Confessions of an Event Planner: Case Studies From the Real World of Events--How to Handle the Unexpected and How to Be a Master of Discretion

by Judy Allen

  This event has many moving parts and we need a full crew to run it. It’s absolute bliss after a week on my own with DiamondDiva and no backup reprieve. Won’t make that mistake again. I’m just here this time around to make nice and leave when it feels right.

  Dee Dee is running this show with Troy, or BoyTroy as we like to affectionately call him. Actually, he gave himself the nickname and it stuck. BoyTroy is a play on “boy toy,” what all his female clients seem to regard him as and nothing could be farther from the truth.

  BoyTroy may be young but he is happily married to a wonderful woman and nothing he does ever gives off the slightest wisp of his having a lack of decorum. He is absolutely respectful to his wife and his marriage but that doesn’t stop both single and married women—both company execs and their guests—on his programs from throwing themselves at him, not caring about the wallet picture of his wife that he happily passes around, asked or unasked, if he is trying to make a polite exit from a sticky situation. They choose to be blind to the wedding band that he wears proudly and never leaves his finger. At a couple of events we had to set up a buddy system just to make sure that BoyTroy was left unmolested by a few certain female execs who hoped he would take them from their boardroom to his bedroom as an added sales perk. And he is equally protective of us in return when the situation warrants it. To us, BoyTroy is like the kid brother everyone wishes they had, but apparently those on the make see him as something completely different.

  On the flip side, Jake, our other star sales executive, thinks he’s HOT and God’s gift to women. Luckily for us, it seems he’s not completely correct. No one is literally dropping at Jake’s feet, although that did happen to BoyTroy. The wife of one of BoyTroy’s client guests—a senior executive—did exactly that in front of her husband, and before BoyTroy could disengage himself, she loudly and drunkenly suggested that they meet up at the resort for a naked Jacuzzi. As can be imagined, the senior executive was none too pleased to have his wife making a fool out of herself and of him in front of his peers and his bosses. We later heard that they ended up divorcing, and that the husband knew BoyTroy had done nothing to encourage her actions. It was apparently the last straw for the senior executive as this kind of behavior had gone on before.

  Guests often don’t realize the impact they can have on someone’s life personally and professionally when they forget the event that they are at is primarily business mixed with pleasure, and that their behavior will reflect directly back on the person who invited them. For some an open bar is like waving a red flag; they end up being a bull in a china shop, with reputations crashing everywhere.

  Using the buddy system, we kept a close eye on Jake as well, but for very different reasons. So far, nothing Jake had done had come close to crossing the line but we—okay, mostly I—worried about what could happen if his joking overtures ever met with a yes. Dee Dee swears Jake is harmless and says that he’d turn tail and run so fast in the opposite direction that you wouldn’t see him for the dust. Jake swears he is on the lookout for Mrs. Right but my intuition tells me he would not be averse to hooking up with Ms. Right Now if the opportunity presented itself. But Jake is aware of the company rules with respect to expected conduct and to the best of our knowledge follows those rules while on-site and representing our company. What happens in his personal life after a program has run is none of our business and in our industry a number of people do end up dating and even marrying their clients, participants and even local staff they have met on a program.

  Jake’s clients seem to love him, even his brassy style, and he has some big multimillion-dollar accounts. Go figure. Jake’s clientele tends to lean towards blue-collar boys-and-their-toys and boys-will-be-boys manufacturers who are more than comfortable on site inspections asking Jake to take them or direct them to the best stripjoints in town or find them a fun companion—Jake usually recommends they talk to the hotel bell staff or concierge and stays clear of it from that point on. BoyTroy’s client’s are more high-end, white-collar folks on the financial, pharmaceutical and entertainment side, and did the same but usually more discreetly although not always.

