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

  It appeared it was time to send out another search car, as once again no contact could be made via cell phone or radio. This time not just MrArrogance and his fiancée were missing but also his “film crew” team.

  MrArrogance and his fiancée (apologizing again for his boorish behavior) finally rolled in with the others who had been misled by MrArrogance. He had told them that plans had changed and the check-in lunch had been moved to dinner back at the resort to allow teams more time to film.

  Something about MrArrogance’s behavior was off. We were quietly discussing the possibility among ourselves that he might be on illegal drugs or had not taken required medication that day. We were moving into crisis mode management to quietly have MrArrogance removed from the scene until he could calm down. But before we could do that MrArrogance’s mood quickly shifted from being a danger to himself—personally and professionally—to becoming openly belligerent, defiant and right up in the faces of the senior executives. His stance was threatening as he leaned in closer to one top exec who was standing with his back to a plate glass window. The venue’s security guards started to move closer to be on hand should a need arise, but before they could get close enough to be able to react, MrArrogance raised his hand and prepared to swing hard at the company ex. Several of the company’s sales team who were nearer saw what was about to take place and tackled their colleague to the ground mid swing. Had MrArrogance connected he would have sent the individual flying into, or perhaps even through, the glass window. MrArrogance was fired on the spot by company execs and led off the scene by the security team, with Yul, Marco and J.T. following. Dee Dee and Daniela went to meet with company heads to see their proposed plan of action (no matter what had taken place no one wanted MrArrogance locked up in a Mexican jail), Myki went to the side of the fiancée and took her to a private spot to help her calm down, and Vero, Jae and Lainy skillfully took care of the other guests and got the celebration back on track. I, along with one of the higher-up company executives, was on the telephone to company lawyers—both the clients and ours—seeing what needed to be done from a legal standpoint to protect everyone, and then on the telephone with the hotel and airlines. The hotel’s security team packed MrArrogance’s bags and he was checked out of his room. Alternate accommodation was found for him at another hotel and local DMC staff arranged to have him checked in and his bags brought there. His fiancée (or soon to be ex-fiancée) elected not to go with him and was moved to another guestroom in the hotel for her safety. Turned out to no one’s surprise that the bruises she was sporting didn’t come from being clumsy—that was just a cover—and yes, MrArrogance had obtained and taken drugs today. Her new room was located on the concierge floor, which had its own elevator and required a special key, and had staff stationed there 24 hours a day to be of service only to guests staying on these floors. As well, her name was taken off of the hotel’s guest list so that incoming calls would not be directed to her. Hotel security was apprised of the situation and were already aware of who MrArrogance was from previous run-ins during his stay. Apparently, they’d been called to his room several times last night because of hotel guests’ complaints about loud screaming and voices coming from their room, but hadn’t let anyone on my staff know about that as yet as we’d been up and out of the hotel early today.

  MrArrogance was not to be permitted back on the hotel grounds and would be sent home tomorrow. His plane tickets had been changed and he was no longer flying home with the group. There were no direct flights back the next morning so MrArrogance would be connecting on his return in a city as far as possible from here so that he could not double back and drive in from a closer connecting city. It was also noted on his file that he was not allowed to change his tickets to an alternate route or receive a refund. Someone from security would be escorting MrArrogance to the airport tomorrow, turning him over to airport security and, as a safeguard, staying at the airport until the plane departed to make sure that he was on it.

  Then the calls started to come in. MrArrogance, after being driven to his new hotel, had tried to return, had been turned away and, thwarted, started a call-in campaign to try and reach his fiancée, which he couldn’t. She didn’t want to talk to him and was under the protective care of his ex-company and some of the wives of the senior execs. He also couldn’t reach any of the company heads or fellow guests, as the operators could now recognize his voice and were under instructions not to put him through to them. I was next on his list, and the calls coming in threatening suicide began, telling us that we would have to ship his body home. Daniela dryly remarked that it would be easier to deal with than this, as she knew the procedures for shipping and handling of goods out of the country to be sent to his home; she’d already taken care of making all the arrangements for his prized catch to be safely delivered there. MrArrogance had tested her patience around that and was testing it again now. And mine.

  At one point I had just hung up the telephone in the hotel lobby from speaking with him to find him on his knees begging me to let him back into the hotel, but that wasn’t my decision to make. Hotel security did not understand how he had managed to slip by them and escorted him back off of the grounds, and we moved out of the public areas to prevent another scene that would only serve to upset their hotel guests. We met with the hotel execs and they were firm on their actions. There would be no reprieve for their ex-employee and they would not be hiring him back. His fiancée, however, had a change of heart and asked to be moved over to his hotel with him and elected to fly home with him. We made the arrangements for them to be reunited. After all, there’s nothing we or her fiancé’s ex-company could do to have her stay against her will. Stats say that it can take someone in an abusive relationship eight times before they finally leave for good.

