Built-In Systems

Be careful if you need a tech to come to your home. They charge $100 just to come out. Excessive I think. I would not use them again.

Verging on fraudulent. My parents called Built-In Systems to see if they could help repair a central vacuum system, to which the answer was "quite likely" but we need to come out and look at the system. *NO MENTION OF A SERVICE FEE". My Father is a very savvy man, but at 94 is not nimble enough to get up on a ladder to replace the brushes which he suspected was the issue.
The only piece of good news is that the workers came out when they said they would. The first clue of an issue should have been that they came out in dress clothes, not in work clothes. They did not get within 6 feet of the vacuum. My Father turned on the vacuum, and said based on the noise he suspected it was the brushes. The workers confirmed that was the issue. When asked for a price they said Sir, we don't service anything, we can only offer you ane entire new motor (of which there are two in this particular vacuum), for $550/piece. Shocked my father said they could send a quote but it was not likely. Then, to make matters worse when they knew they didn't do repairs but replacement work only and still came out; my parents received a $226 bill for less than 10 minutes on sight and not actually looking at the motors. We've been trying to resolve this for months but to no avail Be warned. I live in California and hence do not get here often but I am horrified by this business practice and suggest that it may verge on abuse and fraud paying on elderly individuals. Should we get this resolved, I will remove this post.

When trying to locate a reputable business to work on my home entertainment system I got lucky. After calling a few places and even Yelping "Home Entertainment" Built-In Systems did not appear. When driving through Virgina Beach Town Center I spotted their van which listed Home Theater. Their current single low review did not deter me from investigating. I added the category to the yelp business listing.

I called the office and spoke with a nice staff person named Elizabeth. I told her what I was looking to do. She provided info on charges which is $80 trip, then billed on the quarter hour $20. That seemed a bit steep. I asked to discuss the job and charges with owner Jeff Simmons who called me back within 15 minutes.

After discussing the job which consisted of a new state of the art Harmony Elite Universal Remote by Logitech, installing Apple TV and making adjustments to the receiver and do an audio check for acoustics we arrived at a probable time to do the job of 2 hours to a max of 4 if they ran into an issue(s). The cost was not flexible and could not be locked in. However, I felt extremely comfortable with Jeff and felt that he and staff had the competence to do a great job. I hired them and set the appointment. Since they were backed up with the weather it took a week.

The tech Brian arrived at my home 10 minutes early and called. I was just arriving home. He quickly got to work accessing the job. I could tell this guy was not milking any clock as he hustled around. Within minutes he had the Apple TV installed and began to pull out unnecessary wires from the old remote. Upon discussion of cleaning up the cabinet and ventilating it better a shelf was brought up. It was not part of the plan. However, I wanted to separate the units to vent the receiver and completely close off the cabinet.

Brian again quickly got the tools necessary to trim out the existing shelf I had for the cabinet. Wow was this a good call as it looked great! And now the doors could be closed off. All the AV equipment was previously out of site controlled by a 3 year old universal remote. What changed was adding a high tech Bluetooth remote that could now operate the Apple TV. The only reason to now open the cabinet is for the Blue Ray.

The snag on the job came when attempting to get a WiFi signal to set up the remote. Brian pushed through as quickly as he could never stopping a second. The delay was around 30 minutes, but it was done correctly. Next was adjustments to the sound and setting of acoustics which really made a huge difference as the previous set up over the last five years had went off track.

Finally the entire set up was complete and Brian assisted me in setting up the remote on my smart phone, a neat feature. Next setting up favorites and a walk through the remote. The Harmony Elite remote was $299 and I was totally impressed.

The job took a total of 3 hours and 20 minutes. The cost over $600 which included the cost of the control. I was very satisfied with what was accomplished. The system was much better than when Built-in Systems arrived. Everything looked and worked great! I also was impressed with the professionalism of Brian.

Built-in Systems bread and butter is commercial alarms, they also do residential. Jeff's Dad started the business in the 70's as an alarm company. They also specialize in intercoms, central vacuums and structured wiring. Basically anything low voltage they can do interior, or exterior.

The expertise necessary for my job was not taken lightly. Another company could have taken three times longer and easily screwed it up. I'm so pleased with their work. I would recommend them all day long.

Absolutely terrible experience. I had another alarm company for 20 years when BIS took over their accounts. The relationship with the previous company was great. As part of the company takeover, our system had to be re-programmed. Unfortunately this programming was not done properly. The problem was not discovered for more than an year - we were paying for the service the entire time even though the system did not work properly. We contacted BIS when we discovered the problem. They came out to reprogram the system with the correct information - and then sent me a bill! When I addressed the issue with the Owner, he wanted to sell me a new system and increase my monthly payment! Needless to say we are no longer a customer.
This is one on the worse examples of customer service I have experienced as they would not stand behind the service I paid for and did not receive.

WATCH OUT ... had a bad experience with my family. Did not cancel 30 days before end of contract because had stopped using service 11 months prior because of hospice and medical personnel coming in and out. Still had to pay for months of service never used because of late cancellation. Understand a contract is a contract but with NO reminder, phone, text or email this company just waits till your anniversary to charge you for another year regardless of circumstances. No compassion or grace for their customers!