Why does a company bend over backwards to keep pleasing clients who are a huge pain in the ass? I honestly dont know. The headache and bullshit you put up with, in long run, just is not worth the trouble. Peace of mind can be a good thing.
Basically I'm referring to this small percentage of clients who want the proper $50,000 show for $5000. OK, that's most clients. But you deal with that part. Hell I understand every event has a budget. And normally we will try to work with in that budget...if you give a clue to how much you want to spend. A ballpark figure would be better than nothing. Also, if you know how much the same event cost the previous year, and you add more people and need more AV to cover the additional bodies, then why in the hell do you think the price will go down and why is you event budget less? I wonder if catering people go through this same shit with clients.
I'm talking about the clients who no matter how much extra effort you put into their event, they are NEVER satisifed. The event could go perfect and they'd bitch about the projection not being bright enough or the ligts dimming to far down for a video cue or presenters didn't get a mic in time (even though it was some one else job to get the talent to the audio guy, so they could put a microphone on them). They always complain about some minute detail, even when you are not at fault. The damn building could lose power and they point to the AV staff and scream. You could work 20 hours straight and they dont care.
I could go on and on, but what's the use. Like every other job, you deal with the shit. So many items in our industry has become consumer friendly that most people think they can do our jobs and why should they pay the extra amount. It's just not the case and often these people get burned. Or they ruin the cross rented equipment.
I leave you today with this humble saying: "This job would be great...if it wasn't for the damn customers."
- The Official Website of Sean Kimmmel -
This blog has evolved over time. It started as a horror movie reviews, which is now called Fringes of Horror. Then it became a place to put my writing, which is now a page called Tales of Fiction. Now, this blog is now more about the things happening in my life. My thoughts, travels, relationships, or whatever pops in my mind that I feel like writing about. Why one would care... I have no idea. But enjoy it none the less.
3.13.2008
2.27.2008
Jimmy Kimmel Show clips
I came across these skits the other day from The Jimmy Kimmel Show and damn is it hilarious.
2.04.2008
Tales from the AV World (part 1)
It's quite a normal question. A person asks me, "So what do you do for a living?"
"I'm an Audio Video Technician." Then I see their eyes drift away or go blank as they try to process exactly what that is. So I delve deeper, trying to explain. "I travel around the nation and set up AV for cooperate events. Putting up projectors, audio systems, lighting gear for meetings and events. Then I operate for the show, tear it down, and go some place else and do something similar for the next client." This is a fairly good, yet simplistic, overview of my job description. Often the person asked the question, just nods but I see they still don't quite get it.
My close friends joke around. "You plug shit in," they say, "wish I could get paid for plugging in a DVD player." While I do plug shit in, there's a little more to my job. There's routing!
Seriously, it gets frustrating. A lot of time, the clients hiring our services don't fully comprehend what our job entails and allow us to help thier event come off better. My career choice for the last decade (and not looking like it will change anytime soon) is difficult for people to get a handle on. If you tell a person "I'm a doctor" or "I'm a chef", they understand the job. With mine, not always as clear.
AV Techs, along with stage hands and other similar positions, are the unsung heroes with in the entertainment industry. We are the ones working extremely long hours behind the scenes on little food and sleep to make sure an event goes happens. We are the ones who make the fancy color lights swirl about the room. We are the ones who have the microphone live when you walk up to the podium...and please dont tap the mic. We are the ones who make sure the blue color coming out of the projector actually looks blue. Many of us spend most of our days and nights away from our homes, families, and friends living in hotel ballrooms, theaters, auditoriums, convention center, and other various places where meetings and events take place. You can normally find us in the dark corners of the rooms pearing up from a rack of gear or behind the stage with equipment strung out all over the place or hovering in the rafters above. We are the last ones to get thanked, if at all, for a good job when everything goes exactly as planned or better, and the first ones to get yelled at when a fuck up occurs on the program.
Yes we are special breed of person. Often I think most of us have a mental abnormality and a personality dysfunction to do what we do. It's a crazy path we have chosen for ourselves. But most us wouldn't trade it in for another.
I told you we were off!
"I'm an Audio Video Technician." Then I see their eyes drift away or go blank as they try to process exactly what that is. So I delve deeper, trying to explain. "I travel around the nation and set up AV for cooperate events. Putting up projectors, audio systems, lighting gear for meetings and events. Then I operate for the show, tear it down, and go some place else and do something similar for the next client." This is a fairly good, yet simplistic, overview of my job description. Often the person asked the question, just nods but I see they still don't quite get it.
