Posts
We had met with the DOC, as I am referring to them, at Christmas when we came back to Cyprus. She was friendly, and seemed knowledgeable enough about weddings here and what not, but something just didn't gel. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but I'm thinking it was more of a personality/chemistry thing. She seemed too forward for my liking, for a first meeting anyway. Well She emailed us a few months ago, maybe back in March, letting us know that she would no longer be working at the InterContinental. Her email was odd. She wrote to us on a Friday, telling her clients that that was her last day and she would only be available until 4.30pm that day! Luckily because of the time difference, we were still up in Vancouver and saw the email when it was sent, and were able to have all our documents emailed to us. Had we not been up or checked our email, we would have completely missed it, and her! Anyway, we were told that once a replacement was hired we would be contacted.
And we were. As soon as the new lady, who I will just call M, came on board, she emailed us to let us know. We informed her of when we would be arriving back in Cyprus, and informed her that we would seek a meeting with her once we were settled.
Well I have been trying to get a meeting in for the last two weeks. I realize things happen at a much slower pace in Cyprus, and I'm ok with that. What I'm not ok with is when people aren't upfront about things. Last week I asked her to meet on Friday afternoon, when Mr. Milk would be able to make it too. She told me that she had a wedding that night and would try to arrange for someone else to meet with us. I replied and said I would rather wait and meet with her. I think its pointless to meet with someone who won't actually be there that day. I hear nothing back from her. In the meantime, the Food and Beverage Manager at the hotel contacted Mr. Milk so we could go for a food tasting (which I had requested) and they sorted out the details of that. So I email M again yesterday, and get an auto-response that she is out of the office till the end of the month. Now can you please tell me why she failed to mention this in the original email exchange. At least I would have known and not had any expectations that a meeting was being sorted out. It's not even a huge deal. But at least let me know so I can go about with planning other things.
The reason this bothers me so much is because there seem to be many instances when the DOC is out of the office for a week or two at a time. It happened with the old one and has already happened once before with the new one. Maybe when it isn't wedding season there isn't much for them to do so they are given/take time off. But since they are forcing me to pay for this service I guess I expect it to be available more often than not. Anyway, I think I may turn a little bridezilla on them if the occasion calls for it once we do finally meet. I have heard things here and there about weddings at the hotel (the plus of Cyprus being such a small place) and want to make sure that they are avoided at ours.
So I await for a meeting with out forced DOC. Hopefully this coming weekend we will go for the food tasting and I will have plenty to report on that.
What have your experiences with coordinators been like?
19 fabulous blogger's comments:
I’m so sorry you’re getting the run-around from them. You read my story last week about the terrible coordinator at our church. The coordinator at our reception site was much better, though the site was a bit understaffed and she often took a while to respond to our questions. In the end, I’m so glad we hired our own DOC to help us that day and serve as a go-between, as much as she could, between these other coordinators. Since she worked for us and was hired by us, she really had our best interest in mind.
And I’d say you should most definitely speak up about any issues that concern you before it's too late. Looking back, I wish I had spoken up even about very obvious things, like not starting the ceremony without me! It’s better to mention it, even if it seems silly, than to risk things going wrong on the wedding day.
How frustrating, I would be annoyed too. Hopefully you can meet with her soon.
The lady that works for our venue and was there the day of was great but she was pretty hands off. She basically was there to monitor things and make sure there weren't any problems. We had to bring in our own actual DOC's.
what a pain in the booty! I had a gal from the church we were getting married in help out the day of...she was a family friend of the groom and I was lucky...she was awesome.
I had a wedding coordinator included in our package and she was a nightmare to deal with. She never knew the answers to my questions, so frustrating. My DOC ended up being someone completely different and she was wonderful. She knew what she was doing and was very good at keeping everything moving along. I would call your venue and ask if there is someone else you can deal with. This is such an important day and if she cannot be available for you, you need to find someone who is.
This is garbage. You should not be getting the run around like this! Our coordinator was INCREDIBLE and efficient and perfect. Yours needs to not be making this harder for you!
I HATE this kind of crap... it's one thing to be busy and have to pencil you in an appointment way down the road at least - but to just NOT hear back from her. Such crap :(
I hope you get a meeting in with her soon!
how annoying!!
uugghhh...how frustrating! I can imagine how annoying that is, when it is 'forced'....ugh, good luck!!
That's a shame. I met a DOC at a certain venue that I wasn't impressed with either. It was part of the reason I decided not to go with the venue! Bicostal Bride has a good idea: hire your own, and don't give the unreliable any tasks. That'll send a message!
In my experience, staffed coordinators at venues and churches are usually a nightmare! I didn't realize you were having to pay for this service through them. I would do what you planned and cancel it and tell them you don't want it and see if you can get an outside coordinator to pay and handle day of things for you. I hired a DOC for our day and am so glad I did. I had an overall great experience with her.
But I do not like dealing with the staff at venues...rarely do we find them helpful and usually they are a hindrance! :( I hope that is not the case. Sounds like you aren't having much luck.
I'd ask for a manager and be upfront about your concerns if you do stick with them. Ask them what the typical service and timeline is for their involvement maybe?
Ugh, that's awful.
Honestly, though, if she's not great now, odds are she will be worse on the wedding day. Unless you do like my mom did on my wedding day and tell the venue coordinator off. It was unintentional, but we'd had enough. She was amazing for the rest of the day and threw in a few extras for us. You should set it straight now before it gets worse!
Not cool at all. Is there another manager you can talk to about this? Escalate and fix the problem now! You need and deserve someone that is reliable!
I agree that you have to nip it in the bud asap. It's not going to get any better down the road. Venue coordinators are the worst. They make you feel like you're a bother.
If you can get your own DOC, doesn't even have to be an official one but a very organized family friend as a go between, it can really save your sanity.
Frustrating! It's not hard to email someone.
Hope the food tasting turns out better.
How frustrating! Hope you can get a meeting soon
We dealt with the event planner most of the time but then we met the event manager who would be running our day nearer to the time.
How sad...I hope it will be okay this coming days. I'm sure you will be happy if it happens..Good luck!
Ugh, that is so frustrating! I don't get people sometimes - I always email my clients back the same day, or the very next day at the latest. I get so frustrated when people don't give me the same respect. Hang in there . . . crossing my fingers that once you finally do get a meeting, it goes smoothly.
Soo frustrating! Sorry you have to deal with that. I have had a positive experience thus far. I really feel a strong connection with my DOC and I am so thankful for all of her help and attention to detail!
Awwww...I'm sorry you're so frustrated! I would be too!
I know I am too much of a control freak to relinquish control to a wedding planner...But I have been thinking lately about hiring a Day-Of-Coordinator to help de-stress. I figured they could worry about any problems the day of, so I don't have to. But I am sorry it looks like your DOC seems to be causing you even more stress! :(
Good luck! I hope she shapes up!
Post a Comment