Benny Smyth
23-03-2015, 12:42 PM
Whilst at the gym this morning (which, by the way, I am cancelling my membership to as they have gotten rid of my favourite machine - the one that dispenses Mars bars!), I had a missed call. I had a bit of a chuckle listening to the voicemail message - a mother of a bride ringing round the houses, wanting a DJ for her daughter's wedding this coming Saturday, with the brief mention of the audacity of one particular DJ wanting as much as £100 for five hours of entertainment!
So I gave a her a call back. ;)
She immediately went on the rampage about the quote, asking how can anyone charge so much for five hours work? It's £20 an hour, for gawd's sake! I chose my words carfefully, saying stuff like "I've heard of things like this before." "You're right, charging £100 for five hours of wedding entertainment is not on." etc.
Then came the conversation of the evening itself. I sold what I do, how I do it (the usual shindig), and she was really getting into it - asking more questions, laughing at my humour, a really pleasant conversation. If this was a date, I'd be getting more than a kiss goodnight on the doorstep! Then came the money shot: she asked me how much, to which I replied "Based on five hours of entertainment, it will be £X." I won't put the quote down on here, but let's just say that it was more than £100.
What followed next was the most creative use of foul language that I have ever heard in my life. I'd have been offended if I didn't find it so funny.
Moral of the story? Don't rile a lady up so much and then take it away at the last second. :lol:
So why did I do that, I hear you cry? To be honest, I'm fed up of placing the sole blame of "people want cheap because cheap is made readily available." I hear it all the time that the reason people don't want to pay is because of 'Sixty Quid Sid'. Yes, Sid plays his part but I think the biggest culprit is a lack of education for people wanting to book a DJ. Very few would have booked one before, and whilst the saying "You get what you pay for" rings true, if you have no yard stick, how do you know what is too cheap and is too much? I tried to make a convert out of her - practically everything I mentioned, she said that the other chap wasn't offering that. Admittedly I had no expectation of her booking me but, hopefully, it has added some perspective to her thought process (y'know...when she calms down ;) ).
Plus...y'know...poops and giggles for me. :tongue2:
So I gave a her a call back. ;)
She immediately went on the rampage about the quote, asking how can anyone charge so much for five hours work? It's £20 an hour, for gawd's sake! I chose my words carfefully, saying stuff like "I've heard of things like this before." "You're right, charging £100 for five hours of wedding entertainment is not on." etc.
Then came the conversation of the evening itself. I sold what I do, how I do it (the usual shindig), and she was really getting into it - asking more questions, laughing at my humour, a really pleasant conversation. If this was a date, I'd be getting more than a kiss goodnight on the doorstep! Then came the money shot: she asked me how much, to which I replied "Based on five hours of entertainment, it will be £X." I won't put the quote down on here, but let's just say that it was more than £100.
What followed next was the most creative use of foul language that I have ever heard in my life. I'd have been offended if I didn't find it so funny.
Moral of the story? Don't rile a lady up so much and then take it away at the last second. :lol:
So why did I do that, I hear you cry? To be honest, I'm fed up of placing the sole blame of "people want cheap because cheap is made readily available." I hear it all the time that the reason people don't want to pay is because of 'Sixty Quid Sid'. Yes, Sid plays his part but I think the biggest culprit is a lack of education for people wanting to book a DJ. Very few would have booked one before, and whilst the saying "You get what you pay for" rings true, if you have no yard stick, how do you know what is too cheap and is too much? I tried to make a convert out of her - practically everything I mentioned, she said that the other chap wasn't offering that. Admittedly I had no expectation of her booking me but, hopefully, it has added some perspective to her thought process (y'know...when she calms down ;) ).
Plus...y'know...poops and giggles for me. :tongue2: