One of my favorite things to do in an interview is to ask candidates to describe a time that they exceeded the expectations of a client or co-worker.  No matter what role they play in the labor and production services, their answer always gives great insight into how they view their roles in an organization, and if they are thoughtful, hospitable people focused on building great relationships.

Expectations in the meetings and events industry are high, and it isn’t enough for us to just do our jobs at a high level.  We need to show that we share in our clients’ goals and give people memorable experiences of going above and beyond. The ways that we do this will differ from client to client, and moment to moment, but looking for those ways should never stop.  Whether we are supporting AV labor, production crewing, or another role, exceeding expectations should become a habit, something that we all strive to pursue in our daily lives. The more we make it a foundational part of our work ethic, the more we will achieve.  As the famous quote says:

“Watch your thoughts for they become words.

Watch your words for they become actions.

Watch your actions for they become habits.

Watch your habits for they become your character.

And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.

What we think, we become.”   

The quote has been ascribed to everyone from Mahatma Gandhi to Margaret Thatcher.  We may not know who initially said it, but it points to a powerful truth. Our thoughts and our words are more than thoughts and words.  They become who we really are. A person who constantly tries to exceed expectations, someone who looks outside of what their job description is to do something helpful, surprising, or caring, is a person with the type of character that I want around me, in my personal life and in my business.

So, how exactly do you make this a habit?  We have to start with identifying and managing expectations.

Identifying Expectations 

If we don’t know what someone wants us to achieve, there is no way we can deliver more.  Ask specific questions to determine what your client or co-workers need from you, and what they expect to receive.  If you’ve been given a written list of expectations that’s a great place to start, but don’t leave it at that. Stated expectations and actual expectations aren’t always the same thing.  We all have different ways of interpreting words, and no one wants to fall short because they didn’t double-check on the specifics.

Managing Expectations

Once you’re in the habit of identifying expectations, make sure it becomes second nature to manage them.  None of us have superhuman powers, and trying to exceed expectations doesn’t mean that you take it all on, piling up tasks until you collapse.  That’s not going to help you or anyone on your team. Practice good communication so that everyone around you knows what is expected and how to prioritize.  You want to create a work environment that bolsters people’s ability to go above and beyond, not one that sets them up to fail.

Exceeding Expectations

The time to start exceeding expectations is once you know that you and everyone on your team are ready to get to work with realistic, well-communicated goals.  Now is the time to make your clients’ or co-workers’ goals your own, and set out to complete every task with an eye on exceeding expectations. As you do so, you’ll soon discover that you are growing a reputation based on trust, hard work, and excellence.

Before long, you’ll see that your reputation isn’t confined to work events.  Every time you seemingly go out of your way to help a co-worker, or anyone you encounter throughout your day, you are growing your exceeds-expectations-character.  As you define and develop these skills, people will take notice. Your value will grow and you’ll become a desirable person to work with. This isn’t always easy – everyone who works in AV and production has stories of needing to pull off near miracles – but it’s an important way to make a difference.  If it’s not something that you’ve focused on before, make today the first day you try, and don’t ever look back.  

Returning from the 2019 Event Safety Alliance Summit in Lititz, PA our team has refocused our efforts on maintaining the reputation for safety that Complete Crewing has been known for in the Chicago production and events market.  John Doyle, one of the industry pioneers in Chicago event staging has come back focused on polishing our internal SEE program (Safety in Events and Entertainment). Eric “Sluggo” Eaton came back to the office on a mission to find any PPE or First Aid Kits that were expired.

With the end of the year upon us, I suggest this is a good time to verify all of your safety gear is checked. Don’t forget that most rigging harnesses are only good for 5 years and need to be checked for wear or damage at every use. We not only do a check on these pieces before each use, but they also get another thorough inspection at our office every 6 months.  Also, remember your First Aid Kits have a shelf life of 3-5 years but should be checked regularly to ensure all contents are up to date and replenished. Replace anything that looks like it has been wet or damaged in any way. Consider any bottle of partially used ointment as contaminated and throw it away. Even Hard Hats have a shelf life.  If your hat is 10 years old and brittle, replace it, no matter how comfortable it is or how cool the stickers are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another take away from the Event Safety Conference is the fact that no matter where you are, you should have an escape plan. Sometimes a plan is taken for granted when you or your audio visual labor and production crews have worked in a facility many times, but it is always a good idea to brief the team on the location of the fire extinguishers and emergency exits.  

