We have worked in event management and the wedding industry for some 15 years now and over this time we have seen many trends come and go. The latest and perhaps most disturbing trend, I am solely attributing to the popularity of facebook. It would seem that every bored Mum with an oven now has a cake making business, every second girl with a penchant for fairy lights is a venue decorator and every cash strapped housewife with a printer is an invitation maker. Businesses and business pages are cropping up on facebook at the rate of knots, particularly in the wedding and event management industries. We, the genuine businesses in the industry are able to do very little about our customers being taken for ride by these charlotens until facebook strengthens the requirements for Australian Businesses to establish pages on their site, we can however, educate the public.

Are all Facebook book businesses bad?
No they aren’t, not all companies who have representation on facebook are bad, we have five business pages of our own, one for each of our events and divisions. Like all reputable businesses we use facebook as a promotional tool, we use it to market what we do, to scream out loud how good we are and tell our customers what is coming next. Many of Australia’s leading brands and companies use facebook in the same way, so before we begin let’s make it clear that we are not against facebook or facebook being used for business promotion. What we don’t do and what we want to warn you about is unscrupulous, or at times uninformed individuals, who claim to be a business but they are really only a fly by nighter trying their luck at securing your hard earned dollars.

What is the problem with these businesses?
Competition the newbies will claim, the established companies in the industry do not like the competition – not so I say. There is plenty of work to go around, weddings are popular again and South Australia, Southern Adelaide in particular is feeling very little of this supposed financial crisis we are in. The local industry has grown considerably in the past three years and to some degree is helping to ease the burden of a severely downgraded export market for the local wineries.
The problem is the level of service and products that is being provided to the customers. A side effect of working in an industry that revolves around fulfilling dreams is that you can’t help but get attached to your customers. It is heart breaking to see those customers, brides in particular, let down by unscrupulous industry fakers who are happy to take your money but rarely deliver. It can be hard to spot the fakes and recently we have been inundated with complaints from locals asking if we ‘know of’ certain businesses, the scorned customers are looking for a voice.

Some of the recent complaints we have heard are:

* Miss 3′s entire birthday cake (which looked amazing) was binned as it was not edible.
* Dirty, unironed, sloppily displayed chair covers and sashes at a wedding ceremony.
* Invitations which are not uniform in size, jagged on the edges from being hand cut with scissors and faded and smudged writing from incorrect printers and ink being used.
* Silver and Swarovski Crystal hair pins turning out to be no more than plastic and glass.

How could these dodgy suppliers have been detected and the bad experiences have been avoided I hear you ask? It’s quite easy if you know how!

7 ways to spot a fake

1) Each of the businesses responsible for the bad service above exsist only on facebook. They do not have a website, business phone number, ABN, premises, white pages listing or any other form of presence. Genuine people who start businesses, even work from home businesses, take measures to ensure the hard work they have put into establishing their business is protected. No one wants to put in all the effort of establishing a name for themselves only to have someone else come along and register it. No one who has spent thousands on business registration, graphic design, logos, branding, stock, or equipment would only communicate with their customers via a medium they ultimately don’t control. Smart businesses use facebook as a marketing tool, we’re not saying every business with a facebook page is bad, heck we have five pages of our own, but they are used to promote what we do they are not the business itself.

2) Another common factor among the above mentioned complaints was that the customers were duped by old or fake images. If you are using facebook to vet a potential supplier ensure that the images they are displaying have some type of qualifier such as “image from T&P’s wedding @ Location on Date”, or a known photographer’s watermark or their own company watermark or logo. Also ensure that the page has recently uploaded examples of their work or stock. This shows that the business has recently been active by supplying to customers. Take a good look at the images in the albums and see if they look similar for example multiple product images over a period of time with the same background or a reoccurring image theme and a consistent quality of images. If you can spot this in their albums it helps to establish that the work they are showcasing is in fact theirs. If one image looks grainy, the next has blurry sections, some are too dark to show details and others look like they are from the 90′s (ie pre facebook era) you most likely are looking at a faker. In the case of the hair accessories the supplier had grainy images in their album which were clearly doctored to remove someone else’s business name and later were found to have been taken from an overseas EBay account. The cake maker didn’t have a logo or proper business name and had taken all their photos from Google images. If you search ‘chocolate mud cake’ in Google images the last two images on the third row, both from overseas websites, are what this Adelaide business page was claiming as their own work.

3) If you are using facebook to engage a supplier look to see if they have a review tab? Google the business page name to find external reviews and you might just be surprised. The accessory supplier in question pops up on a number of wedding forums and none of the reviews are too flattering. Alone it is not a sure fire way to confirm how genuine a business is but it can give you an indication one way or the other of how satisfied their customers are. Good businesses that use facebook as a marketing tool often have customers post unprompted thank you messages on their wall or thank you images in their albums.

