Walking away from a venue

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Have you ever done this in a venue that recommends you or gives you regular work?

What were your reasons?

This has recently happened to me - only the second time I've done it in 20 odd years.

A very rude, arrogant owner, who complained about everything and tried to get money off at every turn. Wouldn't sign a contract in December, cancelled things last minute, was rude to me and my staff, very patronising, made life difficult for us all.

I even got a phone call and was asked to make a decision on pricing while I was sat on a bus going on holiday last year.

They asked for a low key DJ with hardly any mic use for NYE, which is what I supplied and then they asked for discount when a guest complained the DJ didn't build the night up enough, even that was what they had asked for.

All the time I was dealing with this venue, I felt like they were working against me and that isn't the way I operate. I like to work with venues.

I recently emailed the venue to see how things were stacking up for this year and all I got back was an email telling me that my competitors have given them cheaper prices and if I could discount my price further, they'd be willing to give me dates. This is after they insisted I give them one price for everything (only discussed 6 months ago).

I had enough, so told them that I wasn't willing to work there anymore. Not something I do lightly.

[yourdj]

Almost did last year.

Venues go up an down and the last thing you want is to be there when they are getting rubbish bookings and paying crap wages. :)
Its a shame sometimes but I know several suppliers who have done the same at the venue I am regular at. :(

The best venues will look after their suppliers.

[Danno13]

I recently emailed the venue to see how things were stacking up for this year and all I got back was an email telling me that my competitors have given them cheaper prices and if I could discount my price further, they'd be willing to give me dates. This is after they insisted I give them one price for everything (only discussed 6 months ago).

I had enough, so told them that I wasn't willing to work there anymore. Not something I do lightly.

I'd have done exactly the same if all it came down to was price, regardless of any previous agro you'd had with them. Wait for them to come back in a few months when they've had problems with the lowest bidder and have the satisfaction of telling them you're too booked up to take on another venue ;)

[DJ James Lake]

Yep have done it recently too for very similar reasons.

The venue expected rock bottom prices and grumbled at cancellation charges after we arrived in December with 3 setups to find 2 of them had been cancelled last minute without anyone letting us know.

[DAVESOUNDS SERVICES]

Good for you! Solitaire!!

Makes you feel better in the long run!
Ive just " Terminated " my Wednesday Open Mike night at a Pub id worked for for 2 and a half years.
I was Originally the Sunday Dj and when the Landlord came up with the idea of a Wednesday open mike night i was asked to Provide PA and operator and run it.All went well for 18 months until....
The Landlord rang me finishing me on the Sundays as "Times are hard " and he couldnt afford to pay me.and.....Would i still do his wednesdays ????
Well i agreed to continue wednesdays ( after a pay rise ) and i bumbled along until after one wednesday night and after he had consumed a few to many beers he got hold of a live mike and announced he had booked a new great DJ to do a night in the week!!!!
Well i went home in a very odd mood and thought it over ..
I facebooked his 3 barmaids saying i wanted a word they tipped me that he would be in the pub on the friday at 7 so i was in there at the appointed time
he tried to avoid me but i asked him to sit down as i wanted a word..
Told hime what i felt and stated i never wanted ever to work for him again
Typical landlord couldnt see my point of view anyway he was only concerned with buying my pa system ( suited me as i didnt want it) so i walked out never to return After selling him the installed PA system.
( hes lost his Sound engineer / Dj / Pa Hirer / PAT tester and Telecoms engineer and he cant find anyone now to move his PA rack so he can fit a bigger wine fridge behind the bar!!!!)
I took my Sunday night Quiz 20 yards next door the The Community Club and now its one of thier best nights.
I LOVE HAVING THE WEDNESDAYS OFF TOO
Pub Landlords i just dont get em?

Cheers and well done!

[djdave01]

i was in the same venue for about 9 years, doing weddings, xmas parties and various other events, probably doing around 20 gigs a year.

for the first few years i was paid in cash on the night. Then i was asked to start issuing invoices directly to the accounts department and i would receive payment into the bank a few days later, no problem. That lasted until around summer 09.

then a new woman took over in accounts, and i was told that id only be receiving payment once a month for any work id done the previous month, meaning i could possibly have to wait upto 7 weeks to be paid.

as we approched december, i asked if i was expected to work throughout xmas without any income until the end on January, 'Yes' was the answer. I told her this wasnt acceptable and that if i couldnt get paid on a weekly basis during December, i wouldnt be doing xmas for her. She reluctantly agreed.

Into Jan 2010 i asked her if i would get paid weekly in December 2010, she replied 'no chance'. I told her if i couldnt be paid weekly then i wouldnt be able to cover xmas 2010. She said 'if you wont do christmas, you cant do any other work here!'

I then called the person who arranges the entertainment, and told her i would no longer be avalable to work in the venue, and cancelled around 6 events they'd already booked me for.

Ive never been back, although i do miss it, all the other staff were great and we always had good gigs there.

