Midweek discounts...

[Steve the DJ]

...yes that old chestnut, although I am coming at it from a different angle.

As per another thread in the Supporters Forum I am changing the direction of my business, becoming a multi op and taking a step back from DJing from next year (hopefully).

My question is, if you are offered a booking on say a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening how much (if at all) would you discount your usual fee?

Obviously I am not expecting anyone to reveal their pricing, a % will do.

I know what I was prepared to offer as a discount for "off peak" work but as I am not doing the job I thought it would be best to get a feel for what others consider fair.

In fact I have an enquiry for a Thursday in August on my desk right now. :)

Also, do you discount more for a midweek date in a quiet month such as February or is it the same discount regardless of the time of year?

Any feedback gratefully received.

Oh and if it makes any difference to you the jobs are either Weddings or Civil Partnerships because that's all we do. ;)

[Danno13]

My start price is 20% less for midweek, although any extra services or extra time is priced the same as a Saturday.

[Steve the DJ]

Thanks Dan.

If you don't mind me asking, what's the thinking behind holding the hire prices at the same level rather than discounting?

[ppentertainments]

Depends a lot on the function.

For a one off wedding I do not discount at all.

Fairly regular (3/4 functions a year) I give 20 % discount.

However I do have a couple of weekly gigs midweek which I do for 50% normal fee.

Like Danno any extras are charged at normal rate.

With the exception of December (where rates differ a lot) I do not offer different rates for different times of the year.


Off Topic - Steve, do not forget corporate functions. Currently I am getting 3/4 good midweek corporate bookings a month. I know you only do weddings but something to consider especially from a ££ point of view.

[Tony Scott]

For 2011 my fees are:

Monday - Thursday £190
Friday & Sunday £210
Saturdays £225

+ plus early set up & after 12am fees etc.

......most of my gigs are Saturdays with the occasional Friday here and there so I don't mind going out for a bit less during the week. :)

[Steve the DJ]

Off Topic - Steve, do not forget corporate functions. Currently I am getting 3/4 good midweek corporate bookings a month. I know you only do weddings but something to consider especially from a ££ point of view.

Never say never, although many of the decent paying corporate events round here always seem to be tied up with event companies who already have their favourites. :shrug:

[ppentertainments]

Never say never, although many of the decent paying corporate events round here always seem to be tied up with event companies who already have their favourites. :shrug:

It is without doubt a very difficult market to crack. However many of the smaller family ran companies do often go for the same small family run (disco) businesses. Also I have found the recommendations from business to business to be very good.

Like you said though larger event companies do have a lot of these events 'tied up'

[Charlie Brown]

My prices and what I offer - is a different league to yours Steve but I took a booking the other day for a Thursday night - £175. It was a 16th birthday party...I knocked her £30 off.

Hope this helps.

[Steve the DJ]

Like you said though larger event companies do have a lot of these events 'tied up'

I remember when I worked for a company that employed an events organiser to put on their annual "trade show" for clients.

Trade show with a few seminars during the day, awards evening, key note speaker and host with band and dj during the evening.

Total cost to the company for one day? £180k.

DJ did 11:30 - 1, all sound & light already installed and took home £85...

The last host we had was Jimmy Carr, 3 hours = £20k...

The inspirational speaker that year was Joe Simpson who wrote the book "Touching The Void". Very impressive.

Anyway, I digress... :ph34r:

[Steve the DJ]

My prices and what I offer - is a different league to yours Steve but I took a booking the other day for a Thursday night - £175. It was a 16th birthday party...I knocked her £30 off.

Hope this helps.

Much appreciated Charlie and when you have a home and two kids to support you will always find it easier to charge more otherwise you don't eat... :D

I always thought 20% off was a good figure, just want to see what a few others think is acceptable.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

2% maybe...:sj:

[ppentertainments]

2% maybe...:sj:
Your getting soft in your old age :D

[Vectis]

Should it be a surcharge for weekends rather than a discount for weekdays?
... surely an easier sell! :o

Personally I don't offer reductions for midweek gigs. I don't do many midweek gigs, maybe 3 or 4 per year out of a total of 100-110 average. The only gigs that happen round these parts midweek are poxy hotel entertainment nights, sub-£100 therefore not my bag.

[Danno13]

Should it be a surcharge for weekends rather than a discount for weekdays?
... surely an easier sell! :o


Really? I've always though surcharges would attract resistance, whereas discounts are welcomed. I'm sure most people would think it odd for a DJ to add a surcharge for a weekend, as this is when they usually work anyway.

[ppentertainments]

Personally I don't offer reductions for midweek gigs. I don't do many midweek gigs, maybe 3 or 4 per year out of a total of 100-110 average. The only gigs that happen round these parts midweek are poxy hotel entertainment nights, sub-£100 therefore not my bag.
Geography does not matter. Everywhere, equally, has high paying midweek gigs :p :p :p

[rob1963]

My question is, if you are offered a booking on say a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening how much (if at all) would you discount your usual fee?

I offer no discounts for midweek disco bookings.

The reason is simple. They involve the same amount of my time, work & effort as Saturday bookings...so common sense suggests they should be charged at the same rate.

