Playing it Safe

When planning your event make sure that you choose suppliers with a good reputation.  Choosing a supplier based on price is not always the way to go.  Having been in the event business for several years, we've seen and heard some of the things that can go very wrong last minute.  Hearing people's stories leave us shaking our heads in disbelief as to how some companies get away with treating people so poorly.

At Groovy we always suggest that you do your research, including on us!  Not only should you find the product that is right for you but you should find the company that is right for you.  In order to help with your comparisons we've answered some of the questions that we get.

Why are your chair covers priced higher than "this company"?

Our linen and chair covers are regarded as very high quality in the event industry.  It has been expressed time and again by venues that our quality far surpasses that of those in and outside of the City.  While rental inventory is used we always remove worn items from our inventory and we guarantee that our linen and chair covers are cleaned every single time they are used. 

Yes that's right - several companies with lower prices save money by turning over used linen and chair covers as much as possible. Since they are setting up the covers they know that the dirty ones will go unnoticed by you and your family.  Cleaning without a facility takes a lot of time and adds expense. 

Because Groovy is a fully run business we own thousands of chair covers and tablecloths.  With our industrial machines we are equipped to deal with rental turnover.  This means that if you've made a reservation and received a confirmation, you are guaranteed your items.

Yes that's right - because of the work involved in high turnover some companies cannot fulfill their rental obligations, only to tell a customer days before their event.  Being "stood up" is not as uncommon as you would think.

Why is it so much cheaper to rent linen from outside of the City?

Most companies outside of Ottawa charge a lower rate to offset high shipping charges.  Their regular prices for people in their City are the same or higher than Groovy's.   Shipping can be a huge expense with linen.  It is a very heavy item to ship so make sure you know exactly what you are paying or you might end up paying way more than you anticipated!  They also have lower prices to entice customers to take the risk.  Having linen shipped the day before your event may be riskier than you think.  We've had several situations where we've received a call from a frantic person hoping we can help because they've received the wrong amount, the wrong colour or just poor quality linen.  At that last hour there isn't much that can be done.  Most event professionals try to avoid bringing shipments in for these reasons.

Since Ottawa is considered a fairly small City you can use this to your advantage.  Ask your various suppliers about other suppliers to make sure that you are working together with someone who with enhance your event.  Asking your venue is a great place to strat since they see a lot of what goes on.  Make sure that you find out that a given supplier will provide a great experience from your first communication to days after your event.