(This is a series of blog entries on Safety)

Ah Choo!

No, I’m not calling Mr Choo… that’s the sound one makes when one sneezes. (hehe lame I know)

Health Safety!

This one is quite straightforward.

Just recently, we had an outbreak of snouters’ flu AKA swine flu. And the most obvious solution for people running events then was to postpone or to take precautions.

Say with me, PRE-CAU-TION.

Precaution is better then cure ain’t it?

So what type of precaution?

Numero Uno : Do up a health advisory in your invites. Remind your guest if they are not feeling well or having flu like symptoms to refrain from coming to the event. Yes, use the word “refrain”. Be tactful, you wouldn’t want to tick anybody off.

Numero Dos: If need be, set up a temperature screening station. Get those handheld Infra-Red Temperature Scanners, not only will this save time, it will also be less hassling for your guests. Ultimately, guest comfort is still priority.

Numero Tres: If possible, disinfect your event location prior to the start of the event. You do need to invest on medical grade disinfectant (although you can if you want to), get those of the shelf brands you can get at the supermarket, like Lysol or Dettol Disinfectant Sprays. Just be sure when you spray, there are no uncovered food meant for the guest left in the open. And if you are afraid that the scent would linger, do spray it a minimum of 1 hour before the guests arrive. That would help the settle the scent abit.

Numero Quatro: And if you want to be more kiasu, do invest in renting portable air purifiers/filters. Only use this option if there is already a potential outbreak in the region, just in case of the in case you know? Otherwise, I highly believe the central air conditioning found at the venue is sufficient to filter out bad air.

Numero Cinco: And lastly, have disinfectant wipes or lotion readily available for your guests. This can be strategically located at the restroom, over the bar counter or anywhere that you feel is necessary (like the dancefloor…;)).

Health is Wealth! Be Safe!

-Mudd-

(This is a series of blog entries on Safety)

“Halt! Who goes there?!?!?!”

Quoting from the evergreen play “Army Daze” or for you who have served or are still serving, you would get what I mean. hehe.

Although the term security may bring back images of national security, or bring back bad memories of your younger days at the shopping mall playing catching and getting caught, event security does play a big role in maintaining law and order.

What form of security you might ask?

It is not just limited to having Security Guards onsite (although they are one possible source of manpower you can tap on) there’s actually many other areas of security that you need to look at.

Let me give you a list.

Lets start with the obvious, the hunky Mr. or Ms. Security Guards. Especially for events with a big turnout, having Security Personnel around is a good deterrence for would-be troublemakers. Troublemakers can come in all sort of sizes and faces, so don’t underestimate a black tie affair you are managing that comes with a guest list of the most refined and socially tamed guests not to act up. All it takes is a healthy dose of alcohol and a reason to get pissed and voila! Troublemakers! (and no I’m not stereotyping… chill uh beb )

In second place is the aspect of patron’s security. This can start with the mandatory bag checking. Although security personnel normally do this, your ushers can easily do this task.  Just remember to have separate checkers for the Ladies and Gentlemen. Trust me, you do not want Mr. Usher to check a lady’s bag; it’s their sacred belongings! Unless you want an instant troublemaker without the alcohol. Then go on, do it!

Thirdly is location security. In this era of unpredictable blowing up of public places or blowing oneself up (you should get what I mean) and the paranoia of the majority of the public, location security is important too! Do make an effort to constantly scour the event location for the elusive black bag left unattended or the suspicious looking characters to keep your patrons safe from any danger. (sometimes, being paranoid is good, especially when you are getting paid! But only sometimes :]) And if you do manage to locate one, do notify Mr. or Ms. Security Guard – they will know what to do.

That concludes my rant for Event Security. Do keep a look out for the next article!

Be Safe!

-Mudd-

Hi planners!

As promised in my mail not too long ago, we are going to have a series of blog entries focused on events safety.

There are many aspect of safety that you, as an events planner, need to look out for when planning or managing an event. We have identified 5 areas of safety and will discuss it in detail in the coming days.

Do keep a look out for them!

Cheers~!

-Mudd-

Let me just say this: Your event will be much more fun when your guests experience the unexpected – in a good way of course!

Little things like including a great momento in their goodie bag, having a celebrity to grace the event & (the most obvious one) planning a random surprise party!

Or if you’re really keen on ending or starting with a surprisingly fun ‘Bang!’, take notes from Oprah!

