Need More 5 Star Reviews? Here's How We Earn And Ask For Them.

Wouldn't you love to get more 5 star reviews for your business?

The first thing you need to do is earn them and the second thing is to ask for them.

Throughout this article i highlight a number of customer service strategies we consistently use to keep our clients happy & tips to help you secure more great reviews.

Since establishing just 2 years ago, we've completed approximately 400 booth hires and we are forecast to do 600 in 2018 alone.

We've learnt a lot along the way and wanted to share some of our customer service/booth attendant tips with you all, to help you potentially take your photo booth business to the next level. We've made plenty of mistakes along the way, and we'd love to help you learn from our mistakes instead of making them yourselves!

We pride ourselves on our reputation, because we know that reputation is paramount to success in any field. We currently have over 100 - Five star reviews on our face book page, countless happy client emails and lots of satisfied customers. Reviews are great because they are extremely reassuring for potential clients and client feedback is also important for us as we can look to learn and improve on our service as we grow.

Sure we've had plenty of fantastic reviews and received heaps of great feedback, but even to this day we still occasionally come across clients who have perhaps expected a little more from their photobooth hire experience and have provided some not so great feedback.

Like most people, we hate receiving criticism, but we definitely make sure we take it on board and look to improve on any of our shortcomings.

We always analyse where we went wrong, and what systems we need to put in place to minimise the chance of it happening again.

We wish we were perfect, but we definitely are not.

We have a team of 15 staff who are all amazingly warm, kind hearted and gorgeous people and we've recently interviewed some of our top attendants who consistently receive great reviews and asked them for some tips on what they do to win our clients over (thanks by the way for that team).

We have also provided some insights on our procedures and client interactions leading up to an event to show you some of the things we do to consistently lock away those 5 star reviews.

In The Lead Up To The Event

Keep The Client In The Loop And Informed

We know that the booking is secure, we know we're good to go. However the client sometimes does not.

Some need continual reassurance that you will be turning up to their event (some just have trust issues).

So this is what we do to ensure clients are kept up to date as their booking nears.

14 days before the event, we religiously email the client, requesting their print strip choices (if they haven't given you them yet) and let them know who their attendant is and what time they will be arriving. We generally say a little later than the staff member will actually arrive, to impress the client when the attendant arrives slightly early or to stop any worry if the attendant happens to be running a tad late.

7 days before, we send a very similar email, saying we are looking forward to their event, do they have any last questions about the upcoming hire and inform them everything is all good to go..

On the day we send a text message along the lines of:

Hi Sarah, Janelle from Wooshka Photobooths here. We're really looking forward to your birthday tonight.

Just a reminder that Simone will be looking after your booth tonight and she'll arrive around Xpm to be setup and ready to go for an Xpm start. Please contact me if anything changes but otherwise have a great night & thanks again for choosing us!

This stops those calls you sometimes receive saying “Sorry what time are you arriving? What was the attendants name again” It reassures the client that their event is important to you and it's one thing less they have to think about.

At The Event

Dress Appropriately

We have our staff wear plain black, neat clothing, we're currently working on a rebrand and once this is complete we will be introducing a smart, black, branded uniform.

Introduce Yourself To Venue Staff On Arrival

Ask the venue staff where they would prefer the booth to be set up. Do all you can to win them over.

If the venue manager likes you, and sees that you consistently provide a great product and service, they'll have confidence in recommending you to their clients.

We have a few people who are our go-to attendants at certain venues, they are sent to each job at particular venues, they are fed, spoilt, looked after and even have special parking provisions as they have built up a great working relationship with the staff at the venue.

Introduce Yourself To The Client Upon Arrival, Congratulate Them On The Occasion

Go and introduce yourself to the client, address them by name and explain how the guestbook works.

Ask them if there is any special people they would like to get a photo with on the night or at that time and take note of those people/pics for later on.

If possible, It's always a good idea to get the client in the booth at the beginning of the night, as they sometimes become too busy to use it much throughout the event (especially brides & grooms).

Have Fun - Wear Props And Smile!

Photo booths are a great form of entertainment, people flock to them to have a good time, so look like you're enjoying whatever antics they are getting up to in there.

Play With The Kids, Allow Them To Go Nuts With The Booth

We see some other Photo Booth companies that have rules when it comes to children, eg only a certain amount of booth sessions, only certain ages/sizes in the booth (and each to their own).

But we encourage the kids to go crazy, its a great babysitter and way for their parents to enjoy themselves.

We have done many 40th's where the booth is mainly used by children all night, this has allowed the parents to socialise and enjoy the function. Without worrying about their kids lighting the place on fire (we have kids and feel their pain). You can almost guarantee these parents will be locking your services in for any future events.

Print A Copy For Each Person In The Booth

If 5 people go in the booth, print 6 copies of the print. One for each person in the booth and one for the guestbook. Sure there may be times when this isn't required but if 4 adults go into the booth and you know they aren't going to be the types that'll smash the booth all night, i like to make sure they all get a copy each.

Yes, this will absolutely cost me more in paper but for $10 extra in paper, it can make you many many times more than that in future bookings and satisfied return customers.

Keep the people happy and you will be rewarded down the track i say.

Make An Effort With The Guestbook

Be sure to encourage each guest to pop a pic of themselves in the guestbook and write some kind of note.

Clients love seeing a guestbook full of prints and nice/funny messages from their guests and will look back on it fondly for years to come.

Whilst you’re there, leave a message from your company thanking them for using you and congratulating them on their milestone.

Print 6 x 4’s Of Some Specific Pics

Remember those pics/people we said to take note of earlier?

During speeches or a break in the booth use, print some 6 x 4’s of those special pictures and stick some in the guestbook and leave a few loose in the envelope section at the back.

It's also always a nice move to walk up to an unsuspecting person and hand them a nice 6 x 4 of their family that they can take home and pop in a frame.

Errors And Down Time

If you have any technical errors resulting in down time with the booth (god forbid), staff should ALWAYS stay back to cover that period, even if the client says “No its fine” They paid for X hours, they should receive X hours.

1 Hour Warning!

Let the client, Dj, MC, band or anyone that has a really really loud voice know when there's an hour or so remaining on the booth hire, that way they can be sure to get those special people in the booth before you shut it down. Do so again at the 15 minute mark. This will make packing up easier, when people know closing time is coming (Beware the stampede).

Every event is different and may require warnings at slightly different intervals but just make sure you give the guests at least one warning before you shut down (or risk death).

That being said, if there is still a line of people at the booth at the end of the hire period, let them use the booth then pack down after they're done.

Hand Over The USB And Guestbook To The Client Directly

Whilst doing so, thank them for choosing you. Explain there are a few special 6 x 4’s in the back of the album that they may like to pop in a frame or even on the fridge and you'll be on your way to 5 star success.

NB If the client is too intoxicated to take the items safely home, give them to their mum.

After the event

Now You've Earned It, Ask For It

Make it protocol after every single hire to send an email thanking the client for having your company at their event. Ask them to provide feedback on the booth and the service they received and encourage them to leave a review (even forward them a link to your reviews section to make it as easy as possible for them).

Be confident knowing you've done all you can do for your client, but remember any feedback or reviews you receive should be used as constructive business advice.