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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Customer Complaints

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Hi all,

Just thought I'd share my experience of the weekend and vent because I'm pretty mad. Had a wedding gig in the weekend which I thought went relatively well until I got a letter of complaint to the company I'm subcontracting for. So I got the please explain email.

Basically the complaints were about the position of the projector screen and also me not playing silent movies as they requested. Talking to my brother who was a distraction who came with me to the gig. Eating alot of oysters and prawns. Being amateur and not announcing the brides maids and groomsmen to join them in the first dance because the bride had to go get them. And clearing the the dancefloor on a handful of occasions just to play music "the dj liked".

The mc is the best man so i get zero communication during the course of the evening. mc takes my timeline because he doesnt have a copy. Only time I need to use the microphone is to do the bridal introductions. It turns to shit. They are behind a curtain, so I can't see who's coming. The venue host says they are ready so I start announcing them starting with the flower girls. Oops the flowers girls are already inside at the venue. My fault? I start again and try to announce the first couple. Nope, no one enters.... at this stage i'm wondering wtf is going on. Oh yeah we waiting for the flower girls to line up again. Everything is ok after that. Any of that my fault?

I setup the projector screen facing the dancefloor because I couldnt put the projector in the middle of the dancefloor and because an emergency exit blocking the position where I could put it. They complain about me not playing silent movies during the course of the evening. I played them during the cocktail hour up until the bridal introductions as the the written instructions said as people are entering. Anyways how I see it, they are paying for the projector hire. They didn't pay me extra to look after their shitty dvd's or slideshow as this was their own equipment. My fault?

They complained about the dancefloor being emptied. I do my music in sets and try to mix up the genres so not to alienate everyone. I'm playing my rnb sets and everyone is loving it which goes for a while but I slow it down and play some oldies music which is in the playlist they request and no1 dances. I'm not dumb and don't try again. I get lots of requests mainly for usher and rihanna which everyone is all loving including the bride and then I mix in enrique which is same genre (mainstream top 10 hit) and same bpm and the bride is yelling turn it off on the 2nd to last song of the night?! wtf. My fault?

They complain about us eating their oysters and prawns when they specify that a meal is provided for the dj. I actually didn't eat, I never normally would either. I sent my lil bro to get something to eat though. He comes back with a small plate including 2 oysters and 1 prawn. He even eats in a small private corner where no1 can see him. Anything wrong with that?

I announce the bridesmaids and groomsmen to join the bride and groom for the first dance. They don't join them because the groomsmean are MIA. My fault?

I was talking to my brother too much? I'm talking to him about what music we should add to our set etc. Am I not looking at the bride enough?

This sort of shit makes me not want to dj. I hope this bridezilla and small ball of a man go to hell. BTW she was the fattest bride I have ever seen. She requested sir-mix-alot twice in the evening. F@#* You!
 
发表时间 Mon 28 Feb 11 @ 8:01 pm
I've learned, after all these years, the customers who bitch the most, often are the customers who asked for a break in price. Now, based on your description, I bet they haggled quite a bit over your asking price, didn't they?
 
TearEmUp wrote :
I've learned, after all these years, the customers who bitch the most, often are the customers who asked for a break in price. Now, based on your description, I bet they haggled quite a bit over your asking price, didn't they?


Funny your right on the money. They even said they wish they used a cheaper company because I sucked lol.
 
Talk about an F'd up experience! You vented, now go rock the next one! You can't please everybody and it sounds like you didn't get a bride-zilla, but a Gorilla on PMS and her little bobble head toy, lol! we all had our fair share nightmares as DJ's and I know I been there a few times, where I was ready to pack my gear up and sell, but thinking about all the satisfied customers I've had over the years I know I will be a DJ even when I go to heaven, lol!

Keep rocking dude and don't let any more Magilla Gorilla's brides & Mighty Mouse grooms get to you!

Happy DJ-ing,
DJ Coach K aka The Mix Monster!
 
Screw them!!!
 
Wow man, sorry to hear that what a rough night, but even worse what a pain to have to explain yourself to the booking Co.

The DJs time line is the law!!! When will they all get it!? Get with the program brides, grooms, wedding planners, family MCs.

I know when I do a wedding I need to talk to the bride and get everything she wants set in stone and signed off on. Letting a booking agent (not all but some) set everything up prior to a wedding is a nightmare. I try to steer them away from strict timelines that just wont work, so to allow a natural flow for the evening.

The food can suck, nobody remembers
The venue can be sub par, nobody remembers
But what they do remember is if they had a great time or not, and who is in charge of that!?
The wedding planner? No, she/ he is handling all other aspects of the evening.
The caterer? No
The Bride? No it is her night and is too busy being spoiled.
The family MC...No but he/she might think they are

It's the DJ so let us do our jobs, work the room and make sure almost everyone walks away saying wow what a great wedding/reception that was.

