Doug Rowley (left) and Ken Krienitz (right)
Anyone can sell you something. Anyone can make the promise that by shopping with them you are going to get the best service available. But if you have ever bought any type of home theater technology you’ve probably realized that a lot of companies do not follow through with those promises.
So what makes Barretts Home Theater Chicago different? Maybe the best thing to do isn’t to just say that we have great service. Maybe the best way to explain it is by describing what happens after the transaction is complete.
As you read this article, our project management team is reviewing jobs in the Barretts Home Theater Chicago “Project Management Locker Room.” They’re drawing up the best game plan for getting our projects done efficiently, effectively, and with enough quality to make your system the envy of the neighborhood. In this project game plan the project management team is coordinating a range of variables. Some of these include:
- The availability and delivery of product.
- Skill-sets of our custom audio video installation team best suited for the job. Third party contractors either hired by us or our clients.
- System design documents to ensure that things not only go smoothly when the install begins, but to accurately document the phases or your project so we can service it in the future.
That last point is one of the most important things we can provide our clients. A good company can take care of you when your system is being installed. A great company takes care of you as long as that system is in your home. One way Barretts Home Theater Chicago does this is by having a great team of custom audio video installers. Everyone on our custom installation team is also a service technician, so even if you call us years after the fact you might get to reconnect with the Barretts Home Theater Chicago employee who made your home technology dreams come true in the first place. A lot of our existing clients actually ask for our custom audio video technicians by name, or nickname as Kenny K, Big J, and The Rowlinator can attest to.
And we have got experience. The youngest guy on our team has been doing custom installation for audio video for seven years. Our senior programmer has been doing this for twenty. Even the best game plan ever devised can never account for all the “adventures” that occur in the custom installation world. That’s when experience makes the difference.
But even with a great design plan and a great team we’re still constantly reviewing our processes based on feedback from our clients. Every project we install is followed up with a survey card to let us know how we did and how we can do even better. As I said before, anyone can sell you something. It’s the things we do beyond the sale that have kept Barretts Home Theater Chicago in business for forty three years.
By Adam Natali- Project Manager at Barretts Home Theater Chicago
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This past week Barrett’s Home Theater hosted its annual Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) event with B&W’s foremost speaker expert, John McIntosh. McIntosh, a world traveler who shares his expertise on the art of listening as well as what makes a quality speaker, spoke to a group of audiophiles while engaging them in the process.
Dave Baumgardner, 10 year customer of Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago and resident of Naperville, attended the seminar and said this after listening to the 802D speakers in one of the custom installed home theater rooms: “When I sit back and REALLY LISTEN to the speakers, I notice an openness and detail not found in other speakers I have owned.”
According to McIntosh, this openness comes from the diamond dome tweeters (literally diamonds) which earned Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) the award for European High End Audio Component of the Year for the 803D series. Baumgardner also believes the quick reaction of the woofers with good amps is one of the best features. Mr. McIntosh also demonstrated the design qualities, including layers of wood, Kevlar mids and explained the XT series including aluminum as a cabinet speaker material. The crystal clear sound is so vibrant, an astute listener can hear a bird signing over the sound of waterfall.
In addition to the B&W 803D series, one of our newest unique offerings is the portable Bowers and Wilkins “Zeppelin” iPod speaker system. Danny Carroll, veteran sales consultant of Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago said this about the B&W system: “Because this system is transportable it works perfectly in offices, kitchen and even outside. The sound is fantastic!”
So whether you are shopping for new speakers, or just want to stop in and experience our Bowers and Wilkins Gallery, our staff at Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago will welcome all visitors.
By Dianne Barrett
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When Bill Black was first introduced to the concept of integrating a media room into his home in S. Barrington, Illinois, he admittedly had no idea what that entailed. Twelve months later, Bill has not only remodeled his family room into a media room but has helped Barrett’s Home Theater redefine their concept of what applications that encompasses.
Over the years, Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago has custom installed hundreds of home theaters. However, in addition to installing home theaters and educating consumers about the evolving world of technologies, the staff at Barrett’s Home Theater is now educating consumers about media rooms and the difference between a home theater and a media room.
