"Kiddies Disco"

[Mayhem 1]

I have posted this elsewhere but looking for your comments chaps:-

As most of you know I specialise in Childrens Parties but there is one thing that really hacks me off!!!

Why is it when people contact for a quote to do a Childrens party they always say the same thing:-

Me - hello can I help you
Them - How much would you charge for a little kiddies disco
Me - Depends on the usuall, where, when, and times
Them - It's only a 2 hour Kiddies Party
Me - Have you got a budget
Them - Yes we were looking at around £35 - £50 max
Me - I am sorry I can not do it for that price,
Them - C'mon its only a 2 hour kiddies party,

etc etc etc, you get the picture.

Why is it that some people think that entertaining at a childrens party is not really entertaining and they can get it for next to nothing?? and by mentioning that its for "Kiddies" I will do it for almost pence.

As a lot of fellow members will back me up it can be very hard work at times, so why do people think that they can pay only peanuts?

Because it is only a "kiddies party"

Sorry, Rant Over lol

Best regards All

Mayhem 1

[lightspeed]

I completely agree with you. Although "kiddies" parties may be shorter in terms of finishing times, they still take some doing! Kids get bored easily and it's part of the skill of being a dj to keep them shouting, dancing and having a good time! And you say you specialise in kids parties? The people calling for quotes need their heads testing! "Hello is that A1 Windscreen specialists?" .. "Yes, how may I help?" .. "Oh, well need my car sorting on the cheap, it's only a pair of windscreens, nothing big." :eek: :D:D:D:D

[Mayhem 1]

Hiya Lightspeed,

Thanks for your reply mate.

Trying to get these people to understand is nigh on impossible!!!!

regards

Mayhem 1

[CRAZY K]

Hello Mr M again, know the problem--only want you for an hour so expect its a quarter of the price for four hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The worst bit is--how many childrens parties EVER last more than 2 hours anyway---anyone with any idea would know thats about all of us ( parents, children and entertainers ) can sustain---after that it becomes a bit pointless.

Even with Parent involvement I dont offer to cover more than 2.5 hours including a break for food if I was running a Kids Barn Dance Party.

You may have missed my recent post when someone phoned up from Birmingham for a School Barn Dance and I quoted £275---so they said
too much---we can get a Kids Disco for £35--so I said--- great book it---whilst slamming the phone down:D

CRAZY K

[Mayhem 1]

The world has gone mad mate

[Dragonfly]

whats all this fuss about .......... its only a kiddies party!!! lolol

sorry mayhem mate couldnt resist you know im jesting i get that from schools who want a disco on say saturday night or friday for 2 hours unusual but it does and has happened you quote them and yes your right ......for 2 hours??? or as mayhem says youll get we only want to spend £30.

mayhem point them in the direction of argos chap barbie karaoke machine about 20 quid the party can last as long as they want then lol.

[Mayhem 1]

Hiya Dragon Man,

"point them in the direction of argos chap barbie karaoke machine about 20 quid the party can last as long as they want"

Never thought of that mate!!!! must put it on my promo stuff lol lol

Best regards

Mayhem 1

[AMD Entertainment]

Its happened to all of us at some point im sure, but never slam the phone down...big no no....or sarcasim...another no no ( bad news travels faster than good news!)

working in retail and as a manager, take a lot of **** from scum that walki in thinking that cos they wtach wactdog, they know thier rights, but when you ask them to recite their rights, they just say" the law says i can have a refund!"...anyway

when confronted with i can get it cheaper or as we call it here "THE YORKSHIRE WAR CRY" OOOWWWWW MUCH??? Be pleasant at all times yet sympathetic and just tell them, Is it really worth risking the safety of the guests to someone who is not safety tested or insured, they dont pay tax and by the way, they use copied and ileagal music which could get you all into trouble if caught by trading standards/authorities....

I also use this simple rule of thumb to idots that want it for nothing and converted 6 out of 10 from discussing along these lines..




