Recently, I read a thread in a wedding group concerning several couples who hired the same DJ and encountered problems. The first couple mentioned that they paid the DJ $750. While he did show up, he was hours late, causing undue stress. Besides being late, they noticed his professional equipment consisted of a single speaker, a mic, and his phone. In other instances, brides commented that he did not show up or canceled shortly before the event. One bride mentioned that she was informed he had booked a more lucrative job. Many comments in the thread advised these couples that they should have hired a "professional" or suggested that "you get what you pay for." While these could be true, these comments are not particularly helpful or insightful. So, I decided to investigate myself and see how many red flags existed besides the price, which was less than half the average.
The first thing I did was look for some social proof. Since I wasn’t familiar with the DJ in question, it put me in the same position as many couples. Generally, if a DJ has been around for more than five years in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, I know them or have heard of them, but I had never heard of this DJ. I started with a Google search and was looking for a few things. First, I wanted to find a website, but I didn’t. Next, I started looking for a Google business profile along with third-party reviews from Google, WeddingWire, or Facebook. I did find a Facebook page with zero reviews; in fact, the option to leave a review was turned off. These alone were enough to tell me this probably wasn’t a legitimate business.
Based on my initial searches and the corresponding results, I would classify this DJ as extremely high risk. The price seemed extremely enticing, which is probably why this DJ was getting booked despite the presence of major red flags. There is one group of DJs that has noticeably low pricing: new DJs. There’s a chance this DJ was new; this would explain the absence of reviews and an overall low profile online. A new DJ often leads with a low price; many are unknowingly losing money and can’t afford to offer everything more established and reliable DJs can provide. Ultimately, this contributes to the failure of one-third of DJs and their businesses in the first couple of years, leaving their clients scrambling.
At the time, these couples probably felt great knowing they were given a price that was well below other DJ quotes. However, their experience and dealings were equally well below the norm for even an average DJ business. The deal they got, at best, would be described as regrettable, and on your wedding day, these are not the memories you want. Increasingly, this is becoming a bigger problem for couples. In 2024 so far, I’ve had more emergency requests than I’ve seen in 10+ years of DJing weddings. They all have some common attributes, at least with the couples and wedding planners I’ve spoken with. First, I’ve never heard of 80% of the DJs mentioned. No reviews or only recent reviews are something you can’t ignore. Second, and by far the biggest red flag, is a price below the average of $1600+ give or take 20%. Reliable and experienced DJs do cost more, but generally, they offer couples a better wedding day experience.
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