To put it simply, no.
We often get asked to beat a competitors quote. First of all, we don't have competitors. We work closely with a lot of the other caravan bars in the area and most are good friends of mine, so there's absolutely no way I'm going to go in on a bid war against them to win business. There is plenty of work going around that we don't need to undercut each other, so that's gunna be a no from me, dawg. (*insert Randy Jackson meme here)
Second, as with any business, everyone has different runnings costs. So no two businesses, regardless of whether they are doing the same service, are going to cost the same. For example, my girl Maddy who owns Willow + Me... Her beautiful van has a built in espresso machine, like a legit one! I don't know how these babies work but I'm going to assume they need to be serviced and maintained which is an expense that she has, that none of the other bars have.
Then there's us, we have a commercial keg system, and I can tell you now that thing is as high maintenance as I dunno, Paris Hilton circa 2006? Keg systems are fiddly enough in pubs, throw in a moving trailer going down gutters and you've got yourself one hell of a tantrum waiting to happen. I have a beer plumber who maintains our system regularly. Add the cost of gas bottles, glycol coolant, a cost other caravan bars don't have to worry about.
Then there's the inclusions and extra things that each business does on the day. We drop the bar off the day before every event so you can pick the exact angle and spot you want us sitting in and plan your styling and furniture around us. The main reason I do this is to avoid any last minute hiccups, knowing I'm well ahead of schedule is worth the extra time spent. We also pick the bar up the day after your event so you can keep using our glassware after our service has finished. So that's a total of three trips I'm doing back and forth from your venue, all which costs time and money, so that's a factor.
Towing a caravan in general is a tough gig. The Eagle is a beast compared to the others vans at a whopping 2.4 tonne and can't be towed with just any car, then add the weight of hundreds of pieces of glassware so we needed a car with at least 2500kg towing capacity. Add that one to the list!
The same goes with any other business.
- Some florists employ more staff than others, some use only environmentally friendly products which cost more than average products so there's another variant.
- I've seen photographers charge $800 for a wedding and others $5000. The difference is the cost of gear they're shooting with, the pricing of the company they use to print your photos, the time they spend editing.
- You can get a celebrant for $250 who'll show up on the day and read you some crap off the internet and bob's your uncle, you're married. Or you can pay $1500 and have a celebrant who gets to know every member of your family, every funny story, every dirty secret and write a ceremony that'll have you in tears. All of this takes time, and no one works for free.
Unless you're the bookkeeper for a business you have no idea what costs go into running it. So before you ask them to beat a competitors price, think about what you're asking. You're literally asking someone to be out of pocket $400, so you can save $400. I can guarantee if a business agrees to lessen their price for you, they're not going to go above and beyond for you. They will give you stock standard service, because you get what you pay for, and to be able to still make a profit after cutting their price for you they're going to cut corners.
Enquiring with the business you love but asking them to do it cheaper is like pairing a fancy bottle of wine with bega shredded cheese, that shit ain't right!
We're just trying to change the world, one misinformed wedding goer at a time x
Boozy Suzie Caravan Bar
Mobile Bar hire servicing Newcastle, Hunter Valley & Central Coast weddings
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