keepyourhm.com

Since 1955, PSR Productions has been answering questions from prospective
customers. These questions have a two-fold goal. The first, and a lower
priority, is planning a great party. The second, a higher priority, is
avoiding a negative outcome. Negative outcomes include everything from
not showing up to the less severe scenario of incompetence or communication/per
sonality issues.
Here’s what buyers fail to consider when interviewing prospective vendors
(so yes, this article applies to almost any service a buyer is considering):
1. DJ/Band business owners and salespeople (B.O.’s and SP’s) typically
have excellent rapport building skills, are outgoing and incredibly charming.
These characteristics are what made them get in the business in the first
place. Whether you talk to them on the phone or face-to-face, you aren’t
likely to find many duds. Sure, you may very well hit it off with one
in particular, but all that means is you were in rapport with them. They
could still be incompetent, inexperienced or even a talented performer
ill-suited for your event. It’s great to find someone you can relate
to, but even better to find a performer that can show you examples via
video from past events doing something important to you, such as playing
different genres of music, or using the voice quality in announcements
appropriate for the tone you want to set for the event (crazy vs. classy,
for example).
2. Experienced B.O./SP’s see through close ended questions like: Can
I create a music playlist? Will you personally promise to do my event?
Do you have backup equipment/performers? It’s blatantly obvious to a
B.O./SP what the right answer is, and whether they can fully deliver or
not, you will likely get the answer that increases the possibility of
doing business. That’s not to say that every B.O./SP is a liar. But
to think that salespeople/business owners don’t stretch the truth is naive.
So how do you avoid being scammed? Here’s how:
1. Get proof. Rather than asking if an entertainer is insured, ask to
see a cancelled check and recent bill to the insurance company. Why go
this far? Because uninsured ABC DJ’s can call his insured buddy at XYZ
DJ’s and have a certificate sent to a caterer that “insures” the facility
for the event. But if something happens, the insurance company won’t
pay the claim once they figure what occurred. Seem insane? Well, there
just happens to be a tacit arrangement in the industry between entertainment
companies to share insurance. Ultimately, the claims don’t get paid.
Worried about backup equipment? Visually inspect serial numbers for the
equipment that will be at your affair, for both sets, before you hire
someone. Then confirm it is actually there upon arrival at your affair.
Short of doing this, there may be no backup or low quality backup. Before
we started our business, we worked for the single largest entertainment
company in the country, and they had no backup gear, despite having the
financial ability to buy the gear and do the right thing for their customers.
Their biggest selling feature was the backup gear they didn’t have!
Last tidbit. Should you ask for references? There are multiple reasons
that it won’t minimize the risk of a bad outcome, though you may feel
compelled to get them. For starters they can easily be faked. Anyone
can line up friends and family to pretend to be former customers. However,
most references will be both real and very positive. So the likelihood
that they will serve to eliminate a vendor is virtually non-existant.
Bottom line, when choosing entertainment, trust your instincts and get
proof if an issue is really important to you. You deserve the best.