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Topic: How do you deal with your customers? - Page: 1

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Hi All

Thought i would get some background info on how everyone deals with there customers.

I have 1 customer who i am now doing a weekly karaoke for and I have agreed a price (heavely discounted) with them for 3 1/2 hours. Occassonaly they want us to go on an extra half hour if the pub is busy. I don't mind too much but when i asked if they wanted it to go on extra i would like an extra £5 (normally it's an extra £20) for the inconvince but they do not want to pay an extra £5 (Tight or wot). This customer owns 3 pubs and could be doing another weekly karaoke in 1 of the other pubs. Should i push for the extra money out of princiable or just not do the extra hour or let it go? I know they have had 3 other companys in this pub in the last year and i think they have all stoped because of money (i guessing).

I understand landlords are trying to save as much money as they can and pubs provide me with regular work so i don't mind discounting but sometimes they just take the piss. i.e Another Landlord wanted a karaoke night for St paddy's and i said i would give him £65 discount to just £125 and then he asked if i could do anything with the price??? Cheeky or what lol

So how do you deal with your customers. Are they always right?
 
Inviato Thu 19 Mar 09 @ 4:00 am
work for what you think your worth, if you give discounts let them know it is an introductory offer and will go to the standard rate after a given time or when the venue picks up to a certain level (whichever is the soonest) and any extra is exactly that, it will be charged, now you got to decide is he taking the michael and can you afford to walk ? the decision as they say is yours....
 
was the landlord who wouldnt give you an extra fiver paying for staff?? pretty sure they would be getting extra wages. hell a fiver is less then minimum wage! your giving him a good deal!
 
A similar scenario for me. I have one venue which i have been working for three years which have come to expect the same however i have all their booking come to me rain or shine with other bookings off the back of it and therefore giving me a wage should everything else goes tits up. The reason i bowed was that the pub chain also gave me priority of there other pubs, unfortunatley this work is now very few and far between due to the recession. I have found that by giving a little back ie: extra time, it has worked in my favour and I have gained flagship bookings from other venues in the area. The way i look at it is that if you have the extra time to give, do it, it can be to your advantage in later negotiations, just don't let them take the micheal as they are making money all the time you are building their business.

Whilst on this subject of giving. I am approached by Pubs who are doing a charity event and expect us DJ'S to cut the fee or even free. My cut on this is that they can have as many charity events as they wish but the punters are still buying the beer at normal prices and the landlords wins hands down, so no i won't cut my fee unless they are donating their profits. I have a chosen charity of which i support whilst having to keep a roof over my head so no guilty conscience on this score.


Finally!

Always work the business to your advantage, I and other DJ's have experience of venues who will soon drop you irrespective of how loyal you are, but they soon on the phone again when they realise how flexible you were, at which point you have the upper hand in negotiation, although not all of the time?
 
It's a big problem in the industry, there is no going rate a such. Only when your established can you have fixed prices, my prices are fixed and for each hour in addition I charge an additional £30ph.

Supply and demand, If your really good and don't start farming stuff out then you can have a price n stick to it and people will respect that. You just have to run it as a business and not like jack the lad coming down to DJ with his 1210's!!! You know what I mean.
 
A club, a shovel, and some lime works the trick for me.....
 
I have my normal price for private customers, My pub price for pubs which is discounted and this one is getting an extra £30 off my normal pub price. I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot yet and want to get it established and if they keep booking and give me the extra pub i will be happy but i know they want to pay £10 less for the other pub for the same times but want to pay less because it's a sunday instead of a friday. Thats where i draw the line, why should the day make a difference to the price. Do i get paid more for working on a Sunday at work (No)
Might speak to the landloard on Friday and if it's busy mention that if they want us to go on then we should charge but for the next few weeks we will let it slid but if it's busy every week, week in week out and we constantly go over then they will have to pay for the extra half hour at our normal rate.

Also How personal do you take your business? You know a pub does karaoke and you can offer a better service and value for money, do you push the pub to switch to you, which results in another fellow dj losing out or leave it but remind them your about if they want to switch.
 
Bar owners are notoriously cheap....Always looking for a discount, or a deal, or telling the DJ another DJ will do it for less. Professionally speaking, my price, is my price, is my price. I never lower it, I never cut someone a deal, I never allow myself to be bullied. Try this next time he asks for something, ask him to try it on his alcohol distributor, or his insurance agent.

We DJs are always hurting our own industry. Giving breaks, doing freebies for friends, undercutting another DJ. If your work is not good enough to get a job on your merits then you should stay out of it. Its actions like this that empower bar owners to push the next guy. Stand your ground....
 
