Complaint from a customer

[Excalibur]

As for the rest of it - unless you've guaranteed that you'll have the dancefloor rammed with your witty banter merchantism then no there's not much she can say that warrants a refund unless you're feeling generous.

The $64,000 question. Whether it is nobler to offer a refund because of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take umbrage over a troubled customer.

Unless you're sure she's trying it on, it may be the case that a refund saves you money in the long run. Dissatisfied customers aren't a good advert.

A gentle answer turneth away wrath, but a harsh word stirreth up anger.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

The $64,000 question. Whether it is nobler to offer a refund because of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take umbrage over a troubled customer.

Unless you're sure she's trying it on, it may be the case that a refund saves you money in the long run. Dissatisfied customers aren't a good advert.

A gentle answer turneth away wrath, but a harsh word stirreth up anger.

True (and touch wood it's never happened to me) but my brother had an issue last year where he did a top job, the hotel's manager asked for a wad of cards to hand out to wedding couples etc... and then he received an e-mail from the bride in question threatening legal action and an amalgam of other e because he played a dance tune (a request from one of her guests if I'm not mistaken) and she said it ruined the last part of the night as people left.

She was told where to go with a reasonably level of restraint and it later turned out she'd tried it on with a number of other suppliers. One of the reasons I'm so hands on with all of my bookings is a. there's no chance that I'm not going to have a really good idea of the kind of night their gunning for and what DJ "face" they want me to bring - last night I did little talking and a bunch of heavy mixing, other nights it'll be lots of banter and some nights they don't want any chat at all.

b. it means any perceived major issues (of which, touch wood, I've never had any) would be come at either on the night or from a "ok Jim we weren't particularly happy about this and that" ice broken situation not a brash e-mailing basically accusing me of misrepresentation and false selling.

[funkymook]

The main reason the E-mail is the way it is, is because if she does decide to take me to court that e-mail will be me main defense.

If you haven’t had any legal training don’t try to write something in a 'legal style’, keep it simple and in plain English.

The main issue is that it was not commuiciated with us at all during the night that she wanted more talking on the Mic, Thats if that is what she means. All i could get form her during all the texts and the E-mail she sent is what I've already posted.

You don’t have much on your website, which makes these stand out even more:

'All our sound setups include a microphone that allows the DJ to interact with your guests.....’

'Josh was funny and interacted brilliantly with the kids and the adults. There were party games which Josh provided prizes, the music was spot on as Josh made sure beforehand what singers/movies etc...’

And there’s 5 out of 5 stars for ‘mic skills’ in a box as well.

So I think it’s reasonable to assume the client expected an interactive DJ when they booked you.

I understand that most of you would have dealt with it differently. But would any of you given a refund?

If I had a genuine customer who was that unhappy with my service they’d be offered a 100% refund, not because I’d be worried about further action or bad reviews, but because I didn’t deliver.

[Excalibur]

If I had a genuine customer who was that unhappy with my service they’d be offered a 100% refund, not because I’d be worried about further action or bad reviews, but because I didn’t deliver.

Whoa there!! Back the truck up a bit. 100% ? Hang on while I take my tablets.

I can see where you're coming from, but I'm not sure you're in exactly the same position as many of us, regarding what you offer. Your whole service is based on communication with the customer beforehand, to prevent such problems, which brings us full circle to my first post.

I'd be inclined to offer up to 50% for similar reasons to yourself.

[rth_discos]

I received a complaint this week for a customer, this is there complaint.

So you know the back story. I went to setup for the party with my business partner and one of our Event technicians who we have been training up as a DJ. once everything was setup i collected the remainder of the balance and explained to the customer that i would not be there all night and it would be my fellow business partner (whos is also a DJ) and another member of staff staying.

And this is where it went wrong. So it sounds like she's booked you, communicated with you, you've turned up on the night, taken the money, and only then mention you're not the DJ! Even explaining that "you're not there all night" is a negative - it comes across like you should have been there all night but won't be now. Far better to have said - and here's XXX who is your DJ tonight, and introduced them to your client properly.

That should have been detailed well in advance of the evening.

Sounds like she was expecting you to be the DJ, and therefore would be looking for faults for the rest of the evening - imagining a far better evening had you been DJ'ing (ie the person she booked).

[yourdj]

Whoa there!! Back the truck up a bit. 100% ? Hang on while I take my tablets.

I can see where you're coming from, but I'm not sure you're in exactly the same position as many of us, regarding what you offer. Your whole service is based on communication with the customer beforehand, to prevent such problems, which brings us full circle to my first post.

I'd be inclined to offer up to 50% for similar reasons to yourself.

