How far do you go......

Jarckivy

Hello to all,

I would like to know just how far you would travel to meet with a bride????

I seem to always go way to far and I'm really starting to get tired of always being the one that has to drive the far distance.

I have a bride that wants to meet this weekend, so I gave her a location that is half way for both of us. Well, she just feels that the location is still to far for her to go and wants to pick an area around where she is (1hr 20min.) Do I stand my ground or do I give in? Sorry, just a little frustrated!

Thanks

Qarik

Jarckivy wrote:

Hello to all,

I would like to know just how far you would travel to meet with a bride????

I seem to always go way to far and I'm really starting to get tired of always being the one that has to drive the far distance.

I have a bride that wants to meet this weekend, so I gave her a location that is half way for both of us. Well, she just feels that the location is still to far for her to go and wants to pick an area around where she is (1hr 20min.) Do I stand my ground or do I give in? Sorry, just a little frustrated!

Thanks

I would gladly drive the over an hour if the bride had pretty much settled on my services and just wanted to meet personally and sign contracts, etc. But not as an exploratory thing. 30 min tops.

Jarckivy

Qarik wrote:

I would gladly drive the over an hour if the bride had pretty much settled on my services and just wanted to meet personally and sign contracts, etc. But not as an exploratory thing. 30 min tops.

No contract, just wants to meet to look over albums and get talk.

Yes, I would drive an hour to contract the wedding, but just to say hello and I like your style...No

She has already said that she likes my style and is very excited about working with me but has not mentioned anything about signing a contract.

tenoverthenose

The proper answer to your question has a lot more to do with how much money you are making/charging than anything else. If you a super high end, hop on a plane if necessary to book the job. If you are meeting the needs of lower cost clients, explain that you will be willing to meet the client if they come to you (if meeting at all).

How much customer service are you getting paid for?

pwp

Take a contract with you. I drive 2-3 hours occasionally. Always with contract in hand. I have yet to leave without a contract and deposit. And I am NOT a pushy salesperson. I think that is what helps. I make them feel comfortable, and usually we've already talked about style/needs/taste via email and phone, so they're ready to be serious.

zoomer

I do not travel to meet with potential clients. If they are really serious they will come to my office.

Agnieszka

zoomer wrote:

I do not travel to meet with potential clients. If they are really serious they will come to my office.

SO true! I gave up traveling after 1 year in the business. It's not worth my time (even though I booked quite a few weddings). If they are interested, they will come to you.

My unwritten deal is, that they will come to see me for the interview > and I travel to their wedding location for free (well, unless it's 2.5h+ away)

tenoverthenose

zoomer wrote:

I do not travel to meet with potential clients. If they are really serious they will come to my office.

AKA why I am about to open up an office

Moogle Pepper

tenoverthenose wrote:

AKA why I am about to open up an office

I will too... eventually. I usually ask them to go to the Starbucks near my day job.

Jarckivy

Moogle Pepper wrote:

I will too... eventually. I usually ask them to go to the Starbucks near my day job.

Thanks guys, very helpful. I would go with a contract in hand, I just didn't want to seem pushy.

I wanted to get an idea of how other photographers handle meeting up with clients. Like I said I don't mind driving at all. I gave her two Starbuck locations that are in the area of the shoot that I am doing that morning and both of them were still not good enough.

I have never had this problem with a bride not wanting to travel to meet with me. Oh well I guess you can't please them all, I am learning this......

Moogle Pepper

Jarckivy wrote:

Thanks guys, very helpful. I would go with a contract in hand, I just didn't want to seem pushy.

I wanted to get an idea of how other photographers handle meeting up with clients. Like I said I don't mind driving at all. I gave her two Starbuck locations that are in the area of the shoot that I am doing that morning and both of them were still not good enough.

I have never had this problem with a bride not wanting to travel to meet with me. Oh well I guess you can't please them all, I am learning this......

I don't mind going out of my way that is within an hour to meet them and then explore the area.

But if the bride is like 2 hours away, that might be a different story and if she and the groom don't want to meet at least half way than that is gonna be an issue.

The way I see it is that, it being a relationship, it takes two to tango. Try scheduling again and somewhere in the middle of you.

Matthew Saville

*hands out cheese to go with the whine*

Suck it up! When I worked in construction, a 3+ hour total commute was normal. Five days a week, sometimes six. And we're complaining about having to drive an hour or two, once or twice a month? I dunno about you, but I'm living the GOOD LIFE. I sleep in till 10-11 every day. I sit around with my wife. I do 75% of my work at home, a whole 20 ft from my cozy bed. I believe in serving my clients, and if I can do that while still paying my bills and having time to sleep in, I'm more than happy to drive around town.

I live in Southern California, by the way. Home to the worst traffic in the nation / world probably. Just today I just took 100+ minutes to drive to a rehearsal dinner, a drive that should have taken 30 minutes without rain and rush hour. I just listened to the radio, answered calls, and relaxed. :-)

Okay, enough tough love for now. I do agree that it's best if the clients play by your rules, all that home-court advantage stuff, etc. I'd LOVE to have a studio gallery where 90% of my clients come to meet me. And if I had to meet clients elsewhere, I'd be picking the location, and OF COURSE I'd be consulting with them over the phone first just to test the water.

Good luck! Sorry about the sour humor at the beginning...
=Matt=

Moogle Pepper

Matthew Saville wrote:

*hands out cheese to go with the whine*

Suck it up! When I worked in construction, a 3+ hour total commute was normal. Five days a week, sometimes six. And we're complaining about having to drive an hour or two, once or twice a month? I dunno about you, but I'm living the GOOD LIFE. I sleep in till 10-11 every day. I sit around with my wife. I do 75% of my work at home, a whole 20 ft from my cozy bed. I believe in serving my clients, and if I can do that while still paying my bills and having time to sleep in, I'm more than happy to drive around town.

