I'll admit that occasionally I may not be entirely correct and I had an experience today that leads me to believe that there is more to a business name than meets the eye. I had to stop by the office of a colleague on the way out to the field. I'd lent him a file a few weeks ago and I thought it would be a bright idea to pick it up now that he was finished with it and before I forgot.
From the outside, the office looked about the same aside from the new-looking sign on the front door that read "Skywalker Surveying". Inside, it was another story. The gal answering the phone, a Jennifer, was wearing a tunic with "Destiny" embroidered on it and busy with Skype.
I heard "Obi Wan is at a Jedi conference at the moment. Can one of the others who aren't busy fighting the Empire help you?" Apparently they could, because that was "Destiny" telling me that Obi Wan, er Buster, was actually in his office and wanting to see me.
Buster is a guy I've known for years, a fairly decent surveyor who hires folks who seem somewhat alert and manage to come to work regularly. "Hey, quite a change since you were last here, isn't it?" Buster asked.
"Okay," I asked, "what gives?", all the time thinking about some Texas surveyor we probably both knew who had become obsessed with UFOs sometime in the season of his life when he had passed out of the building forever.
"Hey," Buster said, "this is a gold mine. The money in running a surveying business as a brand with a reality TV show is HUGE!"
"Your secret is safe with me," I said. "Is that why some folks were dressed up like Star Wars characters in the parking lot?"
"Yeah. Nobody's ever thought of just licensing the rights to use Star Wars as a way to market a surveying business, but it is KILLER! I just pay them a fraction of the gross for the month and I get it all, background art for the web site, cool voice effects for the telephones, and a great deal on the Empire Stormtrooper helmets and body armor. Man, you should see the reaction of the public when my party chief knocks on their door!"
"So, this is generating lots of new clients?" I asked.
"Oh, hell no! The money is in the reality TV show that we have a real good shot at. If the Star Wars angle doesn't do the trick, we are going to switch to a Survey Garage format where we trade surveys for cars to fix up and sell."
I did manage to get the file and be off. An hour later as the heat of the day arrived and I was busy tying a 1920-vintage fence post leaning about a foot off plumb that some optimistic Einstein had driven a 60d Nail into the top of, it all seemed like something that belonged in a universe far, far away.
I'm sure it would be a good show and I'm sure they would do similar to all the other reality tv shows and cast a jack wagon that is there solely to piss everyone else off and stir the pot. I'm sure they would call you first and the entire country would be convinced that all surveyors are arrogant pricks that know more than the next guy.
TXSurveyor, post: 376090, member: 6719 wrote: I'm sure it would be a good show ...
I think you're missing the point that there is evidently lots of money to be made in developing the surveying business as a brand. How many surveyors have ever even thought about dressing their staff up in costumes to attract customers? I'm guessing not many. I don't think the Star Wars theme is going to work out for Buster, because the demographics are against him, but the "Survey Garage" thing might actually take off.
I have been saying for years that our office should be featured in a show, filmed in an "The Office" style show with similar camera angles and one on one interviews. If it were filmed the way I can see it, I am sure it would be a hit. We even have a Jennifer that answers the phone also. She is the reason for a good majority of our business. From a camera in the truck to the day to day phone calls, reality is hilarious.
;">Somewhat Comical Field Survey Crew Video
Brian McEachern, post: 376095, member: 9299 wrote: I have been saying for years that our office should be featured in a show, filmed in an "The Office" style show with similar camera angles and one on one interviews.
I think it could be a real profit center. Reality TV is cheap to make, but a show that draws viewers is a home run for all concerned. Some of the shows like "American Pickers" have been on for so long that you can follow the development of the body tattooing over the years on the staff. Those guys get a big payday regardless of whether they make any money buying old junk or not. The beauty part, of course, is that the Survey Office/TV Show could be sold, lock, stock and barrel to the next taker for much more money than just a surveying practice would bring.
Kent McMillan, post: 376097, member: 3 wrote: ....The beauty part, of course, is that the Survey Office/TV Show could be sold, lock, stock and barrel to the next taker for much more money than just a surveying practice would bring.
That's called good business in today's instant e-world Kent. Like it or not, it's real.
When I turned 60 I had misgivings about my own demise. Now five years later I realize that the world I love actually resides in history books and copies of old magazines. Leaving this animal house will probably be a relief by the time St. Pete punches my ticket at the Pearly Gates...
paden cash, post: 376103, member: 20 wrote: That's called good business in today's instant e-world Kent. Like it or not, it's real.
Hey, I'm on it, but I really don't think that Buster has a shot with the Skywalker Surveying deal. I mean, how many episodes can you run with the same gag of the field party dressed as Empire Stormtroopers and running around like robots to scare landowners? Sooner or later, EMS will be involved and that will be that.
On the other hand the "Survey Garage" concept has real promise. Naturally, there would be some fakery in the set up. I mean, you'd pretty much have to salt that barn on the property to be surveyed with some promising car hiding under what looks like fifty years of dust. "Trust me, I'm a surveyor" could be worked into the dialogue in every episode as Buster makes a low-ball offer on same.
Way before reality tv I had a partner that thought we ought to have field crews consisting of nothing but beautiful young breedin' age fillies dressed in their finest blue jean cut-offs and Daisy Duke gingham. Strictly hourly...the supers on the job sites would call and say, "I think I'm gonna need the crew back out here today..."
