What to Expect When You Go Cheap on Corporate Entertainment

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about an inquiry I received for corporate event entertainment in California. The inquiring party wanted to spend no more than $250 TOTAL on customized, professionally-emceed event entertainment for 50 people, out in the middle of nowhere. I passed on the gig (understandably), however they actually found someone, if you can believe it – and all I can say is, good luck!

Well, it’s happened again.

Somebody from Texas asked if I could fly one of my professional emcees in to lead a trivia event. She then said the scope had changed, and wanted to make it a virtual/hybrid event – a two-hour hybrid event, for four people – incorporating not just customized team trivia, but curating an entire escape room as well, with props, clues, etc.

And she wants to keep the whole thing under $500.

Is this a new trend for uncertain economic times? Spending as little as you possibly can on your company party? I decided to explore this topic in today’s article.

First Thing to Know: There Are Always Cheaper Vendors

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article entitled “Choosing a Corporate Trivia Vendor? Choose Wisely.” The basic premise was that since the pandemic, there’s been (and has continued to be) a massive explosion in pub quiz companies and independent quizmasters servicing bars and restaurants nationwide. Each and every one of them will gladly work your corporate or private gig as well.

Have these companies or quizzers been around long? No. Are these professional corporate emcees? No. Do they have any experience producing or hosting events for corporate audiences? I highly doubt it. Yet there they are, offering to do what I do, with one distinct advantage: they’ll work for cheap.

But what happens when you hire a cheap vendor? Not just for trivia, but any kind of corporate entertainment or team building activity? Let’s take a look at what you can likely expect when you pay the absolute minimum.

Lack of Professionalism

Service providers’ fees are commensurate with the level of service they provide. Someone who charges a lot can likely justify that with years of specialized training and experience, backed by a solid reputation amongst their customers and peers. Likewise, vendors who barely charge anything probably don’t have much to offer in terms of quality or expertise.

If you hire somebody to entertain your corporate event who charges rock-bottom prices – especially when compared to similar providers – don’t expect them to be at the top of their craft, because they’re probably not. Don’t expect them to arrive on time either, or to dress appropriately for the occasion. And once they’re on the microphone in front of your audience of colleagues, clients, executives or other important people, you had better be ready to pull the plug at any moment – because God only knows what they’ll say or do. (Click here for another article about what professionalism in corporate entertainment DOES look like).

Nightmare Customer Service & Communication

This is perhaps a little bit TMI, but I’ve been trying for the past several weeks to schedule my first colonoscopy (I’ve got to be my best to perform my best, after all). The medical facility I was referred to recently switched to a fully-automated answering system, and it’s been virtually impossible to reach anyone. When I DO actually get a human being on the phone, I’m told the person in charge of scheduling is busy and will call me back; of course, they never do.

I use this colorful analogy to make a point, and that is that when you hire a service provider – be it a trivia host or a gastroenterologist – you want to have good communication throughout the entire process. You want that provider to be readily available and highly responsive. If you’re hiring a budget vendor, you should prepare yourself for this not to be the case. Don’t expect rapid responses or answered calls. If they’re working your event for a tiny amount of money, not only do they want to minimize their time commitment to you, but they’ve likely got a bunch of other low-paying clients to focus on as well. They have no incentive at all to prioritize you or your event – so don’t expect them to.

Bad Attitude

There’s an argument to be made that if you hire someone who’s just starting out, they’ll want to do their best to impress. Heck, when I first got my feet wet in the professional trivia hosting game, I would work basically any gig for any company, for any amount of money – just so I could say I did it.

But I think that’s the exception, not the norm. Yes, it’s possible you could find someone who’s just launched his or her brand-new corporate entertainment company, and will absolutely bend over backwards to give you a great event at a bargain rate. However, it’s far more likely that the budget vendor you’ve hired doesn’t care about you any more than they do their last customer or the next one – cheap vendors make it up in volume, after all. They probably couldn’t care less if they never see you again, let alone try to exceed your expectations.

It’s also likely that your budget vendor isn’t the performer who’s actually showing up to your event. That will be handled by someone your vendor has hired for even LESS money than you’re paying, and who therefore cares even LESS about you and your event! You can be hopeful this isn’t the case here, however I wouldn’t bet on it.

Bottom Line: You Get What You Pay For

You’ve heard this old axiom before I’m sure, however it really is true. When you spend a lot on something – ANYTHING – you can reasonably expect it to be a higher caliber product, service or craftsmanship. The vendor has the experience, expertise and reputation to justify the higher cost, and is also probably really good at what they do. If you’re bringing in someone to put in front of a corporate audience, this is what you want.

Contrarily, if someone’s product or service is cheap – as in really, really cheap, far below the industry standard – you should expect that the level of excellence just isn’t there. Yes, they’re less expensive. But at what cost? There is no value for what you’re paying, and you can’t reasonably expect there to be.

I understand high-quality vendors aren’t cheap, and that not everyone can afford premium brands for every function. I would simply caution that if you’re going as low as you can go – basically if you’re trying to pay nothing – you will indeed get what you pay for in the end. And when it comes to entertaining the most-important people you work with or for, is that really worth the risk?

For a related article, check out “How Much Do Corporate Trivia Events Cost?”