So everything was going well, the stage was coming together and looking great. All the staging was about completed when we started to light the stage. We stripped their entire system, and rebuilt it from scratch due to the new stage design. We get everything back up, using every dimmer pack they had. And herein lies the key point to our little story here, I discover they have a bad dimmer pack. It’s working, but it’s causing some very interesting and unpredictable flashing. Unfortunately, I the city we were working in, there wasn’t a place that could repair a Leviton Dimmer Pack anywhere near by… The main issue being, the HOW’s event was 2 days away. No time to send the dimmer out for repair.  Thus, a rental dimmer pack seemed to be the obvious chioce. This is where the trouble started…

I called the largest staging company around… they had dimmers that fit my need, unfortunately all were rented for the upcoming weekend I required one for! No problem, I understand that. So I called another large rental firm in town. Now, a little history on this company: I’ve known this company for years, but I don’t do a lot of business with them. They have been in business for years and have a huge HOW base and clientele. If you’re anywhere in this region and in the HOW market, you’d probably call these guys.

So I call them up (Keep in mind, I’ve been doing Pro A/V for over 10 years as a company and for years before that), Here how the conversation went:

     Me: “Hi, I’m looking for a rental Dimmer pack. Do you guys have anything available for this weekend?”

     Sales Guy: “Well what are running?”

     Me: “I’m running Par Cans, just regular cans. I’ve got a Leviton dimmer that has bite the dust on me and need to rent something to replace it.”

     Sales Guy: “So what are you running on it?” (The attitude is already starting to come out)

     Me: “Lights man, I just need a dimmer. I need a 4 channel dimmer, 600 watts per channel, 2400 watts total, minimum. Do you have anything? I need to be able to run 4, 500 watt cans on it!”

     Sales Guy: “How are you powering it?”

     Me: “It’s plugged in. What does it matter, I just need to know if you have a dimmer available”

     Sales Guy: “Well that won’t work!” (Lots of attitude now)

     Me: “I’m sorry? What won’t work?”

     Sales Guy: “You can’t run that many watts on that dimmer! It won’t work!”

     Me: “Really? I do it every day and have been doing it for over 5 years!” (Now I’m getting frustrated!)

     Sales Guy: “NO! You’re not doing every day! Let me tell you why YOU’RE NOT DOING IT EVERY DAY! You can’t run that much wattage just ‘plugged in’. It won’t work! A 15 Amp breaker won’t run that much wattage!”

     Me: “Ok, calm down. 1. I am doing it everyday; 2. It is plugged in to a receptacle, wired to my lighting rig. It’s on a 30 Amp breaker and will definitely run that much wattage; 3. You really don’t need to know my entire rig. I just need to know if you have what I asked for!”

     Sales Guy: “Well you still shouldn’t run that much wattage on a dimmer pack like that!”

     Me: ” So bottom line… Do you have a dimmer or not?”

     Sales Guy: “Uhhh, We only have one that will take 1800 watts total.”

     Me: “So what you’re saying is that you don’t have anything for me”

     Sales Guy: “Uhhh, no.” (At this point his answers have become pretty quiet)

Now I really wanted to cut this guy some flack at the start of the call. But as the call progressed, He just started to get more and more on my nerves. I know this kid doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know my qualification. He doesn’t know where I’ve been and what I’ve done. And I really shouldn’t have to go over my resume with a sales guy to just get an answer about a simple rental. This guy, as far as I’m concerned, felt like he was a genius and I was JUST a customer with no knowledge whatsoever. Not only did he feel like he was the genius, but he wanted to make sure that I was aware that he was the smarter guy in this conversation. Now to be honest, If it wasn’t for the attitude expressed over the phone by this guy… I really wouldn’t have had a problem with his first few questions. I’m sure that I am not his average caller. But even if I was calling without any knowledge of lighting systems and I needed someone to walk me through the ins and out of selecting the proper piece of gear. Shouldn’t I be free to call without getting harassed by this condescending sales guy.

I own my own company, I’m our principle salesman! I’m sure there are times when I come off as condescending, even though that is never my intention! I know it probably happens sometimes, come on… we work in A/V. We speak in a language most people can’t understand. We throw specs and numbers around like it spring training. To the average consumer, most of the way in which we talk among our peers would be lost on our customers! I know you never mean to do it to your customers, the same way in which I never want to do it to ours. But it happens, and we all know it!

What I enjoyed about this experience, and honestly this was NOT enjoyable at all, was that it reminded me how important real customer service is! It reminded me that we need to be constantly aware of how we are dealing with our customers and what tone we are taking with our new customers. Our industry is full of great people, our #AVTweeps rock, but we need to be vigilant to show our customers how great we are. This guy was setting a bad example for our industry, and unfortunately… he’s not alone! Just like any industry, we have our share of bad apples… I met more of them then I’d like too. But, I know we can do better! I know how many of you are awesome people and want nothing more then to be an amazing A/V Ambassadors to the masses! So let’s take a stand to be great ambassadors of our industry! Let’s show the world that we refuse to be grouped with this condescending salesman! We can do! Let’s further our industry and train our people how to properly help customers! Let’s get out of the little boxes that are our businesses and remember that our industry is huge… but it can grow, and we can help it grow. We can be A/V Ambassadors, I know I am…. I want to challenge you to be an A/V Ambassador too!

Ohhh, and if you are a condescending salesman… give me call, I’ll help you become a grown-up! Then you too can be an A/V Ambassador for our industry, and stop making us look bad! #AVTweepsUnite!

May your future be bright… and your lights dim!

Spread the light!

Matt