Blessing Afolabi writes about the disappointments hosts experienced from event planners
Gazing through the hotel window in her stunning wedding dress, Hilda Hyacintho, was super excited that her wedding day marking the fulfilment of her dream of beginning a new life had finally come. She stood transfixed for minutes musing at the bright weather she had prayed for.
With the aspirations Hyacintho had, one would have thought that her wedding day would be like a fairy tale. In her narrations, rather than enjoying the perfect wedding day she wished for, it turned out to be a day laced with disappointments. Tears filled her eyes with so much hurt as she walked down the aisle to meet her husband on a day supposedly meant to be the happiest day of her life.
She said, “My wedding was held in Calabar, Cross Rivers State in 2020. We picked the date for March but the Covid19-induced lockdown crippled our plans, so we had to change the wedding date from March to July. We never knew that we would be disappointed on our wedding day, especially from the decorator and photographer. The photographer we booked got another job on the same date the owner of the hall we earlier paid for said the hall would be free. We already paid some of the event planners ahead but didn’t know a pandemic would happen. The owner of the hall had to give us a date that the hall wasn’t booked and our photographer was also booked for the day. We had to look for an emergency photographer in the end.
“The decorator also gave excuses that the materials for decoration got wet due to the rain. We had to make do with the shabby design he gave us because the wedding was on a Sunday and there was nowhere he could get a replacement for the materials. The hall was scanty of décor. As if that was not enough, my husband’s clothes were also spoilt, both his suit and traditional wear. My husband had to buy new clothes because the tailor didn’t deliver them. I cried profusely that day.’’
Narrating his experience, a private school teacher, Gbolahan Oduniyi, planned a bachelor’s eve alongside his wedding and paid the master of ceremonies both for the party and wedding reception the next day.
Oduniyi who got married in September 2021, said he paid N160,000 to the compere as 80 per cent part payment for the event. The MC charged N230,000; N200,000 for the reception and N30,000 for the bachelor party after bargaining.
The MC who Oduniyi said was no stranger to him, called to inform him a night before his wedding that he would be unable to make it for the party but promised to be at the wedding unfailingly the next day.
The morning of the wedding came, which started first with the Nikkai (Islamic wedding) handled by Islamic clerics then the reception but the expected MC failed to show up.
“I called him before we concluded the Nikkai to find out why he had not arrived. He told me he was stuck in traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway from Berger on his way to Ibadan, Oyo State. He assured me that he would get to Ibadan before we end the Nikkai. But he never showed up. After the Nikkai, we went to the hotel to change our outfits for the reception, but still he had not arrived. I told my best man who had been communicating with him earlier to keep calling him. The MC later became unreachable and didn’t respond to calls or messages,” he said.
Oduniyi told Saturday PUNCH that he started making emergency plans for another MC immediately. Luckily for him, one of his groom’s men offered to anchor the event.
He added that the MC didn’t reach out or apologise for his unprofessional misconduct until the next day when, “He sent me a long text, giving flimsy excuses for not showing up due to traffic. I wouldn’t have got angry at him, because I know some unforeseen circumstances could happen but he had the temerity to tell me he wouldn’t refund the entire N160,000 I sent to him because of the stress he passed through in traffic.
“Immediately, I sent him my account details and threatened to involve his family and the police if he refused to return the money. He didn’t respond, however, a week after my wedding, he sent the money. From that moment, I vowed never to recommend him to anyone.”
What event planning entails
Event planning involves organising ceremonies such as weddings, fairs, birthdays, to graduations, conferences, seminars, among others.
Over the years, individuals, organisations, and institutions have found the need to hire event planners who source vendors for their events. This takes off the burden and stress of monitoring every activity during the event. The event planners are saddled with the responsibility of making everything work seamlessly.
However, some party-givers handle the planning themselves and interact directly with the vendors such as photographers, clothiers/stylists, MCs, DJs, musicians, caterers, makeup artists, decorators needed to make ceremonies grand. There is usually a price agreement between clients and vendors on the services to render. Most planners/vendors request a percentage as payment or outright payment before the stipulated date for the events.
