Monday, September 28, 2009

Purse Party Diva Girl - NOT!

As most of you know, I sell Scentsy Wickless Candles as a part time job which is in addition to my full time job.  I love staying active, go - go - go - that's me!  The weekend of Sept. 19th - 20th some of you may recall that I was setting up a booth at a local Flea Market  (I did not do well  - for many reasons).  Anyway, It got me thinking "What else can I sell" after all the junk in my garage has been sold.  Hmm, purses were a big hit that weekend, so the bright-idea light bulb went off in my head  - why not get into the business of selling purses, who doesn't like purses?  I bet you like purses. I was just psyched with the idea and I had heard about Purse Party Diva Girl. I couldn't wait to see what they were all about. Went online as soon as I had a chance, filled out their "interest" form, felt like a kid at Christmas, and sat and waited - what seemed like forever - to get the so-called response email that will tell me everything I needed to know.


THE EMAIL


Thank you so much for your recent inquiry to Diva Girl Purse Party. As you can tell by our website, we offer only the most trendy, sought after, up to date and quality merchandise the fashion industry has to offer. Diva Girls merchandise is constantly changing to keep up with the fast moving fashion industry. We are one of the nation's largest distributors of handbags and women's accessories, with annual growth of 200% per year for the past 6 years.

* Diva Girl completely pays for the inventory that each consultant carries to the show. There is no "Start up Kit". You earn 20% for all sales but we pay for all the merchandise, hostess benefits, and all the shipping and handling charges.
* Hostess Benefit- Your hostess receives 10% of the totals sales in hostess credit to use that night. Then if anyone books a party off of her party, when she attends her friend's party, she receives a free purse.
* Our Parties are Fun! There is no presentation at the party by the consultant. It is a fun shopping experience for all guests who are able to enjoy an Open House type format. Great for busy mom's on the go!
* All guests take home their purchases that evening - everything is cash and carry! As a consultant you are not delivering products weeks later.
* Our merchandise is always changing. We always offer a wide array of new purses, jewelry and accessories. After each Diva Girl Party you are restocked with completely new merchandise for your next show. Customers are constantly seeing new and different merchandise at each and every party! Our purses range from $30-$60. They are designer inspired and all legal. Diva Girl DOES NOT SELL KNOCKOFFS.
* Diva Girl is constantly striving to guarantee the consultant an area that is not saturated with other Diva Girl consultants. With our company, you are part of a team
(oh really, you could have fooled me) and not competing with other consultants. Unlike other companies, we offer on-going training as well as sales support! (you do, wow, is that a script too?)
* Diva Girl has developed a proven business model that has been successful in every market across the Nation.
 

Of course the best part of being a Diva Girl consultant is the flexibility to schedule your own parties around home and family. We offer a wide variety of commitment levels (oh not just the six parties a month) with a quantity of merchandise that fits your life style!
 

To learn more about Diva Girl Purse Party and whether we are currently looking for a consultant in your area, please call our National Recruiter, Michelle Libal (Bitch Woman) at 402-889-0847. She can also be reached by e-mail at mlibal@divagirlpurseparty.com. (why bother, she doesn't personally email you back other than to tell you to call her then turn around and not answer the phone.) We are really looking forward to speaking with you. (No, you're not) We want you to join our team. (No, you don't)
 

Thank you for your interest in Diva Girl Purse Party!  (No, THANK YOU for saving me from this god awful company)
 


That all sounds great, right??  I thought so, too, at first. Of course I had questions seeing that I have been in the Direct Sale business before.  Twice with Mary Kay and then with Cookie Lee, and now currently with Scentsy.


In response to my questions I was told that I would need to call the National Recruiter to discuss my questions over the phone.  Ok, not a bad request, (because I will still pumped to see what this company was all about) so I called - no answer, I called again - no answer.  Wrote back to the original email giving the National Recruiter my number to call ME.  Received one call on my work phone and one on my cell (I was not able to take the call since I was in a meeting).  She left me a messaging telling me that she would be in a meeting all afternoon and to return her call after 4:00pm.  I waited until the next day and called another two times with no answer - don't they ANSWER their phone?!?!  At this point I was getting annoyed.  I guess they don't need any new recruits.  I called one last time before I was going to call it quits. I wasn't excited anymore and was just feeling they didn't care. Got a live person on the other end, well what do you know! 


The Recruiter (if that's what you want to call her) started in with her "script" - god I despise marketing scripts.  When finished, she asked if I was able to do SIX parties a month?  AHHHH NO! That is so unheard of.  I told her that it wasn't possible at all and that was the end of the call.  Her answer was, "well when you are able to do six parties a month, please give us a call, we would love to have you as a Purse Party Diva Girl - well you know what, I don't want to be one anymore. I some how got the feeling she didn't want me as a recruit.  Not sure why (did I scare her with my professional questions), but my gut was telling me to just hang it up with this chic.  What happened to "We offer a wide variety of commitment levels..."?!?!

So would I suggest or recommend anyone to become a Purse Party Diva Girl  - Heck No!  They are not professional to say the least.

13 comments:

Pamela said...

Thanks for the info! You made the right decision. Sounds like partylite... had to have 6 parties already scheduled in 45 days to start. Sheesh! You'd think with the economy the way it is, they'd lower that (and their prices) a bit.

Stick with Scentsy! I read about their consultants, SO MUCH easier. I'm thinking of giving it a go myself!

Omix4 said...

There must be another way to get purses. Nasty company.

Unknown said...

That's crazy!!! I definitely won't be signing up any time soon!!! :)

And yes, hubby's comment did make my day :D I really needed it after being so sick! :)

Kerrie said...

