FAQ
The following are a few suggestions &
informative questions worth asking before you make your final decision on your choice of DJ, Disco or
Karaoke.
If you cannot find the answer you are looking for here, then
please do not hesitate to contact
us.
Q. Can your provide a written contract and testimonials from previous clients?
It is extremely important to have your booking confirmed in
writing.
All terms of the agreement should be in writing to avoid any
complications at a later date.
Testimonials are an important part of any business and an
experienced professional DJ should be able to provide you with current names and addresses of satisfied
clients.
A. When booking "C & G Roadshow" a booking form is
sent which contains full terms & conditions.
Some recent testimonials are shown on our website.
Q. Do you use professional equipment?
There is a big difference between the audio equipment you
have at home and the equipment a professional DJ uses.
Professional audio equipment is built to go on the road day
in and day out.
Make sure your prospective choices use only professional
equipment to insure the music sounds as good as possible for all of your guest's enjoyment.
A. All the equipment used by "C & G Roadshow" is
state of the art professional DJ equipment, which is regularly serviced and PAT (Portable Appliance Tested)
every year.
Q. Can you provide backup equipment and personnel in case of emergency?
Even professional equipment can fail on occasion, so it is
important to know whether your DJ has spare equipment available to them.
Any number of circumstances may arise between the time you
book your DJ and the date of your event.
It is important to know if the DJ has a backup plan in case
of illness or accident.
A. We bring spare equipment to every function in
the event of equipment failure.
We also have contact with other DJ's and Agencys and in
the very unlikely scenario of illness we will be able to provide an experienced professional replacement
DJ.
We also have our equipment fully insured, which
will pay for emergency equipment hire, should my equipment be damaged or stolen from another job.
Q. Will you be suitably dressed for the occasion? It is important that your DJ looks the part by dressing in formal or semiformal attire.
Be sure to specify the type of apparel that your DJ
should use.
There should be no added fee charged for formal
attire.
A. When completing our booking form, there is an option
to select the DJ attire that you would prefer.
Q. Are you registered and or insured, and is your equipment tested regularly?
A DJ who has taken the time to register their business,
arrange adequate Public Liability Insurance (PLI) and regularly has all electrical equipment tested to ensure
that they comply with the standards required for Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) demonstrates that they are
serious business men and women.
A. We carry approx £2 Million Public Liability
Insurance and all our equipment has PAT certificates.
Q. Will you arrive on time?
Punctuality is an ultimate necessity, and as professionals
they should be aware of their responsibilities to their clients.
Normal time spent setting up and removing equipment should
not be part of the entertainment fee.
A. We are extremely punctual and will usually
arrive at least 1 hour before the scheduled start time.
It takes around 45 minutes to 1 Hour usually to set up
equipment, depending on access to the function room, staircases, lift etc. The set up time is seperate to any
hours that we quote you and is not part of the fee.
Q. Are you willing to discuss musical selections ahead of time, and be willing to play requests, particularly if they are suitable for dancing?
A professional DJ is aware that they cannot possibly know
everything there is to know about your musical preferences and entertainment needs.
They should be willing to listen to your ideas and
suggestions.
They should make themselves available prior to
your party to discuss selections.
They should never play the songs you have asked them not to
play.
Special requests should never be a problem and your DJ should
be willing to play them where they are appropriate.
When guests request music, remember, it is not possible for a
DJ to have every song, or for a band to know every song that could be requested; however, DJs do have greater
flexibility in handling requests because they don't have to learn the songs.
People often request songs that do not "fit in" with the
music programming.
Some may request inappropriate songs.
Professional entertainers know when it is acceptable to
honour requests.
If inappropriate requests are played, they will make you look
bad. If you, the bride or groom insist on a song being played that is against the better judgment of the DJ or
band, they have every right to let your audience know that the song choice is yours and not his.
He has a reputation to protect and he should inform the
audience why a poor song choice is being played.
A. Upon confirmation of a booking, we will send out a
pre event music questionnaire to enable you to create your request list.
Q. How much music should a DJ bring?
Some DJ services brag about a huge music library.
Ask them if they bring the entire library and if it is in a
database.
If they can’t find a song, then it does no good to have that
many songs.
On the other hand, some only bring about 300 to 500 of the
most requested songs.
These DJs can not really honour requests of a truly diverse
audience that most receptions are composed of.
Remember that for a 4 hour reception, the maximum amount of
songs that could be played is around 60 (Average of 4 minutes per song played back to back).
A. Our database comprises of over 50,000 tracks, at
any function they will have every track with us covering a huge range of music genre's &
era's.
You are of course welcome to supply your own CDs for any
rarities.
When searching through their music collection to create
the request list, previously some couples became very excited and drew up very lengthy request lists of over 70
songs It is virtually impossible for any DJ to play such a request list and also makes it very
restrictive for the DJ on the night and less able to react to what is happening on the
dancefloor.
Q. What kinds of music styles should the DJ’s library contain?
A DJ should have all types of music with them at the
reception in order to please a diverse audience.
