You want to establish a genuine, authentic relationship with your client.
You want them to know that you support their decisions, that you’ll guide them in the right direction, and that their event is a top priority.
They’ll share many personal secrets, and fairytale wishes with you.
You guard this intimate information, never thinking of spilling the beans.
Your duty is to be their confidante, to be the non-judgmental sounding board.
So, when you’re going through your own personal crisis {pregnancy, moving, staffing issues, client drama}, how much do you share, if at all?
It’s a fine line that many wedding vendors get trapped crossing.
And once you go down that road of sharing, there’s NO TURNING BACK.
You can’t take back the comment you made in passing about a vendor that gave you a raw deal, or the bridesmaid that was a complete bitch, or the flake client that won’t pay their balance.
It’s crucial that you develop a professional and friendly relationship, but that you make a pact with yourself, and your staff as to where to draw the line.
Do you really want your client to know where you live? Where you like to hang out, and let your hair down?
Time and Place is the best advice to follow.
Be Authentic, and Bite Your Tongue.
Great post! It’s something I’ve often thought about. When I was a dance teacher, the studio had a very strict no-fraternization policy between teacher and student. No hanging out with students away from the studio and if a student just happened to show up somewhere we were hanging out, then we had to leave. It was because we needed the students to trust us and always see us as a professional and their teacher first and never as a close friend – even though they often told us very personal thoughts. Even though I think the studio’s rule is a little extreme, I do think it’s good to leave the majority of your personal life out of the equation. Any time someone gets to curious I always ask, “Is having that knowledge going to benefit your planning?” The answer is always “no” and then we can easily move on.
It’s like when you go to the grocery store and the cashier tells you all of their life’s problems. Your clients aren’t paying for that. Thanks for bringing this up!
Good post, definitely makes you think. I tend to just be completely open with my life to everyone. However I try not to talk to much about past clients or other vendors, unless I good things to say
Thanks for the feedback Melinda & Rob.
Sharing with clients is a natural thing, we are working with them during a very personal & stressful time in their lives.
They want to be able to relate to us! It’s just knowing where to draw the line. They are clients, not friends.