As part of giving back to the community I often times will give away my services; to lucky brides at bridal shows, to non-profits for fund-raising, or to other organizations for various purposes. I feel very blessed with the knowledge and experiences that I have had and love to share that with others so giving back is a way of contribution for the many times a community has been so good to me.
It is to this end that I am often taken back slightly when many recipients of these services turn them down with nary a thought as to the whole package they have actually won.
Case in point; my services where won by a bride not long ago in a monthly give-away. I gave a fairly substantial gift of over $2500 worth of services, including unlimited phone and email help, personal consultations and day of service. Day of Service means that I will personally go the day of her wedding to make sure that everything runs smoothly, making sure that her friends and family can enjoy the day and not worry about lost or late vendors and dealing with any issues that arise throughout the day (and we all know that issues do arise with events).
All of the services that I mentioned are of no cost to her at all. I have even been known to bring many items with me to the wedding (at my expense)to help along the way---an emergency wedding day kit: candles, lighters, etc.; anything to help the day be as perfect as possible.What was her response to all of this? No thank you! She indicated to me that she had all of "this" done already. I didn't even get a chance to ask if she already had a person (I pray that it is not her mother) perfecting her Day Of, before she hung up the phone---just like that; no conversation, no word exchanges, just a click of the phone.
I should be offended and extreemely surprised, but unfortunately, I am not. This happens all the time. I give away at least 20 of these packages a year and I may only get 2 brides that take advantage of them. It is a shame, isn't it?
Are we as a society so immersed in ourselves that we can't appreciate outside help or expertise when offered? If I had the chance to have an expert help me for a while on fine-tuning one of my events or learning something new, I would jump on the opportunity! I am always so thrilled when one of my mentors---a very wise woman who runs a successful production company in the Midwest---offers her knowledge to me. You can be sure that I listen!
As I see it, brides, when confronted with these no-cost to them prize packages are offered, they have two choices: accept them with a graciousness and glean everything they can for their special day, or turn it down and take pot luck on your wedding day. My choice? Take the opportunity and run with it! I would not leave to chance one of the most important days of my life. Besides, am I going to want to get down from the altar while pronouncing my vows to make a phone call to find a late caterer?
1 comment:
The reason people decline these packages is because they think it's too good to be true. I would decline the package because I would be afraid that I would be charged an outrageous bill for something I didn't realize I would be charged for. I supposedly won a honeymoon package. My fiance and I can't afford one, and we'd desperately love to go on one, but my thinking is, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is". This is especially true when someone tells you you've won something over the phone or Internet. I know too many people who have been scammed after being told they've won something. There's almost always some strings attached.
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