So which did you actually get when the last AV guy finished that installation?

Did they over deliver on their promise to provide you a fabulous AV technology experience that would both wow you and simplify your life? Or…was it the deluxe smart home technology package with extra hot air? Or the extra value package with low satisfaction?

Whether you're a former customer, a potential customer, architect or designer or one of the audio visual companies who may specify these whole house automation systems to your clients, if you're reading this then you have already taken some position on the question above.

The Sound Of Silence…

And why are you reading such questions from a company called Ultimate Sound & Installations, whose business it is to design and yes, sell these smart home systems?

Because something doesn't sound quite right in our industry. It's the sound of silence. A silence that we in the industry have heard for many years but often goes unanswered until it's too late. It's the silence of many former or soon to be ex-customers of audio visual companies that aren't even aware their relationship status is about to change.

These are customers frustrated by what they feel are overpriced AV systems that have underperformed on what they were promised or worse, enslave them to a life where they can't even enjoy this AV system that cost them a very pretty penny. They feel locked into a feedback loop of endless service calls and empty promises by their audio visual companies and they're angry. At some point, they throw up their hands and simply move on to another company.

When Opportunity Knocks…What’s Lurking Behind the Door?

Recently, we received a phone call from someone who found us online (That's a good thing! Our marketing efforts are paying off. Hooray!). He was having problems with his whole house automation system that was installed by one of our well known home automation vendors (still a good thing…for us). His address was in a desirable neighborhood on New York's very wealthy upper East side. (So far so good, right? What’s the catch?).

So we arrange an appointment to see what his issues are and arrive to have a look. Beautiful apartment with wonderful river views. It was a good sized whole house automation system on a par with something we would certainly design and install for our clients. I am there with our head technician and strike up a conversation with the client while my tech looks into an issue with his HVAC control.

What happened with Company X? I ask.(we know them well) I find out they came by a few times after the original installation to deal with some typical issues and added a new iPad control feature when that became available so he could operate his system with it.

But evidently they didn't provide a very satisfying experience where he could truly control the system as thoroughly as he was promised. So at some point he has to resort to throwing a circuit breaker to turn off certain lights that were supposed to be controllable as they were overheating and he ends up causing some problems with other devices that are no longer controllable with his system. The AV company becomes unresponsive to his ongoing requests to remedy his situation.

Now anyone on the sales or installation side of this conversation (which includes yours truly) would be quick to remind you that there are always two sides to every story. And there are. And sometimes, yes, there can be difficult customers with unreasonable requests. The jury is still out on this one as we're just walking into the situation. However, that's not the point.

One Bad Apple In A Socially Connected Fishpond

Our industry is built almost entirely on referrals from our customers and our associates in the design/build industry. So an unhappy customer, architect, designer or builder may be the end of one sales cycle and potentially many other future sales if that referral source decides to spread their story to the rest of their network in a very socially connected world; a network who turns out to be precisely our target audience.

More often than not, a client’s satisfaction or lack thereof is directly related to the follow through by the integrator after the sale and installation of an AV system. In our industry, with a client base of typically well to do members of the upper echelons in business, entertainment and politics, the old adage of no news is good news when we don't hear from them is a very bad policy to adopt.

Communication is absolutely key to taking the pulse of your customers and if you don't hear from them it's incumbent on the home automation vendors to reach out and check in to see how they're doing, especially if they haven't heard from a former customer in quite some time.

Smart Home Technology: The Key to Freedom or The Handcuffs?

At some point, this customer confides in me that he wished he never installed any of this technology in his home; a very expensive system that was supposed to enhance and simplify his life. It didn't.

He describes how he came from a country where he didn't even have a telephone as a boy. If you wanted to communicate with someone, you went out to meet them. It used to be called human contact. You could read someone's emotions by seeing them in front of you. Body language. Remember that? He was used to operating and fixing things with his own hands. Now he feels like he has lost that ability, not because he lost those skills but because the system prohibits him from doing so.

In the short term, this could seem like a new business opportunity for our company and it is. Great! A new client we've inherited from our competitor's lack of caring. Maybe we can sell him some upgrades. Fantastic! But in the long term, this is a bad thing for our industry.

Us or Them? Hint: There Is No Them

Whatever side of the fence you stand on in this conversation, you've probably heard this story before. It’s nothing new (unfortunately). The villain is always the same (the evil AV company and by default, the salesperson who sold the system). Likewise, the problem (complicated technology). Only the customer's name changes.

And while many of us have and know clients who are very happy with their systems and understand there's a right way and a wrong way to design and install them, we can't ignore this uncomfortable silence.

