Who Should Install Your Permanent Outdoor Lighting? A Lighting Professional—or a Gutter Company?
Permanent architectural lighting has exploded in popularity around Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. And as demand has grown, companies from completely different industries have started selling permanent lighting systems.
That raises an important question:
Do you want your home’s lighting designed and installed by lighting professionals—or by a company whose primary business is gutters and leaf protection?
We recently encountered a situation that illustrates why we think homeowners should look beyond the sales pitch when choosing a permanent lighting contractor.
A $17,000 Quote That Became $1,700
One of our customers previously received a quote for a leaf-protection system from a company whose name, we’ll simply say, starts with “Leaf.”
The original quoted price was approximately $17,000.
After negotiations, discounts and the usual back-and-forth, the price reportedly came all the way down to approximately $1,700.
Think about that for a minute.
If something can ultimately be sold for $1,700, why was the customer initially presented with a $17,000 price?
More importantly, imagine being the homeowner who said yes to the original quote.
You pay $17,000. Then a few weeks later, you’re talking across the fence with your neighbor and discover they purchased a comparable amount of the same product for $1,700.
How would you feel?
That’s exactly why we don’t believe in artificially inflating a price just so a salesperson can dramatically “discount” it during the sales presentation.
The Same Sales Tactics Can Follow Them Into Lighting
When companies expand from gutters and leaf protection into permanent outdoor lighting, homeowners should pay attention to how the product is being sold—not just what product is being sold.
A huge initial price followed by a dramatic discount can create a false sense of urgency:
“If you sign today…”
“Let me call my manager…”
“We have a special promotion…”
“I can take another few thousand dollars off if we do this right now…”
A rapidly falling price may feel like winning a negotiation.
But there’s another question worth asking:
Was the original price ever a fair price in the first place?
At CoolBreeze Technologies, we take a very different approach.
We Don’t Play the Pricing Game
When we provide a proposal for permanent architectural lighting, we aren’t starting ridiculously high to see what you’ll agree to pay.
We calculate what it takes to professionally complete your project, stand behind the installation and provide the service our customers expect.
Then we give you our price.
No games. No “let me call my manager.” No wondering whether your neighbor negotiated better than you did.
We would rather give every customer a fair and honest price from the beginning.
That might not make for as exciting of a sales presentation, but we believe it’s a much better way to build a long-term relationship.
There’s Also a Difference Between Installing Lights and Understanding Lighting
Permanent architectural lighting isn’t simply another product attached to the edge of a house.
A professional installation requires understanding things like:
Light placement and spacing
Beam angles and light distribution
Color temperature
Architectural highlighting
Voltage drop and power requirements
Controller placement
Proper wire routing
Concealing wiring and equipment
Troubleshooting addressable lighting
Landscape and architectural lighting integration
Long-term serviceability
The objective isn’t simply to get lights onto the house.
The objective is to make the lighting look like it was designed as part of the house.
During the daytime, the installation should virtually disappear into the architecture.
At night, the lighting should make the home look incredible.
That’s the difference between installing a lighting product and designing a lighting system.
Ask What the Company Actually Does
Before spending thousands of dollars on permanent lighting, ask the contractor a few questions.
What is their experience with professional lighting?
Do they understand architectural and landscape lighting?
Can they service the system after installation?
Who actually performs the installation?
How are wires concealed?
What happens when an individual light fails?
What happens five or ten years from now?
And perhaps one of the most important questions:
Is the price you’re being shown today actually the price—or is it simply the opening number in a negotiation?
Our Philosophy Is Pretty Simple
At CoolBreeze Technologies, we’re building a lighting business based on professional installations, excellent service and long-term relationships with our customers.
We’re not interested in figuring out the maximum amount someone is willing to pay.
We want to provide an excellent lighting system at a fair price from the beginning and have that customer feel just as good about their purchase years later as they did the day we installed it.
Because we’d much rather have you tell your neighbor:
“Call CoolBreeze. They did a great job and treated us fairly.”
than have you discover that your neighbor paid a fraction of what you did.
Don’t Just Take Our Word for It
Anyone can make promises about great customer service before they have your deposit.
We believe the real measure of a company is what happens after the installation is finished and the invoice has been paid.
That’s why we’re willing to stake our reputation on our service record.
If you’re considering CoolBreeze Technologies and want to know what our after-sales service is really like, ask us for references.
We are not afraid to put you in contact with customers who have had our systems installed and, more importantly, customers who have actually needed service after the sale.
Don’t just hear from us about how we take care of our customers. Hear it directly from the customers we’ve taken care of.
Ask them how their installation went. Ask what happened when they had a problem. Ask how quickly we responded. Ask whether we stood behind our work.
We are proud of our installations, and we’re equally proud of the service we provide after the installation is complete.
A warranty printed on a brochure is one thing.
A company with a proven record of actually showing up and taking care of its customers is another.
Looking for Permanent Outdoor Lighting in Northeast Ohio?
CoolBreeze Technologies provides professional permanent architectural lighting, landscape lighting, pool lighting and outdoor audio throughout Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.
If you’re considering permanent lighting for your home or business, we’d be happy to show you the difference between simply hanging lights and having a professionally designed lighting system.
And if you’d like references before making your decision, just ask. We’re happy to provide them.
CoolBreeze Technologies
440-748-1911
CoolBreeze-Technologies.com
Professional lighting. Fair pricing. Proven service. No games.