Anyways I'm just saying everything you guys already know. Once again sorry to hear of a bride on the complaint hotline. Don't sweat it and keep doing what you do!

Rob
 
Well......... this is my take. All the things you don't want to take responsibility for, I HAVE to take responsibility for. I am in charge of the reception, not the coordinator. I MUST be the Master of Ceremony, this is non negotiable. The bride and groom are provided with a bridal party sheet from me. They are lined up according to that sheet. Any corrections can be done on the spot, but by me. I go over their names, as they are lined up. They come in as they are announced, by me. I don't do surprises. They know that the bridal party will join them on the dance floor, when I say so. They also know that they will leave the bride & groom on the floor for the last minute of the song, by themselves. This is how I do all my receptions. They will know what the layout of the room will be, before that day. They know exactly when their montages will be shown. Not only am I provided with a meal, but it has to be from the same menu as the guest. I also have to be served right after the head table, this way I am finished when they are. If it is a buffet, I have one of the staff fix me a plate, after the head table, (I tip very well). I don't drink alcohol, but must be provided with O'douls, a non-alcoholic beer, (and I have to see the bottle). Some of you know what I mean. I do not sit down, and only eat between songs. I take full responsibility for the dance floor. Every crowd is different, but I have the experience to handle anything put before me. I only try to please 95% of the crowd, and sometimes that does not include the bride & groom. I had one bride that did not want the Electric Slide. However, her father hired me, and he wanted to hear it. So guess what, it was played to a packed dance floor. Yes, I received a letter from her complaining about me playing that song. I showed it to her father, who tore it up. Have I worked for Bridezillas, you bet. However, by the time the day comes around, they know that I am in charge of making their day special. That's what I do for a living.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I 100% agree with you AMAHM. I think it's about time I stopped sub-contracting and just start my own dj company. Part of the problem is getting minimal info from my the guy I work for.

I'll set a date of May to have everything sorted including my website. Being able to talk to the client directly before the gig goes a long way.
 
Good move. You will find that MOST clients want you to take charge. It's a lot more responsibility, but less headaches. I also refuse some gigs, because I can tell it will not be worth it. The ones that want to pay the less, want even more.

On the other hand, we must always look for ways to improve ourselves. No matter how good I think I am, I am always trying to think up ways to improve my performance. A lot of times it is the little things that we forget. Two things that I have learned, "The only place success comes before work, is in the dictionary", and "Never let your ego surpass your talent".
 
I'd hate to say it but some of the items were your fault (but some of the items boiled down the the bride being a C U Next Wednesday). The following is constructive criticism from a guy who has done over 600 weddings and over 2000 events overall, so don't take anything the wrong way... I'm on your side. I'm also a certified wedding planner. Even though I strictly DJ, I got certified to learn all the ins and outs of the planning side of being a DJ... and after all, the DJ becomes the wedding planner at most gigs whether we like it or not.

As a DJ you need to take control... plain and simple. You need to work out all the details ahead of time. For example, you need to line the bridal party up for the introductions yourself and make sure everyone is in position. And I always tell the couple that it is their responsibility to let the bridal party know ahead of time that when it's time to do the intros that no one wanders off and that everyone is aware of where they need to be. And never trust the wedding planner to line everyone up in the correct order because if something goes wrong then who do you think the crowd will blame? Always line the bridal party up yourself, and when they are lined up you need to let them know that you are walking straight back to the DJ table and when they hear their name called they are to enter the room. You need to be bossy in a nice way, and if you are and they screw up and don't follow your clear instructions then it's not your fault. And as for giving the MC your only copy of the itinerary; bad idea. Always bring a couple of extra copies, or go the venue's office and use their photo copier to get him a copy.

As for the set up of the projector; always get a copy of their floor plan ahead of time and work out the logistics prior to the event. Whether it was your responsibility to run the slide shows are not you need to work that out ahead of time. And if they wanted you to play silent movies during dinner but you didn't because of logistical issues that you didn't work out with them out ahead of time then you need to take the blame. You can't just simply say "I brought the screen and projector, I did my part, it's not my responsibility to run the movies".

As for the bride complaining that you played Enrique... not totally your fault. That song is totally popular, and if it kept your dance floor going then she's just being selfish. I actually did a wedding once and was playing some oldies songs from the bride's "must play" list. The bride then sends one of her minions over to me and the minion says "the bride wants to know why you're playing this music". I sternly told the minion that the songs were on the bride's "must play" list and that if she didn't want the songs played then she shouldn't have put them on the list. Even though the bride was my client, I don't take any sh*t when it comes to stuff like that. She probably just forgot that those "must play" songs were requests her parents put on the list, but still, not my fault. Back to the bride complaining about you playing Enrique... there are things you can do ahead of time to avoid these types of complaints... I make it very clear that unless a song is not on the couple's "do not play" list I need to be able to have the freedom to work the crowd, and that may mean the bride might not love every single song I play... but you need to ask them (in a very nice way) "do you want to hear nothing but your favorite songs all night, or do you want a full dance floor? Take your pick.". When I get the bride and groom's request list I always point out the "red flag" songs (which are usually few and far between) because I know the songs won't work on the dance floor, and they almost always agree and are fine with me not playing them. But if I play a request or work in a song that they might not particularly like it's never an issue because I've firmly established ahead of time that I'm playing for the couple AND the crowd, and if the dance floor is full then I'm doing my job. So in short, was the bride being a b*tch for complaining about you playing Enrique?... yes, could this have possibly been avoided if you had laid down the law ahead of time?... perhaps.

