Tech Support to the Stars

Carl Bialik writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Prince, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Bon Jovi, and U2 all have used technical support when on the road, when their Wi-Fi or Xbox or Sidekick needs servicing. The Journal takes a look at the lives of the essential, if overlooked, members of the entourage, the support tech. Joshua Kapellen, of Best Buy's Geek Squad, has been on the road with U2 since 2004. From the article: 'Last March, lead singer Bono needed his Xbox connected while the band rehearsed in Canada. Mr. Kapellen got a call. He hooked up the contraption and a few minutes later was playing videogames with Bono. "It was one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me," says Mr. Kapellen.'"

Comments

Re:Stars are easy

[AlterTick]

Did it ever occur to you that perhaps the reason the talent is so easy-going is because they have so many hard-working underlings doing everything for them? And if one underling decided "I better take it easy" you can bet your ass that Mr. Cool Guy Laid-back star will be screaming "WHERE THE FUCK IS MY CAPPUCINNO YOU NOBODY?!?!?" These overzealous types are more or less forced to work this way to keep up the star's lazy lifestyle.

I dunno, in my experience the toadies' attitudes tend to match the star's. Dustin Hoffman is a cool, chill guy who's not above saying "hi" to someone working on his house. His "people" are likewise relaxed, efficient, and never have to scream about anything. They know Mr Hoffman likes quality work and understand that quality isn't cheap. They pay invoices promptly.
John Travolta, on the other hand, is a nutcase who hires shrill, swirly-eyed scientologists to work for him-- people who will run up to you while you're in the middle of working on something fairly involved at his house and shriek "you have to leave right now! He's coming home right now and he doesn't like workmen here when he's home!" They also tend to complain that you charge multiple service calls even they are the ones turning a simple one-day, one-trip job into a complex process of working for 1.5 hours at a time over 3 days, so JT and his wife don't have to "see people".