Where are new techs going to come from?

Posted on by Jeff Posted in Pro Sound — No Comments ↓

spokes guy for goodbuyguys

I read a lot of audio, video and special events trade magazines (most of them are free) and I have been struck lately by the apparent age of the technicians that are profiled. The average age of most of these technicians seems to be getting much older, an oberservation that is confirmed by my own real world experience. It seems odd that an industry (concert sound) that was only really invented in the 1970’s is graying so fast. It seemed so exciting back in the early days and the desire of young college students and musicians to be part of something with such great potential seemed insatiable. How quickly things have changed.

For many years, our offices were located in a Main Street (literally) storefront, only a few blocks from a major university campus. Just like April showers, I could count on a steady progression of job seekers (both new gradutates and summer job hunters) looking for some opportunity to be in the entertainment business.

During our last several years at that location (we have since moved to larger quarters) this flow slowed to a trickle. With all the opportunities afforded to bright people to make more money in fewer hours with less physical demands really seemed to take the luster off of an opportunity that seemed so exciting to me and many others only 20 or so years earllier.

If the willingness of a young person to get on the tour bus or behind the wheel of a truck is still the path to real innovation in the concert production industry, then we may be in trouble. Most of the innovations that have been realized today (intelligent lighting, line arrays, etc.) came from the real world experience of hands-on techs.

Without the need to solve problems on the fly (the way so may innovative ideas came into being) then new ideas may really become scares.

Got ideas on this subject? Let me know.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords, OnStage Stand mic stands, and lots of other useful production supplies.

A left handed solution

Posted on by Jeff Posted in tape — No Comments ↓

spokesguy for goodbuyguys.comWe sell tape. Every box we ship is sealed with tape. Almost every box we ship contains tape. Sometimes it seems like we live and breathe tape.

Still, for some reason we have trouble making the boxes that leave our loading dock every afternoon look like we even know how to use tape.

A lengthy discussion with our fulfillment manager opened my eyes to something about carton sealing tape that I had never thought about before.

Our fullfillment manager is left handed and he pointed out to me how it is almost impossible for a lefty to use a standard carton sealing tape gun.   I was concerned about how our boxes looked sloppy, with stretched, crooked tape beads and ragged cuts. After watching our fullfillment manager battle with a conventional tape gun, I realized how hard it was to meet the sort of standard I wanted to see in our carton sealing.

A quick Ebay search turned up a tape gun designed for left handed use. We ordered it and the problem was immediately solved. I am looking for a good source for this item so that we can add it to the selection of carton sealing guns we already offer.

Allow Me A Personal Indulgence

Posted on by Jeff Posted in Pro Sound — No Comments ↓

I normally shy away from telling show business “war stories” but this week’s sad news that Clarence Clemons had died brought back a memory that seemed worth sharing.

In the summer of 1987, about a year after Harrison Bros. got its start, we had the opportunity to provide a sound system for the July 4th Celebration at Camp Lejeune, that gigantic Marine Corps base on the North Carolina coast.  These events are usually pretty generic, but this one turned out to have a nice back story.

The main entertainment was the Marine Corps band based at Camp Lejeune, and it was conducted by a Marine captain named William Clemons.  It turns out that Capt. Clemons was Clarence Clemons’ brother.  Guess who showed up to play a guest spot with band-the Big Man himself.

We got to spend some time together back stage and I had a chance to take a picture of Clarence & Bill together.  But that’s just the beginning of this story.

The next winter Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band brought their “Tunnel of Love” tour to the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, and since I was a regular on the stage crew there, I was on the call for both shows.  I got a prime assignment as a truss follow spot operator and my “home” position was Clarence Clemons.  I spent both shows hanging right over his head.

Between shows, I was able to get back stage to his dressing room and give him the picture I had taken of him and his brother. He remembered me and broke into a huge grin when he saw my photo.  He had a handshake like a grizzly bear!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

Were We There? We’ll, Maybe

Posted on by Jeff Posted in audio visual, extension cords, gaffers tape, mic cables, Pro Sound, speaker cables — No Comments ↓

jeff harrison at goodbuyguys.comI’m a big Oprah Winfrey fan and have been for many years. I even named my boat “Oprah”.

I was disappointed to learn that her television show was ending, but I came across an article in Front Of House magazine that made this a little less painful.

It seems that one of our long time gaffers tape customers, Special Event Services in Winston-Salem, NC was involved in producing Oprah’s last televison shows, taped at the United Center in Chicago.  SES, along with On Stage Audio put together the largest Martin Audio MLA speaker system ever assembled to provide audio support for the tapings.

If I couldn’t be there in person, its good to think that we might have insured that Oprah didn’t trip over a cable.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

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They Don’t Call Them “Swipe” Fees For Nothing

Posted on by Jeff Posted in customer service, good business ideas — No Comments ↓

spokesperson for the goodideaguys.com

The current congressional debate over the banking regulations that determine the fees that banks can charge merchants for debit card transactions will have an impact on everything you buy, whether you use a debit card or not.

