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Author Topic: Benefit shows  (Read 20541 times)

frank kayser

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #30 on: January 14, 2014, 12:05:53 PM »

I think that I have posted a response that is similar to this one at another time:
Every year I am approached several times to donate my sound production for different causes....all of which are admirable. 
This past summer I was approached to donate my production services for a town-wide event at the waterfront.  "Everyone is donating their services, yada yada yada...."
I told them that I would gladly donate my time if someone (other than me) supplied the gear.  I gave the person-in-charge a list of gear (everything from racks/stacks to mics/cables, power cords, yes; everything) to procure and have delivered to the stage at 7:00am.  I would set it all up, tech the stage for the day/evening and pack it all up by 10:00pm for pickup.  I gave him a few rental houses to call.

The person-in-charge almost had a heart-attack when he found out how much the gear would be to rent/deliver/pick-up.
I was then asked how much it would cost to rent my gear = score!

I have no problem donating my time for a worthy cause but gear costs money...

Mike M

Brilliant!
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #31 on: January 14, 2014, 01:32:33 PM »

Seeing 500 people listening to a couple of speakers on sticks is not as sad as seeing 20 people in front of a monster array.  Sometimes people get sold too much rig for a gig, and then benefit of the benefit evaporates.

Most often we get and keep our NFP business because we understand they need to raise money.  Sure, our services are an expense, but even without a production sponsor our clients raise more and clear more after expenses because intelligible audio makes it easier for supporters to give.   One university scholarship fundraiser told us we made them $40,000 more, the very first year we came in.  :)


We design systems according to what clients tell us.  Some of them are clearly delusional, some not so clearly. ;)

But when a client says "we need to cover about 3,000 folks in an area of X size", we design accordingly.  If only 300 people show up, that's not on us as we didn't oversell - we met their stated need as they saw it.  We'll downsize next year, if it's indicated, and that can help their budget.
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Lyle Williams

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #32 on: January 14, 2014, 03:14:40 PM »

We design systems according to what clients tell us.  Some of them are clearly delusional, some not so clearly. ;)

:-)   If only they were more clearly labelled, life would be so much easier.
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James A. Griffin

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #33 on: January 14, 2014, 04:27:50 PM »

No freebies.  It's not fair to your other customers.  And it can cause some problems at tax time.

Charge everyone the same rate for the same service.  This is for your business.  What you do as a person independent from your business is up to you.  Make no promises on rebates, discounts, etc.

Do not be a well-meaning scab.  Do not fall for sob stories and "good causes".  Treat all your clients fairly and equally... if you expect to keep them.

+1   Not to mention that a lot of those folks asking us for favors drive newer cars and live in better houses than we do.
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Josh Millward

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #34 on: January 14, 2014, 07:33:44 PM »

Hey man, the show is always "free"!!!

It is the trucking it to the show, setting it up, tearing it down, trucking back to the warehouse, paying for the warehouse, paying for the various insurance products, and paying the help that is not "free".
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John Moore

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #35 on: January 14, 2014, 08:54:59 PM »

Agreed....no freebie....we did some years past and word gets out and the next thing you know, everyone wants a freebie...we have a set minimum even for paid events...better for me to keep the gear in the warehouse than have to make a donation with equipment and labor...fuel, insurance, etc.

They have to realize the value of the service you provide...once you tell them you have to bring in $10,000 worth of equipment and that has to be paid for somehow...most of the time, not always the light bulb goes on..but some still don't get it...

I seriously doubt if they were in our shoes they would do it for free....

We did a free open house at the local airport, stage system, etc. and at the end of the event they had the nerve to complain that people out on the tarmac could not hear the announcements....my thoughts were piss off man we did this for free...well...that was the end of free events...
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Patrick Tracy

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #36 on: January 14, 2014, 10:03:38 PM »

We did a free open house at the local airport, stage system, etc. and at the end of the event they had the nerve to complain that people out on the tarmac could not hear the announcements....my thoughts were piss off man we did this for free...well...that was the end of free events...

I would have offered a refund.

Mike Sullivan

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #37 on: January 16, 2014, 01:06:50 PM »

At least we're all on the same page.  I've seen some of these things happen, hence why I didn't choose to do it.  I offered to do it at a reduced price, but they asked me to pretty much do it for free, I threw that premise out the window.  Oh well, Was worth a try.  Thanks guys.
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g'bye, Dick Rees

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #38 on: January 16, 2014, 01:12:18 PM »

We did a free open house at the local airport, stage system, etc. and at the end of the event they had the nerve to complain that people out on the tarmac could not hear the announcements....my thoughts were piss off man we did this for free...well...that was the end of free events...

Of course they neglected to tell you that they wanted coverage in a whole 'nother area.  It's common for amateur presenters to wait until you're all set up and running show as a one-man crew to come up and inform you that they need more speakers "outside the tent" or "on the street so that people will know there's a show inside".

"OK, you stay here and run show while I dig into the trailer for a small generator, a couple of powered speakers and 400' of XLR cables.  I'll have it all set up and running in a half an hour." 
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James A. Griffin

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Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #39 on: January 16, 2014, 01:19:30 PM »

Of course they neglected to tell you that they wanted coverage in a whole 'nother area.  It's common for amateur presenters to wait until you're all set up and running show as a one-man crew to come up and inform you that they need more speakers "outside the tent" or "on the street so that people will know there's a show inside".


Or put another way... people asking for free don't really know what they want, what it cost, or what it takes for you to get the job done.    All they know is that want some kind of sound and that they can't or don't want to pay for it.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Benefit shows
« Reply #39 on: January 16, 2014, 01:19:30 PM »


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