Event vendors disappointed us – hosts
A travel consultant, Olushola Ogunsemowo, fixed his wedding for December and chose his childhood friend, who is a musician, to perform at the ceremony.
He had concluded plans with his friend and reached an agreement for fees and other logistics in September. Ogunsemowo and his friend lived in Lagos State but the wedding was to be held in Ogun State. To reduce stress and cost, his friend had gone to Ogun in October to contract a supplier for the musical instrument needed for the day and made a full payment.
Ogunsemowo told our correspondent that a day before his wedding, his musician friend called the musical instruments supplier to remind him and he assured him of arriving at the venue at 6am since the distance from his shop to the centre was barely 30 minutes drive.
On the wedding day, the musician and some of his friends went early to the venue to wait for the musical instruments but none had arrived at the time.
He said, “They waited and called his mobile until 9am but it rang and was not picked up. The musician then drove to the office of the supplier and met the door closed. No one around there knew his whereabouts. The wedding was meant to start at 10:30am, and there was no sound system for anyone to use. I had to cough up money again to get the gadgets from another supplier, who charged us exorbitantly because it was impromptu.
“Eventually my wedding started at nearly 2pm and everything went on smoothly after that. Only that we didn’t finish until 9pm. A week later, the musician went back to look for the supplier only to find out that he had an accident on the morning of my wedding and died. He was on his way to his office to get the instruments when he had an accident. His phone was ringing by the side of the road where it dropped while they were trying to bring him out of the car.”
The travel consultant noted that he felt bad upon hearing the reason for the man’s absence because he had already created a scene with his musician friend on the day and promised to sue the supplier for a breach of contract.
For a pharmacist, Beauty Chebem, a small, intimate but perfect wedding was her dream. She sat in the waiting room of the hotel for the cab driver to take her and her chief bridesmaid to the party venue.
She woke up on the bright April 1, 2021 morning feeling enthusiastic and energetic having ensured everything was sorted for the wedding, little did she know she would be shocked by the disc jockey she hired. The decorator had set the stage exquisitely, the cake sitting pretty but with no music in the background.
When she arrived at the venue, everywhere fell quiet as though nothing was going on. Chebem said she would have thought it was the wrong venue if not that she had been there herself before the day.
Getting into the venue by 10am, she realised that the DJ had not arrived yet for a wedding scheduled for noon. Her chief bridesmaid, who had been communicating with the DJ, called him to find out why he wasn’t there yet.
Chebem said, “The DJ was referred by my chief bridesmaid’s cousin so we were a bit relaxed coupled with the fact that we had paid a part of the amount he charged. When she called the DJ, he said he was stuck in traffic but would be there soon. After waiting for about an hour, she called again. He gave the same excuse, assuring us he would be there. After some hours when he didn’t show up, my uncle quickly sought an emergency DJ around and we had to pay double the initial amount the first DJ charged. ”
Later on, she said that he called to inform them he would be unable to make it anymore and was reluctant to refund the money paid, adding, “After we threatened to involve the police, he agreed to refund a part of the money because he paid for transport to the venue and underwent stress in traffic.”
On her part, a farmer and industrial chemist, Esther Akpoobaro, didn’t see her event photographer on her wedding day. She told our correspondent that the photographer she booked for her wedding agreed to be at her house on the morning of the wedding to take pictures and make videos of the makeup session before the church service.
To her utmost shock, the photographers didn’t show up. Akpoobaro stated, “The photographer and his crew did not bother showing up. In fact, they called me when I was on my way to church. I was pissed off. Before my wedding, I already made up my mind not to have too many expectations and stay happy regardless of whatever happens. The key is for the couple to expect anything. From the outset, I told the event vendors that the penalty for disappointing me is a withdrawal of the balance payment. I was even happy to have saved almost N50,000 because of their irresponsibility.’’
