wedding client COMPLAINING about BS, what to do?

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Paunch

Well-known member
I did a wedding video for a couple for $1200, shot and edited, dvd designed and authored and the couple is unhappy with the video, mainly music decisions. In my contract i have a clause that says "creative aspects such as shooting and editing are at the discrection of my production company.

Should I : a) tell them if they want these changes that it will cost them $x/hour

b) make the changes for free and hopefully be done with it

or c) tell them that all desicions are final and refuse to change it.

here's the email I received from unhappy client #000012204:

Hi Paunch

We received the video today and just finished watching it. We really love the montage stuff you did and we think the video turned out really well. We were; however, wondering if there is any way you could make a couple of changes. First, on the dvd cover, we would prefer if it just said Dana & Graham Smith, not Dana Martinez.

Also, we were looking forward to more of our music selections being included in the video. We were thinking that the Sade song could be removed from the beginning and replaced with the John Forte-'How Could I' song, since the Sade song appears during our first dance later in the video anyway. Also, at the end during the highlight portion, there is a song which we are unfamiliar with and don't particularly like, that we would prefer to be replaced by Alicia Keys-'No One'.

I'm not really familiar with video editing software, but I don't imagine that these would be very hard changes to make. If you wanted to maybe add another montage somewhere in there with the pretenders songs, that would be appreciated but I think that would be much more difficult so no worries if you can't do that. Also, if you wanted to extend some of the other montages to play more of the songs, that would be awesome. I don't know how much usable footage you have, or how much additiional work that would be, so again - only if its not too much trouble. Sorry if we are being a little demanding, but we spent alot of time coming up with 8 songs that we both love and were a little disappointed when they weren't used. I hope our requests are possible.
 
sorry Paunch, i think their requests are within reason, regardless of your disclaimer. HOWEVER, $1200?....i see your frustration. I say, make th changes, as they won't be too time consuming, THEN you'll be done with them. after all, you seem to have used a song they've never heard of...
 
change the music and the cover art - make them happy. it's not that much work. tell them that they are right and it would be a lot of extra work to create new montages so it's not possible unless they're willing to pay extra. don't bring up the stuff about the clause in the contract unless they become really insistent - use it as a sort of last resort thing.

if they end up happy with their video it will be good for business and they may even refer their friends to you.
 
it wouldn't be so bad, its the dvd authoring which is going to be the big problem, i used a pro motion menu kit and it is a ***** to render....plus i just swithced over to windows 7 and might have lost some important files from the dvd in the process....a 2 minute change becomes 20 hours worth of headaches. ahhhh man~!

but thanks for the insight, hopefully they don't continue on there path of recreating the wedding video.
 
Well the request of "Dana & Graham Smith, not Dana Martinez" is a very standard thing. All wedding invitations have that on it and all wedding DVDs Iv seen or made have it. Do the changes for free and mention somewhere how all decisions are final and you really don't do this often.
 
Sounds all reasonable expect for the changing music, if you then have to redit some of the stuff, then I see it reasonable to charge for that
 
Contact Sade's lable and then quote a price the B&G for the legal use of the protected song.
Change the cover to the appropriate name and call it done.
 
I think my main advice would be for you to consider whether weddings is really what you want to do. I'm being serious here, not depracating. Your temperament towards the customer's requests for changes doesn't seem to bode well, especially when (as wedding clients go) this client is probably a dream compared to what you'll run into out there.
 
Barry_Green said:
I think my main advice would be for you to consider whether weddings is really what you want to do. I'm being serious here, not depracating. Your temperament towards the customer's requests for changes doesn't seem to bode well, especially when (as wedding clients go) this client is probably a dream compared to what you'll run into out there.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I do a LOT of weddings, and most of this is reasonable. Actually, in my opinion, this stuff should have been discussed with the couple before the editing process started. I always either email or call the bride/groom a few days before I start editing to get song requests if they have them (a lot of time they trust my judgement), and anything else.

The additional montage they speak of doesn't sound reasonable, and it sounds like she totally understands that. This probably also should have been taken care of before even shooting the wedding. You should have told them what your offer consists of, and what they should expect in the final DVD. Additional musical montage's are an extra that can be added on for XX amount of money.

Sucks about the rendering time and everything, but these sorts of things need to be talked about before all the work goes in so you don't run into these problems.

-brown
 
Nothing is more valuable to your financial future than happy clients.

Clear communication and expectations help with that. Remember, this isn't your project, it's their wedding. I get why you don't want to do anything else when you only charged 1200 beans, but this will happen with nearly every client (not just weddings), so build that into your rate. I give my clients up to 3 passes for minor changes in my contract.
 
*seems* like this initial request is reasonable and polite.

I would imagine that song choice is something that is pretty important to couple's on their wedding day. they are always pretty particular about choosing what songs play at the reception, etc, etc.

I would take some of the advice above. Seems like they are polite, appreciative, and reasonable in their requests.

Maybe just agree to try to work in some of those song changes, but inform them that it's not necessarily a simple matter of "changing the audio" as it will likely require you to re-time some of the edit and such to match the music, etc.;, so they understand that you are indeed putting in a fair amount of additional work. But, you would be willing to do that for them as you recognize it's an important set of memories for them.