As for them complaining about you eating their food... any bride that complains about the DJ having a couple of hor d'oeuvres is just a plain b*tch. It's not like you were loading up a bucket of oysters. You mentioned that you normally never would... screw that, have a couple of snacks, you're there for 8 hours or more and you shouldn't be made to feel guilty for not wanting to be treated like a vagrant. After all, a well fed DJ is a better DJ and makes for a better night.

As for the bridal party not joining them on the dance floor mid-way through the song. If that's what they wanted then you have to make sure it is in their itinerary in black and white, and that the bride and groom have informed the bridal party ahead of time of what their role is and they know not to wander off. If you do that and the bridal party is nowhere to be found then at least you can say that did your part and have thus covered your ass.

As for you talking to your brother too much... she's just grasping at straws. I manage the DJs and events for the DJ company I work for and we rarely get complaints but when we do there is often one legitimate complaint, and the rest are just piddly things that they are throwing in to try and make it seem like the DJ did a million things wrong, and the client is doing this because they feel the more ammo they have, the more justification for getting a refund.

One last thing, I know you were sub-contracting for someone else that night, and usually in those scenarios it's the owner of the company's responsibility to cover most of the details ahead of time, but as a DJ (and I'm not saying you did this) you need to not just show up with a function sheet and wing it. You need to talk to the couple yourself ahead of time and work out all the kinks. I always tell clients that 75% of the success of the night comes from pre-planning, and the other 25% is execution.

I hope this helps... don't give up... we all go through the same sh*t... there's always going to be less-than-enjoyable gigs... but there's a lot of awesome ones too :)
 
Wow, that sounds like a bad experience. That kind of stuff is why I never entered the mobile DJ business. I would not have had the patience to play different kinds of music, haul a sound system around, and to have to put up with the kind of people and problems associated with weddings.

It's interesting though because I got to see it from the other side last summer. After spending nearly 20 years beatmixing house music in large clubs, I had to hire a mobile DJ to play at my own wedding. It would be the first time I ever paid someone to play music.

Someone had recommended a DJ and when we called the guy to hire him he said he wanted to meet with us two to three weeks before the event. When that time came he called us on the phone to arrange the meeting. It worked out that it was easier for us to stop by his home rather than for him to come to ours. We arrived and he and his wife had us sit down at their dining room table and he had some forms that he had made for his use and he went through them and asked us a lot of questions about music, timing, other people that would be there and their roles in the event, etc.

As it worked out, we were not fussy and didn't really need him to do things with the formality that he was used to from dealing with other people. We just told him to announce us however it would work best, to play music that the crowd seemed to like, etc. I was impressed with how concerned that he seemed to be that things go as we wanted. Or, that he demonstrated to us that he was willing to go the extra mile to please us. I wasn't half as worried about it as he was.

I told him that I was a DJ and that I spent years beatmixing house music in large nightclubs. I might as well have told him that I performed brain surgery. He would have been closer to understanding that than what I had said, so I didn't pursue any further "dj talk."

The night of the wedding, before the reception began, he came in the back room and lined us all up. We were willing to just do it however he wanted. Who cares, right? We figured that he knew more about how it should go than us.

He announced the wedding party then my wife and I. We entered, did our "first dance" and then he started the music to entertain the crowd. He played some country, some classic rock stuff with a dance beat, a few top-40 songs, etc., and most of the crowd seemed to be pleased. Later, he stopped the action for a few people to "toast us." He introduced them and that was kind of fun. Then, it was back to dancing.

At one point in the evening I wandered over to see what kind of a setup he had. He was playing all mp3s using Windows Media Player. I asked him if he ever considered something like Virtual DJ. He said that he knew there were software packages out there but that he didn't do anything with the music that required anything more than Windows Media Player. Okay, whatever works I guess.

Overall, he did just about what was expected. He wasn't uniquely impressive but he didn't piss me off either. None of the music appealed to me as not one house tune was played all evening but with the people there, my kind of music would not have worked. It was hard to sit there, even at my own wedding, and not wish I was in a club mixing the music. Oh well.

So, guys like you that do that kind of work have my admiration. I wouldn't have the patience for it so I'm glad someone is doing it.
 
That's why I only do club gigs, too much bitchin' otherwise I don't need that stress. I do it for fun. Sorry to hear about your night from hell! but your young and things will work out.
 


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