How do you handle Complaints?

[Biggbass]

How do you handle complaints at gigs?

Last fall I was approached in the first break by a young lady at one of our gigs who said she was leaving because it was just too loud and she didn't expect the live music to be as loud as it was. It surprised me that she made a point to tell me why she was leaving. And that was an acoustic set! Everyone else loved it. One person out of an audience of approx 100 complained.
Recently , and again while the entire audience was enjoying and reacting positively, one person complained that the music was too obscure and suggested we play something more mainstream. We were playing Classic Rock Hits...obscure?...really?

How do you respond to those people who seem to be mismatched for your band but show up at the gigs and then complain?

 

[Mrmatt1972]

Thanks for your input. Have a nice day.

 

[Grumry]

I run sound for a living. Clubs are my favorite, where patrons can just walk up to the booth or notice me walking around with an iPad.

"Hey, that I can't hear that vocal."
"Hey, that guitar is too loud."
"Do you take requests?"
"Why is the bassist making that face?"

But you also get
"That kick sounds awesome"
"Those vocals really cut through"
"Awesome monitors tonight, we could hear everything(from the band)"

Can't please them all. Just say OK and move on.

 

[viper4000]

"Hey, thanks for coming out. Thanks for letting me know about issue "ABC". We'll be at club "XYZ" next week, you should come out again"

Definitely cannot please them all. Even the ones you please week in and week out can be hard to please on the 3rd week. If one person said an acoustic set was too loud, I would just chalk it up to their own preference. If more than one said the same thing (and they don't know each other...prevent Group Think...), I may take that critique seriously.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I concur. You just can't please everyone. Be polite. Offer to make some adjustments, whether real or perceived, and thank them for bringing the issue to your attention. "Thank you very much. I'll see what I can do." Then just keep doing your thing that makes 99% of your crowd happy.

It seems volume is always the #1 complaint. I don't mind loud so much as I dislike bad sound. I think anything that sounds bad can be perceived as "too loud".


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[buldog5151bass]

Consider the source. If it is one person, and everyone else is happy, thank them for their input, and tell them you do what the owner wants you to do. Then speak with the owner and ask them their opinion. If it is the owner complaining - listen.

I will say that it is very common for bands to play too loud, and VERY rare for them to be playing too soft.

 

[ONYX]

"я не понимаю"

 

[el murdoque]

When i run FOH, i always have that empty fader just for these people.
I'll just say that some technical mumbojumbo is to blame that i can't do much about it and then adjust the issue on that empty fader. Most are happy with that.

I sometimes get the 'too loud' thing when i play. I usually tell these people that we can't turn down the drums since they are acoustic and they set the minimal volume for all others.

 

[bassbully]

Just look back at them and say "Do you know who I am? Well...... do you?

 

[buzzbass]

front snap kick & a spinning back fist ?

 

[dtripoli]

You can please some of the people all of the time and
You can please all the people some of the time but
You can't please all the people all the time.

 

[trevcda]

And always remember, sometimes "It's too loud", means "I don't like this song/music", and nothing you do, short of turning it off, will fix that.

 

[Gaolee]

Just look back at them and say "Do you know who I am" Well...... do you?

The answer to that question is that you are the bass player. If they knew how irrelevant bass players are when it comes to addressing complaints, then they would have been talking to somebody else.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 

[pglaser01]

No ones said rage fire the drummer yet??

 

[Robert Sperling]

As a long time retail manager, my best advice is simply to be
gracious...do not make excuses or lay blame...but know what
you are dealing with. Was she sitting/standing close to the
stage or PA system? Was she there on a date or with girlfriends? My point is simply, was she there for social conversation? or to enjoy music? Though I would take 1 complaint out of a crowd as a personal preference, some people
don't play music loudly so it may have seemed unusually loud
to that particular patron. Thank them for their feedback,
state you will make the effort to adjust volume levels (even
show them on an empty fader as suggested previously, if they
are not leaving the venue) and move on. Then I would ask the owner/manager if they feel the sound level is agreeable to them.

 

[ultra60]

When i run FOH, i always have that empty fader just for these people.
I'll just say that some technical mumbojumbo is to blame that i can't do much about it and then adjust the issue on that empty fader. Most are happy with that.

In my early days of doing sound I got into an argument because a patron wanted the volume turned up. The crappy house system was at max capacity pretty much. I relayed this experience to my brother, a much more experienced FOH guy than me, and he said I handed it all wrong. He pretty much described exactly what you did; adjust the dummy fader, then smile and ask if that is better. most will tell you it is!

 

[gln1955]

Tell her to not let the door hit her on the way out.

But in a loving way.

 

[TNID]

"Sorry you feel that way, but thanks for coming out."

I don't see why anything more than that would be necessary. Not everybody is going to be a fan, and some people will always find something to complain about. If just one person out of a whole audience isn't into what you're doing, I'd say you're doing pretty well.

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

The last complaint we had about a gig was that we'd held it in the rehearsal room. The owner complained about it and said that we were to leave. So I guess the band has no home.

Fortunately two of us who he knows aren't the problem (only by association) are allowed to stay and the upshot of it all is I can get back to playing bass instead of guitar and have my own band again.

 

[40Hz]

It happens.

I've run my own businesses for some years now. And I'm firmly in the school that says: "A complaint can become a complement in disguise - if it's handled properly."

If it's just one person and they seem sincere and aren't just playing games with me, I'll tell them I'm sorry they didn't enjoy themselves and offer to get them their ticket price or cover charge back

To date nobody has ever taken me up on that offer. And half the time they'll back off and admit they're just being overly touchy.