DJing is awesome, fun, and a great industry, but must of all it’s entertainment and customer service. You are here or there to entertaining customers, and because you are there for the customer, the customer might not always be right, but if you don’t have a check in your pocket.
“The customer is the one that pays you,” and all customers have friends which can be future customers. So maintain a certain level of respect and integrity for the money, future prospects, or because you want to grow your business well. There’s also a adage, for people that might have sour grapes, and empty pocket that say “you can’t please everybody, all the time,” but as a DJ, that’s actually your job, “You are in the people pleasing business” and if you don’t please people with your music selections, your personality, and your enthusiasm, you will have bad gig’s, earn a bad reputation, and develop some empty pockets. So remember and maintain your customer service and always have in the back of your mind, “who’s paying you.”
Now let’s talk about the bad part of customer service, so with all customer service jobs or companies. No matter how customer service minded you are, nice you are, good you are, how well you play, how vast your catalogue, and deep your skills, it’s inevitable you will encounter someone or something that will cause you to have a “Bad GIG,” and it might not be your fault. It could be a number of thing, and after all the fallout, to maintain your business, you have to, dust yourself off, pick yourself up, get back into the DJ seat and “Play that Funky Music.” In this blog I will prepare your for that day or time when things, people, or music selection, just don’t go right. Here is a time when that exact thing happened:
Shay.Sekler 8:04 AM – 16 March, 2014
hey there,I just have to let off steam.
I played at a private event last Friday and it sucked so bad.
The planners didn’t give me any tips on what kind of music to play,so the first hour I was just testing off some things.I got to know the crowd and understood what they wanted to hear and gave them exactly that.the planners (five people) were on my back for every song-this one was too hardcore for this crowd (they were mostly over their 40’s),this song is old,we hate this song so much,why are you not playing hits?play some Rihanna,don’t play stuff like Britney Spears and Rihanna-we don’t like that kind of stuff!
I was frustrated.needles to say-I wasn’t my regular ‘happy dancing around’ DJ that night.
When people started to leave,I started playing from a USB stick they gave me filled with old school Cuban tunes (Reggaeton and stuff like that)-the planners asked for it and in situations like that I won’t say no.
first Cuban song went fine.at the second one,one of the guests started screaming at me because ‘She paid for a good DJ and not someone who plays Cuban music’.she was on and on about how she hates me and stuff-and I just blocked out and kept doing my thing.then-one of her friends (to whom she went over to complain about my ‘not giving any F’s’ policy) throw a plastic cup at me.
the song that was playing ended,I took my equipment and went out.
It’s the first time I get a reaction like that from people.I’m shocked.I don’t know if I suck so bad or they were just drunken savages but it still really brought me down.
Did you ever had a nightmare of a gig?what happened? and most importantly-how did you pick yourself up from that and stayed positive?
Code:E 8:12 AM – 16 March, 2014
Dude doesn’t sound like your a bad DJ. Some gigs are just shit and some planners make it worse by not letting you do your job. which was to feel the crowd out.
But once I read you had anything thrown at you. I would have stopped the music mid track picked up my payment then leave.
Just put some time into your music library, go over your history. You are your own worst critic. You will find stuff and think that was a bad choice now with the advantage of hindsight.
Learn from any programming mistakes you think you made. Spend some time building some more create’s of awesome tracks and just kill it at your next gig.
There’s no other way I know of to shake a feeling like that… That’s also why I don’t take any criticism well I’m DJing from ANYONE, whether they are paying me or not. If it was really that bad they will remember it and can tell me after. Getting thrown out of the groove well playing can take a bad night to the worse night you ever played in a hurry.
Shay.Sekler 10:00 AM – 16 March, 2014
oh,I got paid for that night-and I’m gonna have so much fun spending that money 🙂
I just never thought a gig can go so wrong.
I mean,people were dancing-and still the planners and those two guest were on my face screaming about how bad I was…
I hope I’ll never play to that kind of a crowd again. 
(https://serato.com/forum/discussion/1255941)
This is a tragic DJ story, about a frustrated individual telling how misinformation destroying his gig and a private party. He tell moment by moment of excruciating anguish he felt while playing music at this party, which he detailed the cause as the host which did not properly inform him about: music, climate, culture, and individual guest he would encounter at the party. He was so frustrated that he packed up and left the Party, beaten and humiliated. So hurt that he was drawn to comment on a website where he got some useful information from a fellow DJ, that empathically understood his frustration. Here are some additional tip, if you are ever down and out as a DJ.
3 Tips To Get Back On Track
1. Gather feedback from people you value
If you’ve had a particularly bad evening, chances are at least one (usually inebriated) person has come up to you to express his or her disdain for your performance. Maybe the other DJs in the bar or club shook their heads or laughed at you while you train wrecked a mix that you felt pressured into doing.
Whatever it is, take all of these with a grain of salt – people can be unusually mean when telling you off at a gig. Instead of listening to some drunk patrons or anonymous keyboard warriors on Facebook / Twitter, get feedback from someone you trust who was there – it could be the promoter who you know will give you an honest evaluation of your performance, or maybe a close friend who knows your style of DJing well. The key is to get an honest, objective piece of information that you can use to get better.
The feedback will be more valuable coming from these people than from a bunch of punters who flipped you the bird because you didn’t play their request. Never listen to haters, ever.
2. Recreate the “off” moments and work them out
If you’re getting sleepless nights thinking about that awkward transition that you made, muster up the courage to fire up your DJ software and try to recreate it in the privacy of your bedroom. Being behind the decks often places us under a microscope – we’re hyper-alert to things that we do that may or may not even be perceived by the crowd, and doing it in a safe space lets you hear things from a different, more objective point of view.
