Long Live The Earls!

The Earls of Tupper and Sandwich of course!

You must admit, if there is only one Direct Sales Company that has changed our lives for the better, it is Tupperware and Tupperware has made it possible for the quintessential lunch favorite, the sandwich, to not only make it until lunchtime, but to last a few days as well.

I was about 10 when my mother went to her first Tupperware Party. Well, at least it was the first party that I was aware of that she attended. She came back with new recipes for salads that would last until the new millennium, an ice cream holder that would keep our ice cream as fresh as the day it was made throughout the summer and well into the winter months and a keeper for pickles that contains, to this day, forty years later, several of the very first pickles stored in that container.

Yes, Tupperware had been changing the lives of women for years and now it was going to change our life. My sister and I were the beneficiaries of the little prizes that my mother had won that day and at that exact moment, the consultant had added not just one new customer, but two young ones just waiting until they could attend their very own party and get their very own free stuff.

A few weeks later my mother's order arrived. We were guaranteed to have the freshest milk on the block (though at that time we didn't realize that it meant that we would be drinking non-fat dry milk instead of whole fresh milk) our sandwiches would stay fresh (though weenie sandwiches on white bread with ketchup would be soggy no matter how you stored them) we could keep four heads of cauliflower fresh and ready for use at all times (like the human body could stand the consumption of that much cauliflower in a short period of time) and as mentioned previously, our ice cream would stay fresh through the winter months ( though it is sad to admit 1/2 gallon never lasted past a meal) and our pickles would stay fresh for centuries (though a century old pickle is more pickled than others). And our lives would automatically become those of efficient, cost effective and frugal just as portrayed by the consultant.

Using non-fat dried milk lasted about as long as it took to spit out that very first sip. It was awful! And no amount of doctoring could make that concoction taste any better than poorly mixed concrete. Our very expensive, fresh keeper mixer and pitcher became regulated to holding a meal's worth of Kool-Aid. Eventually, as we out grew Kool-Aid, the pitcher graduated to the position of watering can and last I saw it, in a corner of the garage, it was used to help change oil and add anti-freeze.

We also got tired of those soggy, but very fresh weenie sandwiches, which stored in Tupperware could last up to 10 days before the mold would start to grow and our lunch lives gradually returned to normal with the bologna sandwich wrapped in wax paper and the occasional PB & J for a treat. The sandwich keeper eventually held buttons and whatnots in the sewing room until the lid was lost and then it was used for a while as a plate under a plant and it was lost at sea when we took it to the beach with us one summer to make sand castles.

The Ice Cream Keeper stood in the freezer as a reminder that while it was a good idea for some families, it wasn't appropriate for ours and it continued to take up space until that freezer died and someone forgot to transfer it from the old freezer to the new freezer.

And, that pickle keeper? Turns out our family didn't like pickles all that much except for on holidays so after the initial fill with garlic dill pickles, it didn't get much action, but it still fits in the refrigerator door just waiting for someone to get a hankerin' for 40 year old pickles.

You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson and had not fallen into the trap of a Tupperware Party. But alas, I do have a very thick skull and was invited to my very first Tupperware Party at the ripe, tender age of 18. I could not wait. I was so excited and so full of hope and dreams. And since payday was the day before, full of cash in the pocketbook.

From the moment I walked into the door I was hooked. I was blinded by the beautiful sight that beheld me of a wonderfully organized and efficient life and no sooner had the presentation begun than I had signed up to be a hostess, indicated my desire for a career in sales and had personally bought more Tupperware than most people see in a lifetime and all without leaving my chair (except to get up and taste the wonderful food that was ages old, but fresher than when it was made all thanks to Tupperware.

My mother was a little shocked to hear that I had scheduled a party, especially one in her home and was quite happy to go along with me until she discovered two days before the party that a) I had already purchased a significant portion of the catalog and there was no room for it in her house and b) that I was planning on purchasing the rest of the catalog because I was going to start my own business out of my mother's home that would be the basis of wealth and prosperity for myself and my family for the rest of my life.