Oprah’s Flash Mob during Her 24th Season Kick-off Party!

Ultimately, what you need to remember when planning surprises is: it’s not how big the surprise, it’s how big an impact you make it to be! Sometimes planned spontaneity (like a surprise) is the quirky factor that will help turn an event from good, to great!

Happy Surprising!

Here’s to Spontaneity!
Nadd

Festive seasons always call for merriment & much awaited reunions!

I always look forward to the noise & catching up with old friends. Although it’s not a massive reunion (in fact, it’s always a figure less than 20), meet-ups like these are memorable. And definitely self-planned.

The Plan: Meet-up & go house-visiting.
The Ideal No. of People: About 15
Ideal Start Time: 1600 hours
Actual Start Time: 1800 hours

Come event day, only half that number could make it & we were 2 hours off track. But so What? We just went with the flow! & still went home feeling pretty high from all that laughing!

My point is, when organising anything, keep in mind that there are many uncontrollable factors that might affect your guests/participants’ schedule that would not allow them to come (making your guest size smaller). But that doesn’t mean that the event should be put to a halt or be postponed.

In fact, sometimes, for private informal events, the smaller the number, the much more intimate it gets!

And of course, be on your toes so that you can easily think of alternatives should anything happen. Executing and managing an event might seem relatively easy when everything is going according to plan. Should unplanned things crop up, don’t stop looking sharp & composed. All you need to do is put on a smile & roll with the punches!

Your event (no matter how mini it is) will definitely be something to talk about (& good things too I’m sure)!

Here’s to making sure “The Show Must Go On!’

Excuse me while I reminisce over my Revival Reunion pictures!

Stay Sharp!
Nadd

Ahhhh…. After hours, days, months of planning, rushing around & executing, your event is finally over. Time for you to breathe easy & go for that long awaited massage.

But wait!

Before you chuck that events file away, there is still some thing that you have to do: The Post Event Evaluation!

Why?

• You learn better by experiencing & evaluating the success of your event.
• There  is always room for improvement.
• Helps you to streamline your thoughts & inspire new ideas for future events.

Let me share with you the 3 things that I usually  practise:

1. Rest: After the event is over, I usually take a 24 hour reprieve to recharge. This is also a good day to sleep in & just gather your energy again. If you still need to work a day after the event, take a power nap or better yet take a half-day off for you to rest your brains, legs, arms, eyes, fingers, toes… you get what I mean. Best not to overwork because your health is very important too!
2. Reflect: After resting, take some time to review your event. If you’re not sure where to start: Take 3 pieces of paper & write down These 3 headings (1 on each piece).
   • What went Wrong
   • What went Right
   • What could have been done Better.

   Then think of these 3 topics in relation to your event & write them down. Share it with your team. Talk it out. Brainstorm, review, evaluate and keep the list safe so that in future, you know the areas that you should improve on.

3. Relax: Unwind! Chill out! Paint the town red! & Celebrate! If you’ve been planning with a team reward your team & take them out for dinner. No work talk, just have fun! Rewarding and bonding with your team is important – the team will definitely feel appreciated. It also gives a kind of a closure for the team & is a great opportunity to build bonds.

So that’s it, 3 things you can do for event reflection & closure.

Now you can put that event file away & take out a new file. Oh, & don’t forget to go for that therapeutic massage.

Have fun planning!

Nadd

[This is a series of my blogpost covering my experience as a GSO (Guest Support Officer) for the 2009 Singapore F1 Night Race – Nothing Else Comes Close!]

When you are doing events, always expect the unexpected. This is always the case. You can plan everything and it looks good on paper but somewhere, somehow, something will always go wrong.

(I can see the seasoned events planners nodding their head… hahaha)

If you’re just starting to plan your own events, not to fear! It’s part of the excitement of planning and managing an event!

Before I sway off course on today’s topic, let me get back to my experience sharing.

So what did go wrong during the F1 race? Nothing went wrong just that on the last day of the race, a lady had tripped and fell on her face! Thank God, she cushion her fall with her hands.

What happens next?

I sprung into action!

I assisted her up and accompanied her to the first aid station. There were two first-aider on standby at that moment.

Not being disrespectful, but I think they were school girls doing a 3 days stint as I was and I think they were quite shock and froze a little. No doubt I know they have the skills, but you know… when action calls sometimes we get stuck. I know… I’ve been there before.