  Security said that when they dropped the fiancée off, MrArrogance seemed to be calmer. He must have been coming down from whatever he had taken. They said that when they left MrArrogance and his fiancée at the other hotel, his fiancée appeared to be in no immediate danger. Maybe this will be the wake-up call they both need and if not for both, then just his fiancée, as it’s not too late to call off the wedding and reclaim a life lived without fear.

  OCTOBER 17

  Our responsibility today was to the guests at hand and to bringing our client’s program back on track. You cannot let one bad experience mar the rest of the program. It had to go on as planned and it was our job to bring back the feeling of well-being.

  The atmosphere was much lighter after MrArrogance’s departure. Concern was expressed initially about the welfare of his intended, but there was nothing anyone could do. Returning with him had been her decision. And, as masters of discretion, there was nothing we could comment on about this matter even when pressed. It was up to us to lead by example and demonstrate the art of discretion so that this one event did not undo the good of their winning getaway and turn the hotel into a giant watercooler, with everyone discussing to death what had taken place.

  A private group breakfast was quickly arranged and the company executives expressed what their lawyers had instructed them to say and said that at that point the matter was to be dropped and everyone was to move forward with the day’s agenda. Luckily MrArrogance and his fiancée had played behind-the-scenes roles in yesterday’s filming, so the rest of their team could still take part in putting the finishing touches on their day’s endeavor.

  OCTOBER 20

  The rest of the week passed without further incident and the results from the day of filming were surprisingly good—so good, in fact, that the company is going to use some of the ideas in their upcoming campaign and the winning teams are going to get the chance to be part of shooting an actual commercial!

  You can plan and prepare but you never know exactly how an event will unfold. Expecting the unexpected to happen is the best you can do. Anticipate, have a backup plan and know what to do when crisis strikes, and I’ve learned that applies equally in life as in event production. You can pr
edict to a point the human element and how people interact with one another, but you have to be ready to handle twists and turns along the way. Some can be sad, as in the death of a beloved guest; serious, as in this case; or heartwarming, as in the case of one couple (both company employees and both top sales winners) on the trip, who with Daniela’s and Marco’s on-site help and the prior approval of their company execs, invited all guests on a day that was marked as “at leisure” to their destination wedding, which they had been keeping a secret. This event, unplanned by us, helped to push MrArrogance totally out of the minds of all the rest of the guests. Had we not known this was taking place, we would’ve suggested doing something fueled by great emotional energy that would have delivered the same results to get our event back on track. Having a wedding take place in the middle of this program was just what we needed!

  Customized wedding invitations hand-painted by the resort’s local artists on a Mexican tile base slipped inside a leather envelope with the bride and groom’s engraved initials were delivered to each guestroom the night before the wedding was scheduled to take place. They were beautifully done up but had to be redone before they could be delivered—Myki discovered the pink ribbon (part of the couple’s color scheme) used on the small miniature bouquets that were to accompany them bore a message imprinted on the ribbon proudly proclaiming, “It’s a girl.” Um. Wasn’t true. And not the message you necessarily want to send out accompanying your wedding invitation, even if it were. Talk about watercooler fodder!

  Guests were delighted to be asked to attend their sunset wedding celebration. Tiki torches and candles lined the pathway to their ceremony and reception dinner location. Their wedding ceremony took place under a wooden pavilion draped with white curtains. A private lounge area had been set up on a romantic section of the resort’s beach and the couple had arranged for their wedding guests to enjoy a grilled buffet dinner and cocktails as the sun set into the ocean after their ceremony. Guests dined on local specialties, such as lobster, turkey with “mole de rancho” sauce, prawns, Mexican rice, frijoles puercos (beans mixed with pork, sausages) and a tres leches (“three milks”) wedding cake with tequila. Mango, lemon, strawberry and tamarindo margaritas and icy Mexican beers were also served. A mariachi band provided background music during cocktails and a high-energy band played for the rest of the night and had the wedding guests up and dancing barefoot on the beach under a sky filled with twinkling stars that cast streaks of silver across turquoise water.

  OCTOBER 22

  Despite its beginning, the program ended on a high note, with the wedding an added bonus for watercooler talk back in the office instead of the focus being on MrArrogance being fired. He’s already a distant memory in the minds of the participants and his office has been cleaned out, and his replacement already has been installed.