Many consumers are not aware that when a merchant lets you use a debit or credit card to make a payment that the merchant is charged both a “per transaction” fee and another fee that is based on a percentage of the overall cost of the purchase.  One way or the other, those fees have to be reflected in the price of the items you are purchasing.

Banks are currently allowed to charge merchants as much as $.44 per debit card transaction.  This fee, called a “swipe” fee because of the physical act of “swiping” the card through a card reader, is higher in the United States than it is anywhere else in the world.  It means that on a purchase of about $5.00, the merchant might have to pay almost 10% of the total value of the purchase in fees to the bank.

We accept both credit and debit cards through our internet sales and don’t have any way of differentiating what kind of card is used until we get our monthly statement from the bank which shows the fees that we have been charged in order to accept debit and credit card payments.  Those fees have to be reflected in the amount we charge for our products and it is part of the final amount you pay.

In yesterday’s congressional debate, the Senate stood up to powerful banking lobbyists and empowered the Federal Reserve to limit the fees banks can charge on the use of debit cards.

Unfortunately, there is too much money at stake to hope that a single vote in the Senate is going to settle this matter.  The next round of “big banks vs. big merchants” is scheduled for next week in the House.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

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Can There Be An Upside To Oil Price Increases

Posted on by Jeff Posted in good business ideas — No Comments ↓

spokesperson for the goodideaguys.comIt seems that there is a hint of good news to the continuing increase and instability in the cost of oil.

Specifically, it is causing retailers to reconsider the use of plastic clamshell packaging. This packaging material is petroleum based and has seen the same run up in pricing as gasoline and other petro chemical products.

Major players like Target, Home Depot and Wal Mart are now offering products that use less expensive paper-based materials that are easier to open, less expensive to ship and are more eco friendly.

In addition to eliminating as much plastic as possible, retailers are also making packages smaller, which lowers shipping costs.

Perhaps most important, they are also more customer friendly. You won’t need a razor blade to open a package of razor blades.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

Welcome To Your New Home-Just Don’t Try To Turn On The Water

Posted on by Jeff Posted in extension cords, good business ideas — No Comments ↓

buyextensioncord.comAs a distributor of extension cords, we follow the copper market closely and as the price of copper increases, so do the incidences of copper theft.

It seems that the theft of copper from brand new homes is increasing dramatically because it is so easy to access and a thief is unlikely to be confronted when stealing from an almost finished, unoccupied home.

A new home has about 100 pounds of  copper pipe and wire which gives it a scrap value of about $500.00.  Replacing that copper can cost a home owner more than $10,000.00.

Some states like South Carolina require a permit in order to transport more than 25 lbs. of copper and others require that scrap metal vendors keep detailed records of all copper sellers.

Both good ideas!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.  Occasionally we also rant!

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This Post Isn’t About Gaffers Tape But It Is

Posted on by Jeff Posted in gaffers tape, good business ideas — No Comments ↓

On another blog I edit, I commented on news stories about a clothing manufacturer called General Pants who was taking flack about using sex to sell clothes in the mall.  Unbelieveable, right?

Anyway, responding to complaints about mall window advertising that featured a partially clothed model with gaffers tape covering her breasts, General Pants agreed to “censor” the campaign.

Well, it’s a month later and the General Pants campaign is still making the news.  A story in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald (General Pants is an Australian brand) gives the story even longer legs.

At this point,  it is difficult to believe that General Pants wasn’t hoping for and planning for “negative” publicity from the beginning.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.  Occasionally we also rant!

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I Don’t Care When You’re “Closed”. I Only Care When You Are Open

Posted on by Jeff Posted in customer service, good business ideas — No Comments ↓

I wonder who was the person who came up with that ubiquitous sign you see on almost every business’s door, the one with the orange block letters on the black background that says CLOSED SIGN

I know you’re closed.  I can tell because the door is locked and the lights are out.

What the sign really says is “we don’t want your business“.  No information about when they will reopen.  Nothing in the way of getting in touch.  No enticement to get me to come back.  Just a message that says ” we don’t know that you are here and we don’t care.”

I’m glad that your business is so good that you don’t need mine.  Maybe I’ll try the store across the the street whose sign says “Welcome“.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.  Occasionally we also rant!

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Use Less Tape? That’s Alright With Us!

Posted on by Jeff Posted in audio visual, extension cords, gaffers tape, good business ideas, mic cables, Pro Sound, speaker cables — No Comments ↓

tex talks about extension cords-buyextensioncord.comIn the face of ongoing price increases from every tape manufacturer and converter we deal with, we’ve decided that it’s time to pass on some tips on getting your job done with less tape.

Tape is a great tool and we’d never get the show open without it, but prices for products like gaffers tape have reached the point where some new strategies are in order.

In doing some research for my writing on this subject, I came across a great idea for a velcro-backed cable cover that replaces the task of taping a cable down across carpet with a reusable cover that will last for years.

We are looking for a manufacturer who could help us add something like this to our product line, but, in the meantime, you can make your own.

Here’s a link to an excellent YouTube video that will show you exactly how to do it.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.  Every speaker cable we sell is “Satisfaction Guaranteed“.

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