So what's your best response to: "it's just our weekend place, we don't need/want ...." Nice 3 million dollar weekend place.

We all get the rejection. Just wondering how some others respond.

it depends entirely on what the clients wants and expectations actually are for the weekend place.

It could be a 100 acre retreat, that as long as there is a single TV and DTV they may be happy.

So I guess to really answer your question, additional info would be nice.

For me a get away means no cell phone, no internet and nothing to remind me of work.

That's a sign they need to be sold and are waiting to be told what they need.

They don't know that they need it. We had a client once who refused Kaliedescape a dozen times but my boss installed one anyway. The client called up the evening after we were done laughing about the fact that we knew her better than she knew herself. She used it for 20 minutes and realized she had to have it.

Be up front/direct about it. If they don't want to budge sell them on the wire you would need to add those things later.

If you've seen the place, note that the stove is not a 32" wide four-burner with an undersize oven, and the kitchen sink isn't a piece of junk. And the toilets?

If the client wants to take their life to the country house, then they're eventually going to want the details of their life there, and you should sell them on it. If they go to that house to stand in a river and fish, then cook outdoors, and finally go fall asleep under a big down comforter, then maybe they don't need anything more than a basic TV.

Hell, they may not even want, or need, a TV.


After all, none of this stuff is something we "need".



I would however use the "How about we wire it for the possibilities just in case?".

We get this all the time. $3-$5 million dollar weekend place, and the client says, "Oh, we dont need that". Biggest thing, dont let them limit you from being able to add whatever the feature or service is at a later point when they realize they need or want it. Wire everywhere. Then after the client turns down smart thermostats saying, "oh we dont need all that high tech stuff..." but come winter time says, "Is there some way to turn the heat up before we get here?" you can say Sure, remember those thermostats you didnt want?We can still put them in.

We once had a client turn down TV in their weekend house. We wired for it in every room though on the argument, "If you sell the place, the buyer will probably want tv". Three months after they got moved in, and only were there on weekends, he called up and asked, "How quick can you get me TVs installed? Wed are going out of our &*^%ing minds staring at each other"

I think it's more annoying when someone calls (us, a tech company), and says, "we aren't very techy, so we don't want anything techy and complicated"

I always explain how thst techy stuff they don't want is what makes it easy.

As they call you on an iPhone with an iPad in the other hand sending blu tooth Sirius/XM to their Tesla that is driving itself.

Ha, close. Usually a Mercedes.

Things can get strange. We did A/V in a shore house. This place has everything, including a pool on the 2nd floor, remote thermostats, remote video cameras, and remote pool administration. He wanted only native remotes for the A/V, yet he can't walk through the kitchen without asking Alexa about something.

If he changes his mind about remotes, we have enough infrastructure in place to deal with them, but it is a puzzle as to why he wanted high tech everything, but dumb remotes. I think that part of the puzzle is that "real men can deal with native remotes" and he is somewhat of a micro manager.

Weekend places and vacation homes always got better than the primary residence. That was my experience for 19 years.

I understand, but you want the quality of your expierience here in your 2nd (3rd th 5th) home to be every bit as good if not better than your main house right?

And equally non-frustrating.

"i gather you just want to come here on the weekends and be miserable?".