On average, home theaters are usually darker spaces with assembled seating revolved around flat screen televisions often with insulated walls and surround sound systems located away from the nosiest parts of the home. These are usually installed in basements. The hottest televisions in these home theaters are Samsung flat screens with B&W speakers that play back every sound imaginable and enhance the audio experience.
By contrast, the recent media room designed at the Black residence was located within close range of the kitchen where mom and dad can keep tabs on what their kids are engaged in, albeit computers, television viewing, iPods, or Blu-ray movies.
According to Jay Johnson, architect for many of Barrett’s designs, “Keeping the media room centrally located makes the most sense in order to keep all the wiring at the shortest distance. Some media control is affected or limited by the length of wiring or cabling, so this makes the most sense. However, in a home it is not critical.”
What seems to be a hot trend in integrating technologies these days is the media room, says John Wettlaufer, Custom Sales Manger of Barrett’s Home Theater.
“The beauty of these rooms becomes apparent when the family gathers and does what most families do: eat, drink, socialize, often hashing up old memories or escaping from everyday dramas.”
Johnson could not agree more, “The benefits of a media room can provide the owner with the ability to control multiple media applications instead of just video and audio.” Johnson has teamed up with Wettlaufer on several jobs throughout the Chicago area.
In his designs for our clients, Johnson incorporates the integration of HVAC, lights, window treatments, security, and phone applications. Both Wettlaufer and Johnson utilize Crestron control panels which are user friendly and can ultimately save the customer thousands of dollars a year in energy costs by programming the above applications for different seasons and hours in the day.
Maybe that is why Black always returns so promptly Saturday mornings to his media room. With remote in hand, the Saturday morning entertainment begins just after his daughter Mary’s soccer games. Upon returning from their favorite doughnut shop with hot coffee and doughnuts, they dash home to download the game they just witnessed moments ago and their media room comes alive with screams and laughter. And with instant replay the family can watch those magical moments over and over. Now this is a good way to kick off a weekend!
By Dianne Barrett
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Sam LaGuidice (left) and David Kochanowski (right)
Do not be dismayed that Tweeter has disappeared from the Chicago land market. Why? Because Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago has hired two of the finest sales consultants Tweeter had to offer. This dynamic duo has the knowledge and resources to convert the lost souls abandoned by their favorite audio and video store into valued Barrett’s clients.
Joe Barrett, president of Barrett’s Home Theater, has a philosophy about hiring new staff: hire outside the box and everyone benefits. Even with his 30 years in the business, Joe acknowledges the fact that these new employees understand and utilize technologies in ways he never dreamed of. He values the perspectives of ex Tweeter employees, David Kochanowski and Sam LaGuidice and realizes that their insights to retail and custom installation will teach him many valuable lessons.
Sam LaGuidice believes branding and personalized customer service, especially with the follow-through, is the difference between Barrett’s Home Theater and Tweeter. Sam states, “After working at Tweeter for eight years, I realized in my six months at Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago that I have the resources at my disposal to provide the best customer service. And these resources are far superior for custom installation projects then they were at my former employer.” He goes on to talk about the support staff. “The project managers, John Cook and Adam Natali are part of the sales support team and I can honestly say that I can provide the customer a better sales experience and custom installation follow-through at Barrett’s Home Theater because of John and Adam’s practices.”
David Kochanowski could not agree more with Sam and his assessment of the differences between the two retailers. “At Tweeter, I would often have to go out to fix installation problems which were a common occurrence.” David goes on the say, “I know that having the staff in place behind the scenes allows me to work with the client while taking care of the finer details.” In addition, David is a stickler for offering a product to match the needs of each customer. He is a supporter of a few quality brands and will stick with them as long as the manufacturer follows through with their support. David concludes, “Our audio video selection at Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago is not only equal in quantity, but much better in quality. It includes furniture as an additional category of solutions that was almost obsolete at Tweeter.”
Joe Barrett hopes ex Tweeter customers and even Circuit City customers will give us a look. The relaxed atmosphere, matched pricing policy, and follow-through service, combined with 140 plus years of combined audio video experience will make you a true believer of our commitment to be the best. And it is this commitment that has kept us in business since 1966.
