Oxfordshire Wedding Disco - Your Views!

[Ryu]

http://www.oxfordshireweddingdisco.co.uk
Well, here it is, my new site, as recently designed by Web Nation. Few things to note...

1) I'll be adding a page around Legal/Licence/T's and C's
2) The pictures are currently Stock shots. They will be actuals soon, I've just got a nice new Canon EOS 1100D with lens, so will have some better shots soon
3) I bet I know which page will be most contentious...
4) Some minor spelling and grammar errors to be ironed out (2 of which - a "we" that should be an "I" and the central alignment of the main text are awaiting amendment) but feel free to point out any you spot that I can amend.

Have to add, Mike at Webnation has been extremely helpful and supportive, despite me sending through a heap of amendments over the past few days.

Your thoughts!

Thanks

[Roger T]

Looks very good, I like it, the contentious page will be your pricing no doubt.

[Ryu]

Looks very good, I like it, the contentious page will be your pricing no doubt.

That was my guess

We shall see, its certainly not been calculated with any lack of thought...(although I stand to be corrected on that...we shall see....)

[Mark Wild]

Bit too fluffy for my personal liking, you're a DJ not a fairy cake maker, I think even brides like a certain 'edgy' feel to the DJ they're going to hire for their wedding, needs more DJ related pics in there but you've said that you're on that.

Your pricing structure is a little bit too complex maybe? Total costs can be to the nearest 50 pence? really?

The price page on my wedding DJ site is by far the most popular page on mine, I'm more a one price fits all DJ though and I don't offer lots of other services like most guys

[surround sounds]

Very Good
Just a few Things.
On The Contact me page it says You return the Signed Contract and Terms and Conditions (Click Here to view Sample) plus a £50 deposit.
When you click on click here to view a sample nothing happens.

I also like to see my email address shown on the website somewhere and i can not see it..

Although i think pricing can be a good idea, I think its a bit hard to understand.Its a good job you show the examples of your pricing cause i will not really understand it..

Nice clean site though and easy to get around

[Ryu]

Interesting points, particularly Mark - The fluffy thing was something to consider and I'll see what I can do to counter that. I'd prefer a different picture, but this was genuinely the best quality one (and yes, the whole "Family Man" appeal of the picture did cross my mind)

Surround Sounds - Good spot regarding the email address, I hadn't noticed that. The Link to the Docs is a temporary annoyance, I'll have that fixed with the additional page this evening.

The pricing thing was something to consider. My original idea for the site was to have this matrix in the background, and for the user to "build" their own quote, in a kind of Shopping Basket kind of way, at which point they'd have the option to approach me with a contact request.
Much as I'd like it to be clearer (believe me, it was certainly LESS clear at first), I wanted to make sure that when customers get in touch, having already done the sums, my quoted price would match that as closely as possible. Limiting that to a "One price catches all" approach means I'd be pricing myself out of potential work...for example, a 4 hour gig on my doorstep and a 5 hour gig 30 miles away are jobs I would definitely price differently, and I wanted to reflect that.

Will await any more feedback you (all) may have...and see what the initial customer responses are like. From the research around Bridal forums I've done, there was definitely support for being open with prices, and I've definitely done that!!

[funkymook]

I was totally confused by your pricing page.

Is it the fixed charge then add how many hours you want on top?

Why should the hourly rate change depending on the area, an hour's an hour wherever you are!

As a customer whenever I see a complicated price structure like this I assume I'll never get what I want at the price I've worked it out at, it always ends up being more. I actually feel a bit conned when this happens and it puts me off dealing with that company.

I'd rather see a price I can understand straight away.

[Ryu]

I've tried to explain it using the examples below. I originally tried a flat hourly rate, but that didn't really reflect what I would look for, when testing. I tested about 20 scenarios, with without extras, late finish, early start/background, near, far etc.

Basically, dependant on your area, you are charged a flat rate
Then an hourly charge
Then for any extras
Then you have your price.

If anything, the lack of additional information was to AVOID the whole notion of having a customer contact me and for my price to differ from whats on my page, but to ensure I remained both competitive AND earnt a fair amount.


Tough to find a solution to that though...

[funkymook]

I've tried to explain it using the examples below. I originally tried a flat hourly rate, but that didn't really reflect what I would look for, when testing. I tested about 20 scenarios, with without extras, late finish, early start/background, near, far etc.

Basically, dependant on your area, you are charged a flat rate
Then an hourly charge
Then for any extras
Then you have your price.

If anything, the lack of additional information was to AVOID the whole notion of having a customer contact me and for my price to differ from whats on my page, but to ensure I remained both competitive AND earnt a fair amount.


Tough to find a solution to that though...

Funnily enough one client told me she was amazed that a quote came in where every single thing was itemised, including the travel and set-up charge, she was wondering how they were going to DJ without getting there and setting-up and why she needed to see it.

The other flaw is - say someone wants you to finish off at the end of the night after a band has played, so only for 1 hour. With your pricing structure you're going out for peanuts (unless you refuse gigs under a certain amount of hours).

We don't work in blocks of hours, we work for an evening because however short the gig is we still can't take on any other booking.

I quote for up to 5 hours playing time for an evening function, with mileage chargeable outside my catchment area - that covers 99.9% of scenarios.

A full day wedding package is also a fixed fee.

And if I were in your £40ph area the first thing I'd do is challenge why it's more than your £25ph area (if that fact alone doesn't put them off in the first place).

[Ryu]

Hourly rate would apply to the start and finish time of a gig, regardless of how long I actually DJ, which is the same way I apply my pricing now. So a 7-12 booking, with 2x 45 minute Band Sets would still be quoted as 5hrs, and explained to the customer in that way. I don't charge for Mileage or set up, but incorporate that into my hourly rate. Simples!

As mentioned, I shall await and see what the general customer responses are like, if they are as negative as your responses, then it will need to be addressed and amended.

What did you make of the rest of the site?