I received a phone call this morning from Shari, my client for this upcoming weekend’s event. Her special event is not attracting the numbers she was hoping, and she wanted to decrease our agreed services. My team and I are lined up for contracted services — and it’s 5 days away. It is a smaller contract and a smaller event anyway, so we’re not talking about thousands of dollars at stake for my client.

Inside View

Here’s an inside view of one common business interaction that occurs with clients when one operates a small event business.

Shari wanted to decrease her contract by half. My client was polite and professional about her concerns, thankfully. Though small businesses operate in many unique ways, I’m unable to accommodate her wishes at the last minute. Even with small crowds, our team will not be sitting around idle but will be steadily working. Some might be thinking here, why not just do what the customer wants?

Deposit and Terms of Service

Yes, we received a deposit when making the reservation with the client. She had re-read the conditions of service, and was willing to cooperate with them because they were in place. Shari was willing to work within the terms of the contract and cancellation policies – though she just wanted to ask about it to see if it could be amended.

My event company only provides contracted services to special events. We don’t do “word-of-mouth” agreements, because we’ve had trouble with those in the past.

Contract coverage is critical for all special events. Contracts should not take all afternoon to create. Creating contracts is simple with our GigBase booking app. With the customer on the phone, I entered her information into the app and the event software did the rest. It’s a one-click contract that I emailed her immediately. Because she received her contact and information right away, the event services were firmed up quickly with her.

Minimal Flexibility

Naturally, within 5 days notice, I don’t have much staffing flexibility or wiggle room. My staff and I have agreed on wages – they are expecting to work this event at full pay for the full time. I can’t recuperate any costs if the customer is refunded – my company would lose money by paying my staff without compensation by the client. My team won’t be able to find work if they are cancelled from this event. As an agency, my relationship with my staff is very important to me.

During the gig booking, I lined up the best and value-oriented services I had available at a decent price. I would have a difficult time actually trying to find other staff members with the skills she wants at the last minute – as it was difficult to find them even during the time of the booking.

Extra Services Thrown In?

Without saying it clearly, I could hear in my client’s voice that she’s looking for some extra services gratis in place of the missing attendees. She requested a few things that were out of the question for our team.  I gave her a handful of suggestions within reach, such as inviting more attendees. My event business is unable to increase our normal operating costs simply because she has less attendees and wants more value. We are able to provide her with a few special things of value, which are some items we’d gladly throw in as a part of our services.

At the end of the phone call, the client was willing to continue working within our original agreement on the contract. And she still has plenty of time to fill some empty seats!

photo credit: Sunday Fun, August 2011 via photopin (license)

Patrick Duffek, Founder, Event LightNing Mobile Productivity Apps, has managed over 12,000 events for the Silicon Valley computer giants, organizations and special events over two decades. Www.EventLightNing.com