The Main Event by Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC

The recent downturn in the economy will have an affect on event planning and on the business of merchants who depend on special events for their livlihood. People still get married, have parties and business events no matter what the economy, but many scale back on the size of the event and on spending in general. As we have seen in past economic downturns, they will choose a less expensive location, less expensive food, and cut back on serving alcohol (a budget breaker at most events). Unfortunately, they may also eliminate the “luxury” services that can add to the uniqueness of an event. What can we as vendors do to keep clients coming through the door? First, look at your customer service. If it isn’t top notch, customers will either choose one of your competitors or they will forgo your service entirely. You need to add value in some way that makes you stand out from your competitors. In recent months we have seen vendors who arrived late, who had a poor attitude, and those who ...

We asked the caterer to provide tray-passed hors d’oeuvres during the cocktail hour, assuming that anyone in the catering industry knows how to serve hors d’oeuvres in that manner. Wrong!! Imagine our horror when the servers walked into the room (at an upscale venue) carrying large plastic trays used to clear tables. On each tray they had placed paper plates with one each of the four hors d’oeuves. A plastic fork was placed pitchfork-style in each plate. The servers walked around handing out their concoctions to the guests' horror. To make matters worse, later in the evening one of the servers, who had been carving prime rib, took off his chef’s coat and walked around in his undershirt. Less than a month later a different caterer sent only one employee to handle an event for nearly 100 people. The employee set three trays of hors d’oeuvres on a table then exited. When I asked him where the plates were, he said “They can use their fingers.” I then asked if he had brought plates ...