Testimonials

[Nakatomi]

The other week I was described as 'the best DJ we've ever seen' by a bride & groom at a walk in job. I asked politely if I could have that in writing. They said 'of course', and a couple of days later emailed me three sentences about how everybody seemed to have fun. A little more reserved than their glowing commendation on the night.

In the event of a less than wordy, revealing review what is there to be done? Can the client be coached or coaxed? Or do you just shrug and hope for better in future?

[rth_discos]

The other week I was described as 'the best DJ we've ever seen' by a bride & groom at a walk in job. I asked politely if I could have that in writing. They said 'of course', and a couple of days later emailed me three sentences about how everybody seemed to have fun. A little more reserved than their glowing commendation on the night.

In the event of a less than wordy, revealing review what is there to be done? Can the client be coached or coaxed? Or do you just shrug and hope for better in future?

Could you not use their verbal testimonial they gave you at the gig?

[Excalibur]

Could you not use their verbal testimonial they gave you at the gig?

Ah, but verbal testimonials aren't worth the paper they're printed on. :coat:

[Shaun]

The other week I was described as 'the best DJ we've ever seen' by a bride & groom at a walk in job. I asked politely if I could have that in writing. They said 'of course', and a couple of days later emailed me three sentences about how everybody seemed to have fun. A little more reserved than their glowing commendation on the night.

In the event of a less than wordy, revealing review what is there to be done? Can the client be coached or coaxed? Or do you just shrug and hope for better in future?

There's been a lot of discussion on this in the past. Some actively seek testimonials post gig, whilst others preferred to wait for unsolicited feedback.. I used to provide a feedback form link post event, but it's been a while since I did so. It's definitely something I need to be more proactive doing.

If you like I can PM you a link to my feedback form I use(d).

[ckpr2]

The biggest con is "The disco was crap, we wont ask you back"

Why wait until the end of the night to say that ?
What made them wait until you had finished before saying that ? A partial or full refund ?
This is why I ask for requests at the beginning of the night.
Then there is no excuse for people to complain.

I know the DJ should have the experience to pick up what people like but sometimes you can play all types and not get anyone dancing.

[DJ Jules]

They said 'of course', and a couple of days later emailed me three sentences about how everybody seemed to have fun. A little more reserved than their glowing commendation on the night.

At least you got some written feedback.

I don't think there's much you can do in these situations - it's not like you can email them back and ask them to do better next time!

After each Gig I now email the customer with a link to an online feedback questionnaire (see SurveyMonkey and the likes). I keep the questions short (in number and length), but encourage them to share it with their guests. The only identifying information I ask for in the survey is the date of the event (which will normally allow me to identify them). The questions are all in a "Rate us from 1 to 5" form except for a couple which allow them to enter their own words and this gives them direction in their responses and encourages them to think about different aspects of my service. It also gives me the ability to say that I'm a "5 star operator" ;)

Julian

[Nakatomi]

Looks like some kind of prompting is the way forward then, thanks.

Shaun, PM on its way :)

[Nakatomi]

I've had the ability to collect customer opinions for a little while but after Friday's gig I decided to finally take the plunge & use it. Here is the first result:

Email/Phone Customer Service: Excellent
Event Customer Service: Excellent
Friendliness At Event: Excellent
Professionalism At Event: Excellent
Music Score: Excellent
Overall Rating: Excellent
Improvement Suggestions:
Testimonial: Justin couldn't have been more helpful and open from us sending across our playlist to playing the music at our wedding. Everything went perfectly and it made the night amazing!

Also "the dancefloor was full from start to finish", was the overall impression I left, which clearly wasn't the case if my memory serves me right. Wonder how that one works! ;)

I know it's Sunday morning, but...
:beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1:: beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::b eer1:

[yourdj]

I think video testimonials are best as they can't be faked as much.
I am also bad at asking clients, although i have quite a full testimonial section.

[Imagine]

Never been a big fan of video testimonials to be honest. They put people on the spot.

I don't think there's a magic way of getting feedback unfortunately. I used to solicit it, but now just take to tagging people on my FB page and letting them comment if they feel the need, or wait for feedback to hit the letterbox/inbox.

Those of you with NeedADisco will know that even repeated requests from feedback more often than not result in nothing coming back.

What I tend to do instead is shoot most of the night on video, then edit it together cleverly and put it on my website/FB page. That way prospective clients can SEE what I do, rather than rely on something that could have been completely made up.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I actively seek feedback whether it is positive or negative.
(Luckily I don't get any negative feedback).

I will say to the customer on the night after the event that I will be in touch to get some feedback if that's ok and they are fine with it.
It's the best form of advertising there is in my opinion so why not actively seek it?

I've done some pretty awesome gigs in the past and the customers have been very, very complimentary yet have not supplied any feedback.
Some do it anyway and that's great but where possible I always try to give them a little nudge.

I usually send an email to all customers after their booking saying thanks for booking me, it was a pleasure etc etc and I then ask if they could supply some feedback on the service I provided as it is important to me and very much appreciated.

[Nakatomi]

I like the idea of video testimonials - words spoken from the horse's mouth in effect carry a lot of weight but at the end of the night I think customers have better things to do & I wouldn't like to intrude. The ice sculpture people from a few gigs ago got the booker to say a few words on video which I witnessed & it seemed a bit forced. Some people aren't natural talkers on video.

