Some hall/banquet centers offer "all inclusive" event packages where they'll arrange the more common things associated with weddings, corporate events and such like decorating and DJ service for example.  There are important reasons to be wary of "hall/house disc jockeys."

How the hall - disc jockey arrangement works

Halls and banquet centers sub-contract DJ work out to a "preffered" service.  In exchange for a larger volume of work, the hall enjoys a discounted price.  This has nothing to do with the quality of service you will receive, but as a former "preferred" hall disc jockey, it was difficult for me to maintain my equipment and buy new music for the rate I was getting.  I had to stop working for the halls when my service started to suffer as a result.

The Hall DJ Syndrome - show up, play music, leave!

One "benefit" (if you can call it that) of being a hall DJ is they use a more straight forward "arrive and play" approach to their evenings.  Usually without meeting the Bride and Groom beforehand, they simply show up and play music.  Some hall dj's I know are often lucky to have the Bride & Groom's first dances given to them on a post-it note before the night.

Often, the house service will set up early and sometimes even leave, instructions given to the hall staff to start dinner music, and won't return until your dinner is scheduled to end. Can you imagine eating dinner, staring at an empty DJ booth wondering if the person will even arrive?  One thing we like to do during dinner is introduce ourselves to your guests one table at a time, ask about requests and establish a friendly rapport that continues into the evening.

As you can imagine, the level of service you get from a house DJ is quite different from that which you receive from an outside service; arriving before you do, helping you through your reception, and staying until after you leave.  If you're looking for a consultation with the entertainment service, party planning, reception coordinating, interactive activities with your guests and other fun things, using the house service may not be your wisest option.

Services come and go

A credit to the business, some halls and banquet centers have used the same disc jockey service for years.  Their guests enjoy the music, and the hall enjoys the service.  Other halls (I won't name any in particular) unfortunately change services more often than two or three times per year.  If a hall does not use the same disc jockey service for longer than a year, "something's going on," so be careful to ask how long the hall you are booking with has used their house disc jockey service, and if that same service will be the one at your function (yes, sometimes this sort of thing can change last-minute unless you specify it's not to).

Volume of work: Can there ever be too many functions to cover?

Short answer: Yes.

Various services have various ways of running their businesses and hiring employee disc jockeys.  When a hall has the capacity to host more than one function at a time, they'll also need more than one disc jockey.  If they use the same service, at least one will be an employee.

Some services take care to train and even "raise" a disc jockey, asking them to come to events on their own time to learn from one of the seasoned employees.  Others hire unscrupolously, paying less attention to the quality of service their employees provide to clients.  In a business where employees work without supervision (aside from yours), need to know their music, and must know how to run a good party, it's especially important to hire only professionals with experience.

Some occasions arise for a hall DJ service where they get too much work and have to take more desparate measures to cover all of the functions.  You can only hope that in busier times, the house service dedicates the same attention to hiring quality employees as in less lucrative times, and hopefully the disc jockey service has enough capacity to handle the busier nights.

Is there an alternative to all this worry?

Of course.  If you are not particular about the music service at your function, you need not worry.  Otherwise, consider telling the hall that you will be hiring your own disc jockey.  Reputable companies will provide a discount on your contract (break-out the price of the disc jockey) so you can shop elsewhere, then it's as easy as a phone call (or surfing to a web site) to book entertainment you can trust.

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