To err is human, to forgive divine
~ Alexander Pope

One of the blogs I like to read/follow is OneWed.com’s ‘Savvy Scoop‘. As an owner of a DJ entertainment company in the event business, as well as a blogger myself, it’s important to follow other related blogs and publications to keep up on trends in my industry. A few days ago, I discovered a blog post on the Savvy Scoop that had some (I repeat, “some”) misinformation regarding the wedding DJ’s role and significance at a wedding reception.

Yesterday, I began to craft a response in the form of a blog post to OneWed regarding that specific article. I had already spoken with Chris from The Man Registry (the author of the article in question) who had assured me that it had not been intended to come off that way. Yet still the article stood.

Last night I published my response (click here), and within an hour the blog post on Savvy Scoop had been taken down, and I received a message that Troy – the C.E.O. of OneWed.com – had called, and would very much like to speak with me in regard to the situation. I must say, I was very surprised. I phoned him back but we weren’t able to reconnect again until this morning.

First let me say that Troy is a business person that cares, and more importantly that listens. We spoke and great length, and to summarize in a nutshell he said that my response to his article enabled to see things from the perspective of the DJ (something Chris had said less than 24 hours earlier). Once he re-read the article, he saw how that one sentence was not accurate, and therefore he removed it.

So score one for the DJ right? Unfortunately, no.

I asked Troy to re-post the blog, and to simply strike the sentence in question and provide an annotation that he and I both agreed would be more accurate. He agreed.

Here is a link to the re-posted article
http://www.onewed.com/blog/savvy-scoop/2009/12/02/man-registry-groom%E2%80%99s-contribution-wedding-music

The article itself was pretty good, but the line I had had the issue with really minimized the DJs role at a wedding reception.  An iPod at a wedding reception can in fact play music, but a DJ – or at least a good one – does much more than just make announcements as the offending sentence alluded.

Troy didn’t have to hear me out, and he certainly didn’t need to acquiesce.  He listened, we talked, and I honestly feel that he – as well as the author – did not intend to misinform their readers.  After speaking with Troy I have a new found respect for his website, his blog and his brand.  I believe he truly cares, and his willingness to react by taking down the article and then to reach out to me shows me he is a person of character and empathy.

It takes a very big person to admit a mistake.  I applaud you Troy for your understanding and willingness to publicly correct your mistake.  If your website is any reflection of your character, I predict you will have great success.

Thank you for listening Troy,

-Craig
Cutting Edge Entertainment

www.OneWed.com

‘DJ Brain’ illustration by Sean Gallo Designs

In a series of recent articles by ‘The Man Registry‘ published on the OneWed ‘Savvy Scoop’ blog, the author offers the readers some of what I would call ‘misinformation’. The first article goes on to say things like “Go see your DJ or Band live” (an absurd suggestion, as a DJ has no right to invite perspective clients to someone else’s wedding), where the next article suggests that in choosing an iPod over a DJ or band, the only thing that is sacrificed is the announcer.

(Click here to see OneWed’s blog post)

Now considering that DJs and bands pay OneWed to advertise, is it really wise for OneWed to publish articles diminishing the value of professional entertainment/entertainers at a wedding reception?  Doesn’t seem like OneWed is looking out for it’s advertisers.

But in regard to the article…

When Aunt Rose comes up and requests a jitterbug, will the iPod somehow know just the song to play? Or maybe the random groomsman knows, and he can pull it up… after having three vodka tonics, or assuming he knows what a jitterbug is in the first place.  Or maybe the iPod can look at the dance floor and see it’s time to change it up a bit because some of the older folks have sat down for dessert and it’s a great time to play a mix of newer music for the younger guests still dancing?

I could go on, but why? I’ve talked about iPods in previous blog posts, and can see the merit in them from a budgetary perspective… but that’s all.  Heck, why not save money on the bartender as well and just set up a keg in the corner?

The bottom line really is, if you want to have entertainment at your wedding, then hire entertainment.  Both bands and DJs bring a lot more to a wedding reception than just making the announcements. An experienced DJ vs. an iPod can make all the difference in the success of your event.