4) Qualify the business – Look to see if they have a website and read the about us tab, does it tell you if they are registered, qualified, legal and approved for whatever it is they do? Google the business name, look to see if they are a member of any professional body or association. Ask the suppliers you have already engaged and trust if they have heard of the business and if they can recommend anyone in the industry you are looking at. Ask the business themselves, legitimate businesses have no problem supplying you with copies of their qualifications, registrations, associations or even the names of a few customers you can seek references from – the good ones will have plenty of references on their facebook page already as mentioned above. You have to do your research, because it’s your money and your day and trust me the time is takes is worthwhile to avoid the heartache of a bad supplier on a special occasion.

5) Do they have company policies? It might sound strange but we’re not talking about OHS policy here we’re talking about customer service policies. What happens if the item doesn’t arrive by post? What course of action can you take if they fail to show up on your date? Do they offer refunds? Do they have a contingency plan for illness or injury in the case of say perhaps a DJ, do they arrange a replacement? Now that we’ve mentioned it, it seems like common sense that you would ask these things. Engaging a wedding supplier is what we call an ‘emotional purchase’, many couples are booking the person they connect with the best without first confirming the most basic of information. Don’t get caught out by forgetting to ask the most basic questions.

6) Get everything in writing, ask them to post or email you what you have agreed to or been quoted on. Take time to note if your posted letter was sent on a company letterhead, did the email come from a likely email address? I would personally not engage a supplier for any amount or service if their business email happenned to be something like cuteypie69@internetcompany.com.au it doesn’t inspire much faith. Most businesses will have email@companyname.com.au or at the very least businessname@internetcompany.com.au

7) Last but not least, if you are looking to engage a supplier for your wedding or event in South Australia find a reputatble source of information and look for their list of suppliers: There are a number of resources out there including My Wedding Magazine (print) The Hens Nest (forum) Bridal Discount Book (website) Fleurieu Wedding Guide (Our very own list of reputable local suppliers) we know that the owners of each of these industry sources closely vets each of the companies they represent.

The saddest part of all is that the couples who engage these fakers have very little recourse to take action when they are let down. The Office of Consumer and Business Affairs (OCBA) can help mediate and resolve disputes between customers and businesses in South Australia, however if the supplier is not a proper registered business they are not able to help. The only option available may be a civil action in the local magistrate court against the supplier as an individual. This can be hard to achieve if you have only communicated via facebook and don’t have an address and a full and correct name for the person you dealt with. Ultimately the dollars you may be appearing to save are not worth the hassle and heartache of being let down on the most important days of your life. Use the services of industry professionals and remember seek referrals, qualify the business and get everything in writing!

Businesses wishing to learn more about effectively and legally using facebook for business can do so with a Quisk Facebook for Business 101 Course. Contact Quisk

Inspire Adelaide provides small business training in a number of areas including marketing, build your website, where to put your business $, Tax and legal compliance and more. For more information on our Spring Summer training schedule view the training page HERE

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This article was authored by Charlene Pinnock on behalf of Inspire Adelaide all rights reserved 2011. Publication or redistribution of this article is forbidden without the express written consent of C Pinnock.

There is very little we can say about McLaren Vale that this clip doesn’t . . . . except perhaps that is has an abundance of unique wedding venues with world class food and wines! It’s easy to see why McLaren Vale is fast becoming Australia’s fgavourite destination wedding location. Please take the time to view the clip and you too will fall in love with our home. Don’t forget you are all welcome in our neighbourhood anytime. Come and enjoy some real Australia!

All of our events have their own facbeook pages so we though it was time Inspire Adelaide had it’s on page too!

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We are very excited here in the Inspire Adelaide office. Our great friends Suzanne & Simon are getting married and we are in the wedding party. The wedding is being held at The Retreat @ Chapel Hill on Sept 8, 2012 which also happens to be Charlene’s birthday. We can’t wait!

Did you miss getting your copy of the Fleurieu Wedding Guide from the 2011 McLaren Vale Wedding Expo? Never fear there are plenty of free copies available from all of our participating venues, and many of the participating businesses.

If you are unable to make it to the region to pick up a copy simply click on the Fleurieu Wedding Guide tab on this website and download a copy in PDF formaat.

We will soon be uploading listings for all of the companies in the guide and more, if you are having trouble contacting any of the businesses in the guide you will be able to check back here for updated information.

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The Inspire Adelaide offices are abuzz this week with venues for the 2012 McLaren Vale Wedding Expo locking in their dates (to be announced soon) and and lots of movement surrounding our new events. We can’t wait to tell you all about them, if you aren’t already a member of our mailing list be sure to join now so you don’t miss hearing about the following:

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