Fortunately, I’ve had hands-on experience! She had a slight graze on her noise and chin and she bit her inner lip. Ouch!

So the girls were kind enough to assist me administering first aid to the unfortunate lady. Thank you girls!

So what’s my point?

Although we don’t like to think of the worst for our events, having a first aid kit handy and at least one first-aider available would definitely be helpful! For sports event I’m urging you to go to the extend of having an ambulance on stand-by. Like I said, you would never know what’s going to happen.

So what happened to the lady? She’s fine. Don’t worry. :]

So my point is, if you are serious about being a first aider and want to have skills on saving someone’s life, do invest on getting certified as a first aider. It will definitely come in handy wherever you are, not just events! In an emergency, every minute counts! So are YOU going to be the one who stand helplessly watching the victim? I guess not. :]

Our friends at Singapore First Aid Training Centre have a selection of fantastic courses available and I can vouch that the trainers are nice and very entertaining! You will never be bored during the course.

And in addition, it is a Mudd&Nadd policy to have at least one of our sidekicks (staffs) on duty to be trained in first aid. As a result, you can expect us able to react during an emergency! That’s a Sidekicks’ Promise!

So this concludes the series of my experience sharing during my F1 stint. Hope you found something worthy of remembering and hope I’ve shared something useful!

Till the next series! (coming very very soon)

-Mudd-

P.S. Another factor that had also helped me to be confident in reacting during emergency was attending a course called “My True Hero”. Nadd and me had gone for this course and it was truly beneficial! Watch the video and click on all the links to understand more on what its about! – http://www.thetruehero.com/main.html -

[This is a series of my blogpost covering my experience as a GSO (Guest Support Officer) for the 2009 Singapore F1 Night Race – Nothing Else Comes Close!]

Lets talk about service!

Some people summaries service in this short sentence. “Treat others as how you like others to treat you!”

Sound simple enough aye?

Not Really.

Well, that’s only a part of the service mindset that you need to have.

Another component is knowledge. Knowledge on what you are serving! For this instance, the knowledge set that I needed to have was about what’s available and happening around the circuit park. Therefore, it was imperative for me to get to know my surrounding well and also know where the locations of amenities are. The event brochure was a good source of knowledge for me, as it contained everything that is important and it includes a map too!

You must be wondering, “don’t the patrons have a copy of that too?”

Yes they do. But sometimes, factors such as not understanding the diagrams, unable to read the map or getting disorientated plays a part. But ultimately, in my opinion its about the personal touch, patrons would rather believe instructions from a live human being than a piece of paper. It’s psychological!

Secondly, is the way you look. Even if you are a street-cat and have your own unique way of dressing, looking slightly cliché while executing your task might help you a whole lot.

What do I mean?

This is again about expectation and perception. A neat, clean and a proper image always pop up when we think service personnel. Let me test you. “Service Personnel!”

Yup. Unless you had a club on your mind, then its ok for the service hostess to dress a little bit more sexy. But then again, even the drink servers are dress neat and proper. So I guess, no matter what event you are doing, it is important to look neat and presentable!

Thirdly the way you speak.

Think Ris Low. Done? Ok. Don’t Follow. :]

And lastly, don’t forget to smile! It’s scientifically proven that a smile is as contagious as a yawn! So when you smile, you already won half the battle even if the rest of the components listed above are not 100% fully met.

So go on, smile! It cost you nothing but it pays you a lot!

Let me give you an example.

During the event, my colleague and I had to usher a tall Caucasian dude away from the grandstand area because he was not allowed to smoke there. His argument was it was an open area, and what’s the different between here and the grass patch, which was 5m away?

We explained that this was the house rule and he had to follow. He was clearly annoyed and said “FXXK!” I was slightly amused though. Hahahaha.

The next thing he did was mocking us by stepping in and out between the grass patch and tarmac and asking us whether that was ok.

All I did was gave him a big smile and gave him 2 thumbs up!

The very next day, he was at Turn 3 again. I tried to make eye contact with him to give my huge smile but he refuses to and walks towards another GSO. I guess I’ve won the battle. Hahaha. But of course that beside the point.

I believe my colleague and I handled the situation professionally, and we certainly embodied the 4 components of service successfully as discussed above.

So in summary, service is about Knowledge, The Way You Look and Speak and also about Smiling!

