So I’m getting ready for CEDIA again this year. I’m sitting here pondering what my industry is all about. Obviously, you think product first. Right? High end speakers that make you melt. That make you feel like the artist is standing right in front of you. Pristine audio and video that makes you feel like you are literally part of the action. Is that what it’s all about? I actually think not. We have tried to do things different here at ESS for a very long time. It’s not so much about the product. It’s all about the service! We are a SERVICE industry. We haven’t always gotten it right but we have ALWAYS strived to give our customers the best possible service. We train our installers to treat our customers like they are family and we take that seriously. After all, we are a family business started by my dad 30+ years ago. Products are products. We sell Triad Speakers, Speakercraft, Savant Systems, Integra…. These are all great lines that we have chosen for specific reasons. Would a customer be happy with B&W or Crestron instead of Triad and Savant? Yeah, I think so. However, we have chosen our lines because they reflect our core beliefs. They have amazing support for their dealers. They stand by their products 100%. Savant will advance replace a system processor 11 months after the installation. Who does that? In our experience, you have to fight, scratch and claw to get service from other brands who take the dealer is guilty until proven innocent approach.

I don’t know that I have ever really separated the product from the service before. We’ve always stressed service but it always been more of an all in approach. Product and service. Technically, it still is but, as we all navigate this tough economy, it’s becoming more and more apparent just how important service is. I am routinely walking into new customer’s homes, who have just been utterly taken advantage of by other local installers. I listen to the heartache over how the other guy simply didn’t listen and didn’t respond. Simple stuff really. Things like coming back to the house to swap a glass break sensor on a security system or troubleshoot a TV issue. I walked into a client’s home once where the TV had a problem. The installer thought it might be the HDMI cable so he draped a long HDMI cable across the floor from the closet head end to the TV to test. It worked but he wanted to verify and test for a few days before running the cable through the walls. No problem so far right? 11 months later, when I got the call, he still hadn’t come back or even returned a phone call. What? Crazy! It actually upsets me in some ways because I have had to work extra hard at times to gain the trust of clients because of previous experiences. It gives my industry a bad name.

So, as you contemplate your new electronic systems, pay very close attention to the guy selling you. Observe how well they listen. Look closely at the proposal. Is it actually what you talked about or is it what the guy wanted to sell you? Does he take the time to explain, in as much detail as YOU need, all of the options, or is he too busy throwing out lingo and the next pitch? Again, we are not perfect. We are all human but you can tell if the guy is sincere and has a true heart for service.