One of the terms omitted was perhaps one we are advised to learn which defines how we are perceived when using pejorative terms to refer to competitors such as the “Trunk Slammers” and that term would be “asshole.”

Most of us started somewhere working out of a car, a basement, our parent’s front yard or a garage. Its called the American Way.

I have been in the industry and early integration to me 26+ years ago was pretty basic. Pairing an audio system with a video system and even X10 for lighting was fairly primitive compared with today’s integration of video, audio, lighting, heating and cooling, security and networking with a control system that truly integrates a system has made some advancements. Commercial or residential. What Newman did not see is the slight he dished out to the industry in general. I take offence to anyone who thinks himself better than the next. Next you are going to tell me anyone of a different race is human “If you can call then human”. Lump us all together and you become the true meaning of Clinton’s term “xxxxx”.

Clinton and Ken,

This is what I wanted, some discussion. 

A quick note that I agree everyone starts somewhere.  In fact my family history is filled with immigrants from Croatia, copper and silver miners, and owners of small businesses like hardware stores and small restaurants.  I only bring this up as it seems I have been assigned the “pretentious” variety of the “perjorative” in question here when nothing could be farther from the truth.  Read some other blogs I’ve wrote here and on the orangepro site you will see they are written with the intent of raising the bar as a whole and not denigrating small businesses.

This being a post about “definitions” let me post one here from Urban Dictionary:

Trunk Slammer-Derogatory term for a contractor who has minimal skill, experience and equipment. Trunk slammer implies the contractor works out of their car trunk, with no office or licenses and they will likely be difficult to find if the client is not happy with the work.

This is what I operate on when using the term.  If your firms have minimal skill, experience, and equipment, operate without a license, and disappear when the job goes south, then I’m sorry you are a trunk slammer.

You will see that “works out of their car trunk” is only an implication, not a requirement, and at that, not the whole or major basis of the term itself.  It applies to all industries and not just ours.

Considering you two care enough to read industry articles and know how to use words I had to look up in the dictionary, (like “perjorative” ), and have been in business for so long, I can only gather that you don’t fit the description at all and I would offer my apology if you think I aimed at you directly based on the size of your firm.

Ken, as for the comment that we all need to see our firms as equal, I disagree.  There is no reason to offer a collective shield as an industry to firms that are bringing us down in the eyes of the consumer.  There is no Good Ol’ Boys club to excuse the misdealings of AV guys leaving jobs undone and riding off into the sunset. 

Dealers like Cisco/Tandberg are pushing for AV certifications because they cannot trust that CEDIA and CTS certifications mean anything anymore.  Those will be tedious and costly for any firm to adhere to (that is if they mirror ISO9000 as it is implied) and would be unnecessary if we all acted in the right manner, as it seems you suggest we ALL currently do.

Lets isolate the “vampire cockroaches” (thanks Shark Tank) for what they are, oust them from our midst, and create an industry whose qualification for entry is know-how and performance, despite where we keep our offices, or what type of vehicles we drive to the jobsite.

Make Sense?

Best and God Bless both of you and your businesses.

Mark C