By Dianne Barrett
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What’s the latest craze in flat screen televisions this spring at Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago? Introducing the new 6000, 7000, and 8000 series flat screen panels which use a new edge lit LED technology. The definition of LED is: Light emitting diodes that let electricity pass in only one direction emitting visible light when electricity is applied, much like a light bulb. When many LEDs are side-by-side, they can create pictures, such as the scrolling red LED signs found everywhere.
The LED flat screen televisions deliver better picture quality with an ultra-slim design, and are eco-friendly. The series carried in the showroom is white LEDs resulting in a television that is considerably less expensive than a television that uses a RGB value (red, green and blue LEDs). These flat screen televisions at Barrett’s Home Theater also consume up to 40% less power.
Rob Lubas, store manager at Algonquin’s Barrett’s Home Theater states “I think the new Samsung LED backlit LCDS are a great product. Not only are they some of the sleekest and sexiest TV’s I have ever seen, they have great picture quality to compliment them.”
Customers biggest complaint over the years with regular LCD’s televisions has been that the colors don’t look as good as they do on plasma’s flat screen television.
Rob’s solution, “With this new LED backlighting system Samsung has bridged that gap to rival color saturation and black levels that in the past were unheard of from LCD television products. And probably the best news for the end user is that they consume 40% less energy than traditional LCD’s. Seeing is believing!”
Along with selling LED technologies in our new series of flat screen televisions, LED light bulbs are being integrated into our home theater rooms in our floor and overhead lighting systems to reduce energy consumption. In addition, at Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago, LED lights are utilized over the B&W speaker display (Bowers and Wilkins) and Society of Sound wall as well as several other areas of the showroom.
As leaders in evolving technologies we are excited by the implementation of LED lights and televisions and look to our vendors to continue manufacturing products that reduce our carbon prints, not only as retailers but for you, the customer.
By Dianne Barrett
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Front row: Glessna Coisson and Dianne Barrett
Back row: Edmond Coisson and Joe Barrett
Picture by Lori MacDonnell, Photos for a Lifetime, Inc.
The Naperville Film Fest shared the winning videos of 2008 during the Academy Awards Ceremony on television in the Barrett’s Home Theater showroom. The winning videos, in several categories were selected by the Naperville Film Fest and viewed in several home theater rooms on flat screen televisions or front projectors.
Edmond and Glessna Coisson are the founders of the film fest and are encouraging fim makers to submit their videos for the 2009-2010 contest. Please go to www.naperfilmfest.org for more information on the Naperville Film Fest.
By: Dianne Barrett
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Everything changed on Nov 4th 1964. That was the night America was introduced to the Beatles as they performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. I was moving and grooving in Dallas, Texas to the rhythms of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” while staring at a small, boxy, black and white television with rabbit ears. It was the same black and white television my family watched I Love Lucy and The Marx Brothers on years before.
Over the next decade, televisions got larger, and after Dorothy landed in Munchkin Land, we all had to make sure those larger TVs were in color. In the nineties, characters like ‘Tim the Tool-man Taylor’ displayed their masculinity by disappearing into their garages to watch portable televisions as they tuned-up old hotrods.
Crowding around a small black and white TV with rabbit ears is a memory of the distant past. These have been replaced by a new generation of TVs and TV enthusiasts who choose to bring together whole neighborhoods to show off their big screens for sporting events.
Brian Perreault, General Manager of Barretts Home Theater Chicago, has witnessed the advent of many new technologies: “It is not as simple as plugging in a television anymore. There are some installation applications where older products such as CRT or DLP televisions simply would not work.”
According to Perreault, “Clients no longer want bulky TVs. They want flat panel televisions that open up the room. In the past, if you wanted a big screen you were forced to look at a big box television, sometimes coupled with a chucky piece of furniture to accommodate it.”
Women, the central decorators of the home, are on the prowl to discover new ways to integrate televisions without making them the center of the room. Having once owned a big screen television, of course from Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago, my living space has increased and the room seems less cluttered with the addition of my LG flat panel. Even the electronic components including a CD player, high definition cable box, Blu-ray, and audio server are stored in the basement, nowhere to be seen in the living space. What a relief to get rid of all those wires!
