Stand Around Time... Do You Charge?

... and don't ever leave your equipment unattended - in the instance given here where it was said that one DJ just goes home during the stand around time.

Hmmm. Has never happened to me but I imagine setting up early could be a HUGE advantage to me. I would charge, but less per hour, I would think. Maybe like $60 per hour?

Robert Starkey said:

Your time should be considered valuable to you. What happens if in one instance down the road, you learn about a higher paying event you had to turn down because you lowered your rates to include "stand around time". I'd hate to know I lost an extra $600+ becaues I'm already booked with an event with .5, 1, 2, 3+ hours of stand-around booked at a lower rate.

In my opinion (only), I believe you should be charging your full rate for even those hours.

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Once my calendar is full for a given date I would never know if another gig would pay more because the potential client is told that the date is full, price is not open for discussion.

Personally I never give a thought to what might be or could have been only to what is. I will let the worthers sit around and hope for the big money call I will go ahead and make money.

I think calling it "stand around time" is probably the problem. Find a better name and you'll see it dissappear (or just figure it into your price and don't mention it).

It doesn't happen very oftern to me, but I don't call it standing around time. When a client says what time they have to have the equipment set up at until the time they say i can start taking it down is what i quote them for. If there is sometime inbetween those times that they want me to stop, no problem, but those are billable hours. I do arrive 2 hours earlier than my contracted starting time. I would never set up my equipment and leave.


To me, it's kind of like telling a hotel that you want to rent a room, but may only be sleeping in it for 7-8 hours so i don't think you should be charged for the full day. Ask them and see how that goes over.

Scott Hanna said:

To me, it's kind of like telling a hotel that you want to rent a room, but may only be sleeping in it for 7-8 hours so i don't think you should be charged for the full day. Ask them and see how that goes over.

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Well, I've never had a problem at the motels that I'VE ever stayed at!

I charge a set fee, with all expenses factored in- no itemization. The only exception is overtime added to the END of the event. No extra charge for waiting between setup and start. Any of that time is due to my spacing of setup to start, and not the client's responsibility.

No charge for stand around.
One flat rate...

Chuck,
You Are Kinda In A Unique Environment, Hula Dances Are Not The Norm Around Here Ya Know.
( Maybe A Square Dance But Not A Hula )

I Charge When The First Guest Arrives.
If I Were In You Super Cool Island Environment I Would Charge The Stand Around Time . ( So What If I'm The Only One That Feels I'm Worth It ).
I Bet Ya Stay Booked.( So I Think Your Probably Worth It ).
I Bet The Good Agents Know Your Worth It Too.

Hi Chuck!
I charge per event or per evening.So if I play or stand around or...Thats theyre problem because if i dont need to be at one show i can do another one in the meantime if the destination is close.So i try so say:I take the money for all night or evening and dont need to think how much can i make if i do another show in meantime.But thats me,everyone can do what he want.
Good mix

I'm going to say, it all depends.

I am usually on site two hours before the beginning of the event for set up, etc. This is all factored into my event fee.

All packages are four to five hours. So if I am doing an event that starts at six and goes to ten but they have another entertainer for cocktails and dinner then I still charge my normal rate.

I have had prospects tell me that their event starts at y time but they don't need me till z time so show up at x time (before the start), set up, and leave until I'm needed. I politely explain that I don't leave my equipment unattended and that my time for the event starts at y and goes till z whether I am performing or not. Some get it and some don't. The ones that don't move on.

If the time between y and z is more than five hours, overtime is in play.

If they want me to set up while guests are in the room I explain that is not the professional thing to do and not how we operate. Some get it and some don't. The ones that don't move on.

I charge as soon as they need me setup by... I have a wedding in 2008, where I have to have all my gear in the room by 4:30 because the ceremony is blocking access to the reception room... so they said I need to be in there by 4:30, Im going to charge them as if I start at 4:30 (I did give them a bit off)...

For me personally, it depends on the nature of the stand around time and how long it is...

If the time is dictated by my need to be early or anal retentive, no I do not charge. If the stand around time is dictated by the customers need, I may or may not charge depending on the nature of the event and the tone of the request, as well as what I am initially charging for the performance. If I am making good cash, and the stand around time will be fun or entertaining, no brainer that I dont need to charge, but if my stand around time is for a corporate event and I need to be on call or nearby, yeah, I would charge.

My policy would be event by event analysis.

The "official" phrase is called "standing time", and it is the amount of money most unionized labor charges per hour while being customer mandated to be on-site but not performing their exact work function.

Following unionized labor's ideology, the billing process employed is that if the client demands of event timing are out of line with my normal timing, they pay for the difference, at a rate of 50% of my normal overtime fee charges.

In other words, if a normal wedding begins with intros at 7:00pm with the business policy being to arrive on-site one hour ahead of the contracted start-time, say a particular client wants the setup be completed by 4:00pm. That means arrivial now needs to be 3:00pm. That's three hours of "standing time". The client would be 1) advised of the math; 2) advised of the per hour "standing time" fee; 3) then consulted regarding possible work-around.

If doing a ceremony, not the cocktail hour, then the reception, a "standing time" fee is included in the quoted price but may not be specifically mentioned as such unless it would entice the client's mindset to rethink their cocktail hour entertainment toward my services for an extremely reasonable additional charge.

It is also important to mention that we're not talking chump change fees. If one's overtime rate is like $50/hour, none of this matters. If that's all one values their free (or working) time, what's fifty bucks. Tossing it in as a no charge will have the same mental read on the client, e.g. chump change.

Being one of those arrogant, pushy, nickel & diming, want to be paid for everything I do in business kinda guy, my "standing time fee" is one half my working overtime rate ($300/hour) which thus is $150/hour, the rate proudly quoted to stand around doing nothing because the client made it a part of their demands on my time.

Conversely, if I wish to arrive at a venue 5 hours early for my own personal convenience? No charge. Do a ceremony, go shopping during cocktail hour, then come back and do the reception? No charge.

Every inconvenience has its price. Extra equipment of any kind, extra travel of any kind, extra time of any kind...all billable. I hate wasting time, especially if it's not my choice.

It's funny you should bring that up, Chuck. I have no friggin clue how any DJ in my immediate area handles standing time. Not one dit of data or tiniest shred of information.

Standing time demands are very very low (maybe two contracts out of a hundred) so this really isn't an earth shattering business crucial teeter-tauter make it or break it defining policy.

Standing time, to me, is a pain in the arse and I will be justly rewarded for having to deal with it regardless of how the rest of the local DJ world does.

Rock on, brother Love!

Our insurance does not like us to leave the equipment unattended (Not that I would anyway) so we charge a $25 per hour "Sitting fee" to babysit the equipment if we are there before what we feel is a reasonable time before the show starts.