Recently, we had an enquiry for a wedding in Cambodia from an Australian-born Cambodian. She wishes to come home to her roots to tie the marital knot. After an exchange of about 5 - 6 emails, she finally came back saying that our fees were too expensive and that she will find a way to plan her own wedding (and as Leticia rightly put it - very ambitious).
Needless to say, I was a little cheesed-off. In this time and day, people are still not finding it in their mental abilities to respect and value the service industry. Admittedly, the local market in Indochina (TWP is only active in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos), particularly in Cambodia lacks the exposure and understanding of the value of service, I had assumed that someone who was born and bred in Australia would certainly appreciate paying a professional fee to a service provider.
I emailed back, trying to seek an understanding as to what she constituted as "cheap" and what were her expectations should it be "cheap" - and asked if she understood that our fees were paid for an entire team to handle her wedding and not as a person's starting salary per month. Today is four days later from the day I sent that email. I guess, she didn't take to my email very well.
I believe this issue doesn't just affect us here in Indochina (although, I would say, more so than elsewhere). Our businesses in Malaysia suffer the same problems - of clients who deem a particular service "too expensive". I do have some questions, and I hope some of the wise-ones out there could enlighten us.
1) What do clients expect when they pay for "cheap" services?
2) How much would one actually be willing to pay for the services of a professional? Whether it be wedding planner, photographer, designer, etc?
For some reason, particularly that of those providing intangible services - clients seem to put in a cheaper value - even though our workscope probably doubles most of the other service providers. No offence to photographers (and I do highly respect and appreciate your creativity and skills as I have no photography talent whatsoever!) - but do you really think your hired photographer would be helping you make sure your cake is arriving on time? Or do you think your gown designer would be helping you tie your chair sashes x 300 chairs? Or do you think your florist is going to ensure you are ordering the correct amount of wines for the occasion? Point made.
You know, I once went into a salon and saw that the price for the 'Creative Director' to cut my hair was "starting from RM155" so I decided to go for the mid-cheaper range - the Junior Stylist instead "starting from RM50". I hated my hair cut that day. Firstly, he talked more than he styled. And then, it was just soooo s-l-o-o-o-w.... I mean, granted, I didn't look like a cat out from the dryer, but all in all, it wasn't a very pleasant experience for me. But did I make a big hoo-ha about it? No, I didn't. Why? Because I understood fully - the risk I was taking - when I wanted to be a cheapskate and only paid for a Junior Stylist. (By the way, henceforth, it was always Senior Stylist and above for me!!).
I mean - would you actually go to a hair salon and demand the 'Creative Director' style your hair for the fee of a Junior Stylist? Or would you pay the Junior Stylist and demand he/she style your hair as a 'Creative Director' would?
Once again - Point Made.
** Photo of wedding by The Photoz
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