It's a poison arrow through the heart of our industry that creates a worldview in this particular niche of clientele that smart home technology sucks, is too expensive and not worth the trouble. The problem is that this clientele, the ones who can afford these elaborate integrated systems: the best home theater system, distributed audio and video, lighting and shade control and so on, are the bread and butter of our industry.

Your Choice: Hide Your Head or Dig Deeper

We as an industry have a choice: ignore stories like this one at our peril and write it off as simply one negative stance on an otherwise wonderful and thriving industry. Or suck it up and acknowledge that we've all heard stories like these and cringe when we do. Recognize that maybe today it's another company in the crosshairs of someone's discontent but tomorrow it could be us.

Decide that if each of us worked a little bit harder to hear our customers' frustrations, if only a whisper sometimes, we can catch them in time and correct them before the whisper turns to silence and the silence turns into bad press. Yes, AV companies reading this view each other as the competition. And each one promises something better than the other. But this silence only serves to poison the well we all drink from as an industry.

So if you’re an AV company, the next time you send out an email blast touting the latest Wow! in smart home technology to your former clients and don’t hear anything back, try picking up the phone and calling them. Human contact still goes a long way. And it works both ways! If you’re a former client, potential client or architect / designer reading this and have a smart home technology thorn in your side, as described above, you can pick up the phone too.

Silence is deadly.

Communication is healthy.

So can we talk?

Are you satisfied with the sound and visual quality you have with your home entertainment system?  Maybe you need a new TV or if you recently bought a new one you need better sound instead of the factory speakers.  It is a good idea when you want to get the best sound possible to look for audio visual companies that can lend a hand.  For the people that want a great sound system but are not familiar with the more technical side of things they can really benefit from a company that can quickly get everything done for an affordable price.  It will not take much to get exactly what you want out of your entertainment system when you find experienced sound companies in your area.  You can talk to them about what kind of sound quality you want and how it will be easiest for you to control in your home.

If you are thinking about how best to control and adjust all the important functions of your perfect home theatre, there are a number of new high technology options.  With all the new kinds of smart systems you can put together an easy to use theatre that operates through ipad home control.  Using your ipad can be a great way to keep everything centralized so that you can quickly open an application to make adjustments.  It will be an easy way to enjoy your entertainment system without any confusion or searching for the right remote.  Everything will be simple and clear for and your guests who come over to enjoy movies and television. 

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you only have 321 days left to live…I'm truly sorry.

Well, that's if the Mayans are correct in their prediction for the end of the world this year.

So will you finally go and build that dream AV system you've always been dying to build? Before…before…well, you know.

(OK, I know what you're thinking). Oh, here we go again. Another end of the world, doomsday scenario from another crackpot. This time it's 2012. Hey, if you were alive when Ronald Reagan was president then you've already heard a few of these in your lifetime so you might well be justified in your skepticism.

I seem to remember there was some prediction in there from Nostradamus, another one about the harmonic convergence or something, where all the planets would line up, causing world flooding and mass extinction. And then I believe 1984 was another lights out scenario (or was it just a book?). Oh yeah, that's right and the Rapture was also supposed to happen this past year, no? And somewhere in there, there was a death comet and a spaceship coming to save the few who were in the know and were wearing their sneakers (Was that to get a running start and catch the moving spaceship?). Or was that the Koolaid people? I can't keep track of them all.

But what if this time it were different? What if the Mayans were right and we're all just a happily forgotten blip on Earth's four billion year timeline, some time in late December of this year? How did you spend your final days? Did you party like it was the end of the world?

I thought about all the things I would want to do. There are still a few places on Earth I need to see; the Himalayas, Africa, India, the Northern lights. Things I need to do, cars I need drive at frightfully excessive speeds. And it would be nice to build a completely over the top, fabulously expensive AV System like some of the ones we've built over the years for our clients or like you've seen on Cribs.

I envision a home theater built like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, only the seating would be more like a very expensive brothel somewhere in The Red Light District in Amsterdam. The sound system would resemble the kind of rigs I have mixed on for stadium concerts, only you wouldn't see anything. It would just sound like the voice of God speaking to you in 9.3 THX Ultra II surround.

How about you? What floats your fantasy smart home technology boat? I mean let's really dream the big dream here. Would it be a JBL Synthesis system in your beautiful 5 star home theater? How about a Digital Projection Titan Reference projector? Would you spring for lighting control, automated shades? Warm up that jacuzzi out in the Hamptons from your iPhone? How about that Crestron control system you bookmarked and keep going back to read about. What would it feel like to push one button and watch your whole world transform before your very eyes?

Yes, these economic times may be tough for many. But who cares? It's all over soon and anyway, you can leave the bill for the next inhabitants of our fair planet, whenever that happens. Not going to be your problem. 