Disappointments galore
A tutor and businessman, Mr George Abia, upon completion of a diploma theology programme at a bible ministry, in Rivers State, had his convocation ceremony scheduled for July 15, 2017 but it was postponed to September.
He booked his friend, a professional photographer, to cover the event and informed him about the change in date. The photographer confirmed his availability for the new date, after which Abia sent a 60 per cent part payment out of the N65,000 charged with an additional N5,000 to fuel his car.
A week before the event, Abia said that he called the photographer to remind him of the event and he promised to be there. But on the day of the event, to Abia’s utmost surprise, the photographer didn’t show up.
He said, “I called him on the day of the event and all he could say was to ask if the event was scheduled for that day. He told me he was at a wedding in Enugu State and wouldn’t return till the following week. He promised to compensate me when he returns by taking photographs of me on convocation gown.”
Miscommunication, indecision responsible – Vendors
The C.E.O of a catering service, Dorcas Shokeye, said that vendors would not intentionally disappoint clients, noting that a breach in communication between vendors and their clients was usually responsible for such developments.
On the other hand, she noted that some clients were often undecided and unclear about their choices.
Shokeye, who is also an accountant and event planner, said that the poor economic situation also affected vendors who unaware of current market prices would give hasty quotations to retain clients, stating that vendors must know what the clients wanted to make a good estimate of the total cost for the event and plan appropriately.
She said, “I always ensure to find out the kind of event my customer wants and I communicate properly with them. One might spend a lot of money and still not satisfy the client if one doesn’t do what they like. Client satisfaction means more referrals and more referrals translate to more money. My end goal should be to satisfy my clients or do beyond their expectations. I stay abreast of market prices to avoid delivering an inferior service or asking for more money from the client. I’m not too quick to give quotations for an event, I get the date and plan with that.’’
The caterer said that planning ahead was vital to deliver good services, stating that such would guide appropriately in decision-making. She added, “Timeliness is important. I once had a friend who got a contract to sew a reception dress. He outsourced it to a lady who didn’t plan ahead. When it was time to deliver the dress, she couldn’t meet up; thank God it wasn’t the main wedding dress. If it means keeping a calendar or a tab of all I need to do with the dates, I will do that.”
Shokeye advised those involved in event managements to be passionate about the job, shun greed in accepting offers and accept only the number of clients they can conveniently cater to per day to ward off disappointment.’’
She added that vendors needed to evolve by investing in training in modern practices in their field to satisfy clients.
Similarly, an event photographer, Tolu Ayodele, said that one may not have absolute control over everyone attending one’s event but one could control the vendors contracted to render services at the event.
She said some of the mistakes clients made were inability to get vendors with track records of efficiency, paying deposits late, lack of communication between a party-giver and vendor and lack of trust in vendors among others.
She advised party-hosts to choose a vendor for their events through referrals, having a physical meeting to clear doubts and holding trial sessions, paying deposits on time, asking for terms and conditions, and trusting vendors.
She noted, “The advantage of getting vendors based on referrals is that you get a sincere recommendation from people who have used them and not just comments you see on their pages or websites. Ask your friends who are married about the vendors they used, especially exceptional ones. This way, you get to know what you will be expecting and there will be no surprises. Do not place hype over efficiency. A vendor may be popular on social media with many followers but may not be right for you. Ask around before you select vendors.”
Ayodele added that one should look for vendors who understand one, listens, excited to work and can bring one’s idea to life, not a one that sees impossibility in one’s ideas.
Event managers react
In her comment, an event planner/coordinator, Atinuke Ibrahim, noted that disappointing clients on their big days by party vendors was unprofessional, stating that no reason was excusable for vendors to dissatisfy clients.
Atinuke, who also doubles as an event comperé added that if unforeseen circumstances arose, the service provider was expected to give the client prior notice to get a replacement and make an immediate refund of the deposited fee.
