General Tips, Your Event Career
2 Clients You Should Blacklist from Your Event & Wedding Planning Business!
Real talk: your event planning classes will help prepare you for a TON of scenarios. But admittedly, there are still some situations that you’ll only encounter through real-world experience. Unfortunately, one such lesson you’re bound to learn sooner or later will be what to do when you encounter the… less-than-ideal client (to put it nicely).
Because the fact is, while the majority of your customers will be pleasant, there will also be the occasional bad apple. At the end of the day, clients are human beings, and, well… human beings suck sometimes.
Here’s the good news: As a professional, you’re completely within your right to refuse business, or even blacklist a client from your services entirely.
Here are 5 examples of nightmare clients who you should definitely think twice about signing a contract with…
1. The Anti-Masker
First thing’s first: we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Many cities are at the point of enforcing a mandatory mask rule in public areas. Meaning, if you are in an indoor space that’s open to the public, you need to wear a mask.
For some weird reason, though, there are some people who simply don’t care about this rule. Oh sure, people could get dangerously ill – maybe even die – it, but who cares, right?
The anti-masker doesn’t care about facts. They only care about their own personal comfort. This kind of individual tends to mistakenly believe that the world revolves solely around them, and that society can’t tell them what to do. They will fight tooth-and-nail over their right to not wear a mask.
(Don’t believe us? Here’s a video of a 77-year-old woman literally throwing a tantrum in Costco for being told she needed to wear a mask.)
As a business owner and industry expert, it’s your job to ensure that you take certain measures to guarantee the health and safety of yourself, your staff, and your clients. Explain why you and all clients need to wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (in this case, a face mask) when conducting business together. Be gentle in your approach but make it clear that it’s not up for negotiation or debate.
If a client refuses to wear their mask? Guess they’re not getting your services then!
Trust us: it’s better to lose this one stubborn client, than to potentially contract something and pass it along to other, cooperating clients.
2. The Karen
“I want to speak to your manager!”
Ahh, the ‘Karen’. We all know one, or have at least seen one in the wild. As a client, they are, quite frankly, the absolute worst.
The classic ‘Karen’ believes that she’s above you in every way. She’s paying you, therefore you must now live to serve her. You must put her above every other client and be available to her 24/7. She will expect you to go above and beyond to please her, even if that means defying the laws of physics.
After all, the world revolves around her. “The customer is always right” is her mantra, and she’s not afraid to cause a scene in public if it’ll get her what she thinks she deserves. Oh, and she might be a closet racist. Which is always fun (we say, as our eyes roll back into our head so hard, we see our own brain).
The thing about Karens is that however horribly she treats you, she probably treats your staff and vendors even worse.
Now, the tricky thing about these types of clients is that they don’t always show their true colors right away. So long as you keep them happy, a Karen can initially seem like the sweetest person ever. It’s not until something doesn’t go their way that the beast within is finally unleashed.
So, what are you supposed to do if your client begins to mistreat you while in the midst of a project? The contract’s already been signed. Does that mean you’re stuck?
No! If you’re being abused by your client, you can stop working for them at ANY point. While it might seem a bit more intimidating to cease business and blacklist a client in the middle of a project, you’re 100% within your right to do so if they’re acting like a total monster.
Yes, your business is important. But your (and your staff’s!) overall well-being and mental health are more important. Besides, your reputation won’t be damaged just because of one crappy client. If anything, people are now wise to Karens. Even if she leaves you a horrible review, most reasonable people will be able to read between the lines.
Think our list ends here? Think again!
Stay tuned for Part 2 later this week, where we’ll reveal 3 MORE nightmare clients you should consider blacklisting from your wedding and event planning business!
