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Thread: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Chat

  1. #21
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Smyth View Post
    Current irritation level: Biblical

    Reason: Facebook Posts From DJs

    "Anyone else's enquiries dropped off?"

    "Nah, not me, mate. I've had 10 enquiries today, 7 of them have booked, one is waiting to talk to her partner (they'll deffo book though), one is going to [use your imagination] me in lieu of payment and the other one only has a Sid budget. I'm propa, innit? Geezas like me have 5000 gigs a year and that's before I take into account my other DJs who only do 4000 gigs a year, but ya gotta start somewhere!"*

    Gits.
















    *possibly exaggerated for comedic effect...but not by much
    Anyone who doesn't admit to enquiries dropping off is a complete and utter liar at the moment I'm afraid. Not just DJ's, ANYBODY in the leisure industry.

    I'd been doing very nicely until last weekend when everything went apocolyptic, at least a couple of enquiries a day and things were finally starting to look up. I've had just ONE enquiry this week - ONE! (and I was already booked for her wedding date next March )

    I'm spending more time at the moment explaining my C-19 contingency plan to panicking brides than anything else (and that's changing daily as the situation develops).
    Are we nearly there yet?

  2. #22
    Imagine's Avatar
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    As an aside to the current panic....I had a really nice and sensible conversation on the phone this evening with a prospective bride (she'll book....it's in the bag and has been for a while).

    The conversation started along the lines of "what are your contingency plans?"......oh gawd....how many times in the past few days?

    She HAS insurance and it covers the current outbreak (believe me...she's checked!). Just for once, I have a bride who is on the ball, understands the potential pitfalls such as me falling ill or the government stopping such events and was completely happy with everything I told her. Come this time tomorrow, it'll be another pay-day in the bag (so long as it's not cancelled)

    MY own personal view...this will be done and dusted by around June and will actually be treated similar to the average seasonal cold or flu. The Belgians are already apparently testing an antivirus (hooray!!!!)

    Bragging aside though, there are a LOT of very worried brides and grooms out there at the moment (and quite rightly so)

    My own personal policy is to coerce them into rescheduling as opposed to cancelling (it won't cost them any more money but retains and existing customer which is much easier than trying to find a new one isn't it?). Obviously if they cancel, my T&C's kick in and that's that - no mercy.

    Something I've seen on Social Media though is suppliers contacting their customers directly "with what will happen if..." scenarios (i.e. trying to get them to reschedule rather than cancel)

    Good idea or not? It might show that we're thinking about them, but on the same score might encourage them to try to cancel, mightn't it?

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Something I've seen on Social Media though is suppliers contacting their customers directly "with what will happen if..." scenarios (i.e. trying to get them to reschedule rather than cancel)

    Good idea or not? It might show that we're thinking about them, but on the same score might encourage them to try to cancel, mightn't it?
    NOT a good idea. At present, all events are on until told otherwise by the government or the venue and the picture could change very quickly, invalidating any advice you've given and confusing customers further. I've just seen someone post on FB with a copy of the email they've sent clients that says they're now operating on a "cash on the day" basis (basically allowing anyone to pull the plug on their event at the last minute with no repercussions) - possibly the worst business decision ever.

    I'm dealing with customers on a cases by case basis. Different parties and venues are impacted in different ways by the virus and also have different levels of impact on my business. I've heard of one venue that has had to pull all of their dates until the risk is reduced because it's a mansion house with a care home with high risk residents sharing the same spaces as events!! Another local venue is a school by day, so there's a higher risk of student infection and part or all of the student body and/or the venue having to be isolated so they're thinking hard about their position. Some couples may already have issues with family being able to attend from abroad, which may have a huge impact on attendance for key people if one partner is from Europe, America, etc. On the flip side, others may have mostly local guests, be hiring a local hall and using a local caterer and current affairs may have a relatively minimal impact. Kids parties seem to be largely unaffected at present but I'm fully expecting school discos to be pulled for the next few months. I'm happy to allow any of the kids parties to cancel or reschedule without argument because they're kids (and also relatively low impact on my income).

    On the other side, I've just had my customer for next Sat (21st) try and reschedule because of people dropping out due to fears and I've told her in no uncertain terms that my cancellation terms kick in automatically and she loses the whole fee if she cancels or reschedules. She then tried to imply that the venue might pull out and I was able to tell her that I found that unlikely and that they would probably take the same stance as me right now. I.e. The party happens, or she pays everyone in full for nothing. Funnily enough, the venue did take that position to try and cling on to income while they can and now the party is going ahead as planned.

    The reality right here, right now is that Bristol/Bath have had a handful of reported cases across the two regions and there is currently minimal impact on supply chains and very low risk of infection, so there is no good reason why parties for this week should be affected. When that changes I'll happily reconsider my message and my approach to cancellations.

    It's actually quite lucky that I have a retirement party for one of the local NHS trust CEO's this coming Friday and he happily confirmed that he's still going ahead on Saturday! That is a message that gives people some confidence.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  4. #24
    Disco Dude! DeckstarDeluxe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Smyth View Post
    Current irritation level: Biblical

    Reason: Facebook Posts From DJs

    "Anyone else's enquiries dropped off?"

    "Nah, not me, mate. I've had 10 enquiries today, 7 of them have booked, one is waiting to talk to her partner (they'll deffo book though), one is going to [use your imagination] me in lieu of payment and the other one only has a Sid budget. I'm propa, innit? Geezas like me have 5000 gigs a year and that's before I take into account my other DJs who only do 4000 gigs a year, but ya gotta start somewhere!"*

    Gits.
