Do you have any other points to add on? Do comment this post!

Cheers~

-Mudd-

p.s. Coming up on Tuesday, the last article of this series, “Read for Action!”

There are so many words that can end this sentence, but today, I’m going to talk about the stuff you should look out for when you’re sourcing out for a Venue.

Matching venues to event & what you want to achieve is important – imagine having a formal seminar in the middle of a field – not only does this mean that your events objectives are not met, your guests will suffer too!

So here are a couple of things for you to keep in mind when sourcing out for a suitable venue:

• Is it appropriate? – Whatever event you’re having, it must go in line with the kind of activities you’re going to do.  Your guests’ comfort should be of utmost importance.
• Accessibility: How far is it and would it be difficult for your event-goers to find. If you’re holding a public event but it’s far from any trains or buses, you might want to consider providing transportation. For example, on weekends, the Singapore Zoo would always provide shuttle buses for the public so that they can access the location.
• Cost: Although a good established venue might be good to boost your event, always evaluate to see if it is cost-effective to you. If paying for it means that you will go over your budget, try sourcing out for other similar places.
• Fun Factor: When properly used, this can be a great hook factor for your guests! If you’re planning on holding a Halloween party, get a cool creepy location (think: dim-lighted park) to go with the overall theme. Your guests (& maybe you too) will definitely be in the Halloween mood!
• Offbeat: Sometimes normal places can be boring! Depending on what you’re doing, sometimes mis-matched places helps to package your event up as interesting. Take flea markets at museums for instance. It combines something simple with a simple quirky touch.

So there you have it – some tips to help you choose a great venue for your future events!

Have you ever seen an event that was hosted at an interesting venue? Share with me your thoughts! We’d love to hear from you

Enjoy your weekend!

Nadd

[This is a series of my blogpost covering my experience as a GSO (Guest Support Officer) for the 2009 Singapore F1 Night Race – Nothing Else Comes Close!]

The story goes like this,

DAY1 – System Testing Day

The suites we were taking care at Turn 3 was four storeys high, so our GSM (Guest Support Manager) had laid out a plan for us to rotate location between ourselves throughout the day (there were 7 of us). Day one went fine and we had identify an area of improvement.

To better control access to the suites we needed to have the same people stationed at the ground floor throughout the day. Remember I told you I’m part security management? Yup, part of the job is to check patrons tickets and allowing only the ones with tickets for Turn 3 into the area. And the tricky part is to identify and remember patrons that belonged to Turn 3 suites.

Where we were located, there was the F1 village which houses merchandise stores and eateries. For instance, if a patron went out to get some merchandise and returning back to their suite, it’s our duty to remember whom they are and not to keep checking their ticket every time they enter or exit the suites.

The patrons had paid lots of money for the suites, so it can be a big hassle if we didn’t recognize them and keep checking their ticket passes. And that’s part of the job, providing superior service!

DAY 2 – New System Testing Day

All the 7 of us had our dedicated location assigned to us and everything went better than the day before. Just slightly in the evening, we had our system tested once again. Since it’s a Saturday, more patrons were at the ground. And as instant as the F1 cars get form 0km/h to 300km/h the crowd started to rush into the suites and grandstand to watch the race. And I mean running rush! And mind you we still needed to check their passes! (To filter out gatecrashers of course:])

Our system was compromise once again, as we didn’t have a proper crowd funneling system, patrons could enter the grounds in any direction. (The walkway entrance was rather wide)

DAY 3 – The Magical Two Poles and a Rope!

On the last day of our stint, our GSM had borrowed a set of rope barriers for us to utilize. At first glance, it looked out of place when we positioned it in the middle of the 10m wide walkway. But, this was what we had and we had to make it work. Little did we know it had a magical effect! Patrons coming to the suite today automatically go either to the left or to the right side of the barriers. This made our task of checking passes much more easier!

So how is this applicable to you as an events planner?

Never overlooked crowd management. It will save you time and effort! And I believe it has a subconscious effect on patrons. Automatically, when one sees a barrier, it means no entry, even if it’s just 2 poles and a rope!

So remember to funnel!

-Mudd-

P.S. Apologies if its abit long winded, and sorry no visuals, part my employment rule is not to take photographs. Hope my words painted a vivid enough picture.

P.P.S In the next article, we shall “Smile, Talk, Smile, Talk”. Till then!