Extreme Home Cinema

Note - this is 2nd Update review: As per previous comments, knowledge, skills, prices are all very good; problems have been in communication & responsiveness. After finally remedying problems a year ago, when I called again recently to ask Geoff to help w/ new problems caused by someone else, he responded reasonably quickly, scheduled visit (and was accommodating to my need to change time/day) and found and remedied problems at a fair price. Therefore, I've improved my ratings, and would recommend - though, given past experience I would still suggest that a customer be prepared to be somewhat patient and flexible in scheduling.

We were happy with his advice in selecting components and system to accomplish our objectives within a modest (for this sort of thing) budget - to integrate some old and some new components into a whole-house AV system, utilizing the pre-existing wiring he had installed during construction (when he was contracted by the developer - who referred him to us after we purchased the house), adding additional wiring during our remodel, and installing and setting up everything. It was somewhat of a slow process, as he was not very responsive to calls and requests for scheduling, and it took a few visits to scope out what was needed, do pre-wiring during remodeling, and then finally complete the installation. But it got completed, and we were happy enough with the results - as various technical challenges were figured out and everything installed and set up and seemingly working as intended..... Until....we found one of the components to be unreliable, intermittently losing signal quality and sometimes not working at all - a wireless HDMI unit that was critical to desired functionality. A variety of advice was given to try to troubleshoot...and I spent several hours doing what was suggested, and trying everything else I could think of to solve the issues --- without success.....until finally, the unit was replaced....and IT DIDN'T WORK EITHER. This was confounding - not only to me but to him - as, despite a variety of inquiries to the manufacturer, updating firmware, trying different connections etc. etc., it should have worked (and he insisted he had used the device many times elsewhere, in a variety of (often more challenging installations, requiring greater range), with few problems. So...on the last visit, both devices were removed, and he indicated he'd try one more time, getting still another new unit - which he would test elsewhere before installing here (not sure why that wasn't done with the first replacement unit...but...whatever). And if that still didn't work, he would figure out another technical alternative - different components, wiring....to accomplish the same functionality. But that last visit was months ago - and this entire process has now gone from months to YEARS (more than three, as it's been 4 years since we moved in - though only perhaps a bit over 2 since the remodel was completed and the installation finished) - waiting to get the problems resolved - and we're still waiting. Geoff is personable, helpful and professional when onsite. And to his credit he has spent a lot of (unbilled) time answering questions, brainstorming and trying to help figure out some arcane issues while educating me somewhat on the state of the AV technology art. I like him and rather enjoy spending time talking about this one-time hobby of mine. But, the problem is, HE NEVER RETURNS CALLS( or emails or texts). We have had to try to contact him so many dozens and dozens of times just to, randomly every once in a great while, be lucky enough to get him to answer his phone and get the process moving again. Sometimes we have called several times in a day - from several different phones, with caller id blocked or visible....sending emails and text messages and leaving voice messages alternatively being polite and patient, and then pleading, and then angry and threatening. And when we finally to get him to answer, he acts like there's no problem!! He usually just makes some excuses that he's been busy, traveling or whatever...blah blah.... He simply seems to presume there is no problem, like he was just here a few days ago.....is friendly and personable and schedules a visit. Once this has been done, for the most part he has been reliable - sometimes a bit late, but, except for once, showing up at least as reliably as most contractors do...but then the cycle has started over again - with some work being done, troubleshooting....but always, so far, a need for another return trip. Somehow he must either be completely clueless as to how rude and inconsiderate it is to be so unresponsive, or is just so arrogant that he thinks others' time is unimportant and inconsequential compared to his own convenience. Or perhaps it is a passive/aggressive response - to frustration with either us as customers or the technical challenges he hasn't yet been able to resolve.......or maybe simply evidence of serious drug or psychological problems. I am really just dumfounded and Extreme-ly frustrated. So, at this point, I'm not sure whether we will sue in small claims court, start a social media campaign to tell everyone about our experiences, or go looking for him in person...or all of the above. But, unless he makes an "Extreme" turnabout, we have to give a rating of "bad" overall, for professionalism and punctuality; and lousy for responsiveness (it would be worse than that, if that was a rating option!). UPDATE: Finally I was able to contact him again....and he brought a new unit, which he left for me to connect myself. After doing so (I had told him I would if he didn't have time, as I had by then pretty much figured out how it should be done, and was prepared to buy something similar and do it myself anyhow)....it seems to work fine. If Geoff would only change his awful habit of ignoring messages and calls- until he finally, randomly, decides to be responsive - I would recommend him. He IS knowledgeable and skilled, reasonably priced and a pleasant guy - once he engages. But I don't know if/when/why his habits may change....