Thread: Flakey venues

I am absolutely hopping MAD. I booked a venue for my workshops that are coming up this weekend with Aziza. I wrote to the venue over 8 months ago with the details, confirmed by phone, by email (they never email me of course). I wrote (email) again on 6 December to double check, and after I had no response, sent another letter, and for the last two weeks that weren't holiday days I've been ringing daily several times a day (no-one returned my calls).

During this time there have been three changes of staff, and most recently a takeover by another company. So today I spoke to the new manager who confirmed that everything would be OK for me, then I get home to THIS email saying that I need to change one of my class times to 9am to 10am (they were originally 10am to 11am) and have my class in the nice studio, or have my class at the agreed time, and put it in the function room which has carpet and no mirrors.

So I am thinking should I

a. Try to phone all the participants to get them to come an hour early (bear in mind some of them are flying in from abroad), 9am is a really early start.

b. squeeze 30 people into a studio that should really only have 25 in it and hope for the best.

It doesn't seem fair to cancel 5 people who had previously booked on this class. I just don't know what else to do. Why does this KEEP HAPPENING.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rr !

Sorry. That's crazy.

How soon is the event? Is it feasible that you would be able to get a hold of every participant?

I agree that it wouldn't be fair to cancel anyone who's already booked.

I would try pushing back and telling them that you have already sold the larger room's capacity, based on your original agreement with the studio, and that people's travel plans do not allow for a time change. The venue might be testing to see if they can make you change your plans so that they don't have to make somebody else change theirs. I would also point out to the studio the difficulties of reaching all your registrants so soon before the event. Tell them it is basically non-negotiable.

It's been my experience that even the very nicest of venues will occasionally try to rearrange your plans, but if you make it clear you can't change, they usually back down. I know it feels like you are at their mercy, but you are the one giving them money, you are the customer here. Good luck!

i agree with badriya. sometimes pushing back, even a little bit helps gets results. worst case scenario- they say no and you can deal with it from there. but they may say YES!

Oh wow. ONE DAY before your event and they drop *that* on you!!! I am *so* sorry to hear of this absolutely not-needed-at-this-time hassle for you. I sure hope that when you tell them it is impossible to reach the registered and paid-for participants (as many of them are already in the process of traveling) that they will relent and let you have the previously agreed to time *and* space. If not, I think we know at least a few who would be willing to participate in a "3 a.m. zil brigade" for you.

Oh dear Caroline, that is quite stressful. I work at a large hotel's front desk, and am occasionally stressed at overbooking and more people than there are spaces. What usually happens though, is that not everyone who signs up will actually show up, but you would give yourself more stress trying to get all these people on the phone and get them to agree to a different time. I would suggest keeping the same time in the larger room, and asking the coordinator to see if they can rent you some mirrors for the room? A lot can be done to make that room right for your workshop; give them a list and do insist on the essentials. Good luck!

Some folks suck a$$! Not only would I never book there again, but you should make sure to review them badly and spread the word.

Do you have a signed contract? Even though a new company bought the facility, they more than likely accepted responsibility for all pending contracts (and any liability) as part of their purchase agreement. They can't change the terms of your contract at their whim. If you don't have a signed contract, there may be nothing you can do to hold them to the prior agreement. Good luck.

Well, I went back to them another time and said 'it's impossible blah blah', and they are canceling some of their double bookings in the afternoon, so I only have 1 class that is going to be squished. I think I will start looking for a new venue - my problem is that my standards are quite high, and there is quite a lack of such venues here, and I don't want to go back to the OTHER flakey venue that smells of pee.