Weddings Had to cancel

"(the “First Payment”) is due and payable simultaneously with the execution of this Agreement in the form of a money order or a certified bank check"

I like this. Personal checks can bounce, cash can be counterfeit. Certified funds, no problems.

I have specific due dates on my contract but clients don't seem to read it or take it seriously.

I have specific due dates on my contract but clients don't seem to read it or take it seriously.

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It's only fair. If they don't, neither do I.

A kindly written, kiss a little pahtootey email saying their temporary exclusive reservation has gone bye bye, that if there's been a problem let me know, yadda friggin yadda. That's it.

Likewise, in my email with the online contract I write that the link to the contract expires after 10 days and the date is available for other clients without notice. The link doesn't actually expire, but it does create a sense of urgency, and allows you a reason to follow up with them in case it hasn't been signed.

The trouble I had with the "expires in x days", whether a legitimate excuse or not, the customer said they thought it was 10 business calendar days. I suppose someone might complain it was 10 days on a Chinese calendar; Heaven know what cockamamie excuses folks can come up with.

By stating exactly what dates activity is expected, unforeseen dipsticks can be avoided.

Cap Capello said:

The trouble I had with the "expires in x days", whether a legitimate excuse or not, the customer said they thought it was 10 business calendar days. I suppose someone might complain it was 10 days on a Chinese calendar; Heaven know what cockamamie excuses folks can come up with.

By stating exactly what dates activity is expected, unforeseen dipsticks can be avoided.

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I believe you stated (then redacted) that "first come first served" is the height of arrogance. I'll humbly submit to you that my way is, in fact, a better business model than trying to state (and enforce) drop-dead or expiration dates. In my book, my system is THE most fair for all parties involved. If you (the client) want my services on a particular event, put your money down and execute the contract. First one to the finish line wins and it was your choice to slow-walk the process, losing the offer of my services. My method also gives a very effective sense of urgency. We don't do verbal holds, period. Money talks. Bullspit walks.

ittigger said:

I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, they both work. There are Pros and Cons for each. With that in mind, if you were hoping to hire Vendor A but for whatever reason, had not gotten around to it yet and by the time you did, they picked up someone else, you probably would not be doing business with them in the future.

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So you think that defining an expiration date on the quote somehow will keep you in their good graces? I have news for you, they WILL NEVER BE YOUR CUSTOMER.

My method also gives a very effective sense of urgency. We don't do verbal holds, period. Money talks. Bullspit walks.

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There will come a time and circumstance where this will bite you in the bullballs. First come first served (IMO, which is far from humble) is a bush league sales tactics saying I'm so great you'd better not f up. To the smart shopper, it's saying "you snooze you lose... maybe" I've got time to shop around. He's just a DJ." It creates no urgency. It creates wiggle room. It creates areas of scheduling hassles and vague dates.

You won't know until it spits on you, and at some point in time, it will.

And I didn't mean to offend anyone personally.

Cap Capello said:

There will come a time and circumstance where this will bite you in the bullballs. First come first served (IMO, which is far from humble) is a bush league sales tactics saying I'm so great you'd better not f up. To the smart shopper, it's saying "you snooze you lose... maybe" I've got time to shop around. He's just a DJ." It creates no urgency. It creates wiggle room. It creates areas of scheduling hassles and vague dates.

You won't know until it spits on you, and at some point in time, it will.

And I didn't mean to offend anyone personally.

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You actually did not offend me. Just wanted you to know that I did notice the edit (very kind of you btw). On the tactic, we'll have to agree to disagree. I tried the expiration date routine. It just never worked for me. Clients ignore those dates and yet they keep it in their head that they own that date. That if someone else comes along, you somehow owe it to them to chase them down, before you commit the date to someone else. It's not arrogant to be up front and to state clearly that you are a gun for hire and money is what locks the date. Anytime I've ever had someone slip in an snag a date, the losing party has always been understanding and has never projected any hard feelings in my direction. Usually, we have a brief chat and then I help them find another solution. They leave, just as much friends, as they ever were during the sales process.

ittigger said:

You want to buy a car - and you were given a quote but by the time you got there, they sold the car - would this make you happy? Would you be visiting this business again?

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I've had this happen and yes, I'd go there again. The next time I'd be quicker on the draw. My motivator for going there wasn't that they'd hold a car for me. My motivator was that they had a product that I wanted to purchase.

This is rarely an issue for us, but if someone doesn't get their agreement and payment in within the agreed time, we let them know their Pending reservation has been cancelled.

Not a cancellation. Simply an inquiry that didn't book.

We've never had an instance where someone assumed they were booked when they didn't return any the required agreement or payment

Legally, your contract is only an offer unless and until it is signed and perfected by your potential buyer. An offer that has no expiration date is a legal liability because it remains valid and actionable indefinitely.

In my bookkeeping a situation like this is tagged as "withdrawn" meaning the client never responded to the offer. I am not hard and fast about the expiration date in practice because there is no reason I can't extend an offer or honor it after the date. The date does however, provide me the legal option to move onto to a new booking without any recourse to the prior offer. At best, the expiration date informs a prospect that I will not be looking for a response or further soliciting them beyond that date. Months in advance the process works well. When the bookings are on shorter notice I will call to confirm that their intention is in fact to decline the offer, and that they have made alternate arrangements. It provides me peace of mind to know that there was not any error to which I was unaware.

