Our nightmares

We’ve all had them (at least those of us honest enough to admit it) – our event nightmares  - there is the freakish snow storm in April, missing keynote speaker (due to the freakish snow storm), stolen giveaways, and of course the missing boxes shipped to the event  (why is it  that the box that goes MIA is never something easily replaced liked velcro  and scissors – instead its usually 1,000 printed name tags or the box of desperately needed conference brochures).

So here is our  4 step process when disaster strikes:

1. Take a deep breath and assess the situation  (we use a 1-10 scale)

2.  Develop plan b (also good to have plan c ready to go if needed)

3. Stay calm – if you have a full blown panic attack than others around you start to  panic  (not a pretty site)

4. Learn and move on

I learned NEVER ship a box marked “$1.00 iTunes gift cards” and always hand-carry the pre-printed name tags.

What we’re serving

According to the show “Mad Men” a martini  is the drink to serve at a business lunch – but given we don’t live in the 60′s (or drink martinis during the day….at least not yet)  we’re sharing our tips for what works at a business dinner event:

Think Local: For one client we were asked to “wine and dine”  their European customers who had been flown into Canada for a high level executive briefing.  We opted to serve them something unique to Canada – Ice Wine.     We had the sommelier explain how the wines are made (grapes are only picked when temp is 10 degrees below zero – who new that was even possible?) and we provided a tasting from several vineyards.  It was a hit.

First Impressions Count: Signature drinks aren’t just for weddings.   Having something ready to serve your business guests as they arrive is a great way to kick off the evening.    For an event this week  we’re serving Prosecco in flutes passed around on silver trays as guests enter the Italian restaurant.

Top Shelf All the Way: We all have to pinch pennies sometimes when it comes to staying on budget – but cutting back on the quality of what you serve business executives is not the place to do it.