Story by Art Department / July 20, 2017
When and how did AV Lifestyles get its start?
In 2004 I started doing small projects for friends and family, and officially turned it into a business in 2007. ATS was the name of that company, in 2013 I was competing with Trevor Van Etten of ITS on most jobs. We then decided to form AV Lifestyles at the beginning of 2014. Doing so allowed us to have a wider variety of products and solutions to offer our clients.
What does AV Lifestyles specialize in?
The easy answer – Home audio and video control systems. More detailed – we use control systems like Control 4 and Savant to simplify control of the many aspects of a home. Lighting, Security, Audio, Video, shades, pool, spa, sprinklers and HVAC all in one easy to use app. We specialize in giving the end user and easy to use system that doesn’t take a degree to understand and use.
What’s a typical day working at AV Lifestyles look like?
There’s always service challenges due to the multiple service providers we work with, i.e. Comcast, DirecTV, AT&T, etc. Any typical day starts with prioritizing the service issues that may have arisen overnight. Thanks to the IOT (internet of things) more devices are now online and we are able to remotely manage and tackle a lot of service issues. We are typically the last trade in someone’s home so our schedule is a bit fluid due to delay’s.
What’s your favorite part of working and living in Charleston?
This is such a loaded question. I can give the typical good food, beaches etc.. but honestly I don’t go to the beach that often, I don’t get the opportunity to eat out nearly as much as I nor my wife would like. What I like the most about Charleston is simply theres always something you can do.
What is the best advice you could give to people in the market for your product?
Have realistic expectations. If you’re getting multiple quotes make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. Far to often people compare quotes that are apples and bananas. If you get a $20,000 quote from one company and a $60,000 quote from another, it’s not the same. Quality products cost more than you’d expect. You’ve chosen to work with a professional to provide you with a service or product that will be reliable and easy to use, that comes at a price.
Lastly, is there anything else you would like people to know about AV Lifestyles?
We are locally owned and not a chain or franchise. Our awards, successes, and failures are ours and have worked very hard to learn from them, we are in this for years to come.
