Seven Questions to Ask Before You Hire an IT or AV Vendor
Most contractors did not choose their IT or camera vendor so much as inherit them. The copier rep mentioned they do networks now. Somebody showed up after a break-in and sold cameras off the back of a truck. That is how good companies end up paying for years for systems nobody stands behind.
This one-page checklist gives you the seven questions that separate a partner who will own your problems from a salesperson who will own your invoice. Print it. Bring it to the meeting. The good vendors answer every question without flinching.
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Instant download. No drip campaign, no follow-up sequence. We hate that stuff too.
What's Inside
The Seven Questions
Not trick questions. Just the ones that show you who you are really hiring. The printable version adds what a good answer sounds like and the red flag to watch for, question by question.
1
Who actually answers the phone when something breaks at 6 a.m.?
Construction starts early. If a superintendent cannot pull plans at 6:15 because the office Wi-Fi is down, "we open at 8:30" is not an answer. Ask for the response-time commitment in writing, and listen for whether the answer is a person or a portal.
2
Will you put your scope in writing, line by line, before I sign?
This one flushes out more bad fits than any other. If the proposal is one fuzzy monthly number with no breakdown, you have no way to know what you are buying and no way to hold anyone to it later.
3
Do you do this kind of work for other construction companies?
Job trailers that move, a yard with cameras and a gate, crews pulling drawings over spotty cell signal, Procore and Sage and Bluebeam. A vendor who already runs this stack knows where it breaks. One who mostly does retail storefronts will learn on your dime.
4
Who owns the passwords and the accounts, me or you?
The right answer is that you own everything and the vendor is a delegated user you can remove. If a vendor controls the keys to your environment, switching providers later turns into a hostage negotiation.
5
What happens to my footage and my doors if you disappear?
Some camera and access systems are wide open: you own the recorder and any qualified installer can service it. Others are locked to one vendor's cloud, and the day you stop paying, you lose the footage and sometimes the ability to unlock your own doors.
6
How do you keep my jobsite cameras off the same network as my payroll?
Cheap installs put everything on one flat network, which means a hacked camera at the gate is one short hop from your bank login. Ask how they separate those systems. If they look confused, that tells you plenty.
7
What does leaving look like?
A confident vendor will tell you the contract term, what it costs to get out, and how they hand off your accounts and documentation. A vendor who gets cagey about the exit is building the trap on purpose.
The pattern across all seven: a real partner is comfortable telling you exactly what they do, what it costs, and how you leave. A vendor who dodges any of those is protecting their revenue, not your business.
Why We Give This Away
Honestly? Good Vendors Pass This Test.
We are a small IT and security firm built around construction in Fountain, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs. So yes, we want the work. But if you ask another vendor these seven questions and they answer every one cleanly, hire them. That is a good vendor, and you will be fine. The checklist costs you nothing either way.
Rather Skip the Homework?
We will walk your office, trailers, and yard and give you a straight read on what you have and where the gaps are. No pressure, and you keep the checklist either way.
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