I’ve literally provided services at thousands of events – and MOST of them go very well. As a vendor as well as event coordinator, I have seen and experienced anxiety and “event stress” from poor or lacking communication from clients and event planners. The worst situations occur when there is a collision of several of the following circumstances. A recent gig of mine had all these. Ever feel this event stress?

Wait until the last minute to give important details for the event:

Lack of coordination and disorganization leads to a frantic pace when trying to pull off an event at the last minute. Many vendors appreciate getting gig details into their inboxes well in advance, weeks before an event. Vendors need the advance efforts to be fully prepared and to do their best job. Preparations by vendors do not only occur in the morning before the job. The event day is not the time to be providing the where/when details to the vendor. Last minute details actually can increase the level of stress for the vendors, because they are unfortunately concentrating on getting the correct information and less on the preparation that they should be doing. Vendors are not above getting anxiety from not knowing where to set up, for what activities, where to park, and other details in setting up for events.

Hire for another Gig when the first one is not paid yet:

When vendors have been waiting for over 30 days for a payment, it’s likely that they’ll be anxious to receive the compensation. By right, the first payment should also include payment for the next upcoming event as well. Ambiguity and lateness of payments definitely brings more anxiety.

Decrease the Payment and Number of Hours for Same Event:

From one gig to the next, the payment and number of hours worked by the vendor should not decrease if the job requirements are similar. If the conditions, the audience size, and circumstances are basically the same job, then it’s not fair to ask the performer to work less time for less money. Vendors will have a hard time gathering the excitement to produce the same level of work if the gig just became a lot harder to work because of less time involved, as well as less compensation. Then for the vendor, it becomes more about surviving the gig.

Give a bunch of excuses for inaction and lateness:

“I’m sooo sorry – I was out on vacation”. Yes, we all take time out from our work, but this is not an excuse for not providing info, coordination, and communication to your vendors. It gets more aggravating when there is no response to emails or phone calls over long periods of time, especially while slated events are on the table. The best solution would be to have someone else cover your responsibilities when you’re gone. At the minimum, please have an automated email response indicating your return.

Fail to Uphold Promises:

“Oh, I’ll help you with _x,y,z_, no problem!” and then when it comes to the time the vendor needs help critically, sometimes the planner is nowhere in sight. If a vendor asks for help and does not receive it, they are left to figuring out solutions. Their solutions might not be the same solution that the planner or client has in their mind. Vendors know how to “make do” in situations, but they might not be the cleanest solution without the event manager’s help and guidance.

Not Being Hospitable nor Communicative:

Most issues don’t have the ability to work themselves out on their own by being silent. By not communicating to vendors when there is any disagreement on the table, things will fester and add to a stress-producing relationship. Smile, be friendly, and approach the tough topics in the moment, and don’t gloss anything over. If need be, tell your vendor that any issues can be taken off line after the event. At least you’ve said something. And don’t forget, many vendors are artists and creative types, who are very sensitive and may need a bit more congeniality, especially if they are customer-facing at events.

Here’s your solution:

GigBase is a booking agency platform for performers/agents to easily book, plan, contract, manage and track their gigs and all its players. Built by Event LightNing for small event businesses and agencies, the GigBase app boosts efficiency, highlighting important connections, and makes managing all aspects of gigs and special events easy!

Check out our Demo here