What Customers Say · September 2026
THE BEST VALUE IN CHICAGOLAND: WHAT OUR REVIEWS ACTUALLY SHOW
Three separate customers describe the job going wrong — a brick exterior wall, a hidden electrical box, a quirky old house. In all three, the price didn't move. That's the whole argument.
Let's Define The Word First
“Best value” is the most abused phrase in the trades. Every installer in Chicago claims it, which means it tells you nothing. So before claiming it ourselves, it's worth saying what it isn't.
Value is not the lowest number on the first phone call. Anyone can say a low number on the phone. Saying it costs nothing and commits to nothing.
Value is the number not changing when the installer gets to your house and discovers the wall is brick. It's the final invoice matching the quote after something went wrong — because on a TV install, something goes wrong fairly often.
That's a claim you can actually test. And the useful thing about reviews is that they're written after the job, by people with no reason to be generous.
The Pattern In Our Reviews
Reading our Yelp reviews back, the striking thing isn't the compliments. It's that three separate customers describe the job going sideways — and not one of them mentions a price change.
“My wall was real brick — an old exterior wall — which meant getting behind it for power and wiring took a much larger drill bit than normal. Lance and his assistant Jeff made a Home Depot run mid-job to get the right tool and came back the same day to finish it right. Highly recommend.”
G R. · via Yelp
An old brick exterior wall is one of the hardest surfaces in Chicago housing stock, and this one needed a tool that wasn't on the van. That's a mid-job hardware run and a return trip — the exact situation where a “starting at” price starts climbing. It didn't.
“We chose Lance over a random tasker for his experience — quick to respond, flexible, and didn’t need direction mounting our Samsung Frame TV. When a hidden electrical box complicated things, he handled the extra wiring without hesitation, even offering to remount for free. Highly recommend — it looks perfect.”
Thomas C. · via Yelp
A hidden electrical box sitting exactly where the mount needs to go is a genuine problem, and it's invisible until the wall is open. Note the phrase “even offering to remount for free” — that's a customer noticing that the cost of the complication landed on the installer rather than on them.
“We live in a very old, quirky home and had an unexpectedly tricky installation. Lance did some troubleshooting, made a quick trip to the hardware store, and got it done — the TV looks great. Highly recommend.”
Mike M. · via Yelp
“Unexpectedly tricky.” Another hardware store run. Chicago has a lot of old, quirky housing — plaster over lath, balloon framing, walls that aren't where the tape measure says they should be.
Three of our seven published reviews describe an unexpected complication. That's not a flattering statistic and we're not going to pretend otherwise — roughly half of interesting jobs hit something. The point is what happens next. In all three, the customer describes the problem getting solved, and none of them describes being charged extra for it.
The One Review That Mentions Price
In fairness, exactly one of our reviews comments on price directly, and it's measured rather than effusive:
“Lance is a great communicator — prompt, professional, and fast. He did a great job on a 65″ TV dismount, and his price was reasonable. I’ll use him again next time I move.”
Stu B. · via Yelp
“Reasonable.” Not “unbelievable,” not “the cheapest in the city.” Reasonable — and then the part that matters more, which is that he'd use it again.
We'd rather quote that honestly than dress it up. A customer calling the price reasonable and committing to a repeat booking is worth more than a superlative, because it's the thing someone actually does with their own money.
What The Rest Of The Market Publishes
Reviews describe one company. The value question needs a comparison, so we did the legwork and published it in full.
We checked fifteen Chicago-area TV installers to see what they publish.
| What we found | Count |
|---|---|
| Publish no price at all | 10 of 15 |
| Publish a price | 5 of 15 |
| Of those five, say “starting at” | 5 of 5 |
Two thirds won't tell you a number until you're on the phone. And every single installer that does publish a number hedges it. Not most — all five.
That's not necessarily dishonest. Some jobs genuinely are harder, and an installer who quotes one flat number for every possible wall is taking on real risk. But be clear about where “starting at” puts that risk: on you, and it resolves at the worst possible moment — when the installer is standing in your living room, the TV is off the wall, and saying no has become expensive.
