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Professional or Amateur?
To assure that you have chosen the correct balloon decorating company, ask
them the following questions:
- References:
Find out what past customers think of the services provided by the balloon
decorating company. Take particular note to their list of corporate
repeat customer base.
- Depth of service
provided:
Many companies do balloon bouquet deliveries to supplement their decorating
income. Many are simply doing too many things at once and not succeeding
in any of them. Be wary of companies that try to do everything.
- Experience:
How many years experience does the balloon decorating company have?
Is this a part-time or a full-time operation? Is this simple a hobby
or a legitimate business enterprise?
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- Insurance:
Professional service providers carry business liability insurance?
- Associations:
Check to see if your balloon decorating company belongs to any other
professional organizations. The Bay Area chapters of the International
Society of Special Events (ISES) and the National Association of Catering
Executives (NACE) are good sources of valuable information.
- Certification:
Believe it or not, the balloon decorating industry is similar to other
professional organizations in that it has a comprehensive certification
program to assure excellence in balloon decorating and design work.
Check to see if your decorating company is certificated.
- Equipment:
Nearly everyone can rent a helium tank and buy a bag of balloons. Only
a professional balloon decorating company has the equipment to do the
job right. Make sure they use decorator quality balloons and not just
the dime store or party store variety. Assure that the helium they use
is 100% helium. Some companies in the area use a mixture of air and
helium to reduce their costs which guarantees that your balloons will
not 'float' as long.
- Employees:
Make sure you meet the person who will actually be doing the decorating
for the event. Go beyond meeting with just the sales person.
- Fleet of Vehicles:
Check to see if the balloon decorating company has a complete fleet
of vans, trucks and other vehicles available to them. These vehicles
are needed to assure timely transportation of their equipment and actual
decor for proper installation and delivery.
- Check The Final
Price:
Check to see how many years your balloon decorating company has been
in business. Many companies in business this month won't be next month.
- Portfolio:
Check out their portfolio. Be certain that the photos are décor
pieces that they have done themselves for actual clients that paid for
the services rendered. Unfortunately, many companies simply take pictures
of other companies work and present it as their own.
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