I’ve been hearing horror stories recently about people’s terrible experiences with Mitzvah planners. It makes me crazy to hear about these event planners who are ruining it for those of us who work hard every day for our clients. How do you know if your Mitzvah planner is a good one or a bad one and how can you choose a good planner from the start? Read on!
A good planner will:
- Respond to your emails/calls in a timely fashion. 24 hours is good. 74 hours is not.
- Make you feel as though they have all of the time in the world to answer your questions. You’ll feel like their only client, even though you know they are working on many other events.
- Keep you posted on what they’re working on for you, so you feel confident that your party planning is progressing on schedule.
- Be very clear about expectations. They should explain the benefits and drawbacks of different options and help you understand why something may not work as you envision it.
A bad planner will:
- Disappear for days without responding.
- Not listen to what you want and try to fit you into a cookie-cutter mold. In the same vein, they’ll tell you that’s not how it’s done and dismiss your ideas.
- Have a reputation for coming through in the end, but not being there in the middle.
- Not collaborate with vendors and refuse to share information until the very last minute.
How to pick a good planner
- Trust your gut.
- Find someone you trust.
- Ask questions and gain a clear understanding of what they will and will not do for you.
- Ask for references from past clients or vendors they’ve worked with.
Basically, trust is the most important part of the event planner equation. You need to trust that your planner is going to do their job and do it well. You need to trust their judgement. If you don’t feel like you can trust them from the getgo, keep looking for someone different.