Quality Vendors~

CAUTION Buyer Beware!!! It is so important to choose quality vendors when planning your event. As I always like to say there are no "do-overs" in event planning! Sure there are a lot of bad vendors in every type of business, but if your painter doesn't show up to paint your house or paints it the wrong color, you can fix that. If a vendor does not show up for your event you can't fix that so easily. I see and hear a lot of stories in my job where people or clients have chosen the wrong vendor or is having a "friend" help them.


Well last week I saw it again and it was a doozy. My client had only hired us to do the decor, set up and event layout for the event. She had hired a "taco guy" for the catering. My client was hosting 60 guests at her home for lunch after a 1:30 p.m. baptism and all the guests were going straight to the house after the service. On her way to her house my client receives a telephone call that the caterer is not there. They were a complete NO-SHOW, NO PHONE CALL, NO EXPLANATION and NO APOLOGY!!!! Did she have a Contract, NO, had she made a deposit NO.

Any reputable vendor is going to require a deposit, a Contract or some type of signed agreement stating what they are going to provide, the hours of service, etc... This one DID NOT and probably for good reason, that way they could take a bigger job if one came along or not do the job if something else came up. My client was devastated, food had to be brought in quickly and she had no level of recourse with the vendor. When she called the following day she was told by this company's answering service that they had done the same thing the previous weekend to someone else.


I understand that in this economy people are looking for ways to stretch their event budgets, but you really have to be careful on how you do that and what type of company you hire. Ask a lot of questions, take a look at their website, are they licensed and insured, do they have employees, what types of clients do they work with, go with your gut when you speak to them.  If the vendor isn't asking you a lot of questions that is another red flag to their experience and capability to handle your event.

I have seen my share of event disappointments because of all types of vendors and all because of a few dollars. As an event professional I do my best to steer my client towards vendors that I KNOW will do the job right the first time, but unfortunately there are times when my client has already signed contracts or has made their mind up.  For my Clients who have hired me for on-site coordination services I am usually able to control or fix a bad vendor situation and usually ahead of time, but for those who have no extra help or quick alternatives on the day of the event they are left with a bad taste in their mouth and a lot of disappointment.

Don't let this happen to you, if it seems to good to be true; it just might be.