Window

A Window of Opportunity . . . to Learn a Lesson

A SCARY SATURDAY

(August 2018) July 14th was a busy Saturday for me, as I had both a ceremony and a reception to do. Each was in a different location, so that meant twice the set-up work. It’s not ideal, but it’s manageable, and something I’ve done probably close to a hundred times over the years.

This wedding week started off like so many others: a final check with the couple, programming music in the laptops, and then calling the banquet hall to review details with them to make sure we had the same itinerary and arrange a set-up time. Most often I try to get my equipment in and set-up the morning of the wedding to allow me to take my time, make sure everything is done correctly, and ensure all the cords are tucked away and the set-up looks neat and tidy, all before the first guests arrive. 

On this particular Saturday, the banquet manager told me I could get into the venue any time after 9:00 a.m., so I began loading my truck sometime after 8:00, then did my checklist as I always do (two speakers, two speaker poles, main unit, cable bag, etc.). Per the schedule, I was to arrive for set-up at the reception venue at 9:00, giving me until 10:00 to 10:15 for set-up, after which I planned to return to my home base to load the equipment for the ceremony, clean up, and head to the ceremony location. If all went well, I’d be there between noon and 12:15 and ready to begin prelude music by 1:00 p.m., if necessary, for the 1:30 ceremony. Since the ceremony was given a 30-minute allotment on the schedule, that meant tear down and the trip back home would take me to 2:30, after which I’d unload that set of equipment, change clothes, and be at the reception venue by 3:30 for the 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. reception.

Once my checklist was complete, I made the 12-minute trek to the site of the reception. My current work vehicle of choice for transporting equipment is a pick-up truck with a topper. For years it was a mini-van, but since my children are pretty much all grown up I was happy to retire from my mini-van days—and I find that I can utilize the pick-up for many other projects without worrying about how dinged up it may get on the inside.

The law of averages will eventually catch up with everyone.

I arrived at the venue just moments after 9:00 a.m., went to the back of the vehicle, and automatically hit the open button on the key fob like so many times before. Unlike those other times, however, when the locks popped open, this time they failed to move. I checked the back window on the topper and found that it was still locked tight. I hit the key fob again. Still nothing. I listened. All the other doors were responding to the key fob, but not the back hatch. I tried to reach alongside the window with one hand and pull as I activated the key fob with the other. Still nothing.

After several more attempts and what seemed to be an eternity, but more than likely was only 8 to 10 minutes, I realized that what I was doing was not going to work and that there must be a problem with the hatch, so I had to go to Plan B. That meant a trip home to see if I could figure out why the topper would not open. Once there, I tried the spare key fob. Still nothing. I tried to think of other options. I remembered when I bought the vehicle that it had come with a couple of other small keys. Maybe one of those would manually open the topper? I tried. No luck.

Finally, I decided to subscribe to the theory that two heads are better than one and enlisted the help of my neighbor Patrick, who is an engineer for the John Deere Corporation. I reasoned a scientific mind may have some better ideas than I was coming up with. We quickly determined that the problem had to be electrical and thought that maybe we could get into the bed of the truck via the sliding glass back window. But since we are both full-grown men and a little oversized to fit through an opening of approximately 18” X 18”, that was not going to happen. Were there any small neighborhood children around who could help out? A quick scan indicated no.

While looking through the sliding window, Patrick saw that there was a cable that, if pulled, would open the window. “If we could just reach back there with a stick or something,” he said.

When he mentioned that, I remembered that years ago my father-in-law (God rest his soul) had given me a tree pruner. It’s on a long pole with an “S” hook at the end of it. I gave that to Patrick and he was able to reach in with the pole and grab the cable with the hook while I went to the back and lifted the window as soon as I heard it unlock—and we were back in business.

Once the window was open we instantly discovered the broken wire that had caused the problem. There was no time to fix it then though because now I was nearly an hour behind schedule. I made it to the reception venue, did a quicker-than-usual set-up, rushed back to fetch my ceremony equipment, showered, and made it to the ceremony location, set-up, and was playing prelude music 20 minutes before the ceremony. From that point everything ran smoothly the rest of the day and it was a wonderful wedding day for the couple, who knew nothing of the issues I’d had getting there on time. On Sunday I unloaded the equipment and fixed the lock.

LAW OF AVERAGES

This was a first for me, although it was not the first incident that threw off my scheduled plans, and I guess the law of averages will eventually catch up with everyone. If you drive your vehicle enough eventually you’ll have mechanical problems, if you’re on a sports team eventually you’ll lose a game, if you do enough events eventually a detail will be missed or an incident like this one will happen. I’m not trying to be dismissive about a failure, but I’m not beating myself up for one, either. Earlier this year I did a golf outing that was a stretch from home. Once there I realized that I had grabbed my laptops, but had failed to put the power supplies in the bag at the same time. No problem, though, because I carry back up power supplies in my cable file bag. One time, though, just as I was leaving my home, I set my laptop bag down to retrieve something else and when I got to the venue I discovered I had everything I needed—except the laptops. I quickly determined I was not going to have enough time to return home and make the trip back and still be able to start on time so I made a call home to my wife and asked her to bring them to me (thank you, honey!).

MORAL OF THE STORY

The way I see it—or the moral of the story—is that we all need several insurance policies, and not just business liability. What’s yours? Do you have:

• ·         A checklist when loading your vehicle?
• ·         Back-up equipment you always take with you?
• ·         A checklist for on-site preparation?
• ·         Plenty of time for set-up to avoid any mishaps like the aforementioned?

• ·         A person you can count on to help if all else fails, whether that’s delivering a laptop or figuring out how to unhook a lock? 

What other policies do you have to cover all your bases? I’d love to hear them.

Until next month,

~ Michael ~