Sometimes people forget that providing a service business can be very labour intensive with a lot of backroom work provided to make sure a clients event goes off to plan.
I was very lucky last week to complete a project where I was covering all the social aspects of an international 3 day conference for an important client. The job involved quite a lot of planning including a few site visits with the client who wasn’t as experienced as some event organisers and was handling an important event for her company so needed a little extra care to give her confidence in my services.
There was also a request for a couple of group shots to be arranged that had to go like clockwork so they not only didn’t interfere with the conference but also so they might be available as a printed gift for the delegates at the last nights dinner. So there had been lots of work pre event organising frames and printing company logos as required on mounts.
I’m pleased to say the event worked like clockwork apart from a bit of rain on one of the group shots which due to the location had to be outside and I had enough time in preparation of the prints to do a bit of retouching to minimise the effect that the rain had on the final printed image.
I also extended my range of services when my loud voice was asked to be put to service announcing and calling for clients to move to the main dinner area from the drinks reception. And vip guests were covered in sufficient depth to get many delegates that precious memento of when they met the important charctor, in this case the Home Secretary.
One sometimes thinks that doing a job and getting paid for it is reward enough but in this instance I not only got thank you comments from many of the delegates who seemed to appreciate my positive and smiley attitude, rain or no rain but also both a thank you from their CEO personally on the last night for all my efforts and a note from the event organiser as follows:
Dear Brian,
I just wanted to write to you properly to express my thanks for your work leading up to and during last week, to meet our requirements in photographing the conference. I am grateful for your professional approach, discretion and (as and when required!) excellent MC skills to bring everyone together. It’s clear you love what you do; and, you did more than was expected and the photos have turned out a real treat.
I was particularly impressed by and touched by the efforts you took to painstakingly enhance the rainy photos; and, to provide the frames we wanted for the occasion, so we could issue these with prints included to our guests before their departures. They were absolutely delighted by the quality of the shots.
Thank you for your patience working with an often slightly pressurised and stressed team (and manager!) in tight timescales to get a brilliant job done.
I hope you enjoyed the event and I would certainly be happy to recommend you for any future similar projects.
With thanks and best regards, …..
To receive such a note is extremely heart warming and it is an important point that I want to make to all event organizers, sometimes a little appreciation shown in this matter will do far more to make the impossible happen next time than all the cash in the world.
Everyone likes to be appreciated, spread some joy in your suppliers by making sure they know you do appreciate them.
Brian Russell
Copyright June 2014