6 Pop Songs Great for Audio Demos
Worst DIY Installs Ever Part 7
10 Must-Have Products for Your Next Install
6 Amazing High-End Home Theaters
Print
Email
Share
Theater Advice: Capitalizing on Tweeter’s Lost Opportunity
David Huse, CEO of Theater Advice in Frisco, Texas, prides himself on creating unique, custom media rooms, like this one, for his clients.
The TV was on its way out, he'd never seen HD and he needed a new receiver. He had a lot of needs he didn't even know about. So, I turned it into component video. It became a $6,500 job. I love walking in and successfully showing people that they need more to get what they want."
Theater Advice, by design, offers a limited selection of products. Over the years, Huse has learned what works best. “Some products endured for years and were very good, others were not good and some broke. I pick the products I like the best.”
Do customers want a wider variety? Not necessarily. “There’s too much out there," Huse says. "If I prove know what I’m doing, my customers can trust I’ve done all the homework — more then they could ever do on the Internet or by reading reviews.”
Among his most favorite lines are:
- Sony
- Panasonic
- MartinLogan Audio
- Pioneer Elite
- Halo by Parasound
- Stewart Filmscreen
Finding Good Help
The Theater Advice team is a tight one.
Huse calls Jason Hanifan, vice president of sales and system design, his "superhero." Huse adds that he counts equally as much on his lead installer, Thomas Rzasa, and programmer Ellery Watson, another Tweeter veteran.
Huse leaves the woodworking to Bill Beemer, a master craftsman of 30 years. Although Beemer is not technically a Theater Advice employee, he works exclusively with Huse. "He's stopped everything else because he enjoys doing these large scale projects and gets to use his artistic ability with me rather than just doing kitchen cabinets," Huse explains. "He's a craftsman. So, while he's building out a custom room, I can move on to other things."
In terms of staff, Huse is emphatic about treating employees with respect.
In these hard times, Huse says, employees look to their employers to keep them employed, to keep their families fed. "I will not pay my mortgage before I pay my guys," he says. "If you promise someone a paycheck, that's a big deal. Everything should crumble from the top down not the bottom up."
It's worth noting that Huse makes unusual efforts to see things from their perspectives. He will go on jobs, he says, and have his installer treat him as if he were the employee. "He tells me what to do on a job site so I can understand things," Huse explains. "He knows his job; I know mine. Everyone needs to see what everybody else does and respect how tough other people's jobs are."
Huse likes to work with people that are as detail-oriented as he is. "My customers demand a certain level of quality, and I'm inclined to give it to them."
Huse recalls a hiring technique used way back when he first started out at Circuit City (well before his tenure with Tweeter). "When they hired me, my first interview was with two sales people that worked there. If they liked you, you got the second interview with the manager. If they felt they could work with you and you'd get along with everyone else, they put you through. It made me think, at 21, ‘That's a good idea.'"
Huse says that many of the people he has worked with became close friends — and they've remained that way. "If I hire from outside my circle," he says, "I make sure my other employees want to work with them."
When it comes to electrical work, though, Huse hands off to subcontractors. "I don't like to pretend I'm a specialist in everything," he says. "I am one with audio design, home entertainment and lighting control, but I don't want to do HVAC. I let specialty companies do their specialty." He adds, "And if anything goes wrong, the customer has someone to turn to. I'm an advocate for sticking with what you do."
Bearing the Market
Despite economic hard times, which Theater Advice (like the rest of the nation) is feeling, Huse is happy to report his company is keeping busy overall. "People want to hold onto their money more during these times, and we're not selling steak and potatoes. Luxury items are a bit more on hold."
Still, he says, "people who have money will always have more than the middle class."
Subscribe to the CE Pro Newsletter
9 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
It’s nice to see that former Tweeter folks are landing on their feet. Even though Tweeter failed at a lot things, there were a lot of things they did right. One of those things was helping to create talented people. Heres to wishing Dave all the best in his current venture.
David was always productive at Tweeter. That was not an easy task given the wide range of volume of the stores that he was schuffled to and from. Good to hear he is doing well. Top salesman in Texas??
Still sounds like a tweeter salesman…..
“Huse may spend a week doing something small, like hanging a few plasmas, and then move right into a $1 million gig.” I’m having a hard time believing this. with only 1.1M in 2009 revenue, this will equate to 2-3 jobs. with only 5 guys, you must be turning down a lot of work. how much of this “million $” job is electronics and programming and not construction and decorating. can you provide a sample equipment list for a $1m job?
