don’t book any vendor before reading this article!
Contracts. For some reason, few remember them when it comes to contracting services. Maybe because it seems so formal, “too” formal for a “simple” photo shoot, for example. It seems so unnecessary, doesn't it?
Well, it really isn't. Let me explain you why!
1. out of debt, out of danger
The proverb says it, and rightly so. A supplier who requires a contract to be signed is a supplier who has nothing to hide, who is transparent and who wants this transparency to be made official in the form of a document.
A contract doesn't have to be a bogeyman. On the contrary: it can be a very powerful tool that protects not only you but also the supplier.
Signing a contract shows that both parties are serious about ensuring that both are equally committed to fulfilling their side of the agreement.
2. Greater professionalism leads to greater trust
Having a contract creates a legal bond with that supplier. So you know that, from the start, they will fulfill the promise because if they don't, there will be consequences (which are also delimited in the contract). This way you can be much more relaxed as the probabilities of the supplier failing to deliver the service or product are very low.
When you don't have a contract, you only have the word of a person you barely know. If that person “disappears” from the map, stops responding to you and blocks you from all their media channels, how do you solve the problem? You have nothing to bring to justice if need be. You only have the word of someone you barely know.
It's good to trust our suppliers but nothing like having a contract as proof that their word is, in fact, true. Better safe than sorry, right? ;)
3. Protects both parties
The idea of a contract is that it describes the entire service/product as well as all the things that can go wrong and ways to solve it if that happens. So, imagining that you have booked a photo session, you know for sure what you are paying for (description of the service) but also how to act if you need to change the date or time of the session, cancellation policies, deadlines and delivery methods that supplier must comply to, booking and payment conditions, etc.
In this way both parties are protected as they both know their obligations.
4. Full transparency
Finally, a contract will guarantee that both parties are in agreement, since by signing the same document they are declaring that they understand and accept the terms described in it - so it is important that before signing anything you read carefully all the points!
The idea is not that a contract is something daunting or highly formal but that it is a place that gathers all the information and details that have already been discussed beforehand or that you were already informed about in the beginning when you asked for your quote.
For all these reasons and because we want to be totally transparent in our relationship with our customers, the signing of a contract is one of the mandatory requirements for the reservation of any of our services to become official. We've been doing this for years and the feedback has been very positive 🙂
So make sure to always demand a contract from your suppliers (especially if you are planning a big event like a wedding) and enjoy the decrease of your stress levels on the way ;)
Hope this article was helpful!
See you in the next post,
Patricia