Them= How much?
Me= what time are you looking to start and end?
Them= 5 until 7!
ME= I charge £150 for the duration on that night!
Them= Thats expensive!
Me= To be honest, you are taking up a slot that i can not do any other party therefore it has to be the full fee!
Them= what if we make it sooner?
Me= Ok we could do something off that price, but where would you be holding it?
Them= My house!
Me= sorry, but my insurance does not cover me for domestic dwellings and doubt that you would want the responsibility of of my gear should a child spill drinks or the like as it costs hundreds of pounds to replace.

the only place they are likely to get is a community hall which is fairly big and they will want a big set up to fill a stage and passify the kids that the setting up time will still take a while and tearing down takes as much time...but to me and you we both know it dont that we still will not be able to take on another booking.

to be honest...i try not to do these under 13 parties as small kids can not really appreciate the awe inspiring equipment or the hard work you do to get to the level of entertainment.

Some of you enjoy doing them and good un ya...i try and put them off whilst not jepordising future bookings for adult parties.

[CRAZY K]

AMD SAID

Its happened to all of us at some point im sure, but never slam the phone down...big no no....or sarcasim...another no no ( bad news travels faster than good news!)

Sorry to disagree but the point is this--

whilst some time waster is boring you silly with reasons why you should be doing their party for peanuts--theres another genuine customer happy to pay your price who cant get through because the line is blocked---BY A TIME WASTER-- get my drift?:D :D :D :D :D

Reputation?

I give people 3 phone numbers of happy customers who they can refer to.

Job done---

CRAZY K

[leighinstoke]

I rarely do kids parties but those I do get charged 'slightly' less (and thats a very very small slightly'!!!) and the are usually daytime jobs and at my resident place, often the day after I've done a job so the kit is already setup from previous gig.

I do understand your peeve Gary - I've seen you doing the biz and the interaction you get from the kids and your reputation (he's down right superb!) so I can understand why you get, what can only be called, offended when they say "C'mon its only a 2 hour kiddies party.

It does take the rip especially when you do twice if not more work in 2 hours to keep the kids on their toes, have to watch everything as they can be all over your kit like a rash and you have to keep the boredom rate low so they don't get fed up, start running round, etc...

Stick to your guns mate is all I say.

Leigh....

[AMD Entertainment]

AMD SAID

Its happened to all of us at some point im sure, but never slam the phone down...big no no....or sarcasim...another no no ( bad news travels faster than good news!)

Sorry to disagree but the point is this--

whilst some time waster is boring you silly with reasons why you should be doing their party for peanuts--theres another genuine customer happy to pay your price who cant get through because the line is blocked---BY A TIME WASTER-- get my drift?:D :D :D :D :D

Reputation?

I give people 3 phone numbers of happy customers who they can refer to.

Job done---

CRAZY K

Dont get me wrong CK and i see where your coming from and do sympathise...nothing worse than doing the speil and then they crack out the ole statement...can get it cheaper than that in which case it is perhaps worth the risk of saying" well why are you calling me?":bang: :bang:

[CRAZY K]

Dont get me wrong CK and i see where your coming from and do sympathise...nothing worse than doing the speil and then they crack out the ole statement...can get it cheaper than that in which case it is perhaps worth the risk of saying" well why are you calling me?":bang: :bang:

We are agreed!!!:D :D :D :D

CRAZY K

[Have a disco]

I was booked for a disco this year for a christening which they cancelled due to cost so I am taking a firm stance nothing under 13yrs of age and then it will be charged at the std rate bronze as it takes as long to set-up and break-up. All children parties must be supervised in the ratio of 6-1 adult or no booking happens whatsoever and they must arrrage the CRB requirements all parties must take place at non private venues or within school confines

In the end Im going to do a bigger paid job than kids disco's 90% of the time as thats what Im aiming for most people are having to book kiddy discos for same price as half an adults one my minimum price goes upto £200 in the new year and the website will be saying so as well as to deter kids parties even though I provide potential info to customers to look at

[Jiggles]

OK i am now going to get my neck chopped off here :D

I charge between £30 and £60 per disco and i'm not a cowboy!!! i have also going to be doing school for free (local council being tight on the budget :( ) Me being cheap has given me a lot of work and plenty of recommendations!

theres my 2ps worth :D:D:D

[Corabar Entertainment]

... But with respect, Callum - you're not trying to make a living out of DJing (yet!)

[Jiggles]

... But with respect, Callum - you're not trying to make a living out of DJing (yet!)