With all the safety plans in place, checklists complete, and equipment inspected, the most important part of the topic of safety is not putting yourself in a dangerous situation in the first place.  Having situational awareness and being at the top of your game by getting quality sleep, properly fueling and hydrating your body, and keeping a positive attitude will keep you focused and ready to respond to changing conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Complete Crewing would like to introduce Eric Eaton, our new Labor Coordinator, and Jessica Sutton, our new Payroll Administrator.  We’re excited to add these two highly qualified and talented individuals to our team. We know their knowledge and experience will further solidify Complete Crewing as the leader in the Event Production and Payroll industries throughout Chicago and the United States.

Eric “Sluggo” has been in the industry for twenty-plus years, and his background has him ready to tackle just about any challenge out there.  In his own words, he’ll be working as an account representative, and helping to staff and budget shows appropriately. After so many years in the events and entertainment industry, he’s built a great group of contacts.  He’s excited to take all his accumulated skills and those contacts to succeed in his new role as Labor Coordinator.  

Eric has worked with top-level talent, including Top Rank Boxing, OzzFest, Prince, John Mellencamp, Julio Iglesias, Marilyn Manson, James Taylor, David Gray, U2, Pearl Jam, Kid Rock, and many others.  He has vast experience with indoor and outdoor concert builds all across North America, and has worked in every state except Alaska. He is familiar with venues such as MGM Grand Garden Arena, Madison Square Garden, Mandalay Bay, Atlantic City, and the AT&T Stadium, to name just a few; not to mention multiple amphitheatres and outdoor festivals.

No matter the location or the performance, Eric oversaw all of the lighting and video set-up, as well as the break-down.  He knows how to design for the best show possible no matter the unique requirements from the client or the venue. He’s worked through the elements, whether excessive heat in Texas or pouring rain in North Carolina; and designed sets from the ground up for arenas with 360 degree seating, venues with a stage at one end, and venues with no walls.  Through it all, he’s maintained that the important thing is good communication, and treating everyone with fairness and respect. According to Eric, that’s the best way to ensure all the details are taken care of and the show is a success. 

Before jumping into the staging and events industry, Eric worked as a clown on stilts out on the ice with Disney on Ice’s production of Hercules.  After that experience, he joined the lighting and transport company Upstaging, Inc. He started out in the warehouse, and eventually joined the road crew and worked his way up to Crew Chief for Lighting and Video.  After traveling and touring for a few years, he transitioned to Shop Foreman, where he managed around 200 people.

Eric’s career eventually took him to Christie Lites Chicago, VER, Solotech, and Legacy Production Group.  He’s worked as an Operations Manager, a Senior Lead Branch-Lighting Department Manager, Operations Director, and Shop Manager.  Eric’s built several rigging and lighting departments from the ground up, and proved that he has what it takes to adapt and overcome – no matter the challenge.  It’s great to have him at Complete Crewing. 

Jessica is excited to join Complete Crewing as a Payroll Administrator, and help out the team while learning valuable skills that will help her achieve her goal of one day being a Comptroller or CFO.

“I’m thrilled to have Jess on the team. Her inquisitiveness, accuracy, and wonderful attitude are qualities that will help fortify the corporate infrastructure, preparing us to grow further nationally.” – Dan Kantor “President”

Jess holds an M.S. in Taxation from DePaul University and a B.A. in Accounting from Robert Morris University. She has a professional background in data entry, tax preparation, analyzing and auditing, and, of course, payroll.  With those skills, it’s no surprise that she is skilled in paying close attention to detail and managing a lot of moving parts. 

Eric and Jess, welcome to the team!

