Projx360

Manufacturers come through with flying colors during the pandemic to meet the service needs of integrators in 11th annual CE Pro Quest for Quality Awards.

March 30, 2021 - If ever there was a year in which integrators needed great service from their suppliers, it was the past 12 months … and boy did the industry come through! Even in the face of drastic equipment shortages and supply chain problems, manufacturers and distributors — both large and small — responded to the sudden shock of the coronavirus pandemic with flexible terms, generous shipping and warranty policies, superb customer service and tech support, and expanded marketing programs.

It is safe to say that the individuals in these companies earned their recognition in the 11th annual CE Pro Quest for Quality Awards.

The awards are unique because they recognize services, not products. CE Pro asks its readers to tell us via an open-ended survey which suppliers had the best services in 2020. This year we had a record-breaking 14,550 votes covering 17 manufacturer categories and eight distributor categories. We are recognizing three winners in each category: Platinum, Gold and Silver.

New this year was a specific category revolving around COVID-19 response. Integrators opened up about how manufacturers provided automatic upgrades for certain products when they were out of stock, how suppliers pivoted to online training with videos, how distributors paid air freight fees to make sure products were kept on the shelves, and how tech support and order fulfillment teams shifted to Work from Home situations without skipping a beat.

We realize that the Q4Q results can often be skewed toward vendors serving multiple product categories — the more touchpoints a dealer has with a vendor, the more top-of-mind that vendor is for receiving a Q4Q vote. So, again this year we have a “Category Kudos” award to a manufacturer with siloed products in fewer categories that scored very well in the survey. Here are the winners.

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Best Software Support

PLATINUM: D-Tools

Knowing how amazingly well our fellow industry suppliers and service providers stepped up the quality of care and support to their dealers during the pandemic makes winning this award even more humbling and meaningful. D-Tools made substantial investments — provided financial support, offered free training, doubled the size of our customer success team, and more — to help our customers through this past year, especially in the early months of the pandemic. 2021 marks the fifth year in a row D-Tools has been honored with a CE Pro Quest for Quality Award, and the first time we have been bestowed two awards. It is a tribute to my team’s deep sense of caring and commitment to our customers and the channel. —Randy Stearns, CEO, D-Tools

GOLD: ProjX360

ProjX360’s new inventory management solution has helped me track my inventory more accurately and saved me money. —Verbatim comment from reader

SILVER: iPoint

For a long time, we undervalued our labor, but we actually didn’t even realize it until we started using iPoint. —Verbatim comment from reader

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Best COVID-19 Response

PLATINUM: SnapAV/Control4

A year ago, no one had a playbook for how to deal with COVID, but when we realized it was going to have a real impact on our partners and the industry, we immediately put together a dedicated COVID Resource area on our website. This provided a single, easily accessible location where partners could get resources to help run their business.

We constantly updated it with the latest information, including overviews of government programs and loans, inventory and shipping updates, and a full sales toolkit to help our partners sell virtually. We also created regular podcasts that included learnings from the field, so we could help our partners continue to learn, adapt and keep people safe. —Kordon Vaughn, VP, Marketing, Campaigns and Creative, Control4

GOLD: Nortek Control/Elan/2GIG

With some of our factories based in China, we addressed the pandemic very early in February. In doing so, we were able to make our customer needs a priority. Our team did a great job of bridging the gap created by the early China shutdown and delivered significant product to the U.S. We mitigated about a month of ocean freight shipments by air shipping to the U.S. and we were able to maintain our supply chain and have plenty of inventory. If customers, distributors or installers needed product, we got it domestically. We also made sure to communicate with all our customers on a regular basis so they stayed highly informed every step of the way. —Chris Larocca, CEO, Nortek Control

SILVER: Crestron

With the pandemic, making sure our products are always available is a source of pride. We understood the difficult times our dealers were facing and worked with them in many ways to ensure their success. In addition, we launched home conferencing solutions to support ‘Work from Home’ needs. —John Clancy, VP, Residential, Crestron

Best Customer Service

PLATINUM: SnapAV/Control4

At SnapAV, our partners are the heart of our company. We were founded upon being easy to do business with and ensuring our partners are successful. We make sure to do what it takes to take care of our partners’ needs. —Laina Jackson, Senior Partner Support Manager, SnapAV

GOLD: Crestron

It’s all about products and people. People mean everything and being there for our dealers and customers is the most important thing. —John Clancy, VP, Residential, Crestron

SILVER: Vanco

At Vanco International, we take pride in developing quality products at competitive price points for our dealers and distributors. We are committed to providing best-in-class customer service. Our technical support team offers hands-on problem solving for any of our thousands of products, and they are available Monday to Friday by phone and live chat and 24/7 over email to provide integrators with the knowledge and technical resources they need. We’re proud of the legacy we’ve built to ensure all of our dealers find success with every Vanco product they utilize. —Mark Corbin, President, Vanco Int’l

Best Technical Support

PLATINUM: Crestron

Our tech support starts with the unparalleled quality of our products and how well we support them. —John Clancy, VP, Residential, Crestron

GOLD: SnapAV/Control4

Our world-class support experience stems from the mindset that we are partners with our dealers in every way. Our partners’ success is SnapAV’s success. When they call SnapAV, they receive support backed by industry experience. We hire the best talent, including CI and network professionals who have decades of combined in-field experience in the roles of installation technicians, service technicians, network administrators, project managers, and business owners. Our team members consider themselves part of the project, offering uniquely exceptional support experiences for our partners and amazing experiences for our customers, with a commitment to 100% resolution, even if that requires putting one of our team members on the project site. —Scott Jeffery, Sr. Director Worldwide Tech Support, SnapAV

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