Vent

Well this post doesn't have anything to do with law school except that I need to get these thoughts colliding inside my head out of there so I can concentrate on the hours & hours of homework I have left to do.

Last night we DJ'd a wedding reception at the Gazebo in Warren, MI. We love the people there and the food is OUTSTANDING!!!  Anway....

We had recommended to the couple a person that we knew could provide them with uplighting for their reception.  By way of explanation, uplighting is colored lights placed on the floor around a large room, pointing up toward the ceiling creating a very classy, jazzy atmosphere.  The hall wouldn't let any of us vendors in to set up until an hour before the reception was supposed to start.

The couple was very nice and we really enjoyed our meetings with them.  The groom is head chef for a large, upscale series of restaurants in metro-Detroit and was understandably particular about the details for the reception.  The lighting provider is a young man who also DJ's in the area.  We had met him before at bridal shows and he has a very, let's see, self-promoting persona.  [read: arrogant]

Mario & he have gotten along (who doesn't get along with Mario?) but he is part of a "clique" of DJs that I have never trusted nor respected.  Still, Mario's always much better as "schmoozing" people and so I've just stayed out of any communications with these people.

While we were setting up, the lighting guy asked us if we would do him a favor & set the lights to "sound pulse" when we started the dancing and if we would pack them up for him at the end of the night so he didn't have to come pick it up after his DJ gig somewhere else.  Mario said "no" but then asked me what I thought.  Not having heard Mario say "no", I said "I guess so".  I was busy setting up at the time and was already feeling irritated toward the light guy for being in the way.

The night progressed and eventually the groom approached me to ask where the light guy was, indicating their contract said he would have a rep at the reception to run the lights.  Since I wasn't involved in their negotiations, I told him simply that I had said I would run them for the him.  Groom didn't seem happy about it. 

The night continued to progress and everyone, including groom, was having a blast.  But the groom became more agitated about the lights throughout, repeatedly stating that he wanted them to be pulsing to the music and they weren't doing that.  I didn't know how to make them pulse & my texts to lighting-man were either rudely answered or answered not at all.  Groom became quite upset (thankfully not at me, he loved us) and was beginning to show quite a lot of bravado about what he was going to do, mentioning his lawyer and all that.

We have a new assistant with us, by the way, he's very energetic & very artsy.  He & Mario make a fantastic team.  He is also very protective of and loyal to his friends.  He informed me that he heard lighting-man make some demeaning statements to my husband earlier during set up and that he was really quite upset about it.  Between him & the groom, emotions were escalating a little more than I liked.  But what could I do?

I remained calm, I "talked" both men "down" for the duration of the evening.  I sent a facebook inbox to the lighting-man to indicate that I had done all I could to salvage the situation for him but the groom wasn't having it and was going to confront him soon about his disappointment.  I knew the groom was sending rude texts to lighting-man, I knew lighting-man was trying to put the blame on us.  I addressed that directly in my email, stating "it seemed that your messages to me were attempting to blame us for this but I'm sure that can't be what you meant since your phone was dying and you had to brief.  This is between you and the groom and I am giving you a heads-up that he's not happy."

The night closed and we began to tear our equipment down.  Groom was "hot" on this topic by now and was riling up our assistant pretty well too.  I had already determined that I would never allow business to be done with lighting-man again but was still trying to calm everyone, stating that "I would handle it".  It irked me that the gentlemen were not listening to me and trusting that I, as a woman and a business owner, could and would handle things.  Mario was completely silent about it at this point.

We packed everything up & the groom came to us saying, "don't take those lights with you.  I'm taking them until he talks to me about this situation."  Well, that put us in a bit of a pickle for sure.  Mario tried to convince him that we should take the lights with us but then groom wanted us to lie & tell lighting-man that we didn't have them.  Well, that would make things a mess for sure.  Our assistant ended up taking the lights after we had already gotten in the truck but the whole situation was a confused, dramatic mess.  Thankfully, Mario & I maintained our cool & I hope were an example to those watching.

At 1:30am after we got home, lighting-man called Mario reeming him out about the lights saying he was going to report them stolen if he didn't get them back in the next 20 minutes.  He also told Mario that he "lost the gig I was giving you for October 1st because of this."  He hung up on Mario as he tried to speak with him.  10 minutes later he called back and I answered the phone.  *Cue the scary music*

I wish you could have heard me.  Lawyer training kicking in and I'm only in the 3rd week.  He started the conversation by saying, "Angel.  What the hell is going on?"  To which I replied, "[name], please don't swear at me.  We are going to act like adults and professionals and discuss things calmly or not at all."  He paused and slightly switched gears.

Looooooooonnnnngggg story shortened, the conversation consisted of me refusing to back down or allow him to place any blame on us.  He repeated that we wouldn't be getting the October 1st wedding from him now & I said, "[name], we never had a wedding from you.  You never gave us a contract or a deposit.  No contract, no money, no wedding.  That's how I work, I don't do verbal agreements.  That's not how our business is run.  I am under no obligation to you for anything that occured tonight, we were doing you a favor and whatever you didn't fulfill in your contract with the groom is between you and him.  Don't place blame on us, I did the best I could to save your butt."  He told me he understood and that the call was being recorded.  I asked him why and he said because he was going to file a stolen items report...I responded, "since this is being recorded, who are you filing the report against?"  He said, "the groom [name]". 

I said, well I think that's completely unnecessary and I then told him I would find his lights and would return them the next day.  He said, "no I want them now".  I said, "well I'm tired and I've already spent enough time on a problem that isn't mine. You will get them tomorrow."  He acquiesed slightly and asked me to let him know when & where I found the lights.  I agreed.

Thirty minutes later I texted him and let him know that we had found his lights and they were then in our possession (yes, this is at 2am).  He texted back and said, "where are they angel".  So I called, whilst rolling my eyes and muttering "hello, can't you read?!"  When he answered, I informed him that our assistant had obtained the lights and they were now at our house.  Mario would meet him in a Walmart parking lot at 1:30pm that day to give them to him.  I apologized for the confusion and demanded an apology from him.  I got it without hesitation on his part.

I also indicated we wouldn't be doing business with him in the future, it wasn't worth the confusion and drama.  He understood.  This morning I woke up to a return facebook inbox message apologizing profusely for his behavior but indicating that he understood that I didn't want to do business with him in the future.

I stayed up until 3:30am coming down from the "high" of being so firm and from scrambling to find a resolution.  Grrrrrr....  Drama, drama, drama.

Ahhhh, thank you all for reading.  I feel much better and can now do my homework.

Many blessings to you!!  Oh, and moral of the story:  don't mess with me or insult my husband.  LOL