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There’s a well-known story about blind men describing an elephant. One grabs a hold of the trunk and says the elephant is like a great, hairy serpent. The second feels a hind leg and says the elephant is like a thick, sturdy tree. The third touches a tusk and declares the elephant is obviously very hard and smooth. To each of these three blind men, their perception is reality. Of course this holds true with how a Mobile DJ is perceived. In the following fiasco, the client perceives me as the guy who will keep his attendees entertained, the banquet captain and his staff as an obligatory inclusion mandated by the client, but making no contribution to the overall performance of their job, and then, there’s my perception. My perception of the elephant is a whole lot more, shall I say . . . perplexing. After this particular incident occurred, I didn’t rant and rave, or grab a hold of the wall gasping for breath, but I did devote myself, into the wee hours of the morning, to composing a letter for the Conference Services Manager, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, be conciliatory, and remain in good graces with an important account.
My services were retained to provide the entertainment for a three hour, midweek, luau-themed celebration. The client expected me to follow up on my assurances that their conference attendees would be treated to a fun time. The format was simply a short cocktail reception, a buffet dinner, a period of interactive entertainment, followed by open dancing. I arrived plenty early and straightaway encountered my contact person with whom I had spoken so many times over the phone. She was engaged in trimming the stage area with luau decorations, and after a smiling exchange, I started to load in my equipment. While I was setting up, the Conference Service Manager, who had referred the client to my company, wanted to acquaint me with a “little bit of a touchy situation.” It seems the hotel had scheduled another meeting in the adjoining room who were having an awards presentation, and would it be okay if I kept the volume down during that time. Hearing this made me swallow hard, and I’m sure I looked awkward, but I agreed to comply the best I could. She assured me that their program would be over pretty early, probably before my client’s festivities would start, and we just left it at that.
As folks entered our room, they were presented with fancy leis. The majority of the people were middle-aged and older, and I greeted them with an unobtrusive cross section of “Island-flavored selections, adjusting the volume and tempo after delivering an informal announcement that they could proceed to the two-sided, double buffet at their convenience. During the meal, I casually walked around the room, cheerfully visiting with various tables. There was an overall comfortable feeling in the room and I felt confident and relaxed.