The DJ should be able to play music from the big band, 50’s,
60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, right up through today’s hottest hits.
Your DJ should be able to provide even ethnic music and many
other more obscure genre’s to suit your event.
DJs have an advantage over bands in this case because they
have a broader selection of musical styles at their disposal.
Some music types and songs are unsuitable to play at some parties.
Playing heavy metal or gangsta rap, for example, might upset or displease some of
your guests.
Also, songs containing objectionable language should not be played.
A. We have an extremely wide music knowledge
covering many eras and going way back to the 1940's, but still buy the up to date tracks and am very much in
touch with the current scene.
Q. Should the DJ provide you with a music guide or list to assist you?
Yes. Your DJ should arrange a meeting with you either face to
face or over the telephone to go over all the details.
A DJ should take the time to find out your musical tastes and
be open to your needs.
By the same token, an experienced DJ also knows what works
and what does not work. Listen to their advice.
A classic example is one where the bride and groom insisted
on Hip Hop music for the entire reception.
They chose their favourite music even though the guest list
included many people from different backgrounds and age groups Common sense dictates that you might want
to listen to your DJ in this case.
A. If you would like to meet or have a telephone
consultation before the day to discuss your special event this can easily be arranged.
Either at your home or the venue itself, to discuss setup
arrangments.
This is best done within a few weeks of the big day.
Q. Will the DJ play cheesy songs such as the Birdie Dance & Agadoo all night?
The stereotypical image of a disco in the UK is of a guy that
will only play the very cheesy hits all night long.
It is important that you emphasise whether you do or do
not like this sort of style.
A. We find now that the vast majority of people who book
our DJs, state that they do NOT want the very cheesy stuff like Agadoo & Jive Bunny played and it is
becoming increasingly common for couples to insist on NO cheese or boy band stuff whatsoever.
We have no problem with this whatsoever; just
let us know your preferences in advance.
Q. Will the music be too loud?
Music volume should be kept at an appropriate level so it
doesn't "interfere" with the event.
Throughout all segments of the reception, cocktail hour,
dinner and dancing, the music should add to, or help create the proper atmosphere.
During dinner the music should be loud enough to fill in any
"dead" air that may occur while people are enjoying their meal.
The music level shouldn't be so loud that it is distracting
when you are engaged in conversation.
As the event progresses towards the dancing portion of the
event, the volume should increase.
The increase should be mainly concentrated on the dance
floor.
This will add to the excitement of the party.
The volume increase should not take away from the enjoyment
of any guest as it moves to the foreground.
Some people may prefer conversation over dancing.
They should be able to find quieter areas away from the dance
floor.
A. We play the music at the volumes you want to
hear.
Q. Are compact discs better than records?
In many ways yes. Records show wear that you can hear.
They also skip on the best of turntables because the dance
floors sometimes vibrate from people dancing.
CD’s can skip too if the reception hall is old or has a very
bouncy dance floor.
You should consider this when you check out a reception
hall.
A. With the majority of DJ CD players a bouncy floor would be
a problem; however this is not an issue with the state of the art pc driven equipment that allows for bouncy
floors.
Q. If the contract states for five hours but everyone is having a great time how should I handle the overtime?
Your DJ should have discussed that with you prior to your
reception and at contract signing.
It should also be part of your contract. However, you alone
must authorize it.
If the cheque you have prepared for the DJ does not cover the
overtime then the DJ has the option of accepting cash or cheque. Usually, it is best to have the cash available
and to pay the DJ when services are rendered.
A. The rates for additional hours are clearly stated on the
contract that we send to you.
Q. Do you tip a DJ and when do I pay them?
The answer to tipping is up to you. If you know the DJ gave
you a fair price and a great performance then it is always nice to say thanks.
Payments can be made either on the night of the performance,
it is usually better to arrange this for near the start of the event, because otherwise once the drink starts
flowing it can easily be forgotten if left till the end.
Some people prefer to pay in advance and this can be done by
posting a cheque.
A. On the contract that we send to you, the terms &
conditions state that full payment must be made either 7 working days before the wedding date if paying by
cheque or cash at the start of the night.
Q. Am I obligated to provide the DJ with food &
drink?
No, you are not obligated to feed the DJ; however, it is a
nice gesture to offer a meal of some sort while everyone else is eating.
Often your DJ set up several hours before your actual
reception, plays for a minimum of four hours, and will be there quite a while after your reception taking
equipment down.
All in all, a kind gesture is often returned many times
over.
Most professional DJ's are reliant on their vehicle in order
to transport their equipment and for this reason do not drink when working.
A. When working we usually drink soft drinks.
Q. How important should price be?
When compared to other party related expenses, a mobile disc
jockey is a bargain.
Ask yourself these questions, is the entertainment less than
5% responsible for the success of your party? Is price important? Yes, it is. But no price is a good price if
you do not like the quality of your entertainment.
A. I realize what an important day your party is and how
much you want everything to be perfect. Our business is built on referrals from very satisfied
customers.
|