How to Deal with Sound Booth Spam
Sunday's are filled with enough stress, right? Now add in all the requests, comments, and "suggestions" from well-meaning parishioners and it's a wonder we don't put up bullet-proof glass around the booth. This is where I'm talking about sound booth spam (sbs). SBS is anything thrown at us which detracts from our ability to do our job.
For example,
1. You are setting up the stage when you are asked if you are available to work audio at a wedding in three months.
2. You are setting levels during practice and get the "last week's service was too loud" speech from a church member.
3. You are passed a note during the service from someone who wants a copy of the sermon.
4. You get the question at any time..."do you know what all those knobs do?"
I've sure you have your own list of sound booth spam you get on a regular basis. :)
Deal with Sound booth spam using these methods and you'll find yourself with less and less SB spam.
1. Establish an audio request process for events. This way, you deal with requests outside of the Sunday morning time. For example, the church secretary gives the requestor a form that describes the event, the date, and the needs. Once they fill it out, it's placed in your church mailbox or a folder in the sound booth for your review.
2. Deal with the inquisitive person ("can I try?", "what do you do back here?") by explaining that your job is difficult and time-consuming and offer to talk with them after the service or some other time in which you are free.
3. Review any notes you get and prioritize them. Important notes like, "the speaker is on fire," gets immediate attention. Most other notes like "can I get a copy of the sermon" can be reviewed and dealt with after the service.
4. When it comes to complaints...RUN AWAY! I’m just kidding. If they complain about the sound volume, ask where they sat and ask them to let you know if they experience the problem again. It might have to do with room dynamics and it's a problem you need to address. You will get complaints. It's best to listen and tell them you will see what you can do. If they go one and one, ask them to discuss it with you after the service.
5. Delegate! Being the sound tech, for whatever reason, people see you/me as the person to go to for help. "We can't get the DVD player to work in the nursery. Can you help?" "Do you have keys to the office?" "Can you turn up/down the temperature?" Know who has the expertise in each area. If Bob is good with electronics, tell them to talk with Bob for their DVD problem. You get the idea.
People come to us because they have a complaint, a word of thanks (a rarity), or a request. By establishing a process for requests, you will be able to avoid the majority of sound booth spam.
What Are The Common Requests / Spam You Get at Church? How Do You Deal with It?
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My personal favorite was one snowy winter Sunday a very able-bodied, concerned person informing me, in the middle of a rehearsal, that the sidewalk needed more salt. I could not even respond.
I love it when the overhead projectionist is MIA, the live music is starting before I have the chance to fade the recorded music, everyone starts singing louder than they did at practice and the nursery workers cannot figure out how to turn on the camera in the sactuary. All at one time! No joke!
Ha, I forgot about the salt. We keep a bucket by the door so if it's not salted already, I'll do it when I walk in.
Our sbs has included:
1. That song was played too fast.
2. That song was played too slow.
3. The vocalist was flat.
4. It's too cold/hot in here.
5. How do you get in there?
My personal favorite -
6. The Lord told me to tell you to tell the worship leader to do this song.
after serving in the ministry for a while, i think many of us have learned to manage spams pretty well. we tell them politely to refer to the right person or to wait. sometimes, the seriousness on our face may come across as unfriendly but oh well.
love, peace & patience required.
our spams include:
-my kid just dropped his toy car in the booth, can you pick it up?
-can i borrow a pen?
-TOO LOUD, TOO LOUD!
-can i sit in the booth with you?
-i missed the last slide, what was the last point again?
-this car is blocking, can you make an announcement?
-the children's projector won't switch on, can you help?
-do you know that it is really warm?!!
I sometimes get 'mix help' requests. I usually say ok thanks! which is my way of ignoring them. Just cause the altos are loud/quiet now doesn't mean its always been that way and that it will be that way in 30 seconds. My fav story was getting busted because one of the ladies (a soprano) couldn't be heard, and it was the preachers wife. I actually let the complainer listen in on her channel, and he then realized she was lip synching. Hey sometimes you have bad days, but at least she was pretending. She sang the next song fine. Oh you don't like the mix? Would you like to volunteer? We are always looking for more people... that usually gets them to walk away as well, which is pretty sad, that the hardest place to get volunteers is at church.
From an email:
"We never really get any comments or "notes" passed to us. Our sound booth is in the balcony where some of the least involved tend so sit (e.g. visitors, those exploring the church..) I wonder if it has something to do w/the size of the congregation, as we average 1,200 or on any given weekend. I've only gotten a few direct comments over the six years I've been mixing sound there. If there ARE any comments, they typical come to inboxes of various pastor's on Monday morning and us volunteer folks rarely hear about it." - Phil