Goodbye Radio Shack

D. Peter Maus:

Sorry to hear of such high entry barriers to what was essentially a retail job! I'm facing similar barriers now to re-entry into the office environment: Being a middle-aged college-educated white male is a liability, it seems. Go figure!

Reply to
thekmanrocks
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Reply to
davidp

Hello, Jeff.

I used to run into so called electricians like that, at the wholesaler's warehouse. I bought by the spool, bundle, bag or box for my commercial sound work. One guy wanted eight feet of Romex, one handybox, and outlet and a cover. He was complaining that they walked away from him, to wait on me. My order was around %400, his was about $3.50.

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Never piss off an Engineer! 

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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

There is nothing that says to the client: "I'm not ready for this level of work," like running out of supplies in the middle of a job. On the other hand, there is nothing that says 'I came to play in the big leagues.' like letting the client see a depth of supplies.

For my commercial sound work, I buy wire in 1000' spools, connectors in 100 piece lots, and screws, nuts and washers by the bucket load. I standardize on specific hardware types to application, and I buy connectors and other hardware with an eye to standardized pieces, so that once installed, everything is not only neat and organized, but all the connectors are uniform, the wiring is uniform, and the installation/routing/management hardware is uniform.

As in most things, people shop with their eyes first, and looking like you're prepared is often more important than BEING prepared when servicing the needs of a client. Because a client that sees you're prepared will often recognize that you need little supervision, and will stay out of your way. And, an orderly, uniform finished installation will engender more confidence in your work, and the reliablity of the finished project.

Similarly, when I do live sound, everything is in the truck. Cables, amps, speakers, DI's, of course, but also the right type of cable, with the right terminations for the application. A almost never use an adaptor. So, that when I set up, there is never a question that not only myself, but the band/talent/corporate presenters are prepared.

That appearance of preparedness is essential for the appearance of professionalism.

It also doesn't help that you have everything on-hand, for a job, so you can get the job done faster, smoother and without stops or delays.

Clients dig that.

p
Reply to
D. Peter Maus

A lot of my work was when no wholesaler was open, so you carried it, or stretched a job out over several days. As far as rentals, I did carry a lot of adapters, since we would have to connect to existing wiring, or give a feed to a radio station. We also carried tools and spare parts to make equipment repairs, on site if needed.

My customers were school boards, local governments and factories who rarely saw what I carried. All they saw was that I could get a job done on time, and at a fair price.

Work at schools often meant evening hours, or getting there at six AM when their intercom was down.

Factories was almost always noisy and sometimes dangerous work around running machinery.

Churches were always looking for the cheapest jobs they could find, so some got no bids because of the cobbled together messes left by whatever was there before you.

Amusement parks were often scheduled for after they closed for the night. Like installing new dual 12VDC electrical and sound systems in a pair of paddle boats J.I.T. for an after Prom party.

--
Never piss off an Engineer! 

They don't get mad. 
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

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