You are lucky to get a solid referral and that is a great first step, but when it comes to electronics systems, that reference may only speak to the merits of the quality of installation, it does not address the personal design process, education in order to make that decision, or the budgets associated with different decisions. Ultimately you very well may hire that referred company, but wouldn’t you like to go into that meeting armed with an understanding of what is available and what certain strategies will cost? Even a perception of a potential conflict of interest starts to get in the way.
