Thread: WWBD: Client becoming increasingly demanding

[QUOTE=david;411825]......the moral is - dont even leave a loophole for the client to take control over the service you offer or your performance.

I agree. In my career I rarely had to deal with a client like this but I learned quickly to do it my way or I would end up regretting the job.

First and foremost I would always engage the client in a discussion of their expectations the venue, accomodations for me etc. I'd be amendable to some things such as modest attire,special requests for music etc. But the bottom line it is MY show and I'm the expert. I have no problem explaining to a client that the time length they are considering is too long for the type of event there planning or that floorwork wouldn't be appropriate for this venue etc.

If I get the feeling that I can't be in control of my own show, I walk.

Well...I did the gig today, and all turned out just fine.

In the 48 hours leading up to the gig, I both spoke with her by phone and sent her an email along the lines of the one I described before. It turned out as I thought: she wasn't disrespectful, nor trying to get something for nothing...she was really just very nervous--she hadn't done this before (and perhaps has a somewhate twittery in personality to start with). She'd been entrusted to plan this for her niece and was worried about trusting portions of an important family event to someone she didn't really know (she'd been a little nervous with the venue at first too.) That "twitteriness" just manifested in trying to plan it within an inch of its life. :-) In our last phone conversation, I managed to convince her to trust me a little bit--that I know something about what works. She agreed no cane and even took a pass on selecting/approving the final indian song.

In the end, it went very well. I actually threw two Indian songs on the end of the set, including a bhangra song that got the whole room up and out of their chairs, dancing in a big circle. :-) In the end, the ladies were lovely and the woman who hired me was quite happy. Beaming, she said "That worked without so much planning! Next time I know I can trust you!"

For the PIA moments leading up to it, I'm not at all sorry I did it. So...all's well that ends well...g.:

Originally Posted by aamel_MirahAmmal

For the PIA moments leading up to it, I'm not at all sorry I did it. So...all's well that ends well...g.:

Hooray! I'm so happy it went so great! *zagarheet*

Good for you! Congrats!

Congratulations & good job!

Awesome. Glad to hear it went so well.

Yay!

Deborah

Bhangra will sooth any pain lol :)...until the day after when you wake up and you're too sore to move lol

Originally Posted by david

Bhangra will sooth any pain lol :)...until the day after when you wake up and you're too sore to move lol

*LOL!* You know it, David!

glad it went so well! i've encountered this attitude (being nervous and wanting to plann aaaaaallll) in weddings, and newbie event agencies...usually throwing a lot of "in my experience", "i usually", and making it clear to them you do TONS of these events seems to help... and not being afraid of being the authority. had to learn that one.

I'm glad it went well for you!

I do think a worthwhile discussion (if there isn't a thread on this already) would be about how to deal with folks or ethnicities for whom "hard bargaining" is part of the way they deal with things. Some folks just don't feel they're getting their money's worth unless they go through some long negotiating process, whether it's their personality or the way their culture works. A little more insight on this would help some of us.

Originally Posted by Nabila-Nazem

I'm glad it went well for you!

I do think a worthwhile discussion (if there isn't a thread on this already) would be about how to deal with folks or ethnicities for whom "hard bargaining" is part of the way they deal with things. Some folks just don't feel they're getting their money's worth unless they go through some long negotiating process, whether it's their personality or the way their culture works. A little more insight on this would help some of us.

Not about cultures per-se, but about negotiating and possibilities, Carrera just started a thread. http://www.bhuz.com/forum/business-b...situation.html