On Value

This is the tale of two clients.  The names and details have been changed to protect the innocent.

The question: Which client got the better value for their money?

The show:  Both clients requested pricing for almost identical situations- a 500+ person sales conference, including AV, stage design, meeting room decor, graphics and PPT template design, special event design and decor for their awards banquet, and production support, including show caller, technical director, and production manager.  There would also be some post-meeting video editing of the footage.  Both bids were full scale meeting productions, but were based on some smaller work we’d done with each client, so this was a big inroad for us in each situation.  As such, very reasonable pricing was given out of the gate to help sweeten the deal, in order to get the larger portion of the total event expense.

Client A- The Negotiator.  Even given the initial generous pricing, the client negotiated the price even further down, until a lot of what we pitched was dropped down to at cost or below cost to get the business.  Many services were even thrown in for no-cost, including the post production editing, which is my time.  Hey, we all know this happens a lot, especially with new clients.  Once you get the business, you hope to recoup over the long-term relationship you build with the client.

They continued to question every single price in the process, citing non-realistic consumer level (think Home Depot) and internet pricing for room decor (which did not include labor, setup, delivery, etc). They changed one of their conference days from a half day to a full day, and seemed outraged that we’d charge more for labor for the AV crew.  They questioned the roughly 10% (a couple hundred bucks) in profit we sought to gain for arranging the hanging of several thousand square feet of ceiling treatments.  They tried to cut staff that we weren’t charging for anyway in hopes of further discounts.

On top of the negotiating, they also kept requesting more and more of the “free” services we were providing.  More graphics, more video, alternate edits, and “oh by the way”s galore.  We finally had to put our foot down and start line item-ing each and every addition, which inevitably meant more price negotiation on each and every item.

On site, and throughout the conference, there was even more of these add-ons, and truth be told I couldn’t help but feel like they thought they owned me for the run of the show.  We continued to line item every item, every request, and we only did what was asked of us and no more.

I also got the feeling they were looking for mistakes, cataloging every minor detail and filing it away, so that after the conference they could come back for more money off the bill.  We always strive for the perfect show, but in my 15 years in the business, I’ve only seen maybe one where absolutely nothing went wrong and this was no exception.  Additionally, a lot of equipment and crew redundancy was cut due to the budget concerns.  Unfortunately there are some clients that you can’t help but feel that they count on trying to get money back at the end of a program,  by accumulating a list of things they’re dissatisfied with and disputing the bill.  The entire conference run was one of stress and anxiety.

After the show I was tired, cranky, bitter, and feeling a little used.

Client B- Minnesota Nice.  Almost the polar opposite of Client A.  While budget conscious, there was never the feeling of constant nit-picking or chiseling.  They seemed to understand that things A) cost money, and B) we might make a profit on them.  Whenever things were added, they were always amenable to adding to the overall bill.  Above all else, they were always extremely polite, and very understanding of the time and effort that goes in to putting on a conference.  As their conference went on, I genuinely came to like the people involved- the conference committee, the executives, the attendees.  As a result, as I look back, I actually did a lot more for them than Client A.  All the little add-ons didn’t feel so bad, and I found myself wanting to help them make their conference better and better for their attendees.  They added a rush order to the post-production, and even after a week of travel I found myself wanting to work through the weekend to get it done for them so that they could get the conference materials into the hands of their folks in the field.

Due to hotel restrictions, we were forced to use the in-house AV, and unfortunately for our client, they really stunk up the house.  Tons of equipment and crew issues.  In the case of Client A, we might have been tempted to just shrug our shoulders and say, “Not our fault”, but instead we were right there in the fray, passionately advocating for our client, making sure they were dealt with fairly in the end.

Since the program, we’ve even provided some “at cost” services to help them out with the post production distribution. Why? Because they asked nicely.

After the show I was tired, but really looking forward to the next time we work with Client B.

My Take:  While we all agree that, in theory, all clients should receive the same treatment, I think we can also agree that that’s not human nature.  In the end, the two companies’ bills, minus the differences between the two shows, were probably only a few thousand dollars different.  I’d be curious to know, if they knew each other, which client thought they got the best deal- the best value for their money.  My guess is that they both would think so.  In my heart of hearts, I’d have to say that at least when it came to my time, my effort, Client B got the most value for their money, and will continue to do so as long as we have the privilege to work with them.

I am not anti-negotiation.  Around the office I have the (occasionally derogatory) nickname “Consumer Brandt” because I detest bad customer service and have no trouble telling people when I believe they’re giving it to me.  I will not hesitate to ask for fees to be waived, prices matched, or things to be thrown in.  But there is a line, and it’s largely a matter of tact, manners, and polite civility to know when that line’s been crossed.  There’s working the system, and there’s abusing the system…

As I move forward, I’m going to try and keep all this in mind as I work with our vendors.  I’d like to think to a certain extent that I do already, but it never hurts to try harder, right?

So what do you think?  Who got the better value?  Does it matter who the client is and who the vendor is?  Why?

Please join us on Thursday, Feb 16th from 12-1pm EST for a chat on this topic.  Just follow the #eventprofs hashtag on Twitter, and add the tag to your post if you want to chime in!

