Eventologists

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

The Bacolod cyberspace community is abuzz over the story of a recent event and production that was reportedly abandoned a few days before the set date by its own director/organizer.

It is not an unusual situation – director disappears at the crucial moment, leaving his crew to finish the work, and the client or clients crying. I usually hear this in weddings, debuts and important parties which make the recent disappearing act a standout because it wasn't just a family affair but an entire institutional event, I think based on a school which has far more stakeholders and therefore, the matter had a deeper and wider impact.

Aside from the juicy, tabloid bits like who did what and how much, I think the story highlights one of the latest modern creatures spawned by our present day lifestyle: the event organizer, or eventologist, the guy or gal who's supposed to make things happen, to sew the minor details into a coherent, seamless whole, to iron out the glitches and smooth out the kinks so that an event flows properly and on track.

That, of course, is a general description. In reality, the job can hardly be properly described, especially since every event has its peculiarities and unique requirements. It is one job that is so difficult to pin down to specific descriptions, somebody put it differently, but I think clearly, the eventologist is the guy you kill when something goes wrong. In other words, he is the boss, the chief and the all-around convenient scapegoat.

So, what happens when the director, or the eventologist, bungles the work or worse, disappears? Frankly, there isn't much that victims can do, really. The jobs are usually covered only by verbal agreements, and where there are contracts, these are usually vague recitations that really can't hold water. I still have to see a contract that is full proof in protecting clients.

The problem really is how to put into specific terms expectations about how an event should be successfully run. For example, one may put in the number of chairs needed, the flowers and table cloth and decors to be used and all that, but what about the guests, who can guarantee they will come? What about the security, for example, of the gifts during a wedding, is there a fool-proof way of securing them so they do not get lost?

When you contract for flower arrangements, can you put what kind of flowers will be used and how many? I've heard too many stories of people paying for expensive floral arrangements that clients do not like, and over which they would fight with the eventologists. Ditto with fireworks -- how many sparks and bursts can you expect for the money you pay for? At least on this, suppliers now can give you videos of the packages that they sell so you have an idea what to expect for the money you can paying for. But even with that, you can't be checking the video against the actual show, can?

Now, back to the case of our disappearing director. I think it is wise to ask now: did he have a contract with the sponsoring organization? If he had, did it stipulate that he was going to be physically present during the show? You see, he or she may very well say the contract was only for conceptualization of the show and not for direction. I'm not defending him or her, but that's the way things go and the only way you can protect yourself is to be careful, and choose who to trust with your events.*

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