1. How To Set Up a Room for a Show
2. Block Booking Discounts
3. Repeat Performance Policy
4. Win-Win Cancellation Policy
5. Rain Dates
6. TREVOR's Quality Guarantee

1. How To Set Up A Room For A Show So They Can Enjoy It Even More

Here are some suggestions if you are setting up for one of TREVOR's stage shows:

A. If you are planning to set up chairs audience-style, they work better in curved rows around the performance area. People can see better and they feel closer to the show.

B. If there is no stage and the room is a rectangle, it usually works better if you arrange it so that the "front" of the room where the show will be is on one of the long sides. This way, more people will have front row seats, and again, everyone will feel closer to the show. If the audience (or just the kids) will be sitting on the floor, I usually automatically set it up this way.

C. If it's a family show and you want parents to participate with their children, make families sit together. It works. It works even better if you word it that kids have to sit with their parents. This way, the parents will not only be involved throughout the show, but will also be able to role-model proper audience etiquette for their children.

D. If it's specifically a show just for the kids and you really don't care if the adults participate, please ask them ahead of time not to stand in the back and talk during the show. It is very distracting for those who are participating, and it can even sometimes make it difficult for the performer and the kids to hear each other. Especially in a small room or in a big echo-y gym or cafeteria!

E. With groups that don't know each other well, name tags are recommended for groups of less than 100. It's a huge help with introductions, as well as for people who aren't that good with names. It's also a real boon for the entertainer, who may not know anyone but you! It's especially helpful to the performer if the children have name tags, especially when it comes to crowd control and unruly children (not yours, of course!).

F. All of the above are suggestions. None of it is required. You know your facility and the people who frequent it better than anyone, so use your best judgement.

2. Block Booking Discounts

Block booking is basically a group discount for several groups in the same area that get together and all book performances for the same day. This saves me time and travel expenses, and I'm delighted to pass the saving on to you. The more groups that join you, the more you all save. Take $50 off each group's cost for each additional show you book. So, one show costs $450. Two shows are $400 each. Three run $350 each. Four are $300 each. Five (the max) are just $250 apiece... a collective savings of $1,000 ($200 each times 5) if you arrange for five shows on the same day!

There's even more of a discount for multiple shows at the same location. One show is $450. Two shows at the same location is $650. And three or more shows -- basically all day -- is $950!

For more details, check out Block Booking Made Easy.

3. Repeat Performance Policy

This is very simple: If you book me at least once each year, I will never raise the cost. Ever.

I have quite a few clients who book me for their event year after year after year, or book me for some sort of program each calendar year. I love their loyal patronage and reward them by never raising the price for their event. For instance, Northwest Park in Windsor CT has booked me for the Northwest Park Fair every year since 1992 and is still paying my 1992 rates! They've saved thousands of dollars already just by sticking with the tried and true. So lock your event in now by booking me every year -- the savings over the long run are huge, and continue to build up the longer our yearly relationship continues.

NOTE: The Repeat Performance Policy does not, of course, apply to free and discounted performances.

4. Win-Win Cancellation Policy

Many people don't realize that an agreement on the phone or online is as legally binding as a written contract. Both sides must abide by it unless released from their contractual obligations by the other. It is equally unethical for either of us to go back on our side of the agreement.

When you and I come to a performance agreement, even if it's not written down and signed, it is a contract. You are legally obligated to uphold your end (pay what you agreed to pay when you agreed to pay it) even if you ask me not to do my end (perform), just as I would still be obligated to perform even if I asked you not to pay me! You wouldn't be happy if I canceled the show, and I wouldn't be happy if you canceled the show either. The first puts you in a tough bind, and the second has caused me huge financial problems in the past. This is because most of the time, people have canceled so close to the show date that it's impossible for me to book another show on that date.

This is my full-time profession: it is my only income. I need to do a certain amount of business or I can't pay my bills. When you book me, that income goes into my budget and then I can focus my marketing efforts further ahead. If I allow you to cancel a few days or even a few months before our scheduled date, there is very little chance of me recouping that income because most clients book entertainment several months in advance. To put it bluntly: being canceled leaves me up a creek without a paddle... and most people have no idea.

