rascal418 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Wonderful tips & advice, thanks for sharing. Tam, last summer I tried a cooler with ice paks. I alternated the candles, table, cooler every hour. It was hectic, very hot & didn't go as well as I hoped. I'm sure someone has a better solution.I hate to start posting here with a ? but I need advice > I am a child magnet. The little unsupervised darlings zoom in, grab a jar & whoopee it's open. I get tense when little hands or (even an adult) bull in a china shop start in on my table. I offer to open the jars, (sometimes take it out of their hands) but they pick up another one. I don't want to discourage a sale but... there's a difference between people gently handling the jars & folks that treat glass like it won't break. How do y'all manage children/bull in the china shop without losing a sale? Does anyone post a breakage policy at their booth? Like a you break it you bought it? Ideas, advice most welcome & appreciated. p.s. and to think I got into candlemaking to relax LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 You aren't seeing things - I moved your post out of the tips one into it's own - a question will get lost in the tips thread.... good questions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetmoondrops Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Actually, regarding children ... I usually keep some hard candies and such on hand behind my booth. I ask their parents if it's okay for them to have a piece of candy ... and let them grab one or two. This keeps their hands busy (and the parents appreciate me thinking of their children ... which makes them stick around my booth longer). I also sometimes give out soap samples, etc. to the kids. This is a quick (and cheaper) way to keep them happy so they're not going around messing up jars of cream and sugar scrub! Although I dont mind if they latch onto a kid's soap. Encourages the parents to buy it seeing how much they love it. Good Luck!- Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rascal418 Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Thanks Robin, appreciate the move Meg, thanks for the tips! Good idea, wrapped candy - keep those little hands busy. Hey, the sugar boost might give them enough energy to find their parents & bring them back to spend $ LOL Opinions: Is it offensive to put a "you break it you bought it" sign up in the booth? I had 2 honey pot jars crack during my last show & both culprits ran off. I haven't put up a sign like that yet but breakage costs me time & money. Thoughts ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorrie Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 When I was a kid. We went into stores all the time that had breakables in it. When we walked in the door we put our hands in our pockets and weren't allowed to touch anything. What ever happened to those days?I think that I personally would use the candy trick before the sign. At least that way you could get a sale. Some people won't even come to your booth if they see a sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I think such a sign might be a deterrent for people to browse your booth. My problem is that the parents are the ones who will pick up a jar, sniff it, and then pass it on to their toddler for their opinion. I once had to dive to catch a jar as it was being knocked over. Some people bring dogs too. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mei-Mei Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Thanks Robin, appreciate the move Meg, thanks for the tips! Good idea, wrapped candy - keep those little hands busy. Hey, the sugar boost might give them enough energy to find their parents & bring them back to spend $ LOL Opinions: Is it offensive to put a "you break it you bought it" sign up in the booth? I had 2 honey pot jars crack during my last show & both culprits ran off. I haven't put up a sign like that yet but breakage costs me time & money. Thoughts ?I always hate those 'you break it you bought it' signs because there are times when an honest to gosh accident happens (not like naughty little children zooming around your shop ). When we were little and we went in shops with glass we were not allowed to touch things. I guess nowadays people think it will ruin their little darlings psyche if they aren't allowed to put their hands on every darn thing!I would try the candy thing first and see if that's distracting enough to keep them from the glassware. I don't sell yet, but I've done retail work in the past and I've noticed that a lot of 'bad' behavior is stopped by just talking to the kid. A lot of children are bored with shopping and they act out. So it might help just to say, "Hi, what's your name?" and engage the child in conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 If a kid starts picking up a candle to mess around with it, I just politely but firmly take the candle from his hand saying, "Here, honey, let me help you with that lid." Then I take off the lid and let him sniff.One soaper I know has a chalkboard and chalk or crayons and paper for the little darlings to scribble on to keep their hands busy while Mom shops. At my open air market, I have a bubble machine that fascinates kids. They're so busy watching the bubbles shoot out (or popping the bubbles) that they don't mess with my soaps and candles. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewells Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I offer what I call a "surprise bag" for the "younger patrons" it contains treats, and little games. I order them from oriental trading( I try to find the cheap things in lots) and make goody bags. I do have a sign that does say To our younger patrons: With parents permission ask us about our "surprise" bags. I am a parent of a 9 and 4 year old and many times that we have gone to craft fairs etc. I have skipped over booths that didn't appear "kid friendly". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrealh1975 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I've had situations where kids have picked up my glass items and I always watch them really closely. I've made comments like, "Sweetie, please be careful with that." A few times I've grabbed it and handled it myself and let them smell. I've also had times where I've had something burning and a child was reaching for something behind it (instead of asking) and his hand got too close to the flame. Maybe instead of "You break it, you buy it", the wording can be a little less harsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freezin Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I really like the idea of crayons and such or a surprise bag. I only do one show a year, so it really isn't much of a problem. However, as a mom of three, I am going to head to a booth that is more kid friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EMercier Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I have a problem with that. I've had people tell their kids not to touch and they still will. I watch kids like a hawk and I make some gel candles and they always want to touch, but how can you blame them if their parents are doing the same thing. I've had to make signs asking for people to please do not touch the gel candles. It being dirt. Although they are my sample ones, I still don't want it looking like that because some won't know that it's just the sample. I also dont' thinhk they realize they break. I want to tell them trust me, I've broken plenty of my stuff trying to be carful bringing it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rascal418 Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 I better re-think the sign, I'm starting to have flashbacks ! Y'all made me remember a vacation we planned around visiting 1 collectible store. The store was a pain to get to - located on a far island = ferry ride with our 2 toddlers. Still we were looking forward to visiting that shop, they advertised hard to find unique items that DH collected. After a 40 minute ferry ride & much walking we got to the shop & there was a sign on the door "No one admitted under 14 years of age". We had lunch & took the ferry back without entering the store. Funny how you forget things like that. That was @8 years ago. My kids aren't babies anymore but they're supervised when we're out. If they lose or break something I pay for it, my kids, my responsibility. I'm finding that mindset very rare nowadays. Maybe I'm a dinosaur or raised wrong. I dunno. btw Thanks for the positive tips in dealing with the more 'enthusiastic' patrons. Great ideas :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Di_in_AZ Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I always make one tart of each of the scents I have available at a show. Then I line them up at the front table of the booth in the metallic tart cups--labelled with the scent name underneath. People come in and pick them up automatically and smell the scents there, then pick the type jar/tart they want in that scent. It stops people from ever having to pick up any merchandise and although the little guys are always running around picking up and smelling the tarts, at the end of the day, I just have beat up tarts that I will use at home--and I haven't ever had any damaged merchandise. Some of the children will even scout scents for mom--they always tell her what they like best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VerticallyEnhanced Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I keep a couple of votives under my check out counter that are kid type scents (bubble gum, hot chocolate, strawberry,etc. When a kid comes in with their parents and if I am not swampped, I ask them if they want to play the smell game. I hold up the candle and they smell it and get to try and guess it. I keep some fruit snacks I give them for playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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