Choosing an event company is a decision made once and paid for throughout the event. Written proposals look much alike, so the real differences do not show up on the page — they show up in the answers to direct questions. Here are eight, with what a good answer sounds like and what should make you pause.
1. Who will actually be on site on the day?
Plenty of pitch meetings are attended by one team, and then the day arrives with another. Ask for the name of the event manager and who is with them, whether you have met them, and whether that same manager will be present from the start of the build to the end of the strike. A good answer names people and roles. A worrying answer is “we will have a full team” without naming anyone.
2. What does this quote not include?
Asking what is included produces a long, reassuring list. Asking what is not included reveals what will reach you later as an extra invoice. Ask for it in writing. A good answer is blunt: hospitality is out, permits are on the client, additional build hours are chargeable. A worrying answer is “everything is included” — no quote includes everything.
3. What happens if attendance rises?
Attendance always changes, usually upward. Ask which lines are priced per head and which are fixed, and what headcount the current set-up supports before it needs expanding. A good answer separates fixed from variable and gives you a ceiling. A worrying answer defers the question to the day.
4. What is your plan when something fails?
This question is not pessimism — the answer reveals experience. What is the alternative if power is lost? If a projector dies? If a keynote speaker is late? A good answer names backup equipment present on site, not in the warehouse, and a clear chain of who decides what. A worrying answer is “that has never happened to us”.
5. Is the equipment yours or hired?
There is no single right answer here — many good companies hire part of what they use. But knowing matters for two reasons: who fixes a fault quickly, and how many layers of supplier sit between you and whoever actually carries responsibility. A good answer says what is owned, what is hired, and from whom. A worrying answer avoids the detail.
6. When will the set-up be finished and tested?
There must be a fixed time by which the build is complete and everything has been tested, before the first guest arrives — not minutes before. Ask for the ready time, and when sound and playback will be tested with the actual speakers. A good answer gives a time with a gap before doors. A worrying answer puts testing and doors in the same hour.
7. Who talks to me, and how often?
What exhausts clients is rarely an execution error; it is the information going quiet. Agree early on a single point of contact, a fixed update rhythm, and an emergency channel for the day itself. A good answer commits to a person and a cadence. A worrying answer is “contact us any time”, which in practice means nobody in particular is responsible.
8. What are the terms for changes and cancellation?
Events move dates and change scope. Ask before signing: what can change at no cost, when does changing become expensive, and what happens on a postponement as opposed to a cancellation — they are not the same. A good answer is written into the contract as a clear schedule. A worrying answer is verbal and friendly: “don’t worry, we’ll sort it out”.
After the questions
Ask for every answer in writing, even in an email. Not because you expect bad faith, but because what is said out loud is forgotten in good faith by both sides. And the company that writes its answers down without hesitating is usually the company that will hold to them.
Send us the details of your event and put these eight questions to us.