Seems like they are pretty reasonable, so if you please them, hopefully you can get some good referrals out of it and get on with charging more than 1200 :) if you decide you want to do wedding videos. they can be *good* money, but they also are a lot of work, and (like Barry said) will often end up being some of your most demanding clients as their emotions are so closely tied to it all. Which can make the money not seem so *good* after all.

In this case, my own personal advice is make these seemingly reasonable clients happy. put in a little extra time and give them just what they want. then, they get the lump in their throat when they watch it. You get a real happy client, which can be far more beneficial to your businesses long term success than saving a few hours now will be.

And, I'd also recommend in the future, definitely finding out what songs you clients would definitely want included (not sure what kind of communication you had about htat with these clients, but jsut saying) as that is probably one of the main things they will notice and that will tie to their emotional response to the video when they watch it for the first time.

Later,
jason
 
Barry_Green said:
Your temperament towards the customer's requests for changes doesn't seem to bode well
Click to expand...

Bode well! That's brilliant!


Paunch, I'll kick in and agree about the temperament, and that you should make the changes, and add that you should be happy, because these clients have taught you some important lessons. They've pretty gently and kindly pointed out some things a professional wedding shooter should already know and plan/discuss before the event and/or before the editing process. That's actually very valuable. Now return the favor and make them happy... and it will wor in your favor, as well.

P.S. - It's pretty common that wedding clients will want a video re-edited... in fact, that ANY project will have to be re-edited. It's a very bad idea to make software changes in such a way that this becomes difficult or problematic. There are ways to archive things (projects and system-states) that will facilitate this. I'd suggest you add to your contract and practices a window (six months?) in which you keep the project "live" and easily editable...
 
I'm betting this is your first wedding shoot. Unfortunately, you can't shoot weddings with your expectations.

Charging extra for the changes... you'll be running from the bride (and her mother).
 
It takes a very special videographer to deal with brides and their mothers. I'm one of the most laid back types you will find, and I'm not one of them. If you want to go into this line of work, be prepared to deal with a LOT worse than this.
 
I really don't have a lot to add, but this... remember, this is the biggest day of their lives, and to paraphrase what I heard another wedding videographer once say, the only time everyone that's important in their lives will be in the same place at the same time AND be happy for them. Weddings are always a whirlwind blur to the bride and groom, so this may be the first time they are really seeing their day with fresh eyes. Their memories of the day will be based in part on this video. This is also something they'll be handing of to their children 20 years down the road.

This is kind of a big deal to them. Appreciate that fact when dealing with them.

I personally always hand off a rough draft on the few weddings I've done for the sole purpose of getting feedback and change requests. Most of their requests seem more than reasonable. Yes, it's more work... but you should figure that into what you're charging. Unless this is one of your first weddings and your more concerned about the learning experience (in which case you got one :) ), you really should charge more... especially if this was a multi-cam shoot (your post didn't say if it was or not).
 
Im going to have to agree with others. Youre post says "complaining", when all theyre after is a few small changes - in fact I dont see any complaints.

Also, you should factor in one round of changes included in your prices.

I dont shoot weddings but really this request seems mild and polite in comparison to what I see.
 
Number one rule of running a business:

You are in the customer service business. Find any way you can not only to meet, but to exceed, their expectations.
 
Shooting and editing isn't my bailiwick, but I've done LOTS of customer service jobs over the years, and I currently own and operate an audio post facility. In my business it's not my project; it's the directors baby and I have to bow to the directors wishes - whether I agree with them or not. I will calmly and reasonably explain why I disagree and I present all of my reasons backed up by my experience, but the directors word is final. I have been very fortunate, I've had few clueless Neanderthals who would not listen to reason, quite a few who said "I would never have believed it could sound this good", and even a number of clients who taught me some things.

As others have mentioned, your job is to satisfy the client. Happy customers give positive referrals. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get - and it's FREE!!! Positive referrals mean more gigs and more money.

Make these clients happy. This is good business and also a learning experience. Go back and look at YOUR complaints and figure out how to eliminate them. They want you to change some songs; did you ask them what music they wanted before you began editing? The fact that you changed platforms isn't their problem, it's yours; would it have been such a major problem to make the requested changes if you were using the system you edited & rendered with originally? Just think about how many future brides - sisters, cousins and friends of the bride - will see the revised version and see the happy, satisfied expression on the newlyweds face; isn't that worth a few more hours of work?

After some growing pains the biggest lessons I have learned are:

A) Make the client happy within their budget.

B) Clear and concise communication with every foreseeable detail written down and approved by the client.

C) As long as the schedule and profits don't suffer, give them a "little extra" for nothing.

I present a schedule of pricing options that range from "The Basics" at $XX per linear minute with a total work time limitation (nothing is ever open-ended) to the "Hollywood Package" which is a complete contract proposal with a delineated projected cost schedule.

There is always a walk-through/talk-through to make sure that we are on the same page.


The customer is always right; that's not necessarily true, but it is always their money. Make them happy that they spent it with you.
 
The bride sounds polite and reasonable. I would just make the change to make your customer happy. You never know they might bring you new business in the future. Don't be short sighted.
 
I agree with all, but would add... make it known to the newlyweds that it's going to take extra time (without going into too much detail) with the rendering. That way you don't feel rushed and can get your heart back in the project.
It sucks to have to change something you work so hard on but you will be so proud of yourself once it's completed.
 
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