When TV Shopping Became Therapy: Wambui's QVC Chronicles

I was watching TV the night that QVC was born, and I thought that was the best idea I had heard in forever.

I thought that was the best idea since White Bread.

To be able to shop from your tv.

To just be able to see a parade of beautiful products and beautiful people talking about things, beautiful things.

I just thought that was just amazing.

And it was happening at a time when.

When I was going through some stuff in my life.

In fact, it was.

I believe that QVC was born around the time when 1-800 psychics, the.

The online, the telephone psychics were a big thing.

And so I liked QVC because it did for me what the, I believe the 1800 psychics were doing for other people.

And I know a little bit about that because I.

I actually worked for one of those psychic companies, and I'll tell you about that in another video.

But the deal was that people would call in to speak to a psychic.

And a lot of people knew that they weren't calling a psychic.

They just needed to call somebody.

They needed to talk to somebody who wasn't going to judge them.

They needed to be able to say something they needed to say, but they couldn't say it in their circle of friends.

And so they would call the psychic and.

And talk.

They needed to talk.

They needed to just talk to someone.

And that's how I felt a lot of times.

And what started happening is, in the early days, QVC would ask people to call in.

And because not that many people were calling in, almost every time I'd call in, I'd get to talk to one of the hosts.

I used to know all of the hosts by name.

And I would call in and I would give my testimonial talk about a product I had bought.

And the thing was, to me that was so dear and that I needed, was that just like people who were calling the 800 numbers, I was calling them because I needed to talk to somebody.

I needed somebody to talk to somebody who I knew was not judging me, because you didn't even know me when I called in.

You didn't know that I was dealing with mental illness and that I was having a hard time taking care of my children and that my world was falling apart.

When I called in, I was just a nice lady calling in to talk about a wonderful product that she had bought from qvc.

And so that is what QVC meant to me.

Now I remember, too.

Qvc.

Let's see.

I think I knew about Tony Robbins from his own infomercials.

But every now and then he started going on qvc.

Now, I.

And I tell people this all the time, that I really give Tony Robbins credit for being the catalyst to helping me get back on track and turning my life around.

And so I felt that he had helped me a whole lot.

The tapes that I had ordered that I.

Another story.

But I ordered these tapes, and I really found them very helpful.

And I had written him a letter and told him about how grateful I was that I had listened to his tapes.

And his tapes really, really didn't make a difference in my life.

Well, one day I got a call from someone.

I don't know if it was Mr.

Robbins office or QVC, but what they were telling me was that Tony Robbins was going to be on QVC on this certain day at a certain time.

And they said, you're one of the people he knows that you have reached out to him and let him know that you are really grateful for what he has done for you.

Would you like to speak to him on air?

And I'm like, speak to Tony Robbins?

Of course I would.

So what they did is they gave me a number, not the regular number.

Mm, mm.

They gave me a special number, a special number to call in at a certain time so that I could speak to Tony Robbins on the air.

And I did that.

And it was fabulous.

And we had a great conversation.

It went on for.

In my head, it was.

It was quite some minutes we talked.

It was more than two, I'm gonna say three or four minutes that we talked.

And I enjoyed every moment of it.

And I was just in heaven the whole time.

And the.

Oh, the thing with that was, that did kind of get me though, is I had already bought a ticket to attend one of his live events that was going to be held in Baltimore.

I was living in North Carolina at the time.

It was going to be held in Baltimore.

So I'd already bought the ticket, and the ticket set me back a lot.

But I was determined I wanted to do it.

It was a four weekend event, I believe, and I wasn't even in one of the VIP seats or anything.

I don't want to.

I don't want to lie, but I seem like the ticket cost, oh, at least $400, if not more.

And then I had to get to Baltimore, and then I had to get a hotel because it was a four day event.

So it cost me a pretty penny.

But at the time, whatever I had to do to get there, I was going to get there.

And so I did.

But before that event, there was that phone call.

And then when I hung up, people were talking to him and they would say stuff like, I sure would like to get a ticket to your event.

And he was giving them tickets to come to the event.

And I'm thinking, wait a minute, wait a minute.

I'm the one who wrote you the letter.

I should be getting a free ticket.

But yeah, I was just feeling that.

I was feeling some kind of way about that.

Feeling some kind of way about people.

People that in my opinion were random people now calling in and everyone would say, I sure would like to have a ticket to your event.

And so then he would give them one where I was, I had paid, I had worked hard to get that money together.

Anyway, I enjoyed the event.

But then now my next QVC story has to do with the amazing customer service that they have now.

First, let me tell you this.

Almost everything, wardrobe wise, or home wise, home office, but specifically wardrobe wise, comes from qvc.

Some things from hsn.

But I believe HSN and QVC are the same company.

Now that's what I have on now, this is.

Who is this?

Dennis Vasso and Bob Mackie and are my two favorites.

But I use.

I love all of the clothes that I get there.

Those are just my two favorites because I know exactly it's going to fit me.

Let me tell you why, as a 70 something person I love QVC now is because QVC caters to a lot of people.

Their fashions can't be that tailored, right?

So I know I love pants.

Pull on pants, pants with elastic in the waist.

And I like for the pant to come up to the real waist.

I don't want nothing hanging down below.

I don't want no hip huggers.

I want a pant that comes up to the waist.

And I know I can get that.

And they look fashionable and I love the clothes.

I do.

Now let me say this too.

I'm not affiliated with qvc.

They don't know me from Adam.

I'm not, I'm not an affiliate.

I don't know.

I'm just telling you this story because it's the true story of the part that QVC has played in my life.

And so I get all my passions from qvc.

So, okay, so the story I want to tell you is this other QVC story.

Okay?

