and you had sufficent staff for 40 kids but you were not expecting the 10 extra and that if they were unhappy they should have approached you before the end.. i mean if you had cack food in a restraunt you wouldnt wait till the end to complain would you?!

you shouldnt end up out of pocket ask her to pay the bill within a reasonable period say 28 days or you will be seeking legal advice you could always take the cow to the small claims court!

As for them looking down on you .. its the way their heads tilt with all that fake tan and crup huge jewellery weighing them down sod em ! they aint perfect for starters they couldnt arrange a party and had to pay someone to do it! dont let em get you down there will be plenty of mothers in the future who will be very happy for your help and loads of kids who will think they had the best birthday party ever!

you could always sneak round and key her range rover !
 
well said gene !
Dont give up angel or let the stupid woman dent your confidence ..your doing great !!! keep smiling xxxx
 
Please don't give up , the mums should have stepped in and helped if the children were unruly. I would write a letter and enclose a bill and tell them that if they had a problem with you then they should not have waited until the end before complaining to you. Also state that you were not expecting 50 children. Also any parties my 7 year old has been to they have all been asked to stand in a line for getting their face painted or getting balloons done and me and the other mums never seen this as an issue so i dont' know why they did.

As for her looking at you in that way, that was a disgrace. People like her are so shallow.
 
Gene Genie said:
I would send the lady a letter with a slighly reduced bill stating that you request payment for any expenses you paid out such as food and toys and that you are discounting the cost of your time as she was unhappy with your service, also explain that they had booked for 40 children and you had sufficent staff for 40 kids but you were not expecting the 10 extra and that if they were unhappy they should have approached you before the end.. i mean if you had cack food in a restraunt you wouldnt wait till the end to complain would you?!

you shouldnt end up out of pocket ask her to pay the bill within a reasonable period say 28 days or you will be seeking legal advice you could always take the cow to the small claims court!
Click to expand...


I agree, you certainly shouldn't be losing out. Send her a bill!!

It sounds like you're doing a great job & you shouldn't let this put you off.

Well done for not falling off the wagon after all that stress too!! :D x
 
Thanks for all your comments. I am sending her a bill tomorrow with a letter. We will see how it goes from there. I will keep you all posted! And I am not going to give up :D
 
SpaceAngel said:
Thanks for all your comments. I am sending her a bill tomorrow with a letter. We will see how it goes from there. I will keep you all posted! And I am not going to give up :D
Click to expand...
bloody right send her the bill!!if she wasnt happy with you she should have told you sooner not wait until the party had ended and then moan and says she not paying what a bloody bill,what a cheek..and im glad your not giving up you obviously enjoy it you just go for it:):)
 
sorry i only just seen this glad to hear that you ain't goin to give up love!
in future why not do a contract where they pay a deposit non refundable of course that states how many kids there will be at party, how much it will be etc,and what party involves. my hubby used to be a dj and this is what him and his partner used to do so if the gig was cancelled they got the deposit which would also cover your basic expenses !
just a thought
xxxx
plus get that letter off with a bill in it, and yes tell her you are going to seek legal advice if she doesn't pay up and do it!!!!
 
nannydi said:
sorry i only just seen this glad to hear that you ain't goin to give up love!
in future why not do a contract where they pay a deposit non refundable of course that states how many kids there will be at party, how much it will be etc,and what party involves. my hubby used to be a dj and this is what him and his partner used to do so if the gig was cancelled they got the deposit which would also cover your basic expenses !
just a thought
xxxx
plus get that letter off with a bill in it, and yes tell her you are going to seek legal advice if she doesn't pay up and do it!!!!
Click to expand...

Agree with NannyD, DS is having his party at the local soft play and I had to pay 10% when I booked and have to pay the balance 2 days before the party & give them the final numbers.

This means that of anyone has any genuine grievances they will have to negotiate a refund and those who are just ars*y will have to lump it and you will always be paid.
 
I agree with Nannydi, she has hit the nail on the head, dont let some small minded people ruin your business. I work for the police and she was so bang out of order for making that comment, in fact you could complain about her. She was not using her police powers to stop an illegal act she was using it to intimidate. But to be honest I would follow the advice given about the bill, take your time to right the letter, be professional and dont stoop to their low level and keep us posted....((hug))...xx
 
I am going to ask a deposit in future. At least I will know that my basic expenses will be covered. My business partners Dad is rather high up in the Police so she is going to speak to him about the best way of complaining about her. She had no right to use her occupation to intimidate us at all.
 
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