Thirty years ago it was just a joke. I wouldn't even raise an eyebrow if I saw someone doing that today.
paden cash, post: 376106, member: 20 wrote: Way before reality tv I had a partner that thought we ought to have field crews consisting of nothing but beautiful young breedin' age fillies dressed in their finest blue jean cut-offs and Daisy Duke gingham. Strictly hourly...the supers on the job sites would call and say, "I think I'm gonna need the crew back out here today..."
Thanks. I'll pitch that concept, but I think the train may have already left the station. I mean Hugh Hefner has sort of ruined that brand for most markets.
Although "No Close Surveying" does have a ring to it.
The concept could be 6 deed stakers in one group and 6 fence stakers in another group. They are placed on an island and tasked with surveying a parcel with defected deeds and old leaning fence posts with nails on the top and at the base. Each week one surveyor is voted off the island or summarily executed and the last surveyor is given a Topcon GTS3 and a HP41 to upgrade their equipment.
lmbrls, post: 376150, member: 6823 wrote: The concept could be 6 deed stakers in one group and 6 fence stakers in another group.
That concept is inherently flawed, though, because it is related to surveying. Market research shows time and time again that the public wants something colorful that merely confirms what they thought they already knew about what surveyors do. So using video cameras instead of surveying instruments works. Deeds? Not so much when it would be much better TV to interview local characters to determine where land boundaries are (or whether tract subject of work even exists). You want to build a surveying brand that can be used to sell beer and trucks, at minimum.
lmbrls, post: 376150, member: 6823 wrote: The concept could be 6 deed stakers in one group and 6 fence stakers in another group. They are placed on an island and tasked with surveying a parcel with defected deeds and old leaning fence posts with nails on the top and at the base. Each week one surveyor is voted off the island or summarily executed and the last surveyor is given a Topcon GTS3 and a HP41 to upgrade their equipment.
OK...now you have me thinkin'...
Survivor: Surveyor
Each tribe of misfit surveyors is given a shovel, machete, solar compass, a 1902 30" K&E and a Gunter's chain. Clues to the location of the POB and subsequent courses are won in competitions. At each PI is buried fishing tackle, rice, blankets and warm Shiner beer....
paden cash, post: 376153, member: 20 wrote: Each tribe of misfit surveyors is given a shovel, machete, solar compass, a 1902 30" K&E and a Gunter's chain. Clues to the location of the POB and subsequent courses are won in competitions. At each PI is buried fishing tackle, rice, blankets and warm Shiner beer....
Except the goods would be at a shack labeled "Title Company" and the surveyor who arrives first with his or her guess as to the POB written down on paper with a bill representing his "bid" for a certain percentage of the goods wins. It won't matter, of course, whether the location of the POB is correct or not. As long as the bid, er bill, is lower than the one received in the previous round, we will have a winner. Whether you can win half a bottle of warm Shiner will be tested.
One important takeaway from thinking about converting a surveying practice into a brand ready for reality TV and spin-off commercial endorsements is the importance of casting. Be sure to have all the types represented on "Gilligan's Island" or "Reno 911" on your staff, ready to go when the cameras arrive.
Every week 'Surveyor' Joe could follow behind Jack Legs...gathering facts...just the facts...;-)
Surveyor Joe Friday: This is the city: Little Rock, Arkansas. I work here. I'm a Land Surveyor.
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Surveyor Joe Friday: We could've piled up a hundred years of great surveyors and great field crews: men with honor and brains and guts. You tore down every best part of them. The people who read it in the papers, they're gonna overlook the fact that WE got you; that we washed our own laundry and we cleared this thing up. They're gonna overlook all the good. They'll overlook every last good surveyor in the country. But they'll remember YOU. Because you're a BAD SURVEYOR!
Surveyor Joe Friday: All we know are the facts, ma'am.
Cad Tech. Frank Smith: Christmas cards, huh? A little late, aren't you?
Surveyor Joe Friday: Well, I was going to send them out Monday, but we had that stakeout.
Surveyor Joe Friday: Do the youngsters know what these hedgerows are made of, son?
Rodman Bill Gannon: Honey Locust?
Surveyor Joe Friday: No, sir, it's no mistake. Marijuana.
DDSM:beer::beer:
Kent McMillan, post: 376151, member: 3 wrote: That concept is inherently flawed, though, because it is related to surveying. Market research shows time and time again that the public wants something colorful that merely confirms what they thought they already knew about what surveyors do. So using video cameras instead of surveying instruments works. Deeds? Not so much when it would be much better TV to interview local characters to determine where land boundaries are (or whether tract subject of work even exists). You want to build a surveying brand that can be used to sell beer and trucks, at minimum.
Kent you have a point. Deed Stakers and Fence Stakers are "related to surveying" but not really surveying. As far as casting goes, many survey crews remind be of Pawn Stars.
My buddy has a business very similar where I work, only in South America. We have been good friends for years. This is the leveling crew from his office. This picture was taken at a survey trade show in _BC_.
John at our office (who signs my paycheck) has told me that I absolutely CAN NOT proceed with hiring a similar crew. I believe that it would be very successful and it certainly would brighten my mornings.
This would be great TV. It would be enjoyable just to watch this crew fill out field books and do the math.
Kent McMillan, post: 376149, member: 3 wrote: Although "No Close Surveying" does have a ring to it.
Maybe....or perhaps "open-ended traverse" might have a more "welcoming" ring to it. Or under the KISS rule, perhaps even RTK surveying the initials sound real professional, and "real-time kinematic" sounds real space-age and meeting a reality type suggestion. Maybe just "Real-Time Surveyors".
Didn't someone talk to Moistner a few years back about an Alaskan Surveyor reality show?