Each complaint or discrepancy is subjective and depends on the situation.
Not being on site makes things very hard, so you have to get an idea from other suppliers, venue staff and also the DJ.

If the DJ's sound system, blew up, they had no back up, then yes immediate 100% refund would be due. That way they would accept it as an out of court settlement and not sue you far a far greater sum, claiming expenses for the evening and emotional stress etc. etc. If it was a case of minor things (such as you did not play any garage), then i would be included to look into it. If the client had a minor point then a refund should reflect that. If they are just being picky as a result of something else that happened (lets say a fight broke out) then no way!

I would definitely get in touch with the venue as chinese whispers can do serious damage if its a venue you rely on. If they can see you on the case and trying to resolve things then them and other suppliers will respect you more. I go into a situation without being defensive and see what happens. We had some very strange clients in a venue package last year, complain before the wedding. Myself the GM and the wedding manager had no idea what they were complaining about. They mentioned "we are bringing this to our insurers" so I then went into a more formal mode. I organised a meeting with them in one of the meeting rooms (on our own) with a witness. They immediately backed down and admitted they did not know what they were complaining about, just wedding stress.

[Excalibur]

Mark this one down on the calendar Toby. I broadly agree with everything you've just posted.

[jonezyr1]

If you haven’t had any legal training don’t try to write something in a 'legal style’, keep it simple and in plain English.



You don’t have much on your website, which makes these stand out even more:

'All our sound setups include a microphone that allows the DJ to interact with your guests.....’

'Josh was funny and interacted brilliantly with the kids and the adults. There were party games which Josh provided prizes, the music was spot on as Josh made sure beforehand what singers/movies etc...’

And there’s 5 out of 5 stars for ‘mic skills’ in a box as well.

So I think it’s reasonable to assume the client expected an interactive DJ when they booked you.



If I had a genuine customer who was that unhappy with my service they’d be offered a 100% refund, not because I’d be worried about further action or bad reviews, but because I didn’t deliver.

As it says on our website: The microphone ALLOWS the DJ to interact with guests. It does not say The mic will be used evry 5 minutes and every song will be introduced and the DJ will talk to every guest. The night in question the DJ did use the microphone, to call up karaoke singers for their song, to announce the buffet open and last order at the bar. The DJ done what we said the DJ would do.

That review shows that we use the microphone when needed. And all of our feedback shows that people were happy with the amount of mic use.

If the client assumed their would be alot of microphone use, then why didnt they query it with the DJ on the night? That is the bit I am stuggling with?

Allthough i answered the phone to the customer and took the booking. Aswell as dealing with the remainder balance. I also mentioned that I might not be the DJ and it might be my Business partner. To which they had no problem with.

You mention a Genuine customer. How would you decide if they were genuine or not. Did the DJ use the Mic alot? No they didnt! If they had been asked to use it more, would they? Yes they would! Did the client ask for more "banter" at any point during the night? No, they didnt! Would you agree this customer is not genuine?

[CRAZY K]

And this is where it went wrong. So it sounds like she's booked you, communicated with you, you've turned up on the night, taken the money, and only then mention you're not the DJ! Even explaining that "you're not there all night" is a negative - it comes across like you should have been there all night but won't be now. Far better to have said - and here's XXX who is your DJ tonight, and introduced them to your client properly.

That should have been detailed well in advance of the evening.

Sounds like she was expecting you to be the DJ, and therefore would be looking for faults for the rest of the evening - imagining a far better evening had you been DJ'ing (ie the person she booked).

Theres a lot of sensible observation in this post--HOWEVER ONCE AGAIN I REPEAT---

Because the client FAILED to ask the DJ to start "INTERACTION" she has shot herself in the foot OUCH and any court would recognise this point.

Soooo-I wouldnt say she is entitled to anything--

If you stand to lose brownie points on faceache then MAYBE a nominal refund of £25.

Im so glad im not on faceache, not linked to a hotel and not reliant on repeat bookings.

[rth_discos]

Theres a lot of sensible observation in this post--HOWEVER ONCE AGAIN I REPEAT---

Because the client FAILED to ask the DJ to start "INTERACTION" she has shot herself in the foot OUCH and any court would recognise this point.

Soooo-I wouldnt say she is entitled to anything--

If you stand to lose brownie points on faceache then MAYBE a nominal refund of £25.

Im so glad im not on faceache, not linked to a hotel and not reliant on repeat bookings.

I doubt she's entitled to anything at all - I was simply pointing out what the catalyst for this was.

Whilst many threaten legal action, very few actually take it that far.

Was what she paid for provided - yes.

However, it's the reputation that can be more of an issue than compensation (a negative review on Facebook etc), and it's looking at how to avoid a similar situation occurring again in the future.