  BoyTroy was shocked at what had taken place during one site inspection to the Orient where he witnessed firsthand the previously unimagined talents and flexibility some young female “dancers” had and said, while his clients didn’t want to leave, he kept his head down on the bar most of the time. Jake, on the other hand, was nonchalant about the fact that one of his clients wanted him to go visit a renowned club called Dirty Harry’s in the Caribbean where reportedly anything goes and patrons were locked in once the show began. Those kinds of requests were frequent from Jake’s clientele and he took it in stride, practiced discretion and never told tales, which is one of the reasons his clients loved him and booked with him repeatedly. With Jake as their sales rep, they knew their event would be a success and that there would be certain fringe benefits, that he wasn’t adverse to sitting down and having a beer or several with them, that he loved racing—both cars and the horses—and that they would be safe under his care for their well-being while away. By contrast, BoyTroy’s clients loved that he was a great golfer and were always asking him to be part of their golf foursomes, that he could play a good game of tennis and that he could recommend the best wines to go with a meal.

  When BoyTroy’s female admirers aren’t throwing themselves at his feet, they’ve been known to cause other havoc. One hotel sales rep who was always all atwitter in BoyTroy’s presence accidentally set our office on fire—a small fire but a fire all the same—when she brought her hotel’s top chefs and wait staff into our office to cook breakfast for us as a holiday surprise. Of course, she wanted to be in charge of preparing or at least supervising BoyTroy’s dish and wanted to make sure that it was cooked specifically as ordered, and she was going to serve it to him herself. Well, that plan had to be abandoned when, because her attention had been on BoyTroy and not where it was needed, and she knocked over a chafing dish with a lit flame that quickly ignited some papers nearby. She slunk out of our office that day deeply embarrassed, never to return.

  The Barracuda, however, was quite different. There was no ploy that she left unturned in her mission to try and get BoyTroy alone. Unfortunately, The Barracuda was the person her company executives placed in charge to be assigned to work with BoyTroy in handling their event and they had no idea of her hidden wanton side. By day she dressed demurely in classic suits buttoned up to the neck and in sensible shoes, with her hair pulled back unflatteringly, but at home she favored silk robes with nothing underneath and her hair and morals let down, as BoyTroy discovered “by accident” one night, not realizing that he had been caught in an elaborate setup until he made his hasty retreat.

  The Barracuda, having heard that BoyTroy’s wife was out of town and that he would be attending an upcoming supplier event, called the supplier and had herself added to the list of attendees. It was a sit-down dinner and she insisted on being seated next to her sales rep so that together they could discuss their program needs with the supplier’s representatives. That was music to the supplier’s ears and her request was readily granted.

  The Barracuda then scheduled a late afternoon meeting with BoyTroy at her office the same day as the event, and as BoyTroy was preparing to leave, she asked him for a lift to the presentation as her car was in the shop and it wouldn’t be ready until later in the week. Up until then he hadn’t been aware that she was attending the event. BoyTroy, gallant as ever, offered to take her there.

  At the end of the evening The Barracuda asked if BoyTroy would be a love and drive her home as it was only a short distance away and would not be terribly out of his way. This woman easily earned over six figures a year and could have well afforded to take a taxi. Feeling trapped, not knowing how to nicely tell a million-dollar client to find her own way home, BoyTroy did as he was asked, but talked up his wife all the way back. Dropping The Barracuda off, he was relieved to have gotten away so fast. He had fully
expected her to invite him up for coffee, as she knew that he didn’t have someone waiting for him at home.

  Before he was halfway out of her gatehouse community complex’s driveway, his cell phone rang. It was The Barracuda telling him that she had forgotten her briefcase in the back of his car, and asking if he would be able to bring it to her as she needed to work on what was in her briefcase tonight (this after BoyTroy had volunteered to courier it over rush first thing in the morning). When he arrived back at The Barracuda’s, he found that in the few minutes since he’d dropped her off she had changed into a silk robe that left nothing to the imagination as it was only loosely tied—there was no doubt that she was naked underneath—had dimmed her lights, lit candles and poured two glasses of wine (one to thank BoyTroy for all his help). Barracudas are known for moving fast and that she did.

