BRIDES! a bit long... Love almost all of ‘em! Interesting call from a Bride this morning… more interesting that I had a relative conversation with a fellow DJ just yesterday about this topic. Don’t want to sound negative, but this is a reality. When speaking to this Bride for the first time a week ago she reminded me that she saw me live at a reception, she’s glad I’m available for her event, and she insisted I’m the only DJ here in Key West that can do what I do for a wedding reception (I tend to disagree with her on that. I can’t speak for all companies here as I don’t know everyone, but Key West has some awesome DJ’s and I know a few of them who do weddings). Point is, she was deliberate in booking me. Now a week later with a follow up phone call, she insists that if I don’t give her a 25% discount, she is going to book another company that is willing to do so. She was offended that I wouldn’t consider. The reality is, I have set prices for a reason and offer 4 different packages for venue and budget. However, I know we offer discounts from time to time and when we get towards the end of a year… often we don’t realize just how much money we gave up along the way. I looked at my books and gave up a total of $4200 in gig discounts this year thus far. That’s a good chunk out of yearly income! Two weddings alone were discounts of $600 and $800 on some high end DJ Packages. Didn’t tell her that, not her business. I did wish her the best of luck in planning her event which seemed to anger her and she responded with some choice words and said she’s definitely hiring this other company. So much for professionalism. The intriguing part with the conversation from my friend and fellow DJ. He stated that it’s typically those couples who ask/get a discount and don’t pay full price for your services, are the least likely to offer gratuity after a successful event… even though they saved money(this is never an expectation with me, but most couples do)… and they’re also the least likely to take the time to post a review for your DJ services, which for any wedding DJ is the best form of gratuity. That threw me back on my heels as it didn’t seem right at first, but floored me at the same time… because looking back, he’s totally right! Anyway, I have these talks with DJ’s all the time. Stick to your guns and in providing the services which we do…. with the passion we do… our time is worth payment in full! End of this story… so she calls me back a half hour ago and says she doesn’t agree hiring me without a discount, but she’s willing to pay full price. I informed her that I was no longer available. That’s the way this business rolls… especially in a wedding destination location. We get calls for weddings well over a year out… and some dates we have multiple clients inquiring. Another Bride called ready to book 15 minutes before she called back today. You should have heard the way she was talking now. She said she learned the company she was going to hire… most the DJs play straight off a laptop and don’t offer much in sound/light production. She was pissed, cursing, and insisted the date was hers (without a verbal agreement or contract anywhere in site). I found it in myself to keep my cool… kept it positive, and simply told her that likely she’ll still have a great booking this other company… besides they are giving you a good discount. Be happy! But I personally wouldn’t expect to walk into a Mercedes dealer and insist on buying a car at the price of a Toyota Camry. End of story…
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:19:55 +0000
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