Don't make reference to your normal job DJing is different like I said before supply and demand, it's cheaper on a week night and on a Sunday because theirs not as much going on and there are more DJ's available.

If you want to discount an already discounted price then that's up to you however you must be desperate? I would rather shovel the streets for a living than do that because I know that he's only booking you because your a sort touch and that he can get you cheap! You won't get the price up.
 
Having wrote earlier i had my office work to do and follow up some enquiries one of which i had done previous summer seasons. They in the past wanted discount prices however this year i quoted above my usual fee of which they then wanted to negotiate and brought me down to where i wanted to be so happy days. Tearemup is correct and if your good at what you do they will pay your price and if you lose a venue down to money, walk away amicably as at some point you may be booked to do a venue at that place and in many instance get a recall. I charge £100.00 for three hours and £20.00 an hour there after Monday to Thursday and Sunday. £150.00 for the first three hours Friday and Sat £30.00 there after. if its a regular gig or has several venues then there may be a negotiable package. Should i have to use another DJ for cover then they get the same fee. I don't believe in under cutting in this business or charging fellow colleagues commission like some i know of.
 

If I get asked by the owner/Manager of the club, bar or pub if I could play for another hour or so, I say yes, but for X amount extra, It could be a silly amount ( I'm cheap anyway, lol) but they always say yes to the amount, 9 out of 10 times

Because they know as soon as the music stop's, the money going into the tills stops. So really you've got them by the short and curly's, lol
 
Hi Jimmy

I must admit at one of my locals they asked me to carry on, i refused, they offered to put the pot around and i made on the night but by the time they had sorted it the pub was closing :) The same Pub as the shutters up on the windows full time now through miss management :(
 

lol, that's just a example mate, all I ask for is a extra hour worth of pay.

But I tell you mate, try it one night ask for abit more, and the tend to always say, yes. I've tried it and it worked for me, lol
 
Are you saying that the pub decided to have a whip round for you asking for money off the punters to pay your additional fee for the extra time and that they didn't sort it out in time before closing so you didn't get anything?
 
Charlie, still got the doh lol . It was the punters who wanted me to carry on, their decision their idea, their money, my time.
 
OK, Chris but don't let them make you feel as if you have to beg for it. It should be just paid to you by the landlord or venue manager.
 
My thinking is...

My price is my price for a set amount of hours.

If they want more they know they will have to pay me overtime.

Stand firm on your price.

All bar/club/pub owners need to relize that just like them us real DJS need to make a fair price for what we can do and provide.

If not - Forget it about it!!!

Good Luck and hoping for the best for you!!!

DJ TAO :)
 
I hope you're taking this seriously because nothing pisses me off more than DJ's who know they have talent and are worth all kinds of money and they settle for less or nothing.

Why this pisses me off is because club owners constantly try to screw us out of what we're worth just because they know someone else will do it for less. When you do stuff for free or discounted....you're basically admiting to them you're not worth the money you're asking and it causes us other DJ's (who are trying to do this for a living) to be robbed or bullied out of the money we're worth.

The only time I would settle for less than what I'm asking is if they

1. Spend money on promoting my night
2. Spend money on lights and pro audio so our customers have a great experience
3. Sign a contract that guarentee's me a job for a certain period of time
4. Provides some type of benefit (discounted drinks, food, etc).

You always have to ask yourself....what kind of deal am I getting playing for less money?
 
Fight back mode lol.

Just found out from my dj that the pub i have just started doing karaoke for is taking the michael BIG TIME.

Just found out that they paid £10 short last week and £70 short this week. And they have got us to play on an extra half hour for free. Well no more for them.

I gave them a great rate and paying me less than i am worth and then paying less on top of that is below the belt. Going to speak to the owner on Monday to arrange for the extra payment (which i don't think i will get) and to arrange that any extra time will be charged for and payment is now required upfront. I guess i will lose the business for just asking what is fair but who cares. I can do without the hassle of idiotic landlords.

Yes the money will boost my income but i am not a puppet on a string.

Before i do does anyone have any advice on how i should speak to the owner???? In this mood i think i am just ready to tell him to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

On the other hand my other pub that i do has been great. Always paid on time, No messing around and they give me a few free drinks every now and again. There not all bad these landlords but beware of the evil ones lol

Moan over, i can go to bed now.
Hope everyone had a better night than me.
 
i take it your not paid on the night, just calmly inform him of the discrepancies in your payments and ask how soon can they be rectified,

it seems you are not producing an invoice for them either if your not acting professional you will not be seen as a professional, a simple one will do, on a letterhead with columns, hours worked, payment required, agreed by, and signed, simple...

this way there can be no excuses for under payments.

if you need a template made i could rustle one up for you
 
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