Why did this guy get his own spotlight article?
Quotes from his website..
“We at Theater Advice carry close to a hundred brands so our selection is vast.”
this article-
“Theater Advice, by design, offers a limited selection of products” Make up your mind.
Website-
“We here at Theater Advice are system designers and not salesmen.”
this article-
“A self-described “born salesman,” Huse admits he loves sales” - sounds like a salesman…
Website-
“The first step is your FREE in home consultation. We do not charge for this service as any professional shouldn’t,” Really? I bet most REAL professionals would disagree. How much did Tweeter charge for these?
“All jobs must be paid in full before staging product and scheduling an installation date. This policy is no different than any other company” - Wrong again…..
“Your labor carries a 6 month warranty” - pretty skimpy for a “pro”
“Most companies are owned and operated by venture capitalists that quite simply do not understand this industry and more importantly the customer’s needs.” I think the term “most” is a bit of a stretch…
I agree with Curious - this guy has a lot of big dreams, but with this kind of mentality will not last very long.. Salesmen do not usually make great business owners..
Good luck with that mortgage payment..
To Dave Huse:
People who know me and read my posts know how critical I can be. All I can say is that in my opinion, your attitude and business model is as close to perfection as I can imagine. I run my business exactly the same way.
Ignore the negative comments/posts. These people have no imagination and don’t understand the concept of paying an employee before paying themselves, or an employee making more money than the owner because they’ve earned it.
I wish you the best of luck even though I don’t think you’re going to need it. When you love what you do, nothing is impossible.
Thanks Erin for a great article regarding someone who thinks “out of the box.”
I have no love for Tweeter and never worked for them.
I will just stick up for myself here and make it easy and this will be my one and only rebuttle as I do not wish to argue with people I do not know underneath my own article. And if you cannot tell by my article, I really do not care what my peers think. I do things differently and am proud of that.
First Issue. 1.1 million is an estimate and a projection, could be three times that and after this last month it looks like exactly that. And about 50K is electronics, I specialize in “Custom Rooms” and can manage many projects at the same time. Rest assured if I get too busy for me I will hire people, there is no shortage of people looking for work right now, I get a resume a day.
Other issues in order.
I carry hundreds of brands yes. I only sell a few or recommend a few but if customer wants or needs something that I do not love, I will tell them the truth and get them what they want. Thanks for the clarification as to what it says but it makes perfect sense to everyone but you. I do what my customers want and need in the end and its nice to have the access to the products.
I am a great salesman but not shady. I design a proper system within normal budgets for each customer. My sales comes in my honesty, it does not feel like selling as much as consulting.
Tweeter did not charge for consultations and neither do I. Charging for something you have not provided is just a way to force them into doing business with you so they can get that back. I am confident enough that I will get the business either way and I usually do. I will continue to do this and “other professionals” must be those all around the country now calling me asking me what I am doing differently after reading this article. Is that who you were refering to?
My payment policies and warranty policies are my business and not one of my customes have ever had a problem with this. They trust me, I am sorry if you are having problems in this area?
Thanks for your assessment but I am doing just fine. This was one of 5 magazines I have been in in 6 months if you would like to read more and will have a spread in Electronic House in news stands in September. This salesperson makes a fantastic business owner. Funny you assume to know my background. Enjoy your successes as I have mine and my many to come.
To all others thank you so much for your kind words, I appreciate it more than I can tell you and promise to never waiver from my customer service standards.
David Huse -
Dave,
Stick to your guns… Your business model has worked for me for over 20 years and I could care less what other people think.
Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you too will see all the rest fall around you.
Once again, I wish you only the best and disregard/ignore all of the unimaginative negative commentary…
Dave Stevens
I’ve know this guy for about 9 years now. He’s been my friend and we have done business together. When I think of David, one word comes to mind - INTEGRITY. This is the guy who did a complete custom set-up/install for a mutual friend of ours at no-cost simply because he “couldn’t stand that it wasn’t done properly.” This guy genuinely has a passion for not only electronics, but for people. Spend 5 mins with the guy and he is trying to find different ways to help you.
Semper Fi,
SSGT
SEO Specialists
http://wsisearch.com
Dave has helped me in the past with audio and video purchases- a good trusted source.
Jay