When A Vendor Fails To Meet Expectations

You did your research. You compared pricing, services, packages and interviewed the vendor before making your decision. Never in a million years do you expect the vendor to fail to meet your expectations.

But it happens.

More often than not, weddings and events will go off without a noticeable hitch but there are times when a vendor fails to meet the contracted requirements.

It’s important to realize this possibility prior to the big day in order to be best prepared in the event that it happens to you and your wedding.

While we cannot always prevent mistakes from happening, there are some ways to handle the situation so that it doesn’t completely ruin your affair.

Review all details with your vendor contact in the days before your wedding.

Go over each service that will be provided in great detail with your vendor so that you are both up to date and aware of the services you are expecting to receive.

Make use of the Prismm timeline!

Prismm offers you the ability to create multiple timelines in your Prismm account. Invite all of your vendors into your account and point out to them that you have created a vendor timeline.

Enter all details into this vendor timeline regarding set up, vendor requirements and the schedule of events so that each vendor knows their role, when they are expected to arrive, what they need to do and when, as well as understand the roles of the other vendors at your wedding.

Of Possible Interest: Prismm Timeline FAQ

Know who your day-of contact is for each vendor.

Will your current vendor contact person be at your venue for set up?

If not, who will be on site? Can you speak to this person in advance to ensure they are up to date on the details of your event? Is there a phone number for you to use just in case there’s a problem the day of the event?

Appoint a close friend or family member to be in charge of contacting the vendor if something is wrong.

Just in case something is wrong or you have a question, have a friend or family member be in charge of contacting and speaking with your vendors. Perhaps the issue can be addressed and fixed quickly!

Dealing with the vendor after the event if something goes wrong:

We hope that these tips are preparing you to prevent an error from happening but it’s important to realize that things may in fact go wrong regardless of your precise preparation.

In the event that the vendor has not met your contracted expectations, you have some options!

Reach out to the vendor the day after the event politely. Send an email requesting a call back, Be sure to include in the email a detailed list of what went wrong according to what you were expecting based upon your contract.

While the vendor cannot go back and fix the party details for you, you may be able to reach some sort of agreement either with financial restitution or a credit towards another service.

When you spend your money expecting a certain level of service, it’s important to receive the accountability from the vendor so hopefully they can explain themselves and offer you something in return for their error.

Regardless of the due diligence, things happen. Vendors are human. Events are not perfect.

Most importantly, please remember that no one else at your wedding is as aware of all of the details you had planned so in the event that is not exactly as you expected, you are the only person who will truly notice!