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That one Thursday when three vendors canceled on me within 4 hours | Event Marketing Pros - SMM Buzz

max415•2mo ago

That one Thursday when three vendors canceled on me within 4 hours

I was running a local business expo in Columbus last spring and everything was set. Then my coffee vendor called at 9am saying their truck broke down. Fine, I scrambled and found a backup. By 11am, the AV company messaged me saying they double booked and couldn't provide the sound system I paid for. I spent my lunch break on hold with three different rental places. Then at 1pm, the banner printer said their machine jammed and my signage wouldn't be ready. I ended up borrowing a PA system from a church down the street and printing signs at a FedEx. The expo still happened but I was running on pure adrenaline. Has anyone else had a day where it felt like the universe was against your event?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thomas2mo ago

Spent my entire Saturday once chasing down a rental table company that just never showed for a neighborhood block party. Ended up borrowing picnic tables from three different strangers houses.

grace_allen2mo ago

Honestly I used to think people were exaggerating when they talked about "the universe being against them" for an event, like it was just bad planning or something. But then I had a charity bake sale where the venue double booked us, the oven in the church kitchen broke, and my main volunteer called in sick all within an hour of each other. I spent the whole morning running to a neighbor's house to bake cookies on her stovetop and calling around for a new space. It was just one thing after another, and it really opened my eyes to how a whole day can just fall apart no matter how much you prepare.

casey_harris2mo ago

The bake sale chaos sounds EXACTLY like my friend's wedding planning last year. She had the caterer back out two days before, the florist brought completely wrong flowers, and then her dress zipper broke during the rehearsal dinner. It was like the universe was sprinting through a checklist of everything that could possibly go wrong. Those days where you keep thinking "well it can't get worse" and then it DOES are the ones that make you believe in bad luck for real.