Event AV is one of those purchases where two quotes can differ by half and appear to describe the same thing. The difference usually is not the equipment — it is everything around it. These are the questions worth asking every supplier you approach, including us.
1. Is delivery, setup and pack-down included?
Some quotes are for equipment collected from a yard. Others include delivery, installation, soundcheck and removal afterwards. These are very different products at very different prices, and the distinction is not always obvious from the quote.
2. Does a technician stay for the whole event?
Ask specifically: does someone stay, and for how long. A technician who sets up and leaves is not the same as one who stays to mix speeches, manage microphone handovers and fix problems as they occur. For anything with a programme, the person is more valuable than the equipment.
3. What happens if something fails during the event?
Equipment fails. The meaningful question is what happens next. Does the crew carry spare microphones, cables and a backup amplifier? Is there a replacement within reach? A supplier who has genuinely thought about failure will answer this immediately and specifically.
4. Have you worked at this venue before?
Venue familiarity saves real problems — where power is, what the loading access is like, how the room sounds, whether the ceiling can be rigged. If they have not worked there, ask whether they will visit beforehand for anything complex.
5. Who is responsible for power?
In Zimbabwe this question is not optional. Is the supplier providing a generator, or assuming the venue's supply will hold? If load shedding hits mid-programme, whose problem is it? Establish this in writing rather than discovering the assumption on the day.
6. Is the system sized for my actual guest numbers and venue?
Give them your real headcount and whether you are indoors or outdoors, then ask them to explain what they are bringing and why. A supplier who specs from the venue and the crowd is thinking properly. One who quotes the same package regardless of the answers is not.
7. What is not included?
The single most useful question you can ask. Microphone stands, cabling, power distribution, additional crew, travel, overtime if the event overruns, extra hire days if the venue only allows access the day before. Ask directly and the gaps between quotes become visible.
8. Can I see or hear a setup you have done?
Photographs of previous events at similar venues, or references from past clients, tell you more than a specification list. An established supplier will have plenty of both and no hesitation about sharing them.
9. When do you arrive and when do you leave?
Confirm the actual schedule: setup start time, soundcheck time, and strike. A crew arriving an hour before guests, at a venue that only opened that morning, is a plan with no margin. Setup should finish well before the first guest arrives, not as they walk in.
10. What do you need from me?
Good suppliers ask you questions too — the programme, running order, presentation files, who is speaking, contact details for the venue and other suppliers. A supplier who wants none of this information is not planning your event; they are dropping equipment at it.
A note on price
None of this means the cheapest quote is wrong. It means you should know what you are comparing. Once every quote covers the same scope — same equipment, same crew hours, same inclusions, same contingency — comparing prices becomes meaningful. Before that point it is guesswork. At JMG Audio we would rather itemise a quote fully and explain it than win a booking on a number that quietly excludes half the job.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important question to ask?
What is not included. It exposes the difference between a complete service and a quote that looks cheap because delivery, crew, power, stands or travel have been left out.
Should I always choose a supplier who has worked at my venue?
It helps but is not essential. What matters is whether they will find out what they need to know — by visiting, calling the venue or asking you the right questions — rather than turning up blind.
Is it reasonable to ask for references?
Entirely. Any established supplier will have photographs of previous events and clients happy to speak to you. Hesitation on this point is worth noting.
How much detail should I give when requesting a quote?
As much as you have: date, venue, indoor or outdoor, guest numbers, programme outline and access window. The more you give, the more accurate the quote and the fewer surprises later.
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