Weddings So yeah, still haven't got paid...good times!

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Gee, that's funny. I thought it was just "diligence". Tap them before the gig, make it easy to pay (online), no receivables problems (at least on my end). I'm about to setup an automated payment reminder thing in my system that will send them balance due notices for the last few weeks. It always gives me a wet spot to open up email and find money I didn't know what coming in.

It doesn't surprise me that the foremost thing in your mind is your own wet spot.

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Then we have something in common as I do not do any of those things mentioned above either. And to be clear the main reason for having it paid before hand is that I find it uncouth to ask for money on someone's wedding day.

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Also what is "payment performance?" Never heard of it

That's funny - you don't have the courage to ask for payment while your standing right there at the reception with them - yet, you're the Incredible Hulk demanding cash or bank check by email the week before? The bar bill gets settled at the end of the night, the caterer settles any outstanding balance before they leave, the limo driver and coat room attendants get tipped, etc. - and you think it's uncouth? Ha! You have a lot to learn about the hospitality industry.

Your payment performance is the tracking record used by others to evaluate how consistently you pay your bills on time. My experience is that DJs with the most demanding payment terms are typically some of the least credit worthy among us.
 
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every caterer I know is paid in full well in advance, as is the limo driver, florist, and photographer, yes they may receive a tip, however they have been paid well in advance.
 
every caterer I know is paid in full well in advance, as is the limo driver, florist, and photographer, yes they may receive a tip, however they have been paid well in advance.

The caterer or hotel collects for food and supplies in advance. There are other fees and charges that are settled the day of. The bar tab isn't known until the bar closes. The photographer doesn't (and shouldn't) get his final payment until he produces the proofs. The florist usually gets final payment prior to making delivery as would be the case with any retail product.

Nothing is trading hands with respect to the DJ - he has only a specific performance requirement - and the smart buyer will withhold part of the balance until that contract performance is made whole.

I don't want to change the way any PAY ME FIRST disc jockey operates. It makes selling against them that much easier where they look overly worried about buyer's remorse. :)

If a prospect mentions a competing DJ who is adamant about full payment in advance - it's a valid question to ask the customer to consider why the DJ expects them to trust him when he so clearly does not trust them to be satisfied and willing to pay after receiving the service? This is especially striking where the DJ also makes no warranty or money back guarantee.
 
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I agree with Bob on this one -- that's amazing in itself :eek:

I've always told people to have the check made out, and hand it to me on their way out, If they need their cash for the honeymoon or whatever, I just invoice them.

I've worked at lot of different companies, from school buses, to banks, software companies and so forth. Nobody but wedding vendors asks for payment up front.

I guess it seems silly to me, that you demand payment before doing the job.
 
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I agree with Bob on this one -- that's amazing in itself :eek:

I've always told people to have the check made out, and hand it to me on their way out, If they need their cash for the honeymoon or whatever, I just invoice them.

I've worked at lot of different companies, from school buses, to banks, software companies and so forth. Nobody but wedding vendors asks for payment up front.

I guess it seems silly to me, that you demand payment before doing the job.

It's less odd if you consider how many DJs phish for their clients online, correspond by email, book over the web using Paypal, and have very little personal interaction with customers. It essentially lowers the customer service and relationship bar to the level of E-bay.
 
It doesn't surprise me that the foremost thing in your mind is your own wet spot.

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That's funny - you don't have the courage to ask for payment while your standing right there at the reception with them - yet, you're the Incredible Hulk demanding cash or bank check by email the week before? The bar bill gets settled at the end of the night, the caterer settles any outstanding balance before they leave, the limo driver and coat room attendants get tipped, etc. - and you think it's uncouth? Ha! You have a lot to learn about the hospitality industry.

Your payment performance is the tracking record used by others to evaluate how consistently you pay your bills on time. My experience is that DJs with the most demanding payment terms are typically some of the least credit worthy among us.
Wow dude you sure do read a lot into things. Courage has nothing to do with it and you clearly did not read my follow up post regarding language or you wouldn't have embarrassed yourself with this whole diatribe.
 
Net 30 days works for me, as it does for most REAL businesses.

The software business is different -- they make the payment, and as soon as PayPal gets to my server, they get their software. It could be 3 minutes, or 3 hours depending on the speed. Never buy software on a Monday, Friday or Saturday -- the internet goes into crawl mode.

Had a dude call me last week or so, and he said he didn't get his reg codes, so I ask him when he ordered it, and he says like a minute or two ago. I sorta wanted to shoot him for being an ass, but I held my calm, and told him that as soon as we got the payment in verified, he would get the reg codes.

I guess he had a "smart" phone, but no brains.

