‘Twas the Night Before AV Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas,
and all through the AV Support Desk,
the emails were flying, and the queue was a mess.
Myself and my teammates were doing our best,
There was too much to do, and we were all stressed
For our staff’s moods had all become sour
Simply because we had bought a new av/ip router.
It had bells and whistles, and blinking lights full,
But what it had lacked was a good manual.
It seemed that the lack of documentation
Was causing our users no end of vexation.
We were calls receiving calls from all of the nation.
No wait…scratch that, from all of creation!
Myself and my team searched for a solution,
For our bonus was tied to first call resolution!
Not that needed that I money,
for because you see I had my heart set on a promotion.
Despite our best efforts, we were all well aware
That our task was hopeless, and we began to despair.
But all at once, we heard feet pounding the floor,
They were getting closer, heading right to our door.
Suddenly, the doors to the office flung open!
In strode a man of whom legends are spoken!
I stood there in awe, disbelieving my eyes,
There in the flesh, the Audio Visual Samurai!
His manual held high, his voice thundered strong
“Do not give up friends, though this night is long!
By the wisdom of my fathers, I promise you all,
That we shall prevail, SLAs will not fall!”
His armour was bright, his knowledge fairly shone.
Suddenly l knew we were not so alone,
In our efforts to stem this tech support tide.
And I felt my hopes rise just a little inside.
But one of my teammates, who was feeling quite wrecked
Said “Samurai I…mean no disrespect.
We know you are mighty, yes,
That much is true but you are only one man.
What can you do?”
At this, the Samurai started to laugh.
“Why, I’ve brought an army of AV support staff!”
As he said it, the support army came,
And he laughed and shouted, and called each by name!
The list was too long to write it down here.
But needless to say it was soon very clear.
Our team was saved; with all these new techs
The queue was soon clear, and we held bonus cheques!
I turned to the Samurai, his eyes full of cheer
I asked “How did you know we needed you here?”
The Samurai smiled, looked at all of our faces
He said “Well you know, I have friends in high places.”
Then on the roof, we heard pawing and prancing
We couldn’t believe it, was it reindeer dancing?
He then turned to us. “You all be of good cheer.
I’ve got to go now, for my ride is here.”
With that final word, he ran out the door,
Leaving us all with our jaws on the floor.
We all ran to the window, and what did we spy,
That’s a miniature sleigh and its heading up through the sky!
In the front seat, sat not one, but two men.
In amazement, I realized then,
That gifts don’t always come wrapped up in bows.
Sometimes, they carry AV Solutions, you know.
As 2020 draws to a close let me wish that all you’re AV Support requirements whether personal or work related are answered.
Let your campus be blessed with the magic of D-Ten screens with seamless integration for Zoom calls and let every employee have a D-Ten ME as a secondary monitor.
Let 2021 be a year where all faculty can be heard clearly with Sennheiser ceiling tiles that are hidden from view but allow the person in the back row to hear crystal clear audio and use mobile connect to ask their questions from their own device.
Let 2021 be the year where you have less support calls for missing HDMI or VGA cables simply because you’ve began a BYOD campus and integrated Kramer devices into every small huddle space.
Let every support agent be graced with 5G phones just to make them feel valued and appreciated.
Let your higher management provide you with trust over a large budget to implement the projects you only dream of in your work.
Let 2021 be the year where employees see just how many steps they have taken or ran to a faculties aid by gifting them with a fitbit watch.
Or as we wait for a vaccine from Covid-19 and for some AV professionals continue to work from home, may the magic of Christmas bring you a comfortable chair and office desk for 2021. Why not a portable green screen for those important Zoom calls.
A Bluetooth speaker to listen to great podcasts from Ireland (shameless plug!). And for simple time out, maybe a PS5 connected to the spare port of your work from home screen. Let your house be cleaned remotely by the powers of the latest Alexa or Google device integrated with an iRobot Roomba as you drink hot cocoa and marshmallows from your largest mug. May you be gifted with a nice warm AVinTheAM hoodie from AVSwag.com
We can always dream, that’s the magic of Christmas! Until next year I wish the readers and listeners to my Podcast the very best this festive season. I hope you get time to spend it with friends and family. Stay safe and be blessed for everything you want in 2021.
Best wishes, Happy Christmas!
Meet the Author
Justin Dawson CTS® is an Award Winning AV Professional employed in Higher Education in Ireland. He produces the All Things TechIE podcast available at www.AllThingsTech.IE . You can contact Justin on LinkedIn, Twitter and his official website.