What We Publish Instead
Every number, in the open, before anyone books:
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | $100 | Any TV, any size. No size tiers. |
| Tilting mount | $50 | Only if you don't own one. |
| Full-motion mount | $100 | Only if you don't own one. |
| Wire concealment — raceway | $35 | Paintable, removable, renter-friendly. |
| Wire concealment — in-wall | $60 | Nothing visible. |
| Chicago-Style PowerBridge | $80 | Metal, not plastic. |
| Recessed outlet behind TV | $250 | Genuine electrical work. |
The $100 doesn't change for an 85″ TV, and it doesn't change when the wall turns out to be brick. Brick, plaster, tile and metal studs are all harder and slower than drywall. That's our problem to solve, not a surcharge that appears on the day.
Flat doesn't mean everything is included. A mount is a physical object we'd have to buy for you, so it's a line item — and it's free if you already own one. A recessed outlet is electrical work and priced accordingly at $250.
What's fixed is the labor, and the fact that every add-on is a published number you can read right now rather than a decision made in your living room.
So — Best Value In Chicagoland?
Here's the honest version, since an unsupported superlative is exactly the kind of claim this post is arguing against.
We are not the cheapest. Someone with a drill and a Facebook Marketplace listing will always be cheaper, and sometimes that works out fine.
What we'd claim is narrower and more useful: the price you're told is the price you pay, and that's not common in this trade. Two thirds of the market won't publish a number, and every installer that does hedges it. We publish all of them and hold them when the job turns difficult — which our reviews independently describe happening, three times, in our customers' own words.
If value means the lowest possible number, we're not it. If it means the quote surviving contact with your actual wall, we'll make that case with the reviews above.
You don't have to take our summary of them, either. They're on Yelp, where we can't edit them.
The Short Version
- Value isn't the lowest quote. It's the quote not moving when the wall turns out to be brick.
- Three of our seven reviews describe an unexpected complication. None describes a price change.
- One review mentions price directly and calls it “reasonable” — then says they'd book again.
- Of fifteen Chicago installers, ten publish no price. All five that do say “starting at.”
- “Starting at” moves the risk of a hard wall onto you, and resolves it when you're least able to say no.
- $100 flat, any size. Mount $50–$100 only if you need one. Concealment $35–$60. Outlet $250.
- We're not the cheapest. We're the one whose number doesn't move.
Common Questions
How much does TV mounting cost in Chicago?
Our installation is $100 flat for any TV of any size, and every add-on is published: a tilting mount is $50, a full-motion mount is $100, surface raceway concealment is $35, in-wall concealment is $60, our Chicago-Style PowerBridge is $80, and a recessed outlet behind the TV is $250 because it's genuine electrical work. Across the wider market it's harder to answer — of fifteen Chicago installers we checked, ten publish no price at all, and all five that do say “starting at.”
What does “best value” actually mean for TV installation?
Not the lowest number on the first phone call. Value is the final number matching the quoted number after the wall turns out to be brick, or there's an electrical box hidden exactly where the mount needs to go. A low quote that moves on the day is more expensive than an honest flat rate that doesn't. The test is whether the price survives contact with the actual wall.
Does the price change if the wall is brick or the job is difficult?
No. The installation stays $100 whatever the wall turns out to be. Brick, plaster, tile and metal stud work are harder and slower than drywall, and that's our problem rather than a surcharge that appears on the day. Add-ons like wire concealment or a recessed outlet are separate line items, but they're published in advance and quoted before any work starts.
Why do most TV mounting quotes say “starting at”?
Because it moves the pricing conversation to the moment the installer is already standing in your living room — which is the moment you have the least leverage to say no. It isn't necessarily dishonest, since some jobs genuinely are harder. But it shifts the risk of a difficult wall from the installer onto you, and it means the number you were quoted is rarely the number you pay.
Do you charge more for larger TVs?
No. A 55″ and an 85″ install are both $100. Larger televisions are heavier and usually need a second person, so most pricing structures charge more for them. Ours doesn't, because a flat rate with exceptions isn't really a flat rate.
Test It Yourself
$100 flat, any TV, any size — and every add-on published before you book. If the wall turns out to be brick, that's our problem, not a line item added on the day.
BOOK YOUR $100 INSTALL →