My mother was shocked. My father thought it was the funniest thing on this planet. I was stunned. Weren't they listening? This was it! At the ripe age of 18, out of my very own home, I was going to have a six figure PLUS income along with my very own Tupperware Brand Car! Soon, I'd be able to move out, wear the finest in clothing, have a gorgeous home and all in just a few hours a week! My father was still laughing and my mother's jaw was dangerously close to the ground.

And, by the way, Mom. When can I schedule your party for? It was then that I discovered that my mother went to those parties, but having them was quite another thing.

That was okay by me. If she didn't want all the free stuff I was going to give her and if she didn't want the same opportunity for a six figure income that I was going to have, well, that was okay, too. After all, too many six figure incomes in one family would be too greedy.

And it was going to be easy. After all, everybody wanted Tupperware. Tupperware changes lives. Tupperware improves lives. Tupperware is an American Institution. LONG LIVE TUPPERWARE!

Okay, so it was going to be easy. And it was only going to take a few hours a week. That's what my sponsor said. And then there was the car, too. That would be even easier to earn. My sponsor said it was so. And then there was the trip to the exotic tropical destination, for sure I would at least earn that.

And that became my plan. Earn the exotic tropical vacation (hey, maybe if I told my mother I'd take her with me as my guest she'd book a party) then pick up that car (of which I didn't have one to begin with) and within the year be at a six figure income running my own business with just a high school diploma and a year of GE credit under my belt. I was going to have it all.

My father was still laughing.

And with every peal of laughter came a more dogged determination to show my parents how very wrong they were. And so I started on my quest to book my parties.

I called everyone I knew. Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, kids of acquaintances, even those I didn't know just by going through the phone book.

With a blister on my dialing finger (no touch tone in those days) I ended my first day of business with NO ORDERS, NO CUSTOMERS and NO PARTIES. I had spent six hours on the phone and hadn't made a dime. Not only had I not made any money, I didn't even have a party scheduled to make some money.

My father was still laughing.

And that made me mad and even more determined than ever before. Tomorrow would be different. My sales goal was $10,000 in sales and to book six parties.

Tomorrow came, I loaded up my sample bag (thank heavens Tupperware doesn't weigh anything) and off I went into the wild blue yonder with dollar signs in my eyes and a heart full of hope.

Six hours later I came back with blisters on my feet, the blister on my finger still pulsating and a mark on my shoulder from the carrying case strap. And NO Sales, No Customers and No Parties.

My father finally stopped laughing. I think pity was setting in.

16 hours of work and nothing to show for it. I was beginning to wonder where the easy part came in. And, as I lay in my bed, aching and in pain, my determination grew that I would make this a success.

The next day dawned bright and early and I hit every store I knew and planted catalogs in bathrooms, catalogs in break rooms, catalogs amongst the magazine racks and even a few on cars. Surely my name would get out as THE Tupperware Lady and I'd have a booked schedule within a week.

I returned home, gas tank empty, stomach growling and hope dwindling to a stack of messages. My faith was restored, I was on the road to success and my excitement was growing as I reached for the stack of messages. The first was from the local department store asking me to not place my catalogs in their bathrooms, the next was from an employee informing me that I was encroaching on her territory and to BACK OFF! The rest were more of the same.

I was defeated and I knew it. It all seemed so easy. I had such hope and such exciting plans only to find out that it wasn't that easy, that it took a lot of work, a lot of very, very hard work and that when you factored into everything you did that you were making less, far less than minimum wage of $0.75 per hour.

So, I called my sponsor. She was aghast that I hadn't made any money yet, much less earned the trip the car and my six figure income in the first week, after all, that's what she did (though I never saw any pictures of her in a tropical location or her car and her house was, well, lets just say it was beneath, WAY beneath that of someone with a six figure income). Her solution was simple, I must not be doing it right and what I needed was a training session to be held next week at the convention center. She was positive that after this training session not only would I change my mind, but I'd be able to replicate her success.

She was so encouraging, she was such a cheerleader for Tupperware and she made me believe that the solution was a simple one, so I took the rest of the week off, licked my wounds and made ready for the training session that would change my life.

Next up:

Tupperware U