In the world of event management, we often think about success in terms of “Did we hit the lighting cue on time?” “Did the event come in under budget?” “Did security keep the attendees safe?”

While these are important aspects of a successful event, there’s another, higher-level idea that can impact whether an event was successful: “Did the customer feel like they were taken care of?”  In other words, did they receive excellent customer service?

So, what does customer service in event planning mean? At Complete Crewing, we believe it means anticipating the needs of the client and being concerned for the entire customer experience from beginning to end. It means treating customers and each other with dignity and respect. It can mean simple things like saying “Thank you.” It can mean solving a complex production problem quickly before it affects the run-of-show. And when something isn’t right, whether it’s something within our control or “gremlins in the system,” we believe in taking ownership for making it right. Quickly. Without pointing fingers.

Focusing on the importance of customer service in event management can have a profound impact on the events industry, and on your bottom line. It’s worth delving into further.

The Customer Experience

Regardless of the work you do in the labor and production services world – from setting breakout projectors to designing a complex stage with laser effects to the company finance manager handling invoicing back in the home office – by looking at things from the customer’s perspective, you can help transform the events business into an even more successful industry.

Where to start? The first step in good customer relationships is treating people as you’d like to be treated – following the “Golden Rule.” This is often as simple as the attitude you bring to a situation. Be patient. Listen to the concerns of the customer. Respond quickly and efficiently.

There are many things that can affect the customer’s experience that are outside your control. Maybe this is their first time speaking to a large audience and they’re nervous. Maybe it’s a make-or-break moment to get their company funded and they’re anxious about their future success. Whatever the situation, they’ll have some strong feelings associated with being there. By being attuned to the customer, you’ll help ensure a better outcome for them, and they’ll be more likely to rehire your organization for their next event, or recommend you to others.

Act as a Partner, Not Just a Vendor

There’s a difference between just being a vendor or supplier and acting as a partner. A vendor is more worried about simply finishing the assignment and getting paid. A partner thinks of themselves as having a vested interest in the success of a project or event, and teams with the customer to find the best results.

At Complete Crewing, we strive to treat our customers as partners. We focus on a great customer experience, and we take pride in our clients’ success. This gives us a deep connection with our customers and keeps bringing them back year after year.

Problems Happen – It’s How You Respond That Matters

From needing a fresh set of batteries for a lavaliere in the middle of an executive panel to finding the right loading dock for load-in, there are a million things that can – and do – go wrong in event management. It seems inevitable. And often the smallest detail can have the biggest impact on an event.

But how the client feels about the event doesn’t have to be dictated by what went wrong. If you focus on providing great customer service along the way, that can mean the difference between success and failure.

In the events industry, long hours and hard labor are the norm. When we get tired, it’s easy to make mistakes. We’ve made them, and it’s safe to say you have memories of when things didn’t go exactly as planned.

Fortunately, surveys show that when a customer experiences a problem and you resolve it for them to their satisfaction, they are a happier client and you’re more likely to get their repeat business than if nothing had gone wrong in the first place.  Here is an article on the topic.

How to Get the Best Customer Service

Here are some event customer service tips to make sure you are getting the best event management customer service when selecting a company. As mentioned above, make sure you are being treated like a partner and that the company you’re working with has your best interests in mind.

What does that look like? You should be given the opportunity to explain your goals and clearly describe what success looks like. Does the company you’re working with ask many questions before proposing ideas, or are they giving you cookie-cutter suggestions?

Once you’ve shared your goals, they should follow up quickly and accurately, demonstrating that they were listening to your needs by proposing ideas that fit your goals and your budget.

Lastly, they should be straightforward about their limitations, describing what they can and can’t accomplish for you. This sets proper expectations and helps avoid disappointment or a failure to deliver on promises.

How Service Providers Can Embody the Importance of Customer Service in Event Management

In order to ensure event success, and to limit or reduce any problems, there are several steps you can take. First, start with excellent communication, before, during and after a project. This is critical and helps avoid misunderstandings while setting expectations of what you can and can’t deliver.

