TRANSLATIONS

"You can trust me on this!"

We all hear them. Add slogans that make us cringe.


“Hurry. Offer ends soon!”

“Our lowest prices of the season.”

“At these prices, they won’t last long!”

I wonder if the advertisers using these lines realize how numb we all are to these cheesy, cliché, used car salesmen come ons. That is why I have always resisted using the term “Full time DJ with over 20 years’ experience” in any of our marketing materials, because if I did, what would be heard?

Full Time=This is going to cost us more money

20 Years’ Experience =This is going to cost us more money

So let me translate what it should really mean to you:

FULL TIME: I can take all the time I need to make your event right because this is the only job I have. I tried to do this as a part time job for years, but found I couldn’t and expect to do it correctly. If I was just doing school dances and bar gigs, well then maybe I could pull it off, but since we concentrate primarily on weddings I need to get it right because we’re not going to get a second chance. Being a full time entertainer allows me to take the time to plan the itinerary, check that I have all of the correct music and that I have a back-up plan in place. it also allows me to meet with you when your schedule allows, whether that be 10am on a Tuesday morning, 1pm on a Thursday afternoon or even some time after the dinner hour. Plus it gives me all the time in the world to set up for events. For instance if you’re planning a Friday evening wedding I will be there hours earlier, getting the equipment set up and making sure everything is in place and working properly, rather than trying to rush to the venue after my “real job” is done and hope I’m set up on time, everything works and I haven’t forgotten anything before the event begins.

20 YEARS' EXPERIENCE: In 20 years we have seen nearly every scenario imaginable, some bad, some good. But because of this we can play off nearly any situation given to us. A few years ago we had a wedding where the groom, upon arrival to the reception, made his way directly to the rest room and got sick. He got so sick in fact that paramedics were called and he was taken to the hospital. He never did make it to his reception. Funny thing was, it was a great party! I played oblivious to the situation, except for a couple of light hearted comments. When the bride returned I gave her a thunderous introduction and all of her guests gave her a standing ovation. I found a couple of energetic girls to help me out and they led the charge to the dance floor. Later on all of the bridesmaids drug the bride onto the dance floor, forced her into a chair, ripped off her garter and tossed it. We did the dollar dance. It certainly was a complete 180 degrees from what we could have expected.

Would a less experienced entertainer known how to have handled the situation?

Unti next time - Mike