Even corporate America seems to be having a love affair with electronics in the board rooms. Many offices that I visit have flat panel televisions mounted on the walls displaying digital art scenes, including my favorite: the Rocky Mountains. Soothing yes, but also serving a dual purpose, because with the switch of a remote on goes the television. Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago, also installs projectors mounted high over board tables for presentations.
Who knows what technologies will emerge in the next few years, but this I know, the manufacturers are making flat screen televsions and other products sleeker and more sophisticated. Barretts Home Theater located in the Chicago suburbs of Naperville and Algonquin, have all these and more, including the latest offerings from Sony, LG, Samsung, and Pioneer.
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By Dianne Barrett
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Barrett’s Home Theater has been a member of Home Theater Specialist of America (HTSA) for ten years. Consisting of retail and custom installation specialists across America, HTSA has provided the entire team the ability to network several times a year in all facets of business operation to determine best business practices by attending education forums, conferences, and online web casting. In addition, because HTSA is a consortium of buyers, our Director Richard Glikes, is able to ensure purchasing power in the marketplace.
Last year, Joe Barrett, president and owner, and I had the opportunity to visit with several of our HTSA partners in their perspective cities including Seattle and Dallas. We saw firsthand how the custom installation design centers and retail home theater stores integrated several technologies for home and office use.
“Because the audio/video and technologies industry is changing so rapidly, networking among business owners is critical, especially in these challenging times.” states Joe.
Our staff from sales consultants to custom installers and programmers are provided ample opportunity through professional training to continue their education to provide the customer with the latest and most timely information to meet their needs.
According to John Cook, Project Manager for Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago, “Our custom installation team and programmers are CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association) trained and certified. The advanced education for the management team through HTSA sponsored educational forums enhances the shopping experience for the customer because the staff knows the business at all levels.” In addition most staff has attended some or all of the following training:
- B&W UK Factory Tour
- Stewart Filmscreen Factory Training
- Lutron Factory Training
- Crestron Residential System Design Training
- McIntosh McMasters Training
- Runco Academy
- HTSA Custom Managers Meetings
- HTSA Programmers Meetings
- HTSA Buyers Meetings
- HTSA Audio Boot Camps
- HTSA Video Boot Camps
- Various CEDIA courses
- Local and/or in-store vendor trainings
Since all of us in the HTSA buying group are sailing in uncharted waters, as technologies continue to change on a daily basis, the support and teamwork approach across the globe are key strategies to meet the lifestyle for each and every customer. For more information on HTSA and CEDIA visit their websites.
By Dianne Barrett
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CONSUMER ALERT
On February 17, 2009 all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital.
CONSUMER CORNER
• A digital-to-analog converter box will allow you to continue using your existing analog TV to watch over-the-air digital broadcasts.
• All local broadcast networks including CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX will continue to be available through a converter box.
• The digital TV (DTV) transition does not affect cable or satellite TV subscribers.
• DTV offers improved picture and sound quality.
• DTV offers more programming choices.
• DTV is available now. If you watch over-the-air television today, you should be able to receive all or most of your local stations’ digital signals if you have a DTV receiver.
According to Brian Perreault, general manager of Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago, updating to a new high definition or digital ready television will allow consumers to take full advantage of the DTV transition which will offer vastly improved picture and sound quality, and more programming choices. Hooking up a convertor box to an existing analog television will simply convert the digital signal back to an analog signal which allows accessibility to the DTV channels without the full benefits of this new broadcast standard.”
At Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago, our sales and custom installation staff are more than happy to answer any questions related to these changes in technology.
For more information contact Mr. Perreault at 630-898-2850.
By Dianne Barrett
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Barrett’s Home Theater Chicago welcomed David Alstadt, band director and twenty Naperville Central High School students in December to showcase their talents for customers, parents, and employees. David’s ability to coordinate such a fine group of musicians in such a short period of time (playing since September) is truly amazing.
We always enjoy having the students from high schools perform in our home theater store. The partnership between Naperville School District 203 and Barrett’s Home Theater provides exciting and engaging opportunities for both organizations and we look forward to students returning in the spring of 2009.
By Dianne Barrett
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