What Questions Should I Ask Before Hiring an AV Company?
- Steven Visser
- Jul 13
- 3 min read
Years ago, I was on-site for a hybrid meeting for a Fortune 500 client — the kind of company you'd assume gets the best of everything.
Their entire Canadian workforce was watching the stream.
To my surprise and horror, the AV company I was working for at the time handed me a cheap little mixer that lacked all the crucial functions that reduce feedback.
It didn’t go well. I was embarrassed and forced to apologize to the client even though I wasn’t given the tools to succeed.
That was the moment I knew the bar in this industry was way too low, and that I could do better. It's a big part of why Waveright exists.
Information is the lifeblood of a successful event.
Most clients don't know AV, and they don't need to — that's what they're paying for. But that trust is exactly what gets taken advantage of.
So here's some questions you should ask before hiring an AV company that will help you avoid picking the wrong company.
Ask about the site visit.
- Has anyone from the company actually walked your venue, or are they quoting off a floor plan and a phone call?
- Room and stage dimensions, ceiling height, obstacles like chandeliers or bulkheads — these decide everything from projector throw distance to where speakers can physically go.
- A provider who skips the site visit is guessing, and you're the one who finds out on show day.
Ask about power requirements.
- This is one of the things clients usually don't think to ask and it's actually arguably the most important thing because without power - everything stops working.
- We once took over a staff party from another AV vendor.
- The client assumed power needs would be the same as the year before and pushed back when we recommended an increase. If we just shrugged our shoulders instead of doing our own site visit and creating a proper power plan, the show could have gone dark.
- Ask your provider directly: are you calculating our actual power load, or just assuming it will be fine?
Ask about rigging and sign-off.
- If your event needs anything hung from truss — lighting, speakers, screens — ask whether the provider designs a rigging plan that gets approved by an engineer and ask to see that approval before show day.
- This isn't a box-ticking exercise. It's a legal requirement that prevents you from being held liable in the event of an accident.
Ask for a Run of Show, even a rough one.
- A Run of Show maps out what happens, when, and who's responsible — down to specific cues.
- Providers who ask you for one, or help you build one, are doing their due diligence to increase the likelihood that your event is a success.
- Providers who show up expecting to figure it out live are hoping for the best and unprepared for the worst.
Ask who's actually going to be there.
- Is the person who sold you the quote the person running your show?
- Or are they handing it off to someone you've never met? Someone who wasn't involved in the planning, might be missing crucial information, and trying to just figure it out on setup day - at your expense.
None of these questions require you to know AV. They just require you to stop assuming the provider has it handled — and start finding out for sure.
If you want a second set of eyes before you sign a contract, that's what we're here for. You can find our complete AV Consultation Checklist by clicking the link below:
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