Apart from that, I already work weeknights anyway, so disco bookings on these nights actually involve MORE of my time & more hassle than if they were on a Saturday...as I have to find cover for my quiz night & spend time explaining to the person what to do & how to do it...so if anything, I think I should be charging MORE for discos on weeknights - not less!

[Steve the DJ]

Funnily enough I have never really believed in discounts either, why should I earn less when I'm not expected to do less?

However, the world we live in dictates that the vast majority of potential clients expect or even demand a discount for what they consider off peak work, especially when everyone else from the venue to photographer is offering one.

Unfortunately if I want to be able to compete for this work then I have to show flexibility.

[rob1963]

Unfortunately if I want to be able to compete for this work then I have to show flexibility.

I'm just wondering how true that is though, Steve.

Last year I had two enquiries for weekday weddings, one on a Monday & one on a Tuesday.

One asked about discounts, but I said I don't offer these as my prices are already competitive for the service I provide. The other didn't even mention discounts...and yet they both went on to book my services.

If I HAD offered either client a discount, I'd be financially worse off.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

spend time explaining to the person what to do & how to do it...

....you read the questions.

That must take a while Rob. :sj:

[Steve the DJ]

I'm just wondering how true that is though, Steve.

Last year I had two enquiries for weekday weddings, one on a Monday & one on a Tuesday.

One asked about discounts, but I said I don't offer these as my prices are already competitive for the service I provide. The other didn't even mention discounts...and yet they both went on to book my services.

If I HAD offered either client a discount, I'd be financially worse off.

I've just checked and I had 3 "midweek" enquiries last year that I quoted on, two at a discounted rate and one at full price. The full price job and one of the discounted quotes have booked for 2010 and I have lost the other, so I agree it doesn't always matter.

But all of the midweek enquiries I have received so far this year (7 already) actually ask for a discount up front because "everyone else is giving one".

Now I guess this is a sign of the times with people being more flexible with dates to save money and when working on my own I wouldn't have to worry too much, if I fancied the job I could offer a discount, if I didn't I would quote full price.

But as I am no longer going to be DJing I have to look at things from a different angle. If a client wants a midweek discount and a DJ is happy to offer one then I can quote accordingly.

[BeerFunk]

I offer no discounts for midweek disco bookings.

The reason is simple. They involve the same amount of my time, work & effort as Saturday bookings...so common sense suggests they should be charged at the same rate.Common sense would suggest that you charge extra for evenings and weekends, as these are accepted as unsociable hours.


Apart from that, I already work weeknights anyway, so disco bookings on these nights actually involve MORE of my time & more hassle than if they were on a Saturday...as I have to find cover for my quiz night & spend time explaining to the person what to do & how to do it...so if anything, I think I should be charging MORE for discos on weeknights - not less!That certainly makes more sense!

[rob1963]

spend time explaining to the person what to do & how to do it...


....you read the questions.

That must take a while Rob. :sj:

Actually, there's a bit more to it than just saying "read the questions" (as I'm sure you appreciate), so yes...it does take me a while explaining to the person covering me what to do & how to do it. I think this is important, as it gives better consistency to the quiz when I'm not doing it, because they're all regulars who are used to me & the way I run things.

This happened last week when I was in Glasgow, and I probably spent about 15 minutes on the phone briefing the guy who was covering me.

The information I gave him included where to set up, what sort of gear he'd need, where to plug into the mains, how long the extension lead would have to be, when to start announcing the quiz, what time to actually start, how much to charge people, how many were allowed in each team, how many sheets to give each team, how long to give them to answer each round, to go round all the teams during round 1 & give each team a couple of clues, to play the music questions twice rather than once, how many points to give for each answer in each round (it varies depending on the round), how strict to be with the marking, how many prizes to have & how much each prize should be, what time to start the bingo, how much to sell the bingo cards for, what to pay out for (corners, line, full house etc), which teams to give extra bingo cards to, how many & why, how much to make out the invoice for, how much of that was for him & how much was for the agency, which teams to keep an eye on with regards to using mobile phones & what to do if he DID catch people using them etc etc.

Darren...If YOU ran a weekly pub quiz night & got someone who'd never even set foot inside the pub to cover you one week for whatever reason, would you just give them the quiz & say "read the questions" without giving them any more information? I very much doubt it.


Common sense would suggest that you charge extra for evenings and weekends, as these are accepted as unsociable hours.


Not by ME they're not!

I'm used to working every evening, so for me it's normal...but having to work in the DAYTIME would amount to unsociable hours!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Apart from that, I already work weeknights anyway, so disco bookings on these nights actually involve MORE of my time & more hassle than if they were on a Saturday...as I have to find cover for my quiz night & spend time explaining to the person what to do & how to do it...



I probably spent about 15 minutes on the phone briefing the guy who was covering me.


Wow! 15 whole minutes! :D Considering you charge £350+ for a disco and a lot less for a quiz, I would have thought it was very worth your while?

[OllieJames]

In my position I would charge more for a week day due to school... however I've only had 2 week day bookings, one of which was during xmas and the other is a booking for a wedding in July, which is for a family friend.