    *possibly exaggerated for comedic effect...but not by much
    To be fair, I've noticed a upturn in very warm enquiries the past few days, people paying off hefty balances for their upcoming weddings and all that (which I'm surprised about) and no cancellations (though I'm sure that will change soon). Not sure if people are trying to pay stuff off and have the "business as usual" mindset.

    That said I know the sorts you mean and I think most people can see through that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post

    Good idea or not? It might show that we're thinking about them, but on the same score might encourage them to try to cancel, mightn't it?
    I've seen the same copy and pasted message from so many companies now it's just white noise. I've not put out an email or public statement because nobody knows how it's going to effect us (they'll be restrictions put in place soon I should think).

    If people ask it's the same as most, we wait and see (as it stands it's business as usual).
    The Cheltenham Wedding DJ
    www.cheltenhamweddingdj.co.uk

    DDWES Event Hire

    www.ddwes.co.uk

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    A local venue that has just returned to me with renewed interest in my services has postponed an 18th for April, and a wedding for July is under review.
    I reckon probably the only events that may escape are the totally private " village hall " type gigs.
    I actually had a thought about that - although we don't know, the assumption is all gatherings over 100 are cancelled together with pubs etc YET village halls can keep open.

    Surely a pub/venue should be allowed to open for private functions under 100 in that case ??

    To be honest, I think no matter what is imposed on us, people will get fed up after a couple of weeks and defy any restriction.
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

    www.ultimateweddingdj.co.uk

  6. #26

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    Boris just screwed us all over by advising that people avoid social gatherings wherever possible, while avoiding banning them altogether. Meaning we're kind of in a limbo where events could go ahead, but event cancellation insurance doesn't kick in. He implied that he has powers to ban gatherings, but kind of tried to play it cool by telling us we're all responsible adults and didn't need those kind of measures to be put in place.

    He also screwed over public events by withdrawing support from emergency services, but not banning the events from happening.

    That changes my position.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  7. #27
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Just been watching a live feed from Stanford Gould solicitors, and Heather is of the opinion (as someone who knows the law), that although he "advised" avoiding social gatherings, it should effectively be read as a ban.
    She seems to think that we're now in Force Majeure territory and that weddings and parties can't take place for the time being. It may even be (and I need to check this one properly) that your PLI will not cover you if you supply the entertainment at a wedding or party and something goes wrong.

    Very worrying times indeed......

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Just been watching a live feed from Stanford Gould solicitors, and Heather is of the opinion (as someone who knows the law), that although he "advised" avoiding social gatherings, it should effectively be read as a ban.
    She seems to think that we're now in Force Majeure territory and that weddings and parties can't take place for the time being. It may even be (and I need to check this one properly) that your PLI will not cover you if you supply the entertainment at a wedding or party and something goes wrong.

    Very worrying times indeed......
    Just to confuse things a bit...

    https://www.shearman.com/perspective...-majeure-event

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Just been watching a live feed from Stanford Gould solicitors, and Heather is of the opinion (as someone who knows the law), that although he "advised" avoiding social gatherings, it should effectively be read as a ban.
    She seems to think that we're now in Force Majeure territory and that weddings and parties can't take place for the time being. It may even be (and I need to check this one properly) that your PLI will not cover you if you supply the entertainment at a wedding or party and something goes wrong.

    Very worrying times indeed......
    Found the vid here: https://www.facebook.com/StanfordGou...1277587955562/ & thanks for the tip Wayne Very interesting viewing indeed.

    For now as far as I'm concerned it's business as usual until there's an outright ban or a venue cancels an event. After that.. work with clients to try to make it a postponement as opposed to a cancellation & all the hassle that entails.. oh & to try & stay well so I can keep my side of the bargain of course.

  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    Found the vid here: https://www.facebook.com/StanfordGou...1277587955562/ & thanks for the tip Wayne Very interesting viewing indeed.

    For now as far as I'm concerned it's business as usual until there's an outright ban or a venue cancels an event. After that.. work with clients to try to make it a postponement as opposed to a cancellation & all the hassle that entails.. oh & to try & stay well so I can keep my side of the bargain of course.
    The video was TLDR for me, however this is a useful breakdown from the same person: https://www.stanfordgouldonline.co.u...-help-for-you/

    Unless it was in the video, it's still not clear if we're in the territory of Force Majeure yet. This area feels quite ambiguous at the moment. Unlike Spain, where a State of Alarm has been activated, and makes it much clearer, because public gatherings have been completely banned.

    I think the key element is that we should only really be acting on events coming up in the next few weeks. Anything beyond this can't yet be covered by Force Majeure because we don't know what the situation will be like then. In which case, the standard contract terms apply. I'd suggest being flexible with moving a date.

    On thing I've learnt today, is that apparently this year is quite busy for weddings. So couples looking to postpone their wedding might find it hard to book a Saturday later on in the year - so there's less risk of someone wanting to move an existing booking to date where you are already booked for another event. It's likely instead that they will simply move it to a midweek date. Anyone trying to contact you now about weddings a few months away that they want to postpone, might be worth gently making them aware of this - it might persuade them to either wait, or just go ahead with it unless forced to change the date.

    Finally, I make it clear in my contract that the deposit paid is a booking fee and covers the setting up of the booking and access to the online planning software. This ensure that there is no ambiguity over what the deposit is for, and therefore makes it clear that it is non-refundable as services have already been provided at the early stage of the booking, which is a key aspect of determining what level of refund is available in the event of cancellation due to Force Majeure.

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