I live in Southern California, by the way. Home to the worst traffic in the nation / world probably. Just today I just took 100+ minutes to drive to a rehearsal dinner, a drive that should have taken 30 minutes without rain and rush hour. I just listened to the radio, answered calls, and relaxed. :-)

Okay, enough tough love for now. I do agree that it's best if the clients play by your rules, all that home-court advantage stuff, etc. I'd LOVE to have a studio gallery where 90% of my clients come to meet me. And if I had to meet clients elsewhere, I'd be picking the location, and OF COURSE I'd be consulting with them over the phone first just to test the water.

Good luck! Sorry about the sour humor at the beginning...
=Matt=

+1

Ed911

Matthew Saville wrote:

*hands out cheese to go with the whine*

Suck it up! When I worked in construction, a 3+ hour total commute was normal. Five days a week, sometimes six. And we're complaining about having to drive an hour or two, once or twice a month? I dunno about you, but I'm living the GOOD LIFE. I sleep in till 10-11 every day. I sit around with my wife. I do 75% of my work at home, a whole 20 ft from my cozy bed. I believe in serving my clients, and if I can do that while still paying my bills and having time to sleep in, I'm more than happy to drive around town.

I live in Southern California, by the way. Home to the worst traffic in the nation / world probably. Just today I just took 100+ minutes to drive to a rehearsal dinner, a drive that should have taken 30 minutes without rain and rush hour. I just listened to the radio, answered calls, and relaxed. :-)

Okay, enough tough love for now. I do agree that it's best if the clients play by your rules, all that home-court advantage stuff, etc. I'd LOVE to have a studio gallery where 90% of my clients come to meet me. And if I had to meet clients elsewhere, I'd be picking the location, and OF COURSE I'd be consulting with them over the phone first just to test the water.

Good luck! Sorry about the sour humor at the beginning...
=Matt=

I tend to think like Matt...I don't mind driving, if the price is right. If you have reservations about the drive, then I suspect you aren't being sufficiently rewarded for your work...fund your projects properly... and suddenly, you'll find the drive is worth it.

The number one rule in a professional project of any type is, "it has to make money...and be worth your time." If not, forget it and move on to another project. You should already have this ironed out. Find your break even numbers, including travel, then add the desired profit. If the job doesn't fit the numbers, don't take it. Don't be afraid to say no. Don't work for free, you'll burn out like a paper match in a rain storm.

Matthew Saville

Ed911 wrote:

...If you have reservations about the drive, then I suspect you aren't being sufficiently rewarded for your work...fund your projects properly... and suddenly, you'll find the drive is worth it.

That, and also the whole pre-consultation thing. If the bride and groom are more than an hour away, I'll definitely put a little effort into making sure they're good-to-book before I sit in the car for 90 mins. But that just takes a 20 minute phone call. Customer service is KEY in this business! Quite simply and honestly, probably 10,000 new "professionals" have attempted to join the wedding photography scene within just a few mile's radius of where I live. It's just NOT the same as it was in 2005, let alone 2000. If you try and let just your images sell you, or just your prices, packages, or whatever, well, it will eventually fail. It's gotta be about customer service, and the client's experience. They gotta remember your name, they gotta remember how you went the extra mile for them. And any time I can go an "extra mile" for a client without it costing me $1000 worth of package discounts or something, I'll JUMP on the opportunity.

This is just a bit of experiential advice to ALL, I'm not still piling on the original complaint. That is understandable; if you strongly dislike driving, then you have a right to whine about it. I whine if I have to get up earlier than 10 AM! Speaking of which, I'm off to shoot a wedding... And next weekend is going to be CRAZY, with the wedding +60 mins away and the bride getting ready at 6 AM. (With things THAT crazy, I *did* indeed request that they put me up for the night. No way I'm hitting the road at 4:30 AM. Like I did every single day, in construction.)

=Matt=

Jarckivy

Matthew Saville wrote:

That, and also the whole pre-consultation thing. If the bride and groom are more than an hour away, I'll definitely put a little effort into making sure they're good-to-book before I sit in the car for 90 mins. But that just takes a 20 minute phone call. Customer service is KEY in this business! Quite simply and honestly, probably 10,000 new "professionals" have attempted to join the wedding photography scene within just a few mile's radius of where I live. It's just NOT the same as it was in 2005, let alone 2000. If you try and let just your images sell you, or just your prices, packages, or whatever, well, it will eventually fail. It's gotta be about customer service, and the client's experience. They gotta remember your name, they gotta remember how you went the extra mile for them. And any time I can go an "extra mile" for a client without it costing me $1000 worth of package discounts or something, I'll JUMP on the opportunity.

This is just a bit of experiential advice to ALL, I'm not still piling on the original complaint. That is understandable; if you strongly dislike driving, then you have a right to whine about it. I whine if I have to get up earlier than 10 AM! Speaking of which, I'm off to shoot a wedding... And next weekend is going to be CRAZY, with the wedding +60 mins away and the bride getting ready at 6 AM. (With things THAT crazy, I *did* indeed request that they put me up for the night. No way I'm hitting the road at 4:30 AM. Like I did every single day, in construction.)

=Matt=

I want to thank everyone that shared your thoughts on my matter.
The bride ended up picking our original location to begin with and the contract is signed and everything went great.

Matt,
I'm very sorry you didn't like my whining. Like I said before, I don't mind driving any distance to meet with a bride etc. I just kept giving her locations and every one that I gave her was not good enough. I am new to every aspect of photography and wanted to know how other photographers handle this part of the business.

Thanks again...