When you’re a bride searching for the perfect venue to host your big day, there’s often a moment of pure joy when, after inevitably trawling every hall, garden, church, country club and farmyard, you finally find ‘the one.’ And as event managers, sometimes our job can be a little like being a bride every single day. Because we at Worx Group believe in going the extra mile for our clients to deliver the very best experience possible, we work hard to bypass the boring and find a venue that really speaks to our client’s specific needs and vision, and when we find that perfect venue, there’s definitely a moment of bridal exhilaration.
So, you can imagine how disheartening it can be to have that exhilaration quickly dampened by the discovery that the venue staff are less than willing to make your dream event into a reality. With two decades in the industry, our team have developed some top tips for working with a difficult venue – guaranteed to help you keep that spark of venue joy alive.
The coordinator at your venue probably works with hundreds of different event managers and sees hundreds of different events pass through their venue, so communication is key in showing them why you’re special, and in letting them know exactly what you want. Set up clear communication from the get go, show them that their opinion and expertise is important to you, and they’re bound to warm to you.
Though at times this might feel like one of the most important days of your life, the best thing you can do in a high stress or high conflict situation is to stay calm. Unlike a bride, event managers are able to completely remove their emotions from a situation, so when you’re having a difference of opinion with a venue coordinator, remember not to take it personally, and it’ll be much easier to keep your head.
As event managers, we’re trained to think and act quickly, and this is never more important than when you’re dealing with a difficult venue. If something goes wrong with your venue, you need to be able to remedy it quickly and with a calm attitude. Ask yourself: What is the problem? How would I like it fixed? When do I expect it to be fixed? With these three answers clearly communicated to your venue, there’s a much bigger chance that it will be fixed than if you overreact and create a scene.
If you’re finding that your assigned event coordinator is always too busy to take your calls, don’t be afraid to ask for a secondary contact within their team. While this person should really only be used in emergencies, it’ll probably set both your minds at ease to know that there’s a third set of eyes on the situation.
Like event managers, venue coordinators are just people at the end of the day. While it can be easy to call names and make threats, it’s imperative to remember that this is a professional situation, and that you never know what’s happening for somebody else behind the scenes. Remain calm, choose kindness, and always act professionally, and you’ll be remembered for that – which means that next time you want to use that dream venue, your reputation will speak for itself.