My close friends joke around. "You plug shit in," they say, "wish I could get paid for plugging in a DVD player." While I do plug shit in, there's a little more to my job. There's routing!
Seriously, it gets frustrating. A lot of time, the clients hiring our services don't fully comprehend what our job entails and allow us to help thier event come off better. My career choice for the last decade (and not looking like it will change anytime soon) is difficult for people to get a handle on. If you tell a person "I'm a doctor" or "I'm a chef", they understand the job. With mine, not always as clear.
AV Techs, along with stage hands and other similar positions, are the unsung heroes with in the entertainment industry. We are the ones working extremely long hours behind the scenes on little food and sleep to make sure an event goes happens. We are the ones who make the fancy color lights swirl about the room. We are the ones who have the microphone live when you walk up to the podium...and please dont tap the mic. We are the ones who make sure the blue color coming out of the projector actually looks blue. Many of us spend most of our days and nights away from our homes, families, and friends living in hotel ballrooms, theaters, auditoriums, convention center, and other various places where meetings and events take place. You can normally find us in the dark corners of the rooms pearing up from a rack of gear or behind the stage with equipment strung out all over the place or hovering in the rafters above. We are the last ones to get thanked, if at all, for a good job when everything goes exactly as planned or better, and the first ones to get yelled at when a fuck up occurs on the program.
Yes we are special breed of person. Often I think most of us have a mental abnormality and a personality dysfunction to do what we do. It's a crazy path we have chosen for ourselves. But most us wouldn't trade it in for another.
I told you we were off!
1.28.2008
The Doctor Is In
So I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Nothing big, just refilling my scribes.
My appointment is for 10:30am. I arrive about 10:20am. A nurse gets me about 10:35am and does the normal routine (weight, blood pressure, looking over the secret chart). I'm thinking man, this going quickly. So I wait for the doctor.
10:50am, and I wait.
11am, and I wait.
11:15am, the door opens and the doctor appears. Looks at the chart and says "Time for some blood work." Writes the note. "Any other problems," he asks. I reply "No, I feel fine." He writes the refills and hands it to me. "Unless there's something unusal in the bloodwork, which I doubt, I see you in 6 months." The doctor is off to another pateint.
Less than 5 minutes. I waited 45 minutes for less than 5 minutes of face time with a doctor who only knows me by what is written in a chart.
I understand that doctors usually have an overload of patients and they want to treat as many as possible. And yes, I know that I wasn't ill and only there for refills. But it's like this every time I go there. Three years and I bet I've talked to this man less than 20 minutes. And he is the person in which in trust to guide my health. Something seems wrong about that...even if I fairly heathly and dont contract major sickness.
My appointment is for 10:30am. I arrive about 10:20am. A nurse gets me about 10:35am and does the normal routine (weight, blood pressure, looking over the secret chart). I'm thinking man, this going quickly. So I wait for the doctor.
10:50am, and I wait.
11am, and I wait.
11:15am, the door opens and the doctor appears. Looks at the chart and says "Time for some blood work." Writes the note. "Any other problems," he asks. I reply "No, I feel fine." He writes the refills and hands it to me. "Unless there's something unusal in the bloodwork, which I doubt, I see you in 6 months." The doctor is off to another pateint.
Less than 5 minutes. I waited 45 minutes for less than 5 minutes of face time with a doctor who only knows me by what is written in a chart.
I understand that doctors usually have an overload of patients and they want to treat as many as possible. And yes, I know that I wasn't ill and only there for refills. But it's like this every time I go there. Three years and I bet I've talked to this man less than 20 minutes. And he is the person in which in trust to guide my health. Something seems wrong about that...even if I fairly heathly and dont contract major sickness.
1.12.2008
Short Term
Lately my short term memory is uh...well I-a...what the hell was I talking about?
But seriously, it's not as sharp as in my 20's. I need to look into a way to improve it. Maybe that damn Brain Game would work. This problem is more frustrating than any thing as it ranges from where did I put an item to what the idea I had a few minutes ago. As far as ideas go, if I don't jot them down they will disappear. Post-it notes and small note pads are everywhere around me. Like I said. Frustrating.
And that is all for today. I cant remember what else I was going to say.
Again, I was kidding.
But seriously, it's not as sharp as in my 20's. I need to look into a way to improve it. Maybe that damn Brain Game would work. This problem is more frustrating than any thing as it ranges from where did I put an item to what the idea I had a few minutes ago. As far as ideas go, if I don't jot them down they will disappear. Post-it notes and small note pads are everywhere around me. Like I said. Frustrating.
And that is all for today. I cant remember what else I was going to say.
Again, I was kidding.
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