I finally learned to triple check the AV setup before doors open

Lost the first 20 minutes of a keynote last month at a conference center in Denver because the projector kept flickering and nobody could see the slides. Turned out the rental company set the wrong resolution and I wasted precious time scrambling instead of checking it during load-in. Anybody else gotten burned by trusting event tech vendors to show up ready?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_lopez1mo ago

Assume professionals will just do their job right" - oh man, that line hit me right in the gut. I remember I hired a "certified" AV company for a small event and they showed up with cables that didn't even fit their own equipment. Like, how do you forget the HDMI cord in 2024? I spent 45 minutes running around a Best Buy while my client sat there staring at a blank wall. Now I always bring backup everything - cables, adapters, even a spare laptop - because apparently "professional" just means "has a business card." Also, your coffee shop story is painful because that's a whole new level of incompetence, like forgetting to put the milk in a latte or something.

emery_lopez1mo ago

The "trusting event tech vendors" part really hit home for me. It's funny how this isn't just a conference thing, it's everywhere now. Like, I've noticed this pattern where we assume professionals will just do their job right, but they're often just as rushed and distracted as we are. My mechanic once forgot to tighten the oil filter, and my plumber installed a toilet that wobbled because he didn't check the floor level. Same with the coffee shop that gave me a chai latte without the chai syrup last week (I mean, how do you even mess that up?). The lesson is always the same: you can't skip the double check, even if it feels rude or paranoid.