Be nice to your vendors.

Here we are, April 1. It seems that all of a sudden the whole world has woken up and everyone is anxious to host events. This is fantastic news! Who doesn’t like a reason to get out of the house? With all of the events happening now and people getting together, there is a larger need for vendors of all sorts. Alterations, catering, photography, transportation, etc. Everyone is getting slammed and this is a good thing, however, I’ve been talking to a lot of vendors lately, and it seems during Covid, people have forgotten their manors. I’ve been hearing story after story from vendors about rude clients and I am here to tell you, it does not pay off for you to be rude to the people who are helping you. I know we have all spent the last two years behind computer screens and not spending as much time in public, around 3D people and some of us are rusty in our social etiquette. I completely understand that we all lose our cool in stressful situations, say your dress alterations didn’t turn out exactly as you had planned or the catering team was short staffed and the food took just a little longer than you’d have liked, but these situations don’t mean you need to be rude and mean. Staffing for areas like catering and bartending is still low. Many small businesses like specialty shops (think alterations and services) went out of business causing those who were fortunate enough to stay in business to take on more and more projects, with limited staff. Everyone is out there doing their best and everyone wants their clients to be happy and satisfied. It hurts our hearts when our people are not happy, trust me.

All of this is to say, it’s important to remember that we are all humans and we are all doing our best in the circumstances. It’s completely fine to ask questions and state your dissatisfaction, just try to do so in a respectful manor. Really, we want to know when you’re not satisfied, and we want to fix it. We just don’t want to be yelled at because we were expected to read your mind and/or circumstances were out of our control. Remember that your vendors are professionals and know what they are doing, but we also rely on you to communicate clearly and help us help you. Be nice to the people who are helping you, show some compassion, be thorough and direct with your expectations and I guarantee you will see positive results. And if your expectations are not met, and you’ve been nice and respectful, your vendor will likely work twice as hard to make sure your expectations are met and make you happy.