by Tim Adams
Recently, we were contacted to audit designing and installing new audio system into a brand-new church in the greater Seattle area. The church had a budget to work with which seemed adequate and, as we always do, we arranged a time to meet with the pastor to discuss things in detail. We had already arranged that the church personnel would pull cabling to save money.
When we arrived, the project experienced scope creep unlike I had seen previously. By the time we were done doing our audit, we had added a dual screen projection system, stage lighting, additional floor pockets, distributed speaker system in halls and rooms, security camera installation and a total of five TVs (instead of the one we were told about).
All of a sudden, their budget wouldn’t be enough, and we went through several proposal iterations within a week and a half. We also had additional pressure that they wished to have these systems installed prior to a major holiday.
Given the time crunch, we drove up twice to pick-up the equipment and subsequent travel costs payments and on the final trip before installation, we were meeting the church members who would be running our cables (three days before install start date). We then discovered there was no access above the ceiling to run speaker cables for in-ceiling speakers, the security cameras had not been purchased yet and not all the lines were run, there had already been significant theft and break-in issues at the facility, which led to a discussion about whether we could ethically install any equipment that would be in the booth, backstage or otherwise easily accessible without some security measures being taken that we were ill-prepared for.
Suffice to say, we had to amend our contract to include a second trip once the building was more secure and in a more ready state. We did come the following week to install speakers, lights, and projection screens in order to utilize the lift we had rented and non-refundable hotel rooms.
This experience illustrates several important points when preparing for an equipment upgrade:
- Make sure to start discussions with your AV integrator/consultant well before construction or renovations start. This will save you thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars in the long run because the design can incorporate the needs of AV, such as conduit running to where equipment will be installed. It also provides ample opportunities for the architect and/or general contractor to have discussions specifically for AV needs. Items such as power outlet quantities, amperage and locations, attic access for wire running (perhaps even installing lights and a switch at attic access and plywood walkways for ease of mobility) and many more important aspects could be discussed well in advance.
- It’s important to understand that not every aspect of AV can be accommodated or planned for but having large enough conduit, and conduit running to the majority of where you need it, etc., will go a long way in alleviating major cable running headaches in the future.
- If you don’t know the answer to a question 100%, please just tell us that you don’t know or don’t understand what is being asked. This project resulted in a $350 return shipping charge and $2000+ in travel and rental costs for a second trip that could have been avoided.
- If you are going to be utilizing church members for any labor, include them in discussions as early as possible so they can plan for it. Many of the church members I have worked with on upgrade projects are in the trades and have their own jobs and sometimes companies. It’s downright rude and insulting to wait until the last minute to “voluntell” a church member they are helping with this project. It’s bad leadership and needs to stop; volunteering, like tithing, should be done from a cheerful and servant-heart. So do your part to include these laypeople into your planning early and it will increase engagement, passion, appreciation and buy-in to your vision for excellent AV systems.
- When you get a proposal, estimate, or contract from a professional, please take the time to read through and understand what is being said, what is being offered and what is not. If you have questions, please ask them! I, for one, would rather a client deeply understand what we are offering and what we are not than to have an ignorant client who I have to consistently walk through the contract clauses when issues inevitably arise because they didn’t read through what they were signing.
I had a project last year outside Chicago that was easily the worst experience I’ve had. And it all resulted from poor communication on both sides. What should have been straightforward as a two-week installation turned into a months-long debacle of multiple miscommunications, leadership failures, misunderstandings and ultimately, a failure to pay us for work completed and a failure in us completing the installation.
Make sure to start discussions with your AV integrator/consultant well before construction or renovations start. This will save you thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars in the long run.
We had multiple trips to the location, all of which resulted in the facility not being ready for installation and thus a failure of both sides to be satisfied with the results.
This isn’t a pity party for us or an attack on leadership, but a real-world conveying of what actually happens. Of course, it’s not always the fault of the client, either. I have personally experienced several churches who are quite guarded about upgrades because they have been left high and dry in the past with consultants, integrators, etc., who have gotten partially through an upgrade or completed an upgrade and then disappeared and been unreachable when issues and trouble arose.
The issue is never one-sided; it can appear that way for us because we work with so many different churches. However, each church has their own culture, team, and communication dynamic, and we have to adapt to that very quickly.
I cannot stress the importance of clear communication enough; it just provides so many benefits and doesn’t take that much extra effort. It’s easy to resort to a verbal “shorthand” when life gets busy, hectic, and stressful. Unfortunately, this rarely results in great comprehension and stress-free living.
Clear communication is important in many situations and can:
- De-escalate a volatile situation
- Ensure you save money by reducing or eliminating extra costs
- Deliver a lot of information in a concise way, aiding in comprehension and retention
- Provide details about your thought process, logic, and assumptions, aiding in identifying common ground or areas of potential conflict
- Allow for deeper relationships and more honest conversations without feeling like you’re walking through a minefield
There are many other benefits you can think of, I’m sure. The point is that when we clearly communicate, we set ourselves up for success…at least, most of the time!
Tim Adams spent over 20 years volunteering in church technical ministry and now focuses on helping small churches achieve technical excellence through equipment upgrades, training, sharing best practices and teaching leadership how to cast God-sized vision.