Seriously, if you have been sitting on the fence about pulling the trigger on building the system of your dreams, here's a great motivator to get you moving. The grim reaper. And what's the worst thing that could happen? You do this, you find out that I and the Mayans were dead wrong and you end up treating yourself like you always should have in the first place. You're worth it aren't you?

Now you'll have to suffer through a first rate entertainment experience every night, using cutting edge technology and so what, you have another payment to make each month.

Sure, this is a crazy post. But the point is if not now, when? 2011 was an amazing year for technology and this year it only gets better. There are some wonderful products on the market now that can take your home and mobile entertainment experience to a whole new level. We'll help you to separate the wheat from the chaff too, in terms of what's hot and what's not quite.

So c'mon, what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone, give us a call at Ultimate Sound & Installations and let us fulfill your dreams while you still have time (or just to spruce up your reality!).

To life!

While not everyone is concerned about their television and stereo sound system, for some people it is something that is very important to them.  They not only want a good sound and visual system, they want the best home theatre system they can find for a good price.  These are the type of people that care a lot about their home experience of movies, television and music to the point where the quality of their sound system is a top priority.  There are plenty of audio visual companies New York that provide a great service for installing a new sound and visual system that will be to the liking of even the biggest connoisseur.  The best part about getting home audio installation done by professionals is that you will not have to worry about spending hours planning the project as you would if you did it yourself.  It can all be done quickly and easily for a good price and you are guaranteed to be much more satisfied with the results of the work. 

Another benefit of going to an audio visual company for help is the likelihood that they will be more knowledgeable about new up-to-date options that you may never have even thought of.  Many people are becoming interested in new services such as whole house audio which makes it easy to listen to music in any room in your house.  You can also place other television sets in different rooms and have great audio whenever you would like to watch a movie or TV show of your choice.  This type of system can very difficult to set up yourself so having an audio visual company do the work for you can save you a lot of headaches and confusion.  Enjoying the best theatre system you can find can be easy and fast with help from the right company.

The best part about getting help from an audio visual company is to ask them to take advantage of great new technological advances such as iphone home automation which is a way to control all the important appliances in your home through your own phone.  You will never have to worry about losing the remote for the TV, stereo, DVD player and all the other things involved in your entertainment system.  You can enjoy automation for all your electronic devices and have it all centralized in one easy system.  After an audio visual company finishes all these tasks you will be proud to show friends and family your new entertainment system.

Having a smart home means that your ability to utilize your appliances will be through whole house automation.  Everything in your home will be automatic such as important appliances like the refrigerator, stove, audio and video system, lighting and heating will all be automated so that you can keep your mind on other more important things.  Imagine coming home from a long day of work and not having to think about cleaning up or wasting time running errands because everything will already be taken care of.  Your life will be easier and more relaxing at home so that you can put your focus into your job, your family, and everything else that matters in your life.

Smart Home Technology: What People Love About Home Automation Systems

This is what people love about smart home technology and home automation systems. They simplify life in ways you never thought possible. If you work full time and have a family the last thing you want to be doing is chasing after everyone all the time. You don’t want to get up from what you are doing upstairs to turn down the music or TV downstairs. You don’t want to have to worry once you left the house that you set the alarm and have to double back, no instead you just press a button on your iphone or ipad and the alarm is set from wherever you are.

I always loved this movie. How about you?

It’s jam packed with so many quotable lines. One of my favorites: “You had me at hello.” But it's another great line I wanted to talk about today. It comes when Jerry (T.C.) is at his wit's end on the phone with his client (Cuba Gooding), trying his best to get the big bucks for him, though he keeps screwing up when it's his big opportunity in the NFL limelight and Jerry says, "Help me…help you" and then he repeats it. So what exactly does this have to do with your AV installation?

Remember The Golden Rule…(well, most of the time)

What's the golden rule of all business? 'The customer is always right'(right?) Can we talk about that word, 'always' for a minute? Maybe they should have added the word almost before always. Here’s an example:

Now and again, after an AV company closes that big, juicy project, there comes a point with certain clients (not all, mind you but enough to call attention to this issue) where everything you explained to them during the "courting" phase of the sale about the process involved in their AV installation, goes completely out the window. And that’s when problems can arise. Typically, the AV integrator has taken the time to explain to their client the process involved in their AV installation, how their scope of work will fit into the context of the entire build schedule and how all the trades should coordinate within that timeline to insure delivery on time and on budget. The key word here is process.

