There has been a number of times that working with a vendor has been challenging, when in the planning stages. Here are a couple true stories that I was thinking of when I created this project. 

 

1. One time, we had hired a Chef to design three small-plates for about 20 people based on artwork we had in one gallery. As it gets closer to the date and sending email after email. I cannot get a response from the chef. Finally, I called the guy and he gets angry that I have not sent him anything. It turns out that the email he gave me to use was not connecting to his gmail account. In the end, the event went great, but if we had been two or three months from the event, I probably would have started contacting other restaurants and chefs to fill his spot. I also had billing issues with this same chef and got a few nasty emails, so we did not use him again!

 

2. For a large daytime holiday party that was going to appeal to a multi-generational audience, I had a teeny tiny budget. We wanted to have a couple musical elements, so I reached out to a couple local high school honors music programs - one choir and one instrument group. Both say they would do it for our tiny offering. Two weeks before the event, the instrument group cannot find anyone to perform. I was polite, but super nervous I would be unable to find anyone else that would be within budget. I contacted some musicians and one actually laughed saying that was far below their pay. Luckily a different trio from the same honors group were able to perform! They were a little rough, but they were cute and young, and I was happy to have someone fill that time slot. 

 

3. At one organization, we had an auditorium with sound system. We usually hired a sound guy or his associate to handle the sound and lighting for any of our presentations. Of course, there came the day when he and his associate were unavailable for a presentation for a group of about 50 - 60 people. Instead of trying to find someone else, I had them teach me how to work the sound and lighting (I had seen them do it a dozen times) and told the group the situation. The group was on board to keep everything super simple. I don't think any of the audience members noticed a thing. 

 

During the planning process, things are bound to hit snags, but there are usually a number of solutions. Don't be shy, go ahead and share a story that happened to you or if you are going through something right now.