Anyway, there's no way I would pay weeks in advance for a service.
I see you don't get it either. Like Tunes said he doesn't want to be stiffed again. He nailed that one! Now what you'[re talking about is totally different. You're selling software online where you getting paid before they get the product. This is all done online. That's what you're supposed to do. Every company does this sealing with an online purchase. Now I know most people are decent honest people. Yet there are still some shady people out there. We did a favor for my partners friend years ago and at the end we got paid but it wasn't what was agreed upon. It's about conducting business just like it's business. Getting stiffed once is too many times.

One of the guys that works with us now was playing in this club. I told him he needed to set a price that he was to get paid to avoid what happened to him. He was playing there on Friday with another DJ and he didn't get paid every night he played there. That's why I told him he need to setup an agreement with the place as to how much he was to be paid each Friday he played there. To hell with what the other DJ was getting paid and to hell with getting paid by the door. He ultimately left the venue and hasn't been back.

Now I had a situation where an owner tried to play games with me. Long story short I talked to this bar owner about playing in his bar on Thursday and Sunday. I told him to start since I would have to build those nights up that I would be OK with $100.00. He said he would pay me $200.00 a night. The problem was he said he can't pay me out of his pocket, his liquor got to move. I don't give a damn if his liquor moved or not. That's his problem. My problem is I need my money. So I know he was going to try to run a game on me. He tried to impress me with the system that was installed in the place. Everything was top of the line gear. Stuff that right now I would be proud to say I owned! I was supposed to start I guess that Thursday. I never set foot back in the place since then. Now I realize if I don't bring him a drinking crowd on a consistant bases he would let me go. I don't have a problem with that. That' goes without saying. But you're not going to sucker me into something crazy like what he was planning on doing.
 
It's less odd if you consider how many DJs phish for their clients online, correspond by email, book over the web using Paypal, and have very little personal interaction with customers. It essentially lowers the customer service and relationship bar to the level of E-bay.


Yes, I agree.

When I did weddings a lot, you got the group lined up, Then you would write down all their names on your pad, get the pronunciation proper, tell them how it's going to work.

Then you get the crowd fired up, and then start bringing them in.

This used to be simple -- but now you have wedding planners, online forms, do and do not play lists, blah, blah bath.

So I think the eBay analogy is correct.
 
Long story short I talked to this bar owner about playing in his bar on Thursday and Sunday. I told him to start since I would have to build those nights up that I would be OK with $100.00. He said he would pay me $200.00 a night. The problem was he said he can't pay me out of his pocket, his liquor got to move. I don't give a damn if his liquor moved or not. That's his problem. My problem is I need my money.

To be perfectly blunt you do not seem to get it when it comes to club gigs. Where you have no track record, no verified following, no recognized name - you need to begin by working for free or next to nothing. When you prove you can generate a food and beverage sales increase - then you can start negotiating fees. Other wise you are just a baby-sitter for the equipment.

Having a 100% record of not getting stiffed should not be your biggest concern. Having policies that are attractive to qualified and reliable clients is.

Over the last 30 years I've probably been burned for nearly several thousand dollars, a very small percentage of my gross receipts. The least reliable customers have always been other DJs and I'm certain they make up at least two-thirds of the bad debts on my books. They also make up about 3/4 of all last minute crisis calls. It seems people tend to demand of others that which they are least capable of producing themselves.
 
To be perfectly blunt you do not seem to get it when it comes to club gigs. Where you have no track record, no verified following, no recognized name - you need to begin by working for free or next to nothing. When you prove you can generate a food and beverage sales increase - then you can start negotiating fees. Other wise you are just a baby-sitter for the equipment.

Having a 100% record of not getting stiffed should not be your biggest concern. Having policies that are attractive to qualified and reliable clients is.

Over the last 30 years I've probably been burned for nearly several thousand dollars, a very small percentage of my gross receipts. The least reliable customers have always been other DJs and I'm certain they make up at least two-thirds of the bad debts on my books. They also make up about 3/4 of all last minute crisis calls. It seems people tend to demand of others that which they are least capable of producing themselves.
First off when I play in a bar for example I let them know ahead of time what I want to be payed to play there. I have a place where I play at sometimes and every time I play there, they know what my pay is to be. I get paid that every time1 Sometimes before the night is over I'm getting handed an envelope. I don't have a big following because I normally don't do bars that much any more. When I do I need to feel it will be a safe place for me to play at.

Now you said in your 30 years you've been stiffed out of thousands of dollars. Yet that's just a drop in the bucket compared to what you have made in all those years. You just keep on letting people stiff you out of money and I'll keep protecting myself against that happening. Sorry to tell you this but the most important thing to me is that I get paid for the work I do. Now if it's a volunteer thing then that's different. Maybe getting paid to you isn't number 1 but it certainly is to me. That's what helps me to relax so I can do my job.
 
Having a 100% record of not getting stiffed should not be your biggest concern. Having policies that are attractive to qualified and reliable clients is.


