Friend as far as retail value and discounts= NADDA
You need to be firm on how you structure your prices and such.
To me...it looks like you need to be more upfront on your initial meeting ideas.
They threw you a curve ball...now react and hit it out of the park.
I need to bring this to attention...I have a bride this weekend who was originally getting married in a park..we were to provide ceremony music..then we would arrive to location B) for the event.
This week she says that the first location chosen will not work, so we will need to play ceremony music in the church, AND AND we will need to provide dinner music. AND THEN GO TO LOCATION B)
Complete curveball. But dumb us, for not clearly defining the stipulations of the original contract.
I'm not going to charge her more..even though it is more work...I am going to learn from it.
My friend who is going to be their actual dj is stressing out, because after dinner, he will need to rush to set up at the second location. I told him flat out...take your time..but be reasonable. He has a tendency to over stress himself, and this would not be a smart idea.
Now going to your predicament. Learn from this. I personally would "upsell" the lighting to the clients, however, I would not "charge more to make up for any losses."
I would also explain as Fred said..."I am not Peter Merry, but I will do my best to ensure everyone has a great time."
If you are not comfortable doing something Peter Merry does..let your clients know right away. Don't let this be an after fact. Honesty goes a long long ways in this business.
I once told a client I was not good at doing the garter "AUCTION"....and they said just do your best. I was horrible. That's something I am just not good at. But at least my honesty led her to a decision.
Face it, this dj business throws a million curve balls, lets not fool ourselves. The good djs will hit the ball, the great djs will knock it out of the park."
Now what I would do. I would do all the extra things as asked, but I would politely explain to the Bride and Groom what requires extra work. You realize this is important to the bride and groom, so provide, but kindly mention something about them helping you out financially for doing these extra things. Say something like..and this is not golden..."While I will do anything to help your event be a huge success, there are some extra things that were not included in the price. I will be more than glad to do the work for free, but if you feel inclined, a little extra would help out a lot."
Be blunt...heck you are putting in the "work" right. Make them understand that you are going above and beyond, and if they get a "guilt trip" then good. Then you are priced too low. Everyone understands that when you need special things for an event, usually there is a price. Why would they expect different.
So...throw it in...mention money, or dont...just do it. Knock their socks off....kick some major butt. Learn from it, and either price yourself to make that included, or make it an add on. Just swallow a loss if you need to. Big deal. As long as you learn from it, you will be that much further ahead in the long run.
In fact..dont even worry about talking about money....this can be argued either way. But if you say this could bring potentially more bookings in the long run, then you need to do what you need to do to enhance your potential results.
Bottom line, I wish you the absolute best in endeavors, and I hope your business grows and prospers!
You need to be firm on how you structure your prices and such.
To me...it looks like you need to be more upfront on your initial meeting ideas.
They threw you a curve ball...now react and hit it out of the park.
I need to bring this to attention...I have a bride this weekend who was originally getting married in a park..we were to provide ceremony music..then we would arrive to location B) for the event.
This week she says that the first location chosen will not work, so we will need to play ceremony music in the church, AND AND we will need to provide dinner music. AND THEN GO TO LOCATION B)
Complete curveball. But dumb us, for not clearly defining the stipulations of the original contract.
I'm not going to charge her more..even though it is more work...I am going to learn from it.
My friend who is going to be their actual dj is stressing out, because after dinner, he will need to rush to set up at the second location. I told him flat out...take your time..but be reasonable. He has a tendency to over stress himself, and this would not be a smart idea.
Now going to your predicament. Learn from this. I personally would "upsell" the lighting to the clients, however, I would not "charge more to make up for any losses."
I would also explain as Fred said..."I am not Peter Merry, but I will do my best to ensure everyone has a great time."
If you are not comfortable doing something Peter Merry does..let your clients know right away. Don't let this be an after fact. Honesty goes a long long ways in this business.
I once told a client I was not good at doing the garter "AUCTION"....and they said just do your best. I was horrible. That's something I am just not good at. But at least my honesty led her to a decision.
Face it, this dj business throws a million curve balls, lets not fool ourselves. The good djs will hit the ball, the great djs will knock it out of the park."
Now what I would do. I would do all the extra things as asked, but I would politely explain to the Bride and Groom what requires extra work. You realize this is important to the bride and groom, so provide, but kindly mention something about them helping you out financially for doing these extra things. Say something like..and this is not golden..."While I will do anything to help your event be a huge success, there are some extra things that were not included in the price. I will be more than glad to do the work for free, but if you feel inclined, a little extra would help out a lot."
Be blunt...heck you are putting in the "work" right. Make them understand that you are going above and beyond, and if they get a "guilt trip" then good. Then you are priced too low. Everyone understands that when you need special things for an event, usually there is a price. Why would they expect different.
So...throw it in...mention money, or dont...just do it. Knock their socks off....kick some major butt. Learn from it, and either price yourself to make that included, or make it an add on. Just swallow a loss if you need to. Big deal. As long as you learn from it, you will be that much further ahead in the long run.
In fact..dont even worry about talking about money....this can be argued either way. But if you say this could bring potentially more bookings in the long run, then you need to do what you need to do to enhance your potential results.
Bottom line, I wish you the absolute best in endeavors, and I hope your business grows and prospers!