It’s also helpful to know how to address poor customer service during an event. If a problem happens, work with the customer to outline a way to resolve the situation, identifying a fair approach to the resolution. Begin by acknowledging the problem quickly, rather than looking for a scapegoat or excuse, being sure to listen carefully and with empathy. Next, look into the issue, researching why it happened. Then, offer solutions and work together with the customer to resolve the issue fairly.

Once you’ve identified the cause and determined a solution, put processes in place to avoid a repeat of the problem and be sure to communicate those changes to the customer. This will give them confidence that you heard them, you responded appropriately, and it won’t happen again. This will also help rebuild trust and retain them for future business.

The steps above are the guiding principles at Complete Crewing. We take the importance of customer service in event management and problem resolution very seriously, and consider it a bond with our customers. We believe customer service means being concerned for the entire customer experience from beginning to end and our entire team is dedicated to these ideals.

By applying some of these principles to your day-to-day work, you can help ensure success for your organization and for the events industry as a whole.

One day you’re staging an event for a TV company.  The next you’re prepping equipment to be shipped cross-country.  And then you end the week saving the day by having an HDMI-DVI conversion ready to go for an event with a national charity.  In whatever city, or whatever state, the life of an Event Tech is never slow, and never monotonous.

If you want just the bare facts, we can tell you that they work with, set up, and operate audio and video equipment.  This can include connecting wires and cables; operating sound boards; preparing microphones, speakers, and projectors; and even setting up custom lighting systems.  But that’s like drawing a stick figure and hoping to understand how nerves and veins, muscles and bones, all work together to give us world record-breaking athletes. There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

They’ve got to know if presenters have flash drives, or need access to Google drive.  Are they Android or Apple users? Will they be syncing fireworks with a light show? Or managing multiple presentations at the same time in a massive conference hall?  Did they schedule three hours for set-up but a thunderstorm just rolled in, cutting the power? What’s the plan to break down and avoid disrupting attendees? Did someone really attempt to swing on a rigging point, practically bringing the entire system down?

Event labor and production crews don’t have their lives and jobs confined in a box. Whether they’ve supported 50 events or 500, nothing is ever the same.   

Their days might start before the crack of dawn and end at the midnight hour.  They might move from bus to car to plane in a punch-drunk state that ends with them falling into bed in an unknown city – after all, the name doesn’t matter as long as the bed is available.  Have you ever heard the song ‘Join the Circus’? The chorus entreats the listener with the refrain:

“Go to bed in Minneapolis, wake up in PA.

Pack your roll, your brush and your comb again,

Ready to roll again, ready to stray.”

It could’ve been written for any member of an AV labor and production event team.

It’s not a life for the fainthearted.  Who else could show up to work, find the loading dock blocked by piles of toilets, and not just throw in the towel?  But, on the flip side, who else could live on site for a month, craft never-before-seen video screens, and ensure the success of an event that can mesmerize, engage, create visions to be remembered, or brings tears to the audience’s eyes?

They’ve got dust on their shoes from all fifty states, and met people from more walks of life than half of us can even imagine.  Yes, they live out of a suitcase, and they might go kind of mad around the third consecutive all-nighter – but its the madness of genius, of brilliance bubbling to life, that will keep everything from going wrong, and ensure the crew’s invisibility remains intact.  After all, no one should know a Producer is the one pulling the strings, but their invisibility is only as good as their tech skills.

But they aren’t in it alone.  They’ve got unbreakable bonds with other technicians, coordinators, rental houses, stage managers, riggers, lighting and projection operators, and the list goes on and on.  These are relationships formed while making the impossible possible, slaying dragons with wits and endless bags of tricks, and ending the day knowing it would not have happened without these people by your side.

It’s a family.  To quote another song, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”  And most Event pros would ask you, “Why would I ever want to?”

The madness and travel might all be part of the job, but accidents are not. Our biggest asset is our crew and we make sure that everyone is highly trained and has strict safety procedures in place. This is truly a family where we look out for one another, help make the environment safe first and foremost, and ensure the continued success of each other. Learn more about our Health & Safety policies.