| What to Look for When Choosing an AV Company |
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| News - The Latest Events | |||
| Thursday, 01 October 2009 08:37 | |||
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We often hear from frustrated clients who have been organising their end of year party for months but have left all the lighting, audio and vision requirements to the last minute not really understanding what is involved with the technical requirements. With little time until the event and not much experience in the technical side of things it is common that a number of things occur:
1. The client is not really sure what they need, and believes that a simple sound system and maybe 1 or 2 lights would be enough for their small event. In these cases if the AV company does not communicate well or does not take the time and effort to get all the information, then the client can end up being unsatisfied with the results as the small sound system and a couple of lights really didn't cater for the hundreds of people in a large ballroom. Its important that your AV company really takes the time to get to know your event and what your expectations are. In most cases a site inspection is required to get an understanding of what you want to achieve and if there are any creative touches that we could add that you had not thought of. Communication is our most important tool, we take the time to explain exactly what you getting and why each item is required. This way you don't have to be overwhelmed with large lists of technical equipment not knowing what the end product actually is. Which brings us to our next point. 2. Your AV supplier has gotten all the details of your event and has given you a quote with so many items on it that it must be worth the extra dollars. You should not be expected to know what each piece of equipment does. Its unfortunate to say, but many companies add extra pieces of equipment to the quote that you don't really need or up sell you with bigger or brighter equipment that wont make a difference to your specific application. More equipment does not necessarily mean a better result. Bigger sound systems and brighter lights does not always mean you will have a greater event when your venue limits the full use of the equipment so its important that you trust in your suppliers and that you ask questions about what your actually getting and how the more expensive equipment is going to impact on your specific event. 3. The third thing that is very common with AV is that people always feel pressured to use the in house supplier and don't compare the prices with an external supplier. The venue always recommends their in house AV company if they have one. This is because they receive on average about 30% commission for the refereed business. This commission actually breaks fair trading laws if it is not fully disclosed to the client. So what is the end result for your event? You have an AV company that knows the venue well and is conveniently located at the venue. Is it really worth paying all those extra costs? Fusion Entertainment is not an in house supplier at any venue and we do not give commissions to anyone. We have worked in almost every venue in Sydney and by not giving commissions away, we don't have to charge high prices. It is wise to get more then one quote but remember, when you are comparing quotes make sure you compare what is actually provided not just the total figure. In our experience an external supplier is always cheaper then a in house supplier. If the in house supplier then offers to reduce their price to compete, just make sure they are quoting on the exact same thing and not reducing their price on a quote that is an inferior product. So if your overwhelmed with what you actually need or you want to get the personalised attention and communication that you deserve then give us a call and we would be more then happy to talk things over with you.
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