WHERE HAS CUSTOMER SERVICE GONE?

Back in the day you could go almost anywhere and you would find a friendly face to help you find what you needed, they would give you recommendations and suggestions and always had the product information memorized, and if not, would find it for you immediately. What Happened!? Now a days when you go to a service establishment, you either can't find anyone, or they're in a small group chit chatting and planning their next happy hour. Then when you ask for help instead of helpful assistance you get a blank look.
How many times, when you shopped around for service did the representative profess customer service, quality care and let's not forget the "Call me anytime if you have a question?" Then you finally make a choice of a vendor / supplier, sign a contract and all of a sudden the calls, the service and the care disappear.
Have you experienced this recently? all too often, I have found the need to question, what happened to customer service?!
So many times when meeting planners / coordinators choose venues and Audio Visual Production companies, they are romanced and offered the sun, the moon, and the stars, but after the contract is signed, it's a whole different picture. Audio Visual companies tell you they have the "Top of the line" equipment and when it arrives, it's outdated equipment and sometimes does not even work correctly. What happened to those meetings? How does that make the planner / coordinator look, when the sound is not working or the screens are wrinkled and sometimes not matching because the projectors are not the same brand, or one has more lamp hours burned on it.
Here is a perfect example, one of our recent new-hires had this to say during their interview "Recently I worked with an Audio Visual company that told me to just make sure I got the client to sign the contract, then we could add all the extra labor and extra fees afterwards," Basically he told me to reel them in, then we could stick it to them". I was horrified that companies would actually contemplate doing that to a valued client. Having worked in the Customer Service industry all my life and knowing that if you treat a client with respect and follow your word and promise of service, you will probably have that client for many years. I found it appalling and walked out the door. This was against my belief of service and I realized that the owner ran his business in what was in my opinion nothing short of deceptive, which I wanted no part of.
Before hiring on with another company, I researched companies and did my own reference checks. That's when I came to Charisma Productions Network. I found that they not only carried out their professed quality care and customer service but they actually educated their clients and let them know when they were being over charged by a provider or venue, and in some cases actually renegotiated the terms and contracts for venues. Their work ethics, customer service standards, their attention to detail, and most importantly their honesty with the clients was the main decision maker for me.
This situation is not the rule but seems to be the norm in today's world. It's sad to think that as a meeting planer, you're thinking of what a professional event you're going to present and then you cannot even get your service providers on the phone when situations begin to pop up and changes need to be made. This is when panic begins to take effect. It seems everyone is doing it, hotels, meeting facilities, AV companies even production companies.
Some hotels tell you that it is mandatory to use their in-house audio visual company (which normally ends up costing you more money than using an outside vendor). Also, you need to read the VERY FINE print on those venue contracts. That's where they sometimes put down room space and not actual room names, which sometimes ends up with you not having use of the rooms that you were promised, and also restrict you from a reasonable time to set up you special event. Even minor changes can turn into major problems and major expense, when in reality, it should not have happened in the first place.
As a corporate planner, when the events are not 100% of what you had anticipated you look bad in front of your client or boss. Your reputation is in jeopardy of being attacked because you are the one who will have to explain the WHY? things did not run as smoothly as you had promised your client or boss, and you also end up explaining all those extra charges that were not on the contract.
When you talk about planning a meetings, conference, product launch, or corporate tours you should always get at least 3 bids, from production or audio visual companies, and see what each has to offer. Then before making your final decision, ask for references, check their websites, and look for testimonials. Referrals from other meeting planners are also very helpful. If the company you are considering is not willing to provide you with this information, you should be very cautious. Planners need to be savvy in who's who in the meeting industry. Not all who profess to have the quality care and service actually bring it to full term.

E-mail me your opinions at info@cpnevents.com


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Don’t Believe the Snow Job the Facilities Give You!

Back-end hidden fees


Mandatory usage of in-house AV

Charisma Productions Network

Have you ever put together an event or meeting and used a facility? Did you need AV for your event? Did the facility tell you that is was mandatory to use their in-house AV? Well, guess what? That’s a “snow job” the facilities use to make even more money from unknowing planners. Most facilities use private inhouse AV companies that have negotiated with the facility to provide service. What does this mean? Basically it means that the AV company provides an estimate of all the equipment that you request and labor needed to complete the task.

When your company sends the facility an RFP they have to make a profit on AV equipment and labor as well. In order for them to make their profit, an extra 40% - 60% is added to your cost on top of the equipment and labor rates. Let’s face it, they’re in business, like everybody else to make a profit.

In-house AV services charge you 40%-60% more than a production company. Why? Because they have contracted with facilities and they have to pay the facility to be there. So, for example, a power surge protector that you need in a conference room, can cost up as much as $50 per day compared to a using an outside AV production company which usually includes power strips and A/C cables at no charge. What a difference!

After making numerous calls in the past months and hearing companies say that the facility they are utilizing has told them that it is mandatory that they use their in-house AV, I found the need to inform planners that this is not true! You don’t need to utilize in-house AV. As a matter of fact, by doing so, you will have a MUCH higher AV bill than utilizing a production company. Not only will you get a much lower AV bill, but you will also get more personalized service.

Also, by utilizing an outside production company you get a project manager that only works on your event. Whereas using the in-house company, they are there for the whole facility and the response time is very slow. On average the response time for an in-house AV service is 7 minutes as compared to an outside production company, working only for your company, of 1.25 minutes.

When you give an RFP to a facility, they may come within your budget, but if you’re not careful and don’t read the fine print, you may get caught “holding the bag”. Every time you make a change, no matter how small, you will be charged extra. At the end of the event, when you get your final bill you’ll find surprise back-end service charges, local and city taxes, labor charges, that you weren’t expecting.

So the next time you begin planning and choosing your facility, make sure the facility can accommodate the number of your attendees and rooms needed for your meetings. Also be sure they can put this in writing and that they will not do double booking for the same meeting rooms in your allotted time frame, because, you must remember, any changes made, big or small, will be done at your cost.

One important question to ask is if they are a union or non-union facility. This can bring on even more charges because union facilities have higher labor rates.

Most importantly remember always send your RFP with your budget constraints out to bid. Get at least 3 bids, one being your facility, and see who can, not only, stay within the restraints of your budget, but can also provide you with the service that you would like to have. This is not going to cost you extra. Bids on RFP’s are at no charge to you.