At USI, we detail to our clients the importance of adhering to this process. Not only will our equipment get installed and tested properly at the right time during the build schedule so we can deliver a fully functioning system. But the labor hours we have estimated for our scope of work will prove accurate so that there are no big surprises down the road for our clients with unexpected change orders.  Finally, we explain that what the client absolutely does NOT want is to have all the trades trying to get their work completed in a rush, all at the same time. That's where inefficiencies and budget overruns occur. That's also how mistakes happen.

So What's The Story Jerry?

Still, we run into situations where a customer, maybe because they’re frustrated with bigger picture delays on their project, forgets the timeline you originally outlined for them and asks you to start showing up more to show some progress in your work. In a perfect world, we will remind them or their representatives that the project is not ready for us yet (i.e. walls or ceilings aren't ready to receive speakers or TVs, a closet is still in construction, filled with dust and nowhere near ready for electronics to go in, etc.) and to remember the importance of the process we discussed. But the world of construction is far from perfect.

Suddenly, the project starts approaching crunch time for completion, the other trades aren't anywhere near ready, the client is frustrated and you are asked by a stressed out GC (or client rep) to work anyway because there won't be the luxury of time to work as you originally planned. So you show up on the jobsite because the designer or rep has been screaming that you only have two more days left until the deadline, and you find a room filled with workers; painters, wall paper guys, plumbers, electricians, tile guys, who have all been told the same thing. The painter looks at you with weary eyes as you walk toward a soaking wet, freshly painted wall, speaker in hand and asks, 'You're not seriously planning on installing those here any time soon are you?'

Another example: a client will have a problem like their TV isn't working and they're way off in the country somewhere. So you ask some basic questions to try to resolve the matter offline and avoid rolling a truck, if at all possible. When did this first happen because we know you had a working system for a long time? Was there a big storm? Are you doing any construction work there? Could someone have cut a wire? You're assured the answer is no to all and asked just to send someone because they have to have their TV working. So you drive two hours only to find there are wires everywhere and indeed, someone has been working there. Now what? (that one just happened to us)

That Thing You Do

Most clients understand how beautifully applied Venetian plaster should look. They’ve seen it in the magazines or at their friends’ homes. They’re reminded by the craftsmen that it’s a very old tradition with a specific process required to achieve the desired result. Fine furniture takes months. Typically, clients understand and respect this process.

But the technology team? (the AV integrator, Security, IT people); the guys who make magical things happen invisibly in your home? “Look, no wires!” (Well, lots of wires actually behind the scenes but you don’t see them). But it’s hard to show off those sexy wire troughs or that beautifully wired equipment rack to your friends. So consequently, there can be an attitude from certain clients of ‘Whatever it is, that thing you guys do, just get it done. And I have guests arriving tomorrow’ (just as the painter is folding up his ladders and the furniture guy is bringing in the dining room table.  

So that three weeks we said we needed at the project onset to complete our work properly? We still need that time even though the project is seven months overdue. That motorized lift that drops magically out of the ceiling to reveal your projector? Testing 400 buttons on all your lighting control keypads to make sure every one of them works?  It takes time to put these technology puzzle pieces together properly. It’s a process.

Can We All Get Along?

We all know that technology is the least understood component in people’s homes. Most of our clients have two basic priorities with their smart home technology needs: Simplicity and reliability. How it works? Not that interested. By their nature, large construction projects are typically complex, often times stressful, changing on a regular basis and have moments that test the patience of all parties involved to extremes. We know this all too well. And we understand.

So to our valued clients, who we want nothing more than to have as happy referring customers; who we know only want to be done with this arduous process and get on with their lives. Just let us do our jobs properly and respect the process. Just think of Jerry McGuire and remember those four magic words:

Help us…Help you.

Wireless Home Automation: Sound Companies Can Help

Sound companies are the best place to go to get wireless home automation. Home automation is popping up in more and more homes. Most home owners nowadays get home automation systems installed in their house. It just cuts out the amount of legwork a person has to do to maintain their home. If you get home automation a few things that you’ll be offered are having your security system synced to your iphone or ipad. When you leave your home if you forget to set your alarm and don’t remember until you are in the middle of your second course at dinner you can just take out your phone and set it. You don’t need to leave dinner and go all the way home. It simplifies a lot of people’s lives. We have so much to juggle with work, family, kids that sometimes just being able to turn lights off from our ipad instead of having to run up and down stairs three and four times a day makes a huge difference.

Audio Visual Companies: When You Want It All

When you want ultimate sound and ultimate home installation and whole house audio the best place to go to get all of that is an audio visual companies door step. They are the best for all your home automation needs whether it be whole house automation lightening or sound or both. They can sync your ipad or iphone to everything including your security system so you don’t have to worry every time you left your house that you forgot to set the alarm. There is no doubling back. You simply whip out your iphone or ipad and check.