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then turn around and say, "Actually, no," you feel foolish. They know it's not your fault. But I never want to take advantage of those relationships. It was also about managing the client relationship. I had to say, "Well, no, we have to pay these people a cancel- ation fee because they've done some of the work." And then going on and not having a frosty reception on site, so easing into that. Relationships are everything in this business. In the end, the event turned out wonderful, but it was an unnecessary stress for everyone. My biggest takeaway is to be very thorough in the process and to check in about things like budgets regularly. Be very clear with communication—clarify dead- lines and timelines, and make sure people know when decisions need to be made ("You need to confirm this by X number of months out to ensure that it happens. After that, there's no guarantee.") Keeping everything in writing is probably the most important thing in our job. Situations can really depend on the client. Even when you think you're organized, there's always something that could go belly-up. I've done all sorts of crazy things to problem-solve on site. It's a job where you need to be extremely flexible, ready to accept change and come up quickly with solutions. This interview has been edited and condensed. IN JULY 2019, I HAD A CLIENT I'd been working with for months. We were just days away from the multi-day project—a corporate incentive in Whistler for an American financial client. So, there was a large budget, high expectations and high-profile clients set to attend. It felt very final and ready to go. On Thursday evening, ahead of the event on Saturday, I got a call from the cli- ent. She was panicked and said, "I have this extra money. I need you to help me spend it. If I don't spend it, there will be questions about why it wasn't all maximized and we won't get it for future events." My initial reaction was that this wasn't ideal. I could have spent the money much more effectively with a longer timeline. But I also love a good challenge. Somebody tells you they have an extra $50,000 to spend? I'm going to spend it quickly. So, yeah, I can absolutely do this. I quickly put together some ideas— such as enhancing balloons, furniture and decor—sent them to the client and got them approved. One thing I love about my job is the rela- tionships I have with vendors. So, it was a case of ringing people up and saying, "I have this idea, I have this money, can we make it happen?" It's not just me making a call and sorting it out. It's multiple people scrambling for the sake of this client to get everything together and ready to go. And we did it. The trucks were packed on Friday afternoon, ready to go first thing Saturday. I messaged the client on Friday evening, before end of day, and said, "We are set to go. We've spent it all. It's going to be fab. We're going to enhance the experi- ence for everyone." I got a reply on Saturday morning. It was almost farcical: "I'm at the vet with my cat. I can't chat, but I don't actually have that money. I made a mistake." It was like—are you kidding me? You feel a little bit foolish going back to vendors that you begged to help you. You're leaning on your own personal relationships. Yes, I was paying them—but they were still doing me a favour. So, to A TURN OF EVENTS Rachel Quinn has been a planner behind some big-name events, like TED Conferences and CelticFest Vancouver. But before starting her business, Quintessential Events, in 2022, she remembers having to call in favours for one client who expanded their budget last minute—only to pull back just before the big day. "The only consistent thing in our job is change, so you have to always be prepared for it," Quinn says.—As told to Sandrine Jacquot W orst Day o n t he Jo b 66 R o b Tr e n d i a k B C B U S I N E S S . C A S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5

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