I was just putting my thoughts forward and i do make a bit of £££ off of it as a bit of side money :)

[Corabar Entertainment]

I know, and I am not criticising you.... just making my observation :D

[Jiggles]

I know, and I am not criticising you.... just making my observation :D


Right im off to bed then :D :D ;) :rolleyes:

[pulsemobiledisco]

I was booked for a disco this year for a christening which they cancelled due to cost so I am taking a firm stance nothing under 13yrs of age and then it will be charged at the std rate bronze as it takes as long to set-up and break-up. All children parties must be supervised in the ratio of 6-1 adult or no booking happens whatsoever and they must arrrage the CRB requirements all parties must take place at non private venues or within school confines

In the end Im going to do a bigger paid job than kids disco's 90% of the time as thats what Im aiming for most people are having to book kiddy discos for same price as half an adults one my minimum price goes upto £200 in the new year and the website will be saying so as well as to deter kids parties even though I provide potential info to customers to look at

LOL, it take's me longer to read and understand badger's posts than it does to read a whole thread! Can you punctuate a little more? :)

Must admit I have now stopped doing kids parties, too much like hard work to me. Don't even do teenage parties any more due to a recent bad experience. 21st and above for me only now I'm afriad.

Keep holding out for your fee mayhem, there is a reason why you charge what you do and if the parents are not prepared to pay the going rate then they obvioulsy don't wan't there kids to have the best possible party. Every respect to you mayhem for what you do.

[Have a disco]

good luck to you if you can afford to extend your efforts beyond reasonable price barriers, but I understand why you are doing it

[Jiggles]

Great attitude Callum :)

Years and years and years ago I did that sort of thing to get me started so you keep it up (days before a mortgage, 2 hungry cats, a car to run and a girlfriend to keep happy, not to mention......no let's not even mention her)

Mossy


good luck to you if you can afford to extend your efforts beyond reasonable price barriers, but I understand why you are doing it


Thanks youse two :) :D :Embarassed: :angel:

[jeremy knight]

Hi everyone
Happy new year to you all.
I have booked childrens birthday party for 21/1/07. I quote a price of £100.00 from 3.00pm to 6.30pm to this customer, she emailed me back, say this is too much so she ask if I could stay extra hour, and I emailed back, yes I will, so it`s from 3.00pm to 7.00pm finshed. I would not go for less, otherwise you have not made no money at all. If a customer happy to pay £100.00 for 4 hours for doing disco at children parties, including birthdays and christmas I will do them, but not 2 or 3 hours it is not worth it, when you takes about 1 hour to get the disco set up and after party finished take it all down.
from Jeremy Knight
DJ Jez,Disco and Entertainment

[Dragonfly]

fair play to you mate if you want to do that bt my days of doing a 4 hour disco for 100 quid are very long gone......... fair play to thosethough that love the job enough to want to do it nice one.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I wouldn't recommend a 4 hour kids party at any price! Far too long for a kids party IMHO! :eek:

[Jiggles]

half an hour is bad enough :(

[wayne_uk]

3.00-7.00 limits your evening bookings, especially if it's a 7.30 start

[Pazz]

:cool: Happy New Year to you all...

After a succesful xmas and New Years Eve period I find myself doing a couple of kids/teenage parties as my first gigs of 2007. These type of occasions are very popular in my area and are about 70% my yearly bookings (although I'm hoping things will balance out a bit!). I usually stipulate that 'they' (people booking me) provide the prizes if they want games - this will be happening for my 2hour gig for 11yo next week. They also want a lot of High School Musical which is annoying popular at the moment - my going rate £35 an hour unless travelling over 20miles ISH!. Don't usually get any complaints for the prices.

I got a sixteenth birthday too so will do 3.5hours on that with the usual Dance, RnB, club stuff - £140 for the night. The only ones I may do discount is schools as a good name in these places can get you a load of bookings!

As others have mentioned if they can get somebody cheaper I give them the spiel of what I offer and all pat/pli stuff - if they still insist they can get it cheaper - no point arguing. I just say thanks for the enquiry - no sleep lost! :)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Agreed

[electricnite]

so what is a good prices for kiddies 2 hour disco i'currently charging 70 quid is that too high or too low

[DMX Will]

so what is a good prices for kiddies 2 hour disco i'currently charging 70 quid is that too high or too low

All depends on your area, so we couldn't comment in general. We charge anything from £60 to £150 for kiddie discos :), average is £80-100

[symo]

I was told minimum of £100 for 2 hours. Anything beyond that and as Mayhem states the kids will be bored. As for gettign 4 hours at £100, dream on that won't cover your insurance.