Goodbye to Peter J. Butler of Taurus Productions

“16 years ago, Pete taught me the proper way to coil a cable,” was how I started my memorial to Pete, whose service was today.  Unfortunately, that was also the way I ended it, as the words caught in my throat and I had to sit down.  I think most people thought I was just making a joke and moved on.  Those who sat near me I’m sure could see the tears well up in my eyes.

I wasn’t close to Pete, and I wouldn’t even really say we were friends.  More often than not, I was overheard poking fun at his fastidious nature, or the fact that at least one “F***ing Nightmare” was to be heard uttered from his mouth on almost every gig, usually about something insignificant.  Pete was a 60’s era sound guy working in a corporate AV world, and the two never really meshed.

Pete was a talker, as many at his memorial pointed out.  There would be days that you could hear him coming down the office row, telling the exact same story to each person.  By the time he’d get to me, I’d already heard the story 5 times, but… “Hey, got a minute?”  It was never just a minute.  More like 10.  I always tried to listen anyway, though sometimes I must confess to suddenly getting a phone call right before he came to my door.

So why would a memorial service for an incredible neatnik, vendor/sublettor, who complained on most gigs and talked (arguably) too much, make me choke up?  Because 15 years ago (I was off a year in my abbreviated eulogy), he taught me the proper way to coil a cable.  And here’s the rest of the story I couldn’t manage to tell:

Though he often complained about things on site, Pete was actually a really nice guy.  I remember thinking so in 1995 when I was working at Gopher Stage Lighting in Minneapolis.  I was 22, fresh out of college with a degree in technical theatre, and was happy to at least have a job that was remotely close to my major.  Pete would come in every couple of weeks or so with an equipment rental.  He’d hang around with us flunkies in the back, shoot the shit, smile, tell a story, crack a joke, and be on his way.

After only about a year or so, things really began to come off the rails for me at Gopher.  I had been suspended for two weeks for doing what I thought was the right thing, but was against policy.  I was increasingly at odds with the manager, and was vocal about it.  After being asked if I thought I could basically keep quiet and be a yes man, I said no.  I was asked to leave.  I took one number from the rolodex.

I called Pete, not knowing if he even really knew who I was, and asked him for a job.  I just knew that he did sound and lights for “corporate parties”, and that sounded interesting.  I’ll never know if he needed the help or if he just felt sorry for me.  Within two weeks I was working on a gig, humping uplights and pushing crates and speakers from truck docks to hotel ballrooms.

And thus my introduction into the world of corporate event technology…

Pete paid well- A much higher hourly wage than what I was getting at Gopher, but with an unfortunate inconsistency.  The gigs were only maybe once a week, so I was really only making maybe $200-400 month.  Pete seemed to like me and my work so they were getting more frequent.  He was a neat-freak, though.  If you didn’t wrap a cable exactly right, you heard about it for weeks.  There was always a reason for it though, I have to say.  Always.  If you didn’t wrap the cord around the light fixture counter-clock wise three times… bad things would happen.  Two times was too loose, and the cord would slip loose and get caught on other things like cart wheels.  Four times was too tight, and exerted too much strain on the cord, eventually causing the strain relief to break and the cord to fray.  Counter clockwise because Pete was left handed.

And if you always wrap mic cables, power cables, and extension cords exactly the same way every time, they’ll never get all kinky and tangled and weird, as such cables are want to do.  Pete, above all else, taught me that taking an extra minute and a half to do things right will save you a seemingly near-infinite amount of time later being aggravated by tangled cords, stray duct tape, etc.

There are certain times in your life when you are at a crossroads, but it isn’t really you that decides which direction to take.  Without either of us knowing it, Pete made that decision for me.

After less than a year of working for Pete, I was finally allowed to do a gig on my own, and an out of town show at that.  3m was doing a corporate retreat in Wisconsin, and Pete had another, larger show in town.  He drove up with me, helped me get set up, then left me in charge for the night and to tear down and drive the truck back in the morning.  That night, after the gig, I went out to a crappy dive bar with some of the guys from the show- not 3m folk, mind you, but the guys that were putting on the interactive games that the retreat-goers were playing.  These guys turned out to be from a company called “metroConnections”.  That night, I was asked to interview for a full time position with them at their “Destination Management Company” that provided décor for corporate events.  Two days later I interviewed.  Three days after that I received a letter offering me a job.  And though Pete had been giving me more gigs, I had a mountain of credit card bills and would still barely make 10k that year. With no benefits.  I took the job.

The last almost 15 years have whirlwinded, and are a separate story unto themselves.  I settled down, cut my hair, bought a house, got married, and have two beautiful daughters, and I still work for metroConnections.

Pete worked for metro a LOT.  He was our primary provider of décor lighting and event sound for many, many years.  When we moved in to a larger warehouse, we brought Pete in to sublet space to help pay for it.  So even though I haven’t worked for Pete for almost 15 years, I’ve seen him almost every week, at least once a week, for almost all of those years – and occasionally feigning a phone call on those occasions.

And of course, as all of these stories go, I didn’t ever get the chance to really say, “Thank you.” I’m sure I did at the time, all those years ago, but I couldn’t have known then what I know now- which is that if it wasn’t for Pete, I have no idea where I’d be right now.  He quite literally answered the call, when I needed it the most.  And for that, I will always be grateful.

That, and knowing the proper way to coil a cable.