Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You decide to go to the hotel's general manager and demand that he flip the switch.
You know you're asking the manager to override the union's responsibility. But as an event coordinator, your first and primary concern is for your client, the 1,500 guests, and their experience that evening.
So, you march in to the general manager's office and demand that he ignore the union contract and flip the switch himself. By doing this, you realize you may be banned from working in that hotel again.
The general manager isn't at all happy with the situation, but he agrees to find someone to flip the breaker, and you're back in business.
The rest of the evening goes as planned, and the event is the highlight of the year. Your client is extremely pleased and is already discussing plans with you for next year's event.
This is a real decision made by event planner Martin Metcalfe.
So what happens in the future, if there are problems with the hotel?
"I'd negotiate up front with the client as well as hotel management and lay it on the line," says Metcalfe. "I'd tell them that it's going to cost thousands of dollars more in the event that we don't get 100 percent cooperation from their union. If their union is unable to sign on the dotted line, then either I turn down that function, charge them double, or do whatever it takes to get the job done."