So I'm going to say maybe four years ago now there was a show on Broadway called Cherry.

And just like the title says, it was about Cher the entertainer, about her life.

And I enjoyed the show.

It was a lot of Fun.

And it brought back a lot of memories because I remember growing up watching the.

Or in my young adult life, watching the Cher show.

And it was just brought back a lot of memories, hearing the music again and seeing Cher in those fabulous outfits that she had.

So Bob Mackie, who designed those fabulous outfits, was the designer of the Cher show.

In fact, in the show, there was a whole segment in the show called the Mackie Parade.

The Mackie Parade was just that, a parade of all of the fabulous.

Just costumes, designs, beautiful things.

And it was just a section that was a really beautiful thing to see in the show.

Now, in the show, at one scene or maybe two, Cher wore a black jumpsuit.

Now, there were three people who played Cher, but I'm just going to say Cher, just to make it simple.

Cher wore a black jumpsuit.

And I fell in love with that jumpsuit.

And I thought, I want that jumpsuit.

Okay?

So I'm knowing that Bob Mackie has a line of clothes at QVC that I believe are just beautiful, but are very affordable.

And especially if you break it down into the payments they allow you to do there.

So I wanted that jumpsuit.

So what I did was I called QVC one day and I said, customer service, I want you to see if your company can get that Bob Mackie jumpsuit that he has in the Cher show and sell it on QVC for us.

And the woman.

I had to explain it a few times what I was talking about.

I said, yes, there's a Broadway show called Cher.

Bob Mackie designed the costumes.

And there is a jumpsuit, a black.

Tell him a black jumpsuit that we want.

That's in the.

I said we, but, well, I felt like I was doing it for everybody.

I thought if everybody saw that jumpsuit, they'd want it to.

So I said, tell them we want that black jumpsuit.

Okay, so then a few.

I'm going to say a few.

A month or two passed.

I'm going to say a few months passed.

Okay, a few months passed, but it wasn't a very long period of time.

But there was some passing of time.

Okay, One night, I'm in a Broadway theater And I see Mr.

Bob Mackie walk in.

I say, hello, Mr.

Mackie.

And he looks at me.

You know that look when people are trying to figure, well, do I know you?

Should I be nice to you?

And I say, you don't know me.

I am a fan.

And I told him that I had seen the Cher show and that I loved the show and I loved all of his Designs.

I've always loved all of his designs.

And so then I told him, I said, you know, Mr.

Mackie, I called QVC one day and I told them that we wanted that black jumpsuit that she wears.

And he.

And he said, oh, you're the one who called.

I'm thinking he actually got the message.

And then he called the person that he was with, and he said, this is the lady that called.

And then they were saying, yeah, we tried to make it work, but it wasn't feasible because, you know, we have to be able to accommodate women of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest, but we can't charge any more money.

And it's kind of a.

It was kind of a fitted suit.

So they said, we tried to make it work, but it just wasn't feasible.

And I was.

I was flabbergasted.

Is that a word, flabbergasted?

I'm like, what are the chances that that would happen?

That first of all, that I would actually meet him a few months later and talk to him and then tell him about.

I called qvc and he knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Because they actually told him.

And it seems not only from him, but the person with him collaborated.

Yes, we tried to make it work, but it wasn't feasible.

Oh, my goodness.

Are you kidding me?

So you know what?

That's life.

So those are just some of my QVC stories.

Like I said, QBC doesn't know me from.

From Adam a lot of times.

One time, though, I was thinking that when I was a little younger, I was thinking that I would audition to be a host on qvc.

And me and my daughter used to play QVC and, yes, play qvc, where literally she, at one point, she.

She would pick up a roll.

She did pick up a roll of paper towels.

Can we.

Can we get a shot of this?

Can we get a shot of this here?

Of the rings on top of the paper towel rolls?

Here we are.

Here we are.

Yes.

That's just so beautiful.

And the way it contrasts with the lovely diamonds inside the roll.

And I.

I'm sorry, I just want to show the viewers at home one more time because I think this is so beautiful.

This edge, this start and finish is so perfect and so lovely.

And, you know, it's great, especially at night, if you go to the kitchen and you do, like, one of those things and you can't find it in your hands, all over the place.

But I can feel it.

I can feel it.

It's right here.

Oh, that's Nice.

That's nice.

We're going to try to take a caller again.

Can we catch them through.

This is.

This is from.

Hello?

Hello, can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Hello, can you hear me?

Hello, can you hear me?

This is.

Is this dia?

Can you hear me?

Diane?

We can hear you.

Can you hear me?

Yes, I'm Diane from Ohio.

Hi, Diane from Ohio.

I watch your show.

I want to say you're my favorite host.

Oh, thank you so much.

I like all of them.

You like all of them?

But there's just something about you.

Oh, thank you.

Maybe I shouldn't say that.

I don't want the others to get mad at me.

I love them all.

But that's just something about you.

I think you remind me of my daughter.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah, thank you, Diane.

And Diane, have you used the Wambui paper?

I have.

I ordered them when they were.

You had them as the Today's special a few months ago.

Yes.

That was the 18 pack for 1 cent.

Yes, I got them.

And I was so happy.

I did.

And did you.

Can you tell us about your experience?

I mean, I can't get.

I can't get over this edge.

How did you.

That's.

That's the best.

That is so good.

Because just like you say, sometimes at night.

Sometimes at night.

Hello?

Diane?

Diane?

I think we lost her folks.

We'll try to get her back.

And now, now, shall we get.

But today, here I sit at 72 years old.

I never could have imagined when I was a little girl growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the 1950s and the 1960s, that one day I would hold dear to my heart some stories about a television shopping network.