By Harry Liebman from CandyTorahs.com
When you’re planning a celebration like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, you need a lot of products and services and you deal with a lot of different people. You also control a substantial budget and you deserve to get good value for your money. Here are five things you deserve and should expect from a vendor:
Prompt service – Nothing’s worse than waiting and waiting for someone to get back to you. It shows a lack of interest and a lack of respect. Don’t tolerate it. Protest, if you must. Remember, they should be waiting on you, not vice versa.
Organization – Your vendors should have facts about you and your event (the date, your child’s name, other key vendors) at the ready. They should capture information as you give it to them and organize it for future use. Not only does this save you from wasting time repeating yourself, it also avoids errors which can be costly and critical.
Clear Communication – When you ask direct questions, you should get direct answers. When you ask for explanations, you should be able to understand them. Your suppliers should be patient, and they should check that they’re being understood. If they rush you through decisions based on incomplete information, it’s a prescription for disaster.
Quality – You’re paying for a certain level of quality—high for some items and lower for others. Make sure you get what you expect. For products, get samples. Check them out for yourself, hold them in your hand, taste them, sit in them, play with them. For services, get at least three recent references. Make a list of questions and write down the answers. This avoids a lot of confusion at decision time.
Something Extra – The market is very competitive. Many, many vendors can meet your minimum expectations. And some can surpass them. Only a few can blow them away. Ask your vendors how they got started in the Bar/Bat Mitzvah business, or why you should use them instead of someone else. Listen for their reasons and see if you like what you hear.
Thank you for your insight, Harry! If you want to learn more about Harry’s line of Candy Torahs, visit CandyTorahs.com.