  BoyTroy regaled us with the story of his harrowing escape the next day at the office, looking for advice on how to best handle the situation if it ever arose again. That part was simple; blaming it on the company lawyers was always an easy out and a true one. Employees, personally, and the companies they work with can be sued if a client is injured while they are technically on the job or even in transportation provided by the company such as a limousine, car service or taxi, and this is not limited to the event planning industry. One hairdresser giving her client a ride home was involved in an accident where the client was seriously injured and she was sued for millions, as was her company. When in doubt of how to get out of something questionable, always cite company lawyer policy.

  Another time, The Barracuda was immovable around the fact that she wanted only BoyTroy and herself to go on a site inspection, which we knew was a bad situation waiting to happen. We artfully contrived to have one of our freelancers, Myki, meet up with The Barracuda and BoyTroy in the destination in a way that looked as though it was by accident, not a carefully orchestrated maneuver called “Saving BoyTroy.”

  Myki knew The Barracuda well, having worked several of her programs providing on-site translation for their out-of-country guests. Myki spoke eight languages fluently. She didn’t necessarily broadcast that last fact and it was very interesting to find out what was being said in the behind-the-scenes supplier conversations; apparently, many people underestimated her talents and judged her solely on her disarming looks. Those factors, combined with her sunny disposition, warm and winning ways and can-get-it-done-no-problem attitude was an asset to any program.

  The Barracuda’s bosses adored Myki and specially requested that The Barracuda make sure that we booked Myki for any programs they had going. We knew that The Barracuda would not bite the hand that feeds her very expensive tastes and do anything that would cause her bosses displeasure, such as being ungracious to Myki, whom their guests loved having on their programs as well.

  The Barracuda did her best to catch BoyTroy alone using her namesake’s lie-in-wait or ambush approach, hoping to catch BoyTroy by surprise and did once, but that was on the plane before they arrived. The Barracuda started to make numerous excuses to get up from her window seat and seductively climbed over him to get to the aisle. Greatly alarmed after having this happen twice, BoyTroy then leapt to his feet in a display of gentlemanly good manners whenever she made a move to exit again and would only sit down once The Barracuda was safely back in her seat.

  By now, both BoyTroy and Myki were growing wise to The Barracuda’s voracious and predatory ways and were ready to checkmate her at every turn. Myki expressed her happiness at her luck in running into the two of them while she was waiting for her friend to fly down and meet her to start her vacation (which fictitiously was to start after BoyTroy and The Barracuda departed) and charmingly gushed about how she welcomed the chance to review their upcoming program with them since she would be the lead program director on this one and get to enjoy their company, saving her from the fate of having to sightsee and dine alone, and no, no, it was not an imposition on her time at all but something she was thrilled to be able to do (all said with tongue in cheek and appearing genuine—being a professional actor is another one of Myki’s hidden talents). She stuck to them like glue as she was assigned to do.

  The Barracuda knew she had been caught at her game and never made the same request again. She knew one way or another she would be thwarted from achieving her main objective, which was to be alone with BoyTroy and to make him into her personal boy toy. No chance of that ever happening. Having one of my staff, my company, my clients or their guests being thrown knowingly into a compromising position is not something that is ever going to happen under my supervision.

  Starting out in the business, before I became savvy to the ways of the world, so to speak, I had found myself placed at personal and professional risk while entertaining business clients, who had a very different definition of the meaning of being entertained, while on-site or on a program. I remember how it felt as a novice one night in Europe, on a site inspection that I had taken alone with one of our top clients. I received a call from the inebriated company president telling me that he was on his way over to my room—he had obtained a key from the front desk—to make my last night in Portugal “memorable.” It was memorable all right. I ended up pushing the heavy armoire in front of my bedroom door so that I could sleep soundly. The next morning I spoke to the general manager of the hotel and told him what had taken place the night before, as I had found out it was the duty manager that had given my key out to my client in an effort to placate him. I don’t know if anything was ever done about it.