Maybe you messed up your playlists and couldn’t find a track that you needed to drop at the right time. Work out whether or not your music management and playlist habits are still serving you, or if they’re just making it tougher for you to locate the songs you actually want to play.
Often, it won’t be that bad, and even if it was cringe-worthy, learn what went wrong and work out how to do it better next time by practising it until you get it right. This is also known as deliberate practice. DJing is fun, but real practice, as in the type that helps you grow, isn’t – it involves scrutinising your technique based on the feedback you received, and then knuckling down to work out exactly how to improve. This is a big secret of all top performers, and it’s the only way forward, especially if you’ve found yourself plateauing in terms of DJ technique.
3. Accept it and move on with some key learnings
Now that you’ve asked for feedback and made it a point to get better through deliberate practice, it’s time to let that bad gig go. Replaying the scene over and over in your head leads to unhealthy ruminating that will eat you up over time – I know this because I used to be that way with just about any sort of negative comment or insult that was thrown at me during a gig. It got so bad that there are days where I’d stay in bed just thinking about them. Trust me, it’s never worth your time or mental effort.
Besides, it may have been awful, but it rarely ever is as terrible as you think. The most crucial thing here is that you learned what was wrong and why it was bad to begin with, and you’ve taken action to improve.
The biggest DJs have all experienced messing up at least once (this is why “DJ fails” are so popular), but even the worst of technical guffaws haven’t done much to tarnish their brands: think about David Guetta, Steve Aoki, and Calvin Harris. They’re still raking it in and working harder than 99% of all DJs out there who have had a laugh at their expense at one point or another.
Finally…
The chance of things not going your way during a DJ set should give you a profound respect for the art and craft. It simply isn’t the “press play” affair that many critics make it out to be.
No matter how big your audience gets and no matter how many rave reviews you receive, a DJ performance will never go 100% according to plan. That’s why you’ve got to respect the act and art of DJing – half-decent gigs can sometimes turn out to be all-out ragers, and the most important performance of your life that you’ve worked so hard for can turn out to be a dud.
This is what makes DJing such a complex, delicate, and unpredictable endeavour that is worth pursuing, as opposed to the “press play and wave your hands in the air” oversimplification that critics make it out to be. Regardless of the outcome, you should always prepare for every gig you play at. This is what separates professionals from amateurs.
If you’re reading this after you’ve just played the worst set of your life, hold your head high: DJing is risky. Sharing your music with others and putting yourself out there is a brave thing to do. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on it.
What was the worst DJ gig you played? Have you ever played a “bad” DJ gig where the only person who thought it went south was you? Share your stories with us below. (https://www.digitaldjtips.com/2017/11/3-tips-for-recovering-from-a-bad-dj-set/)
Maybe the problem is not the customer or the crowd, it could be you, Here Is A Evaluation To Tell…
Five Signs Of A Bad/Terrible DJ (Don’t Let This Be You)
- You Don’t Know the Art of Opening
Contrary to what some might believe, you can’t just go out there swinging your biggest guns. There’s a real art to warming up a crowd. Your job as the opener isn’t to show what a great headliner you would be, but to get these not-yet-quite-drunk people to let go of their inhibitions and bust a move. You’ve got to ready them for whatever act is coming next and get a dance floor vibing. And the real kicker: Every crowd is different. That’s why you’ve gotta read that bitch. And please, please, stop playing the headliner’s songs. That should be obvious, people.
- You Rely on Crappy Remixes
So that new album came out and everyone is freaking because it’s awesome, but it’s not exactly 120 to 140 bpm and it has the kind of beat that doesn’t flow properly with “Le7els” or the trap remix of “Satisfaction.” Are you going to take the time to learn how to mix complicated rhythms, slow your roll, and take a crowd with you on a journey into sound? Or are you just going to troll SoundCloud for some remix that adds nothing of intrinsic value but makes your life easier?
- You’ve Managed a Career Based Solely on a Gimmick
All right, it seems you’re really getting somewhere. Over the past couple of years, we’ve watched as you began to headline events, grew a fan base on Facebook, and gained a bit of recognition. Actually, the recognition has been the easiest part, because rather than knowing you for original productions or clever mixing techniques, everyone gets really excited about your goofy-ass mask. You’re kind of selling a character, an “experience,” and it has nothing to do with a unique approach to music.
- You Keep Bolstering Your Live Production With More Useless Stuff/Things
Every time you hit the stage, you’ve got more attractions. Perhaps you now have giant robots fighting each other onstage next to you. Or maybe you’re throwing chicken-noodle soup at strippers who booty-clap inside a confetti cannon that shoots rainbows and money on the crowd. Wow, what a fucking spectacle! This is entertainment! But if we get past the insanity, we see you’re still shilling the same boring product you were from day one. Haven’t you learned anything yet?
- You Play the Same Songs Everyone Else Plays
If someone walks past your stage or your booth and they can’t tell the difference between what you’re playing and everything else they’ve heard all day, just quit. You’re not a DJ — you’re a glorified jukebox, and that’s really quite terrible. (www.miaminewtimes.com/music/waff-at-club-space-saturday-march-3-10111395)
In Conclusion
Working with the public is hard work, because you have to deal with all those personalities, have to deal with the issues of misinformation and misinterpretation, In a world of the customer’s always right, It’s Your fault, and You Can’t Please Everybody All The Time.
The world of customers might not care if they are alway right and most of the time they aren’t nice. Some are down right selfish and self-centered and think that it’s always about them. However in that murky world of who’s right and who’s wrong is us, the DJ and our reputation, our future business prospects and Our Money. Proper navigation of your customer service, your before your gig and your after your gig checklist will resolve most issues, and when is doubt be courteous, be respectful and lastly show integrity. Over time you will learn how to resolve these type of situation better. Stay Passionate!!!
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