[CRAZY K]

Have you ever done this in a venue that recommends you or gives you regular work?

What were your reasons?

This has recently happened to me - only the second time I've done it in 20 odd years.

A very rude, arrogant owner, who complained about everything and tried to get money off at every turn. Wouldn't sign a contract in December, cancelled things last minute, was rude to me and my staff, very patronising, made life difficult for us all.

I even got a phone call and was asked to make a decision on pricing while I was sat on a bus going on holiday last year.

They asked for a low key DJ with hardly any mic use for NYE, which is what I supplied and then they asked for discount when a guest complained the DJ didn't build the night up enough, even that was what they had asked for.

All the time I was dealing with this venue, I felt like they were working against me and that isn't the way I operate. I like to work with venues.

I recently emailed the venue to see how things were stacking up for this year and all I got back was an email telling me that my competitors have given them cheaper prices and if I could discount my price further, they'd be willing to give me dates. This is after they insisted I give them one price for everything (only discussed 6 months ago).

I had enough, so told them that I wasn't willing to work there anymore. Not something I do lightly.

Well done Darren sometimes these things have to be done--in the 70s when we were doing Discos full on we blew out a few venues who wanted everything cheaper and in the end I think you are doing yourself a favour as there is bound to be more grief coming with people like this which was the main reason for our decision and probably yours also.

When you cant trust people--its the end.

On a side issue i noticed your comments on the DJ with little or no mike work.

On Saturday for the very first time I worked with a DJ who had NO mike at a 60th Birthday :eek:

Really a true Club type DJ who doesnt need to talk--music does the talking and all that stuff:confused:

I can well understand now the problems that produces--no interaction with the crowd etc.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

The venue that I've walked from was one that I only took on last year and to be honest, I was in two minds whether to take it at the time as I didn't like their terms of business.

As I have mentioned, I had to give them one price (which I wasn't making a great deal of money on) and we were the only company allowed in the Hotel. In other words, clients had to use us if they had a function in the Hotel and I didn't like that at all.

[Charlie Brown]

we were the only company allowed in the Hotel. In other words, clients had to use us if they had a function in the Hotel and I didn't like that at all.

I bet the clients didn't either. :eek: :eek: :D :D

[Shaun]

Sounds like you made the right decision Darren. You can only be reasonable for so long with unreasonable people. Sometimes the only thing to do is walk away.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Sounds like you made the right decision Darren. You can oly be reasonable for so loing with unreasonable people. Sometimes the only thing to do is walk away.

The person in charge was driving me mad. Every time I dealt with them, it was the same. My wife absolutely hates them, even though she has never met them before!!

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Firstly Darren, Good for you! It's a tough decision but it's one that sometimes you have to make don't you. I think some venues really take the mick and if they know that you may be relying on work from them, they will treat you like you have mentioned above because they know that if there are any problems or you won't co-operate with them when it comes to discounts etc, they can just get someone else in.

I've noticed this plenty of times in the past when I've spoken to DJ's that do other venues. There are some that won't skip on the entertainment side of things and will recommend, pay well and on time too. I've also noticed that the ones that usually end up in the scenario Darren has mentioned...are chains, big companies. By the sounds of this one, it may be a private venue with an owner that wants the world for a penny type thing?

Has it happened to me?
Yes! I think everyone on here knows the grief I have reported on here in the past about a past venue that I was with. I won't name and shame them here but it was the same kind of scenario. I was there 4 years, kept my price the same all the way through. The first couple of years was fine, no problems. Then a change of management and things started to change too. There would be demands made from them, silly things like I couldn't set up in the morning whereas every other function I had done before...I could. It was no problem, no equipment was in the way etc etc and the room was large enough to cater for many guests and a Disco set up with lots of room but all of a sudden they were getting awkward. Then they started delaying payments etc etc and I had just had enough.

I am sure Darren has other contracts with venues and is treated better and so the decision was a tad easier because of this? It was a bit tougher for me because at the time, the venue I mentioned was my only contract so I had to really think as to whether I wanted to carry on and be treated as a piece of the proverbial and also drop my prices just to keep the contract or walk away and get another contract elsewhere and go all out to get more private bookings.

I walked away and it was scary at first but luckily I did a couple of private functions at another venue and the manager offered me the residency on the strength of those. Best decision I made.

Darren, PM me if you want if you don't want to name and shame but which venue was this? As you know, I am only down the road and I get a lot of work your way too and as far as I know, I am doing some of your venues during the year.

[Javlingames]

Yes weve walked away from a venue that took 4 months to pay. Then threatened to pull our contract if we didnt pay £250 to advertise in one of their publications.

Personally I walked away from a nightclub residency of 3 nights a week due to being treated like a 2nd class citizen, reduction in wages, loss of 3 weeks wages due to collapse of eminence leisure, expected to work extra hours for no extra money and the list goes on!!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Firstly Darren, Good for you! It's a tough decision but it's one that sometimes you have to make don't you. I think some venues really take the mick and if they know that you may be relying on work from them, they will treat you like you have mentioned above because they know that if there are any problems or you won't co-operate with them when it comes to discounts etc, they can just get someone else in.

