The Late Cancellation
There is no a need to ‘anticipate’ ‘presume’ or mistake the intention of any aspect of Liz and my objectives: There are a few concepts and conditions which when breached could cause discord; therefore it is essential to clarify the areas which seem to cause some confusion.
For clarity, I write about every aspect of the organisation. It is felt the understanding of our actions, decisions and the system: makes our reasoning easier to comprehend. The explanation for the thinking behind clauses within your terms and conditions is essential. We all work better with well-defined parameters and understanding. The intention is for LizianEvents to grow in size and stature and it is anticipated our Community will increase to three hundred in number. Organising multiple shows for a group of this size has to be formally organised for it to work well.
The Community are fair-minded and honest people and I feel confident you will respect our open and transparent approach to our methodology. Our foundational ethic must flow through every facet of our work. Our objectives will be challenging to fulfil unless we stick rigidly to this precept.
It is essential to realise we cannot ‘bend’ the terms and conditions: to do so would undermine our ethos (ethics). Consider if a concession is made for one person, the concession would have to be made for everyone: By crossing this line we in effect ruin our values and integrity, and damage all we are working towards, there is no possibility of compromising the ethos or ethics of the organisation.
During the last two weeks, we received four cancellations to the Lincolnshire Show. And in this instance, an agreement within the Terms and Conditions comes into effect. When the booking form is received the contract is agreed, and payment is due. It is unfortunate that we have entered into a disagreement over the ‘payment in full’ if cancelled within 30 days of the show. This article is written because of the disagreement. Rather than have to repeat the organiser’s position, it is clarified here.
We operate a system of absolute fairness regarding stall allocation. If we feel a specific genre only warrants one or two stalls then booking are only allowed to that limit. When a Community Member cancels within 30 days of the show, we may not be able to replace the stall with one of the same genre, and Visitors suffer. Not only this the Visitors may be coming to the show to see the Community Member: During the Nottingham Trowell Show, six people had travelled to the venue to meet a specific Community Member. I am sure these people ultimately enjoyed themselves. However, there is no doubting their disappointment.
The reader correctly assumes that as the organisation is paid for a no-show or late cancellation, it does not suffer a financial loss. However, the majority of The Community understands the fee does not only cover the two days of each show: The fee contributes to the growing and essential infrastructure of the organisation. The daily LEN articles, classified and listings are paid for by stall and Visitor fees.
Furthermore: Liz and I consider we work for the organisation: we are not owners: we are custodians, and we are obliged to look after its financial health. I know many will find this difficult to understand, so allow me to explain. From our perspective: if we are to build LizianEvents into a secure and universally recognised organisation: the choice is to consider it as our employer with financial parameters and set targets. This allows us to make decisions which are sometimes difficult and must be made with intelligent, not emotional influence.
The receipt of the booking form is the binding contract: We evidence the agreement on our sites by putting the names of Community Members on the public lists. We are careful NOT to put names on the list of people who have not confirmed by their booking form. Again the reason is for Visitors must know who is attending the show. It is important they know who is visiting prior to travelling.
It is essential to understand our stand costs can be hundreds of pounds cheaper than other organisers. Now, this may seem insignificant when viewed individually, but consider eighty stalls being just forty pounds cheaper and the total difference is £3200 pounds. The organisation offers the concession and in return for this deficit – Yes! You guessed the expectation is a dedication to the promotion of the shows.
Also consider, the price structure is aimed at attracting more varied and new Community Members to the shows. Again, the sensible price structure means Community Members should heavily promote the shows: in other words: part of the lower pricing structure of the stands is related to self-promotion. You are right! I’ve already mentioned this in the last paragraph: No apologies, the message has to be driven home.
The concern is lack of self-promotion could affect the future price structure of your shows: I ask those who share to talk about why they do so, and how the interaction benefits their success. The more we interact, the better the progress. The better the communication, the higher the Visitor numbers. The higher the Visitor numbers better your success.
It’s tough getting the message out there!
For example, after a recent Community email out, only 63% opened the email. The information is about a show they have invested money and are about to invest a weekend of time. Another example: the agreement is to share information and promote every show: I can write only 21% of Community Members do this, so it is this 21% who attract the Visitors. Visitor attendance at each show is directly related to Community Involvement in the promotion of each show: When the penny drops and over 60% of Community share and promote, the shows will go ballistic!
In conclusion: I understand how people feel when they have to (late) cancel their booking and have to fulfil the obligation to pay the invoice. You are assured we know the feeling of having to accept difficult aspects of fulfilling an obligation. However, all of us are people of integrity and honesty, and when we agree to the terms and conditions, the responsibility is to honour the agreement.
Our vision is to build an organisation which has an impeccable reputation which stands foursquare on the principles of integrity and transparency. The terms and conditions are the guiding statues we agree to follow.
Liz and I are employees of LizianEvents Ltd. We manage the business on sound business practice. Yes, the company is profitable, and all profits are reinvested to become seeds to be harvested in the future. All who are within The Community will benefit from the investments we make on behalf of the organisation. To this end: Liz and I do not rule out forming alliances with experts and specialists, and forming separate and specialist branches which benefit from our organisational expertise.
The objective is to establish an organisation which people can join to become Community Members. As Community Members, they can feel secure in the knowledge we work to provide, connectivity, visibility and opportunity for extended promotion. Join us on our evolution and benefit from the consistent endeavour for all to become successful.
Ian Timothy