  The farewell evening was spectacular. I was really happy with how we turned our program around and glad we had a couple of days after the upsetting incident to put it out of the participants’ minds, but I also know that even without the couple of days we still would have been able to turn it all around.

  GUESTS GONE WILD: Q&A

  Legal Responsibilities and Legal Repercussions

  Q: If the client’s employees or venue security had not been close enough to stop a dangerous situation from escalating, would the event planning staff have been required to step in and stop him from striking the company executive?

  A: To have a clear course of action to follow when violence occurs, discuss this type of issue in advance with company lawyers. Questions need to be answered, such as could event planning staff be charged by the aggressor for putting their hands on them, especially if they had been injured in the takedown? What would the legal repercussions be personally and to the company? Would the recommended action be to step back and get security to handle the matter?

  Assignment

  Not all security companies are created equal. One event planning company makes it a company policy that where they deem additional security to be necessary they only hire off-duty police officers who know the law, know what to do and how to do it as opposed to a security company that may have no formal training in this area. Discuss other measures event planning companies can take to protect themselves, their staff, their suppliers, their client and other guests.

  Removing a Guest from an Event

  Q: Did the event planning company and client have the right to move MrArrogance out of his hotel room to another hotel?

  A: In this case, the client, not MrArrogance, had booked and paid for the guestroom. Had the person causing the disruption been paying for his room on his own, which can happen, e.g., if attending a conference, the hotel—not the client—would have had to make that call. Along with knowing your company’s position on guest safety and security, you also need to review with your suppliers their crisis management plans before your event takes place and you need to know what you can and cannot do. For example, if the hotel had requested that event planning staff pack MrArrogance’s bags, is this something that they should be doing or legally should the hotel be handling it?

  Assignment

  Name and discuss key areas of guest safety and security that need to be addressed pre program.

  Client Responsibility

  Q: Did the company have the right to force the individual to fly home the next day?

  A: The company was picking up the cost of the single night in the other hotel and the return ticket home. The company executives informed MrArrogance that if he did not comply with the request, he would be responsible for making his own way home. Again, this is an area that needs to be discussed with company lawyers and staff safety needs to be addressed as well. For example, should an event planning staff member be requested to see the individual off at the airport? If so, should they bring security with them or have security bring the individual to the airport?

  Assignment

  Discuss the various ways this could be handled so that everyone involved is safe.

  Company Lawyers

  Q: Is there anything special that needs to be done when something like this takes place?

  A: Company lawyers of all involved parties will have certain requirements that they will want to see put into place, e.g., official written documentation of what took place, signatures on witness statements, etc. It is essential for event planning companies to have company policies, procedures and protocols in place that have been sanctioned by company lawyers and to make sure that they are reviewed and signed off by staff members. You need to have a crisis management plan in place so that your staff know what they can do and when they need to bring in help. Someone on program should also have the emergency number to reach the company lawyer should something unexpected happen.

  Assignment

  What other measures could be taken to create backup to the reports? (Answers: police reports filed, pictures taken, visit to the hospital to treat injuries providing proof of extent of violence, etc.)

  Witnessing Illegal Activities

  Q: What course of action should be taken if an event planning staff member sees or hears about drug use taking place or sees someone with a concealed weapon at their event?

  A: Again, this is an area that needs to have prior in-office discussion and legal advice on steps that need to be taken. For example, should the client be informed before taking a prescribed course of action?

  Assignment

  Discuss various ways that event planning companies can be proactive to stop or limit drug use at one of their events. (Answer: hiring bathroom attendants, hiring off-duty police as security, etc.)

  Abusive Guests

  Q: If signs of spousal abuse or any other type of abuse are identified, are event planning staff required to step in?

  A: This is an area that could be and should be discussed with company lawyers. Partner and spousal abuse—physical and verbal—can take place whether or not drinking is involved. Some participants simply make the mistake of bringing gues
ts that they do not know well to company/business events. Planners are skilled at defusing heated moments that sometimes can occur during an event, but when things escalate, it’s imperative that staff know how they are to handle specific dangerous situations.

  Assignment

  Identify what type of scenario would be considered a heated moment as opposed to an act of physical and verbal abuse.

  Handling Emergency Situations

  Q: Should any other action have been taken when MrArrogance was threatening suicide as opposed to just moving him to another hotel and leaving him on his own for the night in a poor state of mind?

  A: Each event brings learning lessons. As you learn and grow, you’ll discover new issues that will need to be reviewed with legal counsel and be added to company policy and procedures. Make an emergency call for legal direction as soon as an unfamiliar situation arises, and be sure to discuss your findings in a post event meeting so that all staff are informed as to an appropriate course of legal action.