As a client, you should be entitled to expect the highest standard of service from any performers you engage. They should as an absolute minimum comply fully with all legislation and requirements on third party insurance and Health and Safety testing of equipment.
On top of that, it isn't unreasonable to expect them to deliver a performance you are happy with. Will they turn up on time, with the right equipment, clean, tidy and sober? Will they deliver on the night what you were promised in advance? Will you and your guests be treated courteously and professionally?
Anyone can promise to deliver on all of the above, but words are free, and obviously YOU are the only person who can really decide if you are happy or not. I can thing of only one gold plated, bullet-proof way to demonstrate our confidence. Since 2002, we have offered a full, no quibble money back guarantee - YOU decide if we have delivered as promised, not us.
Why should you, the client take the risk? An experienced performer will be able to spot many potential problems in advance and advise you accordingly. They will think about what gear they will need, how long the journey will take and know what questions to ask before the day.
As you can imagine, this guarantee has drawn a lot of 'flak' from other performers. I just ask why they feel unable to do the same - do they have so little confidence in their playing, or ability to turn up on time? Perhaps they won't trust any client, but I've only had a couple of bad experiences of this since we started, the vast majority of people are fair and honest.
Have we ever refunded any fees? In spite of best intentions, no-one is perfect! Yes, there have been occasions when things have not gone perfectly to plan over the years, especially considering the number of bookings we have. Once a musician was delayed due to excessively heavy traffic (six hours delay), another time a named performer was unavailable due to sudden illness in his family, but the client was unhappy that an equivalent substitute was arranged. On each occasion the client was paid out the refund they asked for, without quibble.
Our guarantee is simple – if you don't feel totally satisfied with our performance, you don't have to pay a penny. You decide if you are happy, not us.
Please, do contact other performers. If your choice will be based strictly on price, then you will probably find someone cheaper - we never set out to work down to a price, and have insurance, equipment, instrument and safety compliance costs the 'hobby' bands probably don't incur. But please ask what guarantees you will be offered. If you are told 'none', ask why. It will help provide a level playing field.
The guarantee demonstrates our total faith in ourselves, our performers and our equipment. It helps keep us focused on all the possible problems, and keeps us up to scratch, that's only human nature. And if things do go wrong, it does at least provide you with a safety net.
There is only one restriction...
We do aspire to be experts in our own chosen fields of entertainment, there have been a very few times when we have been unable to extend this offer – where what we were asked to do was pretty much doomed to failure – and we said so in advance. We won't forget that ‘He who pays the piper calls the tune', but have, between us, enough experience to know what will work, and what probably won't! Please, use this experience to plan your event – it's free!