  And another time I found that I had been set up to go on a private yacht cruise in the Greek isles (we were going to charter the boat for an exclusive executive retreat) alone with a company owner who had felt that one representative from our company—that would be me—would be sufficient. He had told me that his wife and another executive couple were going to accompany us, which was not the case nor had ever been the intention. A cozy tête-à-tête just for two at his company’s expense was the main objective; monkey business not company business was top of his mind.

  So our tactical operation with The Barracuda was done in a blatant display of good business ethics, business etiquette and with business finesse in a way that was designed to protect the honor and personal and professional reputations of all involved. Along with saving BoyTroy from having to deal with unwanted advances, we were also protecting our client’s employee from embarrassing herself, and whether she wanted it or not, we did have her best interests, as well as our own, at heart. Note to self: Their company really needs to offer a mandatory refresher course on sexual harassment in the workplace; suggest that is added to their next company meeting that is scheduled to cover new company direction, policies and procedures because The Barracuda’s not the only one in that company who likes to work very hands-on. One of her male colleagues visiting our office once plopped himself down in Daniela’s lap without warning and draped his arm around her, trailing his fingers up and down her bare arms in what he thought was a suggestive manner. Said colleague was soon picking up his bruised ego, as well as himself, off of the floor as Daniela firmly scolded him for his inappropriate actions.

  I’m actually arriving before our advance team, which will be on hand to supervise move-in; set up and oversee airport arrivals, transfers and hotel check-in; and be in place before BoyTroy arrives with his client’s top executives and their event assistants. I want to take the opportunity before everyone starts to arrive to check out a couple of new venues for future groups before getting caught up in the whirlwind of advance group preparation.

  Bob, my favorite limousine driver in Tucson, as expected, was there on time to pick me up. It was so relaxing to settle into my limo.

  This one had to be the longest and most lavish I had ever seen in the area and not a request that I had made—and it was white (DiamondDiva would have loved it!). Bob will be taking me around the next couple of days to do my touring and possibly on a post-program side road trip, done in event planning site inspect
ion style, to Sedona to check out their luxury resorts and spas, as pampered well-being corporate getaways—mind, body and soul retreats—were a growing trend. The dramatic red rocks and nearby Grand Canyon would be an added draw, so Bob and I left catching up until then. Leaving the driving in Bob’s capable hands allowed me to focus on taking pictures and making creative theme and event design research and development notes.

  I’m really looking forward to this program. It has a lot of moving parts so all of our most capable hands are coming together to pull off another creatively challenging program. The last two we had done for this client—one in the Bahamas and the other in L.A.—still had them and their industry buzzing. Creating and flawlessly executing one-of-a-kind, meaningful, memorable and magical special events is what we are known for around the world.

  Everyone loved the one-day surprise employee appreciation event their company threw for them on their company’s 10-year anniversary celebration. All of their employees and their partners were whisked away in the middle of winter for a same-day tropical barbecue beach party. The plane ride down and back was wild. Everyone was in such high spirits from beginning till end. One minute they were up to their ankles in icy gray slush and in just a matter of hours were being totally pampered while relaxing on a pristine white beach surrounded by palm trees, playing in azure water, warmed by the sun, the rum and other liquid libations, eating good food, enjoying great entertainment and living. For many it was a daydream fantasy, a day in the sun, having fun in the middle of a deep winter freeze with someone they loved. Beats employee appreciation pizza and beer back in the office all to heck.

  Their last incentive was a jaunt to L.A. when the Oscars were taking place. On their first night, their company took over the hotel’s penthouse presidential suite—which took up an entire floor and had a wraparound balcony that offered wonderful views of L.A. from all sides—and served up a decadent reception for their guests that was fit for Hollywood royalty and featured a private concert by a well-known entertainer.