Many professional entertainers build a Cancellation Fee into their contracts. Usually it's around 50% of the full fee. But this means that if you cancel, I get paid for doing nothing and you get nothing for your money--- and I'm just plain not comfortable with that. 

So I've developed the following Win-Win Cancellation Policy that equally respects both your show and my income:

When we agree that in exchange for my services at a certain time and location you will pay me the agreed-upon fee on that date, therefore: If you cancel for any reason, then you agree to send me the full amount by the date you agreed and I will send you a rain check with no expiration date that is good for a show at a mutually agreed upon date and time of your choosing. If I cancel for any reason and you don't want to reschedule, then I agree to send you a check for the full amount. What this means for me is that my bills get paid on time; and what this means for you is that you will get either a show or a check! Nice, huh?

By the way, in 50 years of performing and over 7,000 appearances, I've never canceled a show. And I'd appreciate it if you understood that it's really not okay for you to cancel either --- even if we don't have signatures, deposit, or whatever. If you agreed, please honor your commitment.

Everyone I explain this to seems to suddenly understand when they learn that this is my sole source of income, not just a weekend hobby -- it's my job, folks. Nobody likes to hear that they won't be getting a paycheck this week because the boss's kid got sick, the weather was bad, or someone just plain changed their mind!

Basically, my cancellation policy amounts to this: I don't get my finances messed up and you get what you paid for... and if it's my fault, then I pay you! Fair enough?

NOTE: Block Booking cancellations are rescheduled at full price unless, of course, you re-Block Book.

5. Rain Dates

If this were a week-end hobby for me, it would be easy to accommodate everyone's Rain Dates for outside events. But it's not: this is my full-time profession and my sole source of income. This makes Rain Dates very difficult to guarantee.

Point #1: Most outdoor events are held on weekends so in any given year, a good 60-90% of my work from April - October is on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. This means that lots of events are competing for my time. (There is a little more leeway for weekday events, though.)

Point #2: It is not at all unusual for me to have several different events in my calendar on any given weekend... a full weekend of work. [YAY!]

Point #3: Most Rain Dates are scheduled for either the following day or the following weekend. This means, the event planners (that's you!) want me to hold two dates open for the price of one.

Point #4: For me to guarantee Rain Dates could mean a loss of income of 30-60% since it would mean that I wouldn't be able to book a full weekend of work every weekend. That would not be good for my budget. The equivalent flip side of the coin would be if you had to actually pay everyone double to hold both days. That would not be good for your budget either.

Therefore, in fairness to everyone (including myself) here's my policy on Rain Dates:

I will write your Rain Date into my calendar and if I'm available will gladly honor your Rain Date should the need arise. If you need to use your raindate, I will ask you to pay me on the day your event was originally scheduled (by mail is fine) per my Win Win Cancellation Policy above and will give you a Rain Check with no expiration date that will be good for either your Rain Date if I'm available OR any future event you may plan... as long as I'm available for it, of course. This way, my budget won't get a big hole blown in it and you will still get the entertainment you paid for. Fair enough?

If you're still not convinced that this is in everyone's best interest, please read my Win-Win Cancellation Policy above for the full explanation.

Please be assured that every Rain Check I've ever had to issue has been fully honored even though some of them weren't cashed in for several years!

And finally, for private events, since I have no idea when someone might book me for what date, the most fair, reliable, and secure way to ensure a Rain Date is to not actually schedule it until it is needed, that is, when the event gets rained out. This way:
1. You will only be asking me to hold one date at a time (more fair),
2. We will be able to pick from open days in my schedule (more reliable), and most importantly,
3. Since your re-scheduled date will become the new official date for your event, it will be locked in for you (secure).

6. TREVOR's Quality Guarantee

After more than 7500 professional appearances entertaining over 3 million people in 17 states and provinces, my 99.9% cumulative Lifetime Customer Satisfaction Rate says that you, too, will be pleased with my work. It is as simple as this:

TREVOR'S QUALITY GUARANTEE:
YOU WILL BE 100% SATISFIED AND
YOUR GROUP WILL HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN...
OR IT'S FREE!

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