She added that most of the issues that could arise were caused by service providers taking more than one job per day or trying to save costs to provide services.
The event coordinator stated, “Most of these caterers, photographers, MCs, and the others have given themselves a bad reputation. It’s unprofessional to disappoint one’s client. That an event service provider is good at the service they offer doesn’t make them professional. How you stick to time and the way you relate with and handle your client’s preferences show a high or low level of professionalism. Some vendors ensure you pay them and put a clause that fees paid are non-refundable. When they are paid they feel they can do whatever they like. Thinking a client is at your mercy because you have their money is wrong.
“Some vendors take more than one job in a day, disappointing one or more clients. This is being pennywise and pound foolish. Some accept other offers when the pay is enticing and end up giving excuses at the last minute. Little do they know that their job is highly dependent on referrals and the way they treat a party-giver will affect access to other jobs.”
She advised those who provide professional service to party-givers on their big days to look beyond money alone.
The event coordinator noted that economic instability/inflation affected their services especially when the cost estimation was done on an old price list, adding, however, that they were expected to be coordinated, handle costing with projections and current prices so that if prices changed, they would be able to offer services conveniently.
Ibrahim further said that party hosts and event managers contributed to vendors disappointing them by being indecisive and unable to micromanage them, giving them specifics in timing, coordination, monitoring their activities, and other choices.
On ways clients can avoid disappointments, she said, “Make sure you know their itinerary from time to time. Ask for updates on what they are doing. Be specific about what you want and how you want it so that if there are mistakes, they can be corrected on time before the event. For instance, if you want rose gold as your décor or cake colour, make sure you send a sample of the colour to them.
“Service providers should ensure to be professional and stick to prices comfortable for them because while trying to cut down costs, they can end up dissatisfying customers. Party hosts/event planners should look out for vendors that are professional and have a good track record, especially from referrals. Choose vendors based on your budget and have a list of backup vendors in case your vendor fails to deliver.”
She stated that vendors could avoid disappointing their customers if they plan well, keep to their word, settle on a good price with the vendor, arrive venue on time, handle events as a personal affair and show reasonable consideration in service delivery.
Also contributing to the issue, another event manager, Bayo Thomas-Ojo, noted that there were several reasons responsible for vendors disappointing clients.
He highlighted some of them to include misinformation, using event vendors’ pictures and videos in their collections to get a big job from clients, improper quotation/costing, outsourcing/rentals, and taking multiple jobs from different clients, among others.
He noted that the greed of some vendors made them take jobs beyond their capacity or outsource to people to do it for less to make more profit.
“For some jobs I charge N200,000, some vendors might charge N50,000 and begin to struggle to get things done. There’s no magic, such a person will displease the customer. Also subcontracting jobs can bring disappointments. During the festivities, several jobs will be available. You don’t have to take more than your capacity,” he noted.
Thomas-Ojo noted that event managers also faced disappointment from vendors. Sharing a personal experience, he stated that he outsourced a DJ job to a new vendor he had not worked with before, adding that the DJ irritated the client with his unprofessional act and his client deducted the money meant to be paid to him for the DJ.
On what party hosts should look out for in choosing event vendors or managers, he said they should look out for capacity and a track record of achievements, employ the services of managers who can hold vendors accountable and monitor them to deliver their services professionally, be clear and expressive about their interests and choices.
On the solution to preventing dissatisfaction of clients, Thomas-ojo advised event vendors to ensure quality service delivery, adding, “If it means losing your sleep for a day to get things done, do it. Be timely, you can sleepover at a hotel close to the venue for convenience. Source the materials you need, and move at a convenient time for a seamless service. Another piece of advice I have for vendors is to take proper care of their workers and learn to show some sense of care to them. Some don’t care when their workers are sick or get injured while on the job. This shouldn’t be. The success of the event depends on them too.”
He disclosed existence of event management unions which he said were not involved in regulating activities of vendors or managers, noting however that they organised some workshops to enlighten vendors on the mode of operations and professional ethics.
