When was the last time you looked at a wedding or bar mitzvah from the client's perspective

This past weekend was my son's Bar Mitzvah.  All the planning and getting ready and still it was over before we knew it.

This past weekend was an eyeopner for me.  I really learned alot not only from planning but also from execution and finally from being a host.  I am not going to mention any vendors by name, some of the instances were poor planning on my part others were the vendors fault.

We searched high and low for a venue.(At this point I need to let you know that we recently relocated to this area.  Had it been S Fl I would not have had a majority of these issues.)  We visited 30-40 hotels, country clubs, and catering facilities.  A majority of them were booked for our date as we waited to long to do this.

The  venue we chose was a very nice looking hotel not far from our home.  The director of Catering had actually heard of a bar mitzvah and even had specific packages and pricing set up for it.  Unlike other venues who butchered wedding packages to accomplish this.  Most of them had a room rental fee, with a F&B minimum and they were not willing to budge. She worked with us and we got the pricing we wanted.

After we signed our contract and moved on, phone calls and emails took days to get returned.

We interviewed 5 or 6 DJs.  We started our search at pricepoint,I know mistake #1, but changed gears and went for quality of work.  I met someDJs who had no idea what a bar mitzvah even was and others who reflected their pricing.

The DJ we did hire was a very nice woman with a great personality(sounds like a blind date setup), and she was experienced with bar mitzvahs.  She also was in our budget.  I must say she went beyond expectations considering we didn't get her a candle lighting song list until the night before.  Had she followed up with us via telephone instead of just email it might have gotten us to get the list to her sooner.

The photogrpaher was another story all together.  Being one myself I was very critical of who I hired.  Not knowing anyone here made it even more difficult.  I interviewed several and the prices they wanted for the quality of the work they were showing me did not match up.  About a monthy before the bar mitzvah, my mentor facebooked me and said he would do it for me.  All I had to do was fly him down and feed him.  I was so happy that he was doing this for me.  He even taught me a few things I did not know.  You are never too old to learn something new in your trade.  We ended up with fabuolous pictures.  I really can't thank him enough.

Party decoraters charge what they do because it is a hard profession.  We did our own and it was more than an experience, never again next time we pay somebody.

Our cake was included in the hotel package.  We met at the bakery and discussed our options.  They tried to upsell from the package cake and I do not blame them one bit for that, I would have done the same. This vendor also was not quick to return phone calls.

We chose to rent a suit for my son rather thanpurchase one he would grow out of in 6 months.  We went to a national chain and got everything including excellent customer service at a great price.

Between the set up, dressing, women prettying themselves we ran late for photographs.  When this happens to me as the photographer I get pretty upset.  I mean, how could they do this? Doesn't the client realize that the pictures need to be done without being rushed?  There is a timeline and a schedule to keep.  Why don't they understand this?

After my experience as a host and being the client, I know look at everything from a client's perspective.

First and foremost they may be my only client for the day but I am by no means their only vendor.  The client has so much on their mionds that I might be important but I am only a cog in the wheel.

No matter how often I have told clients the reason they hire professionals is so they do not have to worry about the little things, the more they worry about the little things.

I now know with this experience under my belt I can change my behaviours and continue to see it from the Client's Perspective!!

Deals of a Lifetime

We have all gotten that email-I made $10,000 in one day, You don't need to work anymore automated system send you money for just sleeping, etc.  I really hate those.  My inbox is full of them and they usually come from a website that I registered with and did not opt out of the sale of my email address.

Today I want to tell you about a deal that I recently signed up for, Half Off Deals.  On this site you can purchase gift certificates at half price.  No kidding you can buy a $50 restuarant gift certificate for $25.  I have recently signed up with them to offer a $100 gift certificate for $50.  If you are in business you need to sign up for this as it is absolutely free.  I just went live so I do not yet have any stats on it.  Check it out though, in these times we all need to save money somewhere. 

http://www.halfoffdeals.com/

Video Composite

While looking at another photographers website, I found this company animoto.com which does a great job of turning pictures into videos. It is something I am going to look into further as a way to add to what I already offer. You can watch a sample video right now if you like.

Other Vendors And Their Pricing

I have been shopping around and have noticed something strange.  Even in this "recession" others are still charging a premium for their services. I then read an article on how to position yourself price wise.

Here is where the strange part comes in.  Most of the vendors I was shopping were charging more than me for the same level or even less than I was providing.

I started to ask myself why, can they really get this price?  Does the quality of the work warrant the price they are asking?  In a nutshell some of them were worth every penny they were charging, the others most defiitly were not. 

My pricing structure is very simple, I cover my costs and make a little profit.  I am not out there to get rich off people, I want to make a comfortable living though.  I do honor special requests and usually do not overcharge for them.  Although there have been some bridezillas and Bar/Bat mitzvah parents, whom I wished I had not booked in the first place, that warranted being charged a premium for what they were getting, but I did not go overboard.

In these economic times it is not worth it to fight over pennies when a little give and take can win a lifelong customer. 

The first blog

Hi,

I am new to the blogging aspect of business.  I was told by many that I should regularly blog about what is happpening.  So I started this one.

It seems that I am finally on the other end of the stick.  After 25+ years in the event photography industry I have had to go looking elsewhere for help and support in putting on my son's bar-Mitavah.  It has been difficult if not nerve racking getting this all together.  I have a new found appreciation for what my clients have been going through all these years. 

The meetings, finding the right location, finding a DJ, photographer, yes a photographer- that was the most difficult thing in the world for me to look for.   I mean that is what I do, there is nobody out there who can do it liek me. Right?

Well, I posted on my facebook page  as a joke if anyone knew a good photographer, lo and behold they all recommended me to myself.  Alll but one, he recommended himself to me.  Some of you might know him, he taught me a majority of what I know about photography.  I am talking about Norman of Norman Scott Photography. 

Many moons ago when I was just starting, he took me under his wing and taught me how to photograph people.  To this day I use what he taught me.