His next stop is The Platinum Hotel for the Las Vegas Wedding Network. Andy will give a preview presentation from his forthcoming book: How To Avoid Weddings Of Mass Destruction.

In September, 2009, Andy gave this presentation to more than 1000 attendees at Wedding MBA and rocked the conference. And he will reprise it at LVWN with an updated rendition.

Andy Ebon

The presentation peels back the layers of the wedding industry: Brides, budgets (or lack thereof), selling, and the various interactions (functions and dysfunctions) of the wedding day participants (bride, groom, family, and wedding vendors).

Andy will discuss issues that most people just whisper about. His perspective comes from personal participation in close to 1000 weddings, as a DJ Entertainer, and close interaction with wedding industry businesses over three and a half decades.

His recurring theme..

“What’s in the best interest of the bride?”

… will resonant with you, long after the meeting concludes.

The presentation will be provocative, politically incorrect, and will surely give you pause.

Come to LVWN at The Platinum Hotel … invite an industry friend. Maybe two or three.

• When: Wednesday, September, 7, 2011 – 6pm – 8:30pm
• Where: The Platinum Hotel, 211 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV
  

  The Misora

• Host: Nicole Mehlhaff
• What: How To Avoid Weddings Of Mass Destruction – presented by Andy Ebon, The Wedding Marketing Authority
• The Menu:  Totally Amazing (details to come…)
• Click Here to Register
  

There aren’t many intrusions, so while it’s not terribly scenic or romantic, it’s an ideal situation to dig in for the last leg of the speaking tour.

I’ve had a pretty good experience at this hotel, but this morning, while trying to enjoy the complimentary hot breakfast, I thought my head was going to explode. Some guests, depending on their hotel book, receive coupons for the free breakfast, hosted in Houlihan’s Restaurant, in the hotel.

The problem was simple. The restaurant was understaffed. Only one server, Pam, to attend to any and all patrons. There appeared to be low level staffing in the kitchen, who were one or two steps behind. At one time or another, they ran out of hot food, milk, coffee, bread and rolls, silverware… the works.

Poor Pam was overwhelmed as hotel guests kept arriving in bunches. I’d observed the situation for long enough, picked myself up and went to the front desk. I explained the situation, rather emphatically, that Pam needed assistance, and it was needed NOW! The front desk attendant still didn’t quite read my urgency. I suggested that they were lucky Pam hadn’t walked off the job, and she still might. Now, I had her attention.

About 10 minutes later, the cavalry arrived, in the form of one, recently hired chef (I found his identity out later). Behind the kitchen area, he berated Pam about something related to the coffee. I was about to have a New York moment.

I caught his eye, and with one finger (my index figure), I waived him over to my table. Mr. Clueless asked if he could clear my cereal bowl. No, I suggested he shut up and listen. Now, he was fully engaged.

Essentially, I told him that berating Pam, under these circumstances, was completely inappropriate. He apologized that I had overheard it. I explained, sharply, that what I heard was not the point.

The point was that he had been called in to assist, not supervise. The room was understaffed, and Pam was doing the best she could, in an impossible situation. He needed to bus tables, stock the buffet or wash dishes. Whatever Pam wanted him to do, was what he should be doing. He should be thanking her up and down for having to deal with this untenable situation, and knock off the superiority act.

He thanked me for the attitude adjustment, and I departed.

At dinner, I found the actual restaurant manager, and made sure she had the first hand story, for the record. Maybe I felt the need to insert myself is because I live in Las Vegas and see working stiffs, every day, being overwhelmed by understaffing. Big corporate management stupidity is evident in too many places.

Most people don’t take the time to analyze why they received bad service. I do.

Avoidable problems should be…well…. avoided. Hopefully, I had some small lasting impact on the restaurant scene, at the Ramada Milwaukee Airport.

Berating an employee, in private, or worse, in public, is not management. It’s stupidity. When a customer observes it, it’s marketing…. of the worst kind.

Care to share your observations?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Sound strange? Ponder this quotation.

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well.

– Steve Brown

We get better at things with training, practice, and more repetition. Just like learning an instrument or playing tennis.

In the case of publishing a blog, if you do it effectively, it will be the single most powerful arrow in your wedding marketing quiver.

A great blog isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would have one. If you develop and maintain one, you will be heads above your competition, in many things, including search engine ranking and business image.

And once you’re out in front, you’ll find it’s easier to stay out in front.

That’s it, that’s all.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

This post is the fourth of a recap series about a meeting of the Las Vegas Wedding Network. Seven brides spoke and answered questions about their wedding planning experience.

Jazmine told a story about a vendor she met a bridal show who took the time to look up her Facebook profile, find out a little bit about her, and connected with her. The vendor was able to look her up, using the email address she provided.

One of the meeting attendees was aghast and agitated, shouting out her question: “Isn’t that stalking?”

Calmly, Jazmine responded with the following… paraphrasing:

“At the time, my profile was public, so anyone on Facebook could have seen my complete profile. I have since made much of my profile less public, until I’ve made a friend-connection. I thought it was ‘sweet’ that the vendor took a little time to learn a little about me, see I had a child from a previous marriage, and more. It showed me they were interested in me.”

More than once, during the evening, Jazmine pointed out the importance of people remembering names and faces, particularly at bridal shows and showcases. She remembered a specific instance where one exhibitor at a bridal show had shoved a business card at her, three separate times. Other people, seeing her on multiple occasions, remembered her by name.

Opinion – What to make of this: First of all, it’s not stalking. Not by a long shot. If some approaches you to friend them on Facebook, if you don’t want that to happen, just press ignore. If they persist, and annoy you, it’s one click to BLOCK them.

If you approached 100 brides via Facebook to follow your business group page or connect as a friend, some percentage would connect with you and others would not. Your approach might go like this:

Dear Jazmine,

Enjoyed meeting you at the Bridal Spectacular. I know you’re still in the decision making process, and thought you might want to follow my business fan page, and learn more about what my company is about, and see what we’re doing. Hope you’ll become a fan.

Andy

That’s a pretty benign approach, and, again, some brides will become a fan, others won’t. Don’t over analyze it. Having a soft Facebook strategy is a perfectly reasonable marketing move.

It’s important to remember that what YOU prefer as a customer, is not relevant when you are the business owner. Don’t project your likes and dislikes on the bride. This is an opt-in approach. Those brides that choose to follow you are exercising Permission Marketing.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

The Wedding Marketing Authority, Andy Ebon

The afternoon seminar (registration at 2:30pm, 3-6pm) topic will be: Building A Focused Social Media Strategy.

Andy will also give a talk for the chapter’s general membership meeting, which begins at 6:30pm. The presentation is titled: Success By Association.

Both events will be held at The Naples Beach Hotel , 851 Gulf Shore Blvd North, Naples, Florida.