Since coming across this article I expressed my sentiments to OneWed, who went on to shift the blame to The Man Registry, claiming that they were not the authors of the article.  This was disappointing, as OneWed forgets that it is published on their blog, and hence is an endorsement in itself.  As far as The Man Registry goes – a website geared more to grooms and groomsmen – I’ve always found their site to be a great resource in the past, so I’ll just write this off as a hiccup.  Chris from The Man Registry contacted me by email today, and although I told him I would be posting a response to his article, he did see my points and I found him to be quite affable. Thank you Chris.

-Craig

The Man Registry – www.themanregistry.com

‘DJ Brain’ illustration by Sean Gallo Designs

I just read a great article titled ‘Five Tips On Hiring A DJ’ published on Savvy Scoop, which is the blog for www.OneWed.com.   Here is the link, as you should probably read that before continuing here.

http://www.onewed.com/blog/savvy-scoop/2009/05/20/man-registry-5-tips-hiring-dj

Now I will say that overall it was a good article with good advice, with one small exception… Tip number three.

“If you get the opportunity, visit an event or reception that your DJ is working. This will give you a good read on his etiquette and manners while he’s at work.”

When you hire your caterer, you meet with them during the week to taste food, pick plates, etc.  Your florist you meet with and choose arrangements typically at their floral shop and when choosing a photographer or videographer seeing their work online or meeting with them during the week to look at their product is perfectly acceptable.

So why is it the DJ is put in the precarious position of sometimes being asked (or expected) to allow potential clients to come into someone else’s wedding reception and ‘view’ their work?

Several years ago, Cutting Edge Entertainment decided not to allow this practice anymore.  Now as a consumer myself, I can somewhat understand the reasoning behind the client wanting to observe… but the negatives far outweigh the positives and the risk factor just isn’t worth it.  The bride I have booked – and their wedding – are the focus of the day, and the sale of a new client is in no way to interfere with that.  Oh we tried it in the past, but quickly learned that it was a very bad idea.  Even though we would get an ok from the bride and the hall, it still often times turned out to be a decision I would regret.

1. Just because we ask the ‘visiting potential customer’ to dress appropriately, does not mean they will.  On more than one occasion they showed up in jeans and a casual shirt, and stood in the doorway – ‘looking’ – for close to a half hour.  Brides and caterers don’t like this, nor do I.
2. What a potential client sees at a particular event is specific to that bride & groom’s requests, and in no way reflects how we handle every event.
3. In one instance, the potential client contacted me on the following Monday after upset that the DJ didn’t take time to talk to them.  Again, on the day of a wedding we are there to serve our booked client, not to sell a future client.
4. Many event facilities simply don’t allow ‘observers.’  Being that we are recommended at dozens of facilities that have us on their ‘preferred vendor’ lists, it wouldn’t be a very good idea for us to compromise that relationship.
5.  (This one is the best) Invited a potential client to observe a wedding, turns out the observers were known to the bride and groom and (call me lucky) they didn’t like them.  I had to ask the observers to leave and as you can probably imagine I lost that sale.

I could go on, but the point again is that there is no viable justification for potentially compromising a client’s wedding day for one future potential sale.  I have found that when explained to a potential client this way, they are typically understanding and respect our policy.  Do we lose some sales because other DJ companies are willing to allow day-of observers?  I’m sure we do, but I sleep better at night knowing that my company isn’t taking this unnecessary risk.

We seem to do just fine with strong recommendations from event facilities, fellow vendors and past brides.  We invite clients to meet with us at our office to discuss what our company has to offer and show them video footage.  We can also provide references from past brides and in some cases even put potential brides directly in contact with former clients if need be.  Just not on their wedding day.

Most importantly, I can tell brides with confidence that we – the DJ company – will not be inviting anyone to their wedding.  The focus of the day is that client, and nothing else.

-Craig

www.cuttingedgedjs.com