"Cancelled" in my records refers to a perfected contract (confirmed) that was called of by the client. It may or may not have required a non-refundable deposit but, either way is was a perfected agreement and now the event is not happening.

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IMHO you never actually booked the event described in the OP. You may not know it but, they could easily have booked someone else and simply felt no reason to get back to you. The lack of an expiration date on your offer is only a liability to you. They had no responsibility to accept your offer or even explain to you why they declined.

Cap Capello said:

Every milestone should be precise. Not 10 days. Not 14 days. Not first come first served (that's arrogant as heck). If the contract is issued and pending signature and contract signing payment and you want it back in 7 days, state the exact date such as on or by 4:00 pm, November 10, 2017. If you don't have that signed contract and contract signing payment by 4:01 pm , November 10, 2017, that date and temporary hold is automatically released. No further communication is required and your schedule is open to do as you please.

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I agree with part of this, but the "exactness" of your expiration can be achieved in a variety of ways. My personal preference is to design a contract/offer that is appealing and user-friendly. It should feel as comforting and secure as the entirety of the sales process that preceded it. To that end, the offer also contains an "issued date" and any period of days or weeks runs from the date of issue.

I am not Citibank - I don't suddenly become punitive if you're contract is returned a day late. I am more often elated to find that a prospect I thought was on the fence, or not all that interested had instead moved forward enthusiastically. People do call back sometimes well after the offer has expired an ask if they can still send it back. My response is that I will accept it anytime that the date remains open and the specific staff or resources listed remain available. I lose nothing and gain everything by keeping the sales line open because it is only the prospect that forfeits their right of refusal or leverage by responding late.

For me, the operative language is not that it "will" expire after a given date - but that it "may" be rescinded. This leaves it as an option for me rather than a commandment.

rickryan.com said:

I believe you stated (then redacted) that "first come first served" is the height of arrogance. I'll humbly submit to you that my way is, in fact, a better business model than trying to state (and enforce) drop-dead or expiration dates. In my book, my system is THE most fair for all parties involved. If you (the client) want my services on a particular event, put your money down and execute the contract. First one to the finish line wins and it was your choice to slow-walk the process, losing the offer of my services. My method also gives a very effective sense of urgency. We don't do verbal holds, period. Money talks. Bullspit walks.

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First come first served is a poorly vague legal construct because without specifically assigned periods of active and expired validity the first customer served is always the first one you reached a verbal agreement with. You cannot simply claim perfection of the agreement by arbitrary choice of whose check you decide to hold in your hand. That may work in practice but, in a legal dispute there's nothing tangible to substantiate your claim about who was "first" when it's a close or unclear finish.

Under first come first served you can be liable for your own delay in providing the means to meet your terms. Providing the contracts out of order, in different forms, or formats, can also be held as discriminatory should your prospects fall across protected classes. Generally, DJ services are not such hot commodities - yet, the risk is still there.

rickryan.com said:

In my book, my system is THE most fair for all parties involved. If you (the client) want my services on a particular event, put your money down and execute the contract. First one to the finish line wins and it was your choice to slow-walk the process, losing the offer of my services. My method also gives a very effective sense of urgency. We don't do verbal holds, period. Money talks. Bullspit walks.

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Except if all participants send their deposit and contract on the same day?
Do you then turn to which envelope you opened first?
Sorry..."first come-first served" may work to pressure clients into action...
but it has a very good chance of backfiring.
1- you could accidentally double book yourself
(you tell someone you're available, and THEN you received a signed contract for the same day)
2- you will certainly piss off someone who followed all of your "rules"...but was 5-minutes too late.
(they finally found a DJ they wanted, made the commitment, sent the check, only to be told the date is booked)
Neither of those scenarios are FAIR for all of the parties concerned.

If I have a verbal commitment, and a second client is interested in the same date....
I will go back to the original client and ask for the deposit/contract right away.
The second client does not get a YES or a NO until a decision is made by the first client.

Scott Hanna said:

We've never had an instance where someone assumed they were booked when they didn't return any the required agreement or payment

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I have and I've had them verbally tell me, "But I had you booked." when they had not actually finished the booking process. With any form of a verbal hold, they assume they have you on the hook and they can continue shopping for a better deal. That's why I'm crystal clear, your deposit locks the date and executes the contract. First one who pays, owns the date. If they're pissed at me because they didn't do the deal, I couldn't care less.

Ausumm said:

Except if all participants send their deposit and contract on the same day?
Do you then turn to which envelope you opened first?

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Being completely honest here...........I take the best gig and refund the other. Out of 600+ this has happened once or twice and never in the past 5 years. As soon as a payment comes thru, if there's a competing date, I'll have the 2nd invoice cancelled within seconds. You may not agree with the first-come-first-served model but it has worked extremely well for me and the extra leverage has gotten more than a few slow-walkers to go ahead and lock, instead of continuing to shop around for a better deal.