I've noticed this plenty of times in the past when I've spoken to DJ's that do other venues. There are some that won't skip on the entertainment side of things and will recommend, pay well and on time too. I've also noticed that the ones that usually end up in the scenario Darren has mentioned...are chains, big companies. By the sounds of this one, it may be a private venue with an owner that wants the world for a penny type thing?

Has it happened to me?
Yes! I think everyone on here knows the grief I have reported on here in the past about a past venue that I was with. I won't name and shame them here but it was the same kind of scenario. I was there 4 years, kept my price the same all the way through. The first couple of years was fine, no problems. Then a change of management and things started to change too. There would be demands made from them, silly things like I couldn't set up in the morning whereas every other function I had done before...I could. It was no problem, no equipment was in the way etc etc and the room was large enough to cater for many guests and a Disco set up with lots of room but all of a sudden they were getting awkward. Then they started delaying payments etc etc and I had just had enough.

I am sure Darren has other contracts with venues and is treated better and so the decision was a tad easier because of this? It was a bit tougher for me because at the time, the venue I mentioned was my only contract so I had to really think as to whether I wanted to carry on and be treated as a piece of the proverbial and also drop my prices just to keep the contract or walk away and get another contract elsewhere and go all out to get more private bookings.

I walked away and it was scary at first but luckily I did a couple of private functions at another venue and the manager offered me the residency on the strength of those. Best decision I made.

Darren, PM me if you want if you don't want to name and shame but which venue was this? As you know, I am only down the road and I get a lot of work your way too and as far as I know, I am doing some of your venues during the year.

It won't be one that you are doing Gary as they were using us exclusively - no-one else allowed type situation. It is a very big company, but franchised out and it was the owner that I dealt with and they were the only one that made decisions on confirming bookings, payment etc. They have C&B staff etc, but they weren't allowed to make any important decisions. It was ridiculous to be frank.

I have a few other venues and really work on our relationship with them as a company. We like to work with rather than against venues - as a team if you like and I felt we couldn't do that.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

That's fair enough then mate.
Exclusivity is ideal for businesses like ours but on occasions like this...obviously not.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I'm guessing this was the venue that we were speaking about at Christmas (not to mention the one we were discussing when you were deciding whether or not to take it on in the first place)?

I think you've made the right decision - it wasn't going to get any better, and if you and your DJs aren't being treated right, it's not worth the potential bad feeling that could be generated by you asking your DJs to work there.

Although not on a direct contract, we did walk away from a very prestigious venue (one that the majority of the forum would probably have heard of). We were the recommended DJ there, then one year they tried to blackmail us in to paying several hundred pounds to go in to their brochure (if we did, they would continue to recommend us, otherwise...........) So I told them that if they were prepared to sell their recommendations to the highest bidder, we weren't interested.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I'm guessing this was the venue that we were speaking about at Christmas (not to mention the one we were discussing when you were deciding whether or not to take it on in the first place)?

I think you've made the right decision - it wasn't going to get any better, and if you and your DJs aren't being treated right, it's not worth the potential bad feeling that could be generated by you asking your DJs to work there.



It was the one we were discussing Ang, yep.

One of my guys got told off for putting a speaker on the dance floor, when he was setting up. Yes, a speaker with rubber feet on.

Another of my guys had to wait 25 minutes while they found the owner to ask permission to move a large flower pot/vase, so he could set up.

Another time, one of my DJs was setting up, in a black polo and trousers and was asked in rather a snotty manner if he was going to be getting changed.

We were asked time and time again to mind the Hotel decor, even though we are very very careful and never went near anything.

The list goes on and on...

[kane]

It was the one we were discussing Ang, yep.

One of my guys got told off for putting a speaker on the dance floor, when he was setting up. Yes, a speaker with rubber feet on.

The list goes on and on...

Did make me chuckle after i got a rollicking, she said something along the lines of "it's a brand new dance floor and I don't want it marked"

....right ok

[Corabar Entertainment]

We're people allowed to dance on it? :p :p :p

[kane]

No, they were dancing in the corridor;)

[Excalibur]

Darren, it seems to me not to have been a marriage made in heaven. I suspect that you will soon find you are glad you washed your hands of it.

Very often, the least appreciative customers are the ones who got the best deals. Miserable gits.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

We're people allowed to dance on it? :p :p :p

I think that was something I may have mentioned when Kane told me...;)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I suspect that you will soon find you are glad you washed your hands of it.


I disagree. There is no soon about it!!!!!!!!!! I am already glad. :D

[Corabar Entertainment]

I think that was something I may have mentioned when Kane told me...;)Of course you did.... after all, great minds think alike ;) :p :D

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Of course you did.... after all, great minds think alike ;) :p :D

My version may have had a little bit of swearing though when Kane told me...:eek: :D