Ladue Resident Finds Second Career With Pampered Chef

Twenty four years ago, Randy and Bill Weiss, a young married couple were struggling to make ends meet. Their daughter, Emily was 1 year old.

In fact, as Randy put it, “We were on the verge of bankruptcy.” That didn’t deter the young lady from following her heart and her dreams.

I was a nurse for the Ladue School District, and I had signed a contract for about $40,000. In August, I walked out of the job at what was then the Wright School and told them to find someone else, Randy said.

What Weiss found was a fulfilling career with The Pampered Chef  Co., one of the world’s largest distributors of home cooking utensils and gadgets.

Twenty-four years later, much as changed in the Weiss household, some for the better, others not.

The biggest downside was the tragic loss of their daughter Emily. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer at just 14, she contracted brain cancer as well and died at age 17 after extensive treatments at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC.

“You just never quite recover completely from a loss that important,” Randy said, brushing aside the tears, many years later.

What Randy, 53 has found is happiness in her vocation, working as Independent National Executive Director of this mega and successful company, based in Addison, IL.

The transition from nursing to sales was almost caused by happenstance. “I just happened to notice an advertisement in the paper, seeking new people for this brand new company,” she said, recollecting what happened in 1987.

The owner of the company, Doris Christopher, came to St. Louis strictly on a recruiting mission. She had a concept, and she needed people to make it happen.

“When we made the initial appointment, I stood her up. I put our meeting date on a piece of paper and lost it. Besides, the naysayers in the family--my relatives, in-laws--they all said this was not a good idea to give up a guaranteed salary for an unchartered sales career for something like this.”

Christopher wouldn’t take no for an answer. Randy met Christopher at a Clayton hotel on July 4, and about 20 minutes into her presentation, my husband, who overheard the conversation came around the corner and said "Randy, you’ve got to do this.”

She did just that.

And as they say, the rest is history. Twenty three years later, international investor Warren Buffet used $900 million of Berkshire Hathaway money to purchase the company outright.

“Working for Pampered Chef has changed my life. I used to be very quiet and shy. I certainly am not that way anymore,” she said. “Doing all these parties and presentations  has changed my manner completely,” said Weiss, who resides comfortably in a home on Clermont Lane in Ladue.

The Pampered Chef is a direct sales company. Employees set up sales parties in people’s homes and get a percentage of everything sold. Today, the company does a million shows a year in every state of the union, and worldwide.

The products are of the highest quality. “I rather like it when people don’t buy a product and try and get the same thing from Walmart. They will come back and ask ‘Why did the top come off so fast?’ and things like that.”

So how did Weiss get the proverbial ball rolling? “You know, my first shows were with family, friends and neighbors. It just goes from there. Now, I do at least two shows a week and all over the area.”

The Weiss’ have a second daughter, Katherine, a sophomore at Ladue High School. She is one of the behind-the-scenes students in the theatre program, working proudly on engineering projects for the  different thespian groups.

Weiss says those who host Pampered Chef parties are always a winner. “We have to create a win-win situation to make this thing work. Our customers do great. They can get $500 worth of product for about $155.

To some degree, this career is recession proof. “Everyone’s got to eat, and when times are tough, like now, people are dining in more than out. Some people don’t like to cook. They just want to own our utensils and things.”

The average show can net Pampered Chef sales consultants $450 to $550. And, they don’t have to sit behind a desk all day and answer to a boss.

Interested in knowing more about Pampered Chef? Contact Randy Weiss at 314-432-0030, rweiss@swbell.net.