I'll be collecting feedback on all my gigs from now on - I need to know what I did right, and what I can do better in future. I'm purely in this for my own gratification - and giving people a good time is the way to do it :)

Incidentally, the reason I posted this thread in the first place... said customer dropped a card full of praise through my door a few weeks later. That was awfully nice of them I thought.

[ukpartydj]

I actively seek feedback whether it is positive or negative.
(Luckily I don't get any negative feedback).

I will say to the customer on the night after the event that I will be in touch to get some feedback if that's ok and they are fine with it.
It's the best form of advertising there is in my opinion so why not actively seek it?

I've done some pretty awesome gigs in the past and the customers have been very, very complimentary yet have not supplied any feedback.
Some do it anyway and that's great but where possible I always try to give them a little nudge.

I usually send an email to all customers after their booking saying thanks for booking me, it was a pleasure etc etc and I then ask if they could supply some feedback on the service I provided as it is important to me and very much appreciated.

Pretty much the same as I do. Although not many actually do it probably 1 in 10.
One thing I would discourage is the use of specific questions, I did it for a couple of years and I feel they would never have mentioned certain things if I hadn't reminded them. Perhaps good to improve your service but not so great for marketing.

[Shaun]

One thing I would discourage is the use of specific questions, I did it for a couple of years and I feel they would never have mentioned certain things if I hadn't reminded them. Perhaps good to improve your service but not so great for marketing.


Comments provided that can improve the service are far more valuable than any comments provided for marketing purposes.

[funkymook]

I wonder how often when clients actually offer criticism it's used constructively? The majority of times we hear of any bad feedback on here it always seems to be the client's or venue’s fault, never the DJ’s. I suspect most don’t want to hear anything negative, they just want some nice words for their website. Nothing wrong with that of course, we all like praise for a job well done and it’s good for marketing.

But the feedback you really want to help improve your business is from those who get a quote but don’t book you.

[ukpartydj]

Comments provided that can improve the service are far more valuable than any comments provided for marketing purposes.

I'm struggling to disagree with that.
I guess it depends on what reasons you have for seeking feedback. Mine unfortunately is essentially to harvest the good words people have to say about me quite solely for promotional purposes.

Not to say I ignore any criticism, quite the opposite ... I am downright OUTRAGED when I receive it! How dare they salander my service fit for a KING but served to your peasant guests! And just to add salt to the wound on MY WEBSITE! May you never type the letters "www." in a bid to view my kingdom of DJ prowess!

[yourdj]

I like the idea of video testimonials - words spoken from the horse's mouth in effect carry a lot of weight but at the end of the night I think customers have better things to do & I wouldn't like to intrude. The ice sculpture people from a few gigs ago got the booker to say a few words on video which I witnessed & it seemed a bit forced. Some people aren't natural talkers on video.

I'll be collecting feedback on all my gigs from now on - I need to know what I did right, and what I can do better in future. I'm purely in this for my own gratification - and giving people a good time is the way to do it :)

Incidentally, the reason I posted this thread in the first place... said customer dropped a card full of praise through my door a few weeks later. That was awfully nice of them I thought.

You would hardly do it on the night. The wedding singing at the PM conference (who could not remember his words) does that and I think that is pretty cheeky really, getting them outside to say how wonderful you are, thus taking them away from thier special day! Assuming you do client meetings then you should know that couple well enough to meet up after the honeymoon when they have properly reflected on the day. :)

Myself and this father of the bride spent several hours chatting over a cider or two.
i have missed so many opportunities like that and only to date have 4 videos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrXxfOLCV8A

[Shakermaker Promotions]

One thing I would discourage is the use of specific questions, I did it for a couple of years and I feel they would never have mentioned certain things if I hadn't reminded them.

I never set out a list of questions. I just ask them if they have some spare time, would they mind providing me with some feedback on the service I provided for them.

With reference to video feedback, yes...it's straight from the 'horses mouth' as such but I don't have the time to do that and to be honest I think I would feel uncomfortable doing it. Fair play to you though Toby if it works for you. Like I said, the best form of advertising is customer comments and recommendations.

[Nakatomi]

You would hardly do it on the night. The wedding singing at the PM conference (who could not remember his words) does that and I think that is pretty cheeky really, getting them outside to say how wonderful you are, thus taking them away from thier special day! Assuming you do client meetings then you should know that couple well enough to meet up after the honeymoon when they have properly reflected on the day. :)

Myself and this father of the bride spent several hours chatting over a cider or two.
i have missed so many opportunities like that and only to date have 4 videos.


Ah see I hadn't seen yours Toby, but other sites I've seen they take the B&G to one side at the end of the night & get them to wax lyrical. So out of your 4 videos, how many customers have said the video testimonial was a key in their decision to book you?

As for criticism, I'm sure nobody wants to hear they're doing wrong but hopefully we'd all be big enough to admit our fault & put it right.

[musicology]

The other week I was described as 'the best DJ we've ever seen' by a bride & groom at a walk in job. I asked politely if I could have that in writing. They said 'of course', and a couple of days later emailed me three sentences about how everybody seemed to have fun. A little more reserved than their glowing commendation on the night.

In the event of a less than wordy, revealing review what is there to be done? Can the client be coached or coaxed? Or do you just shrug and hope for better in future?

They said it so use it. Put it up on your website with quotation marks. Nowt wrong with that.