Detail oriented customer service

Detail oriented customer service especially when planning a wedding or large scale corporate event

All jobs are about customer service. It does not matter the job description. Your job is to be in service of the relationship between you and your client or you and the employees that you oversee or the employee(s) you assist – bottom line – simple right?

I’m an event planner, so obviously my job is to be detail oriented, whether it is with design or coordination. However weeks if not months if not more than a year pass before the big day, Wedding or not, and all that time you are in service of your client. A heck of a lot of relating happens before you are expected to have the perfect place card printed and placed out in a perfect line and the fireworks to begin at exactly the same moment the vocalist hits her high note.

I aim to be thorough in my meetings and dealings, yet sometimes I am long winded. I admit – what is my strong suit can at times be my weak suit. Yet I stand by the positive benefits – at your event you will continually think ‘oh there that is, and that, and..’ and all the details together will create a new world, adding up to more than you expected.

I aim to be thorough in my meetings and dealings, yet sometimes I am long winded. I admit – what is my strong suit can at times be my weak suit. Yet I stand by the positive benefits – at your event you will continually think ‘oh there that is, and that, and..’ and all the details together will create a new world, adding up to more than you expected.

In a perfect world, made by me, I would send a perspective client pages and pages of information and notes on event planning, particularly wedding planning, that they would read with total interest in petty to important things over their 8 hours cup of Joe on Sunday morning. In the real world, no one has time for this. It is my job to let my client lead, therefore at the start of the relationship, again especially when wedding planning, I like to ask a lot of questions! Then moving forward, I like to get to the point because I have yet to meet a Bride and Groom who are not simultaneously in or entering in to the prime of their careers. If we can sit for hours over coffee once a week, then great! You are a rarity.

I cannot stress enough that I really want all clients, BRIDES and whomever, to continually address their expectations as specifically as possible.

I CAN get a beautiful Elephant to walk you down the aisle but I doubt I will be able to get him to juggle nor wear body paint.

Some ideas and questions to ponder……..

-When I email your personal email box and you respond from your work email, would you rather I always email you back to your personal email box regardless of where the previous email comes from?

-Should I always CC both of your emails? Should I always CC your finance, your assistant, your mother?

-Do you prefer phone calls to an exorbitant amount of emails, then everything said in the phone call followed up in an email? What time of day do you prefer we call?

-I prefer to wait until I have a few items of business to email about, that way the email chain is a bit shorter. Then there are times I prefer to email important items of information in separate emails, with clear subject lines so that it is easier to refer to later on. What do you prefer? Some people would prefer a response asap in regards to anything under the sun, even if that means we have 20 emails back and forth this week instead of 2.

-Do you welcome phone calls on Saturdays or Sundays?

-In our world the lines between personal and professional are blurred. How personal do you imagine this relationship?

I come to this role super excited and passionate about the process and final result of your special day. No doubt we’ll become friends to varying degrees. I myself may not be married but I have witnessed many people get married between the ages of 24 and 45 for the first, second and third time. I have a lot of thoughts and helpful tidbits on the matter, especially when stress levels start to rocket the month or so before. Do you want me to close my trap or open it? Logically, as with any relationship, I do and say what feels right, however there are times when out of the blue a Bride who has been all business breaks down the walls right before the wedding day and vice versa. I’m a chameleon: I can be all business, I can be the captain of the award winning cheerleading team, and I can be a softie that needs tissues for cat food and diaper commercials. Again, relationships happen organically but if ever you have anyhthing however small to say in this regard, then by all means say it.

-What would you prefer for me to wear at your event or wedding? Do you imagine me wearing a suite or blending in with your guests?

-When you do not like a design idea I put out there, say so! Do not protect my feelings – you are paying me. If you do not like what I present, we will find many other choices. Coming up with ideas and throwing them away is all part of the process – normal.

Our instinct and job is to get in our driver’s seat and lead the way. You may think you do not have expectations, but you probably do and you won’t realize them until we do something unexpected and hopefully surpass them!

Thanks for reading my musings. We look forward to meeting you then surpassing your expectations.

ADD