We showed up expecting to be there for less than an hour. We were asked to stay for seven.
A customer called us recently about his Starlink. He had already arranged for a free install through Starlink’s third-party installation service, but he wasn’t fully confident in what he was going to get. So he called us.
The last time we were at his property was the end of 2022. We terminated a couple of data drops, left him some faceplates to install once his walls were finished, ran a speed test, and talked through some ideas he had for dock WiFi and cameras down the road. That was it. One small job. That was the only context he had on us.
But that was enough.
A former manager of mine used to say, “You just know when someone knows what they are doing and what they are talking about.” That customer knew. And when Starlink came up years later, he called us.
He didn’t want to pay us to install his Starlink when he could get it done for free. That’s fair. But he wanted us there first to set everything up so that when the Starlink installer arrived, he would know exactly where to put the dish, where to run the cable, and how to do it right. Think of it as gift wrapping the job before someone else puts the bow on it. We do this regularly for the local cable and internet provider in our area too. Homeowners don’t want cables run across the floor or drilled through the wrong wall, so they bring us in first to make sure everything is ready and looks like it was always meant to be there.
Joe showed up, walked the property, identified the best location for the dish, mapped out the cable path, and had everything ready to go when the Starlink installer arrived. He walked him through the whole plan.
What we didn’t plan for was the customer watching Joe work and realizing he had a few other things he wanted taken care of while he had someone who clearly knew what he was doing on site. So the scope grew. And we were asked to stay.
The Starlink installer who showed up was sharp, professional, and genuinely good at what he does. It was clear he works hard within the scope he is given and gives everything he has to every job. At one point during the install, Joe mentioned that the Starlink modem can be put into bridge mode. The installer wasn’t aware of that, and that’s not a knock on him at all. His job is to get the system functioning. But Joe knows, because that’s what we do. What stood out was how the installer responded. He was immediately curious, asked questions, and wanted to understand it so he could apply it on the next job. You could tell he was the kind of guy who genuinely wants to get better at his craft.
Before he left, he pulled Joe aside. He said he had worked around a lot of people and that Joe was really good. Really, really good. And then he asked if Bay Audio Video would be willing to give lessons. He said he wanted to learn how to do installs the way we do them, not just make things work and move on, but do it right.
We weren’t trying to impress anybody. We were just doing the job the way we always do it.
I heard about it this morning. Joe was in Micah’s office, and I caught the words “asked if we give lessons.” I walked in and made him back up and tell the whole story. He wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. That’s just Joe. That’s just what we do. But things like this happen every week at Bay Audio Video, and nobody hears about them. So I figured I should write about it.
Joe holds a Control4 certification, a Lutron certification, and a DCJS license. He can make a 10,000 square foot home with half a million dollars worth of electronics talk to the homeowner. And he gives that same attention and care to a Starlink cable on a Tuesday afternoon.
That’s the standard we hold. Every job. Every time.
That interaction left us thinking. If someone who does installs full time walked away wanting to learn more about the equipment he was there to install, there may be a real need for that kind of training in this area.
Skip Emminizer, CEO
Bay Audio Video
Where Tech is Done Right so you can Live Life Well
804-480-0873
BayAudioVideo.com