Again, I agree -- I've got stiffed once in the last 37 years -- just a drop in the bucket.

I usually work word of mouth -- no contracts, just a hand shake in most cases. I don't do many DJ gigs anymore, except for my extended "family", or some of the local bars and venues they own.

I might get back into the groove when I get back to FL. Down there, you need no gear, just your lappy and music, and plug into their system. There are tons of money down there -- a beach front apartment is a few million easy.

They call it God's waiting room.
 
Again, I agree -- I've got stiffed once in the last 37 years -- just a drop in the bucket.

I usually work word of mouth -- no contracts, just a hand shake in most cases. I don't do many DJ gigs anymore, except for my extended "family", or some of the local bars and venues they own.

I might get back into the groove when I get back to FL. Down there, you need no gear, just your lappy and music, and plug into their system. There are tons of money down there -- a beach front apartment is a few million easy.


The first thing I would bring to the bar is a reason for them to pay me.
Mix has his hand out for an envelope. Money helps him relax, then he can take a stab at the job. Wow, so many carts in front of that poor horse.

Mix - you have to make money to lose money. Do the math - several thousand divided by 30 years is about $200 /yr in uncollected receivables. Traditionally, postage has been a bigger expense than bad debts. What are you protecting yourself from - income?
 
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It's less odd if you consider how many DJs phish for their clients online, correspond by email, book over the web using Paypal, and have very little personal interaction with customers. It essentially lowers the customer service and relationship bar to the level of E-bay.

bad customer service is just that.....bad customer service. Email, online booking, and taking credit cards via a website can also be used effectively for good customer service. Sure, if its used to avoid talking to someone or offering personal service, then it's not being used effectively.

Extremes are never good. Using these tools too much is bad customer service. Not using these tools at all is poor customer service as well

The reality is many brides today have been on line their whole lives. Someone in the wedding business needs to use these electronic tools effectively. Not using them at all will make the bride believe you are old and out of touch.

What lowers the customer service is not understanding what is needed and when it's needed.
 
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What I find is scary are those on here that beat up on those they feel aren't charging enough. Yet they are OK with not getting paid each and every time they do a job because of the tons of money they have made from so many other jobs. I've had times in the past that either I didn't get paid the full amount that was due me or not at all. Today I safe guard against such things happening. I've made such mistakes in the past and learned from them.
 
I've had times in the past that either I didn't get paid the full amount that was due me or not at all. Today I safe guard against such things happening. I've made such mistakes in the past and learned from them.

That's why they make baseball bats, and bullets Mix.

If somebody stiffs me say 600-700 bucks -- I''m not going to spend 15 grand chasing them around the world. It's just the cost of doing business. You don't win all the time.

Oh. and get a tip jar.
 
That's why they make baseball bats, and bullets Mix.

If somebody stiffs me say 600-700 bucks -- I''m not going to spend 15 grand chasing them around the world. It's just the cost of doing business. You don't win all the time.

Oh. and get a tip jar.
Like I said I learned from making such mistakes. Now why is it just a cost of doing business?! Why repeat the same mistake expecting different results? There is no excuse for such a thing happening. Now I can use a baseball bat to get paid but wouldn't it cost me more then what it's worth to get out of jail?
 
Like I said I learned from making such mistakes. Now why is it just a cost of doing business?! Why repeat the same mistake expecting different results? There is no excuse for such a thing happening. Now I can use a baseball bat to get paid but wouldn't it cost me more then what it's worth to get out of jail?


Nah, you get somebody else to do it for you. Usually a homeless dude.

Do you know how much money is lost per year, at say Walmart and kMart from shoplifting? That has to be figured into the equation as CODB. It's also a tax write off (although I'm sorta sure you are not paying taxes on your DJ income).

Now the tip jar is magic -- you can do a gig at a local bar, and maybe get paid 100-150. Then you stuff the jar with like 20 bucks, and walk out with a couple hundred in the jar. That's 300 - 350 for a few hours work, and it's cash.
 
Nah, you get somebody else to do it for you. Usually a homeless dude.

Do you know how much money is lost per year, at say Walmart and kMart from shoplifting? That has to be figured into the equation as CODB. It's also a tax write off (although I'm sorta sure you are not paying taxes on your DJ income).

Now the tip jar is magic -- you can do a gig at a local bar, and maybe get paid 100-150. Then you stuff the jar with like 20 bucks, and walk out with a couple hundred in the jar. That's 300 - 350 for a few hours work, and it's cash.
You still don't get it. Those stores you mentioned don't just figure people are going to steal and chalk that up to the cost of doing business. Or why would they pay for security and security cameras? What you suggest is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plan for a client not to pay you sometime this year. Stay away from the Kool-Aid. You're making it too strong.