Dear Readers:
Many of you might have heard that those of us living in the East Coast of the United States are preparing for a visit from “Sandy”, a hurricane forecasters are calling “historic” for various reasons. Though we have not yet seen a drop of rain, winds have picked up, and we have seen the most telling sign of severity: silence. The streets of this always-bustling city are still and empty. If you have ever been to New York, you know that this virtually never happens, and when it does, we know a storm is coming.
Though I have always made provisions for rain, I have never planned for a hurricane. I believe that when Mother Nature decides to crash an event in this way, we must not try and compromise with her, but yield to her demands and keep ourselves and our clients and guests safe. It so happens that Sandy has forced us to cancel an event I had planned for tomorrow. Even if I were to press on (which I would not) executing the event would prove challenging, if not impossible. Last night, officials shut down all public transportation –an effective way of locking down the city as over 8 million tri-state residents use the system on a weekly basis–and the elevator in the building that houses the three floors of my company have been shut off.
As a designer, working around Mother Nature is often challenging. I would like to ask you all how you deal with situations like this one. With food and flowers all ready to go, do you think it is right to charge a client in full for a last-minite cancellation caused by “an act of God”? Have you ever had to cancel an event last-minute because of weather?
Please share with all of us.
Blessings,
Preston
(Photo courtesy of Flickr)
PREVIOUS
George Bernard Shaw once said: “You see things and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” That quote embodies how Preston Bailey approaches every event.
Jeanne
October 29, 2012
A caterer I work with has a clause in their contract that says they are not liable for “Acts of God” (or war, for that matter, but that’s the legalese requirement!) if they cannot perform their service (so the client cannot sue them); and the client is allowed to use payments already received toward the rescheduled date. From a food service perspective, most insurance policies will cover loss due to power failures so if you lose power and therefore, your perishable goods actually perish, you can recoup some of that cost if you file an insurance claim.
Nothing is as important as safety; although some people will wonder what the fuss was about if the storm doesn’t reach the media hype and think we’re all a bunch of sissies (!) but if there was an injury or tragedy because the event went forward, there’d be an outcry of how stupid to hold the event. I’d rather be safe than sorry.
YOUR NAME
October 29, 2012
Certainly not charge them. Event can always be rescheduled. Just a big question mark on how you deal with perishable items such as flowers, food etc
Sharon
October 29, 2012
Do not charge them, you can write it off as a business expense. A happy client is paramount for successful a business; whereas the wrath of an angry client can linger on and supersede the cost initially associated the “act of God.”
Taylor Sturges
October 29, 2012
Five years ago our town was under evacuation from a huge forest fire. It was of course the weekend I had a wedding for 500 people. We had to cancel the Thursday before the Saturday wedding. All of the flowers and food had already arrived. The father of the bride made the most generous decision to feed the firemen with all of the food, and the caterer and her staff cooked and served them. And all of the flowers went to the local retirement home and the hospital. We were so fortunate, the father of the bride still paid for everything!!