I'm so sorry that you had a bad experience with Diva Girl Purse Parties. I've been with them since August of this year. I didn't experience anything like this, in fact, just the opposite. There was no pressure to do more than 4 parties a month and all of my questions were answered thoroughly and quickly. Because the purses practically sell themselves and they are the only company that offers a free purse to past hostesses when someone else books from their party, my business has taken off. I'm now holding 6-8 parties per month. All scheduled around my schedule.

Since there is not currently a rep in your area, I'm sure you could probably book 6 parties a month easily. You have a prime market. All new consultants are required to book a minimum of 6-8 parties initially to show they are committed and to get you started. They won't even send you a contract until you can prove your committed. You need parties to get yourself established and to benefit from this company. I agree Diva Girl is particular about who they train to become consultants. They are particular in that they want someone who is committed to the job. And to have someone that only wants to do one or two parties a month, well, that would not only be non-beneficial for the company, but for you as well as a consultant. As you've posted, you earn 20% commission for all sales. If you did less than 4 parties a month, it wouldn't be worth it for you for the time and efforts it takes to be a consultant. It's not hard work but you do have to have a certain level of committment and organization.

In addition, as you have posted, they take on all shipping and handling-you don't pay to have your stock and restock shipped to you. They also provide you with all that you need, you don't have to upfront $$$ for the inventory that you would carry. What company does that?! So as you can see, they carry a lot of overhead so they only want committed consultants where it's a mutually beneficial relationship. As for not answering the phones, I can't answer that one other than to say that they could've possibly been moving into a new warehouse at that time. This company has had phenomenal growth in the last few years. So I just want you to know your experience is not typical of Diva Girl Purse Parties. I have found it to be a great company so far but I also know it is what I make of it. Again, I'm sorry for your experience, maybe in the future when you have more time to commit to it, then you will reconsider. Or maybe even attend a party, I think you will be pleasantly surprised how this product sells itself.

Sherri Sue said...

I have also heard nasty things about this company - most of the consultants are true "Divas" themselves who live off hubby's income and do this for fun. From the thngs I have heard before I even came to your blog, I say STAY AWAY! Best of luck to you!

Unknown said...

Hi,
I understand your frustration with the company. I am a Diva Girl, and I had the same trouble getting ahold of them when I first filled out the interest form.

However the 6 parties a month are SOO easy to do, The parties are only 1 1/2 hours and from each party I promise I book at least anohter 2 parties. This stuff is so trendy it sells itself. People LOVE it, and all I have to do is sit and fill out the receipts :) I promise (and I'm not exaggerating) that I make anywhere from $500-$1000 per week for about 15 hours of work. At an average party I sell about 20 purses, which is about $1000, which would be $100 commision for just 1 1/2 hours!

I think Diva Girl is the best thing that ever happened to me. I know that it can be agervating when you cannot get ahold of them, but they are VERY busy, as you would of learned on your training day.

BTW- If you have the room, you can set up "shop" in your own home. I have a room in my basement that I decorated with the Diva Girl colors, and I have a bunch of shelves up and I have a little store down there. When someone calls about booking a party I offer to host the party at my house, and allow them to invite up to 200 people here (of course I always make sure my husband is home just in case) People love the idea of not having to mess up thier house and still get the rewards. These are my most successful parties.

I learned about Diva Girl by attending my friends party. I booked a party off her party, and from my party 2 people booked parties. So I got TWO free purses! I was soo excited cuz thier stuff is SO cute! Now I'm obsessed! I also work a full time job on top of this, but I love it! It's the best sales job I could of imagined!

So please don't spread bad things about this company, I believe it's honestly heaven sent!

Unknown said...

sanns,
I would love to be a diva girl but got rejected they told me already somone in my area but norfolk ne populatin is bigger than columbus and they have two diva heart broken rejected diva email me leifandtammy@gmail.com I really wanted to this i dont think 6 parties a month would be hard at all i already had about 20 people lined up :(

tammy

FarmerBel said...

I just recently started with another purse party company..with pretty much no requirements. Had someone with divagirl call me yesterday..6 parties a month? Really? no way that would ever work for me. The one I"m with, I pretty much do what I want..have a party or not..sell online or not..just whatever works best for me. I am loving it. :) If you do want info on it, email me at caryw7@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hmmm....I wonder if maybe I should give them a call and see if they might also have a Construction Worker Tool Diva Belt? I know when I throw parties the guys get bored with the usual Tupperware products and would probably be more interested in this.

melissa said...

OK I went all the way to Nebraska for orientation to be told they were going in a different direction. I wasted time effort and opportunity not to mention the expense for hotel and trip to Nebraska. And yes my income bracket didn't fit with the Midwest diva s. Very dissapointed since I told my friends family and coworkers that this W's what I was doing. I feel slapped in the face by the mean girls not diva girls. Diva dosent mean better than

Anonymous said...

Sorry for all of the craziness people have had. I have been with Diva Girl since 2011, went through the changes with the company. I am a full-time teacher...I love the new direction the company has gone in. I am in New England, and far from a Diva...the support from the home office and other consultant's is amazing.

They just added a new cruise, a new Go Diva Go program where I just earned $600 in certificates in 3 months. It truly is so much fun.

No catalogs, always adding new things to the inventory...no monthly amount of shows to have....cheap start up cost. Check us out again, or email me questions. Ryebeaches25@comcast.net
www.divagirlparty.com/bhughes

Thank you!

AlwysSmilingD said...

Just curious, did this business end up going under?

AlwysSmilingD said...

Just curious, did this business end up going under?