Customer Reviews

Zip Express Wall Mounted TV Setup and Installation

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I wanted a flat panel over my gas fireplace. I called zip and they sold me on a consultation fee of $99.00, which can be applied toward the installation if I chose to go forward. I agreed thinking I would at least get the pros and cons and a good knowledge of what it would take to hide wires and power cables behind the wall. Well, after one reschedule (due to their error) I got a "consultant" that knew nothing about mounting other than drop wires and cables straight down -- outside the wall. I would ask him questions based on my limited knowledge from the internet and he seemed confused. Everthing was a maybe and nothing definitive. He said the company will call me back to go over the details. It has been over a month and no call. I searched Craiglist and got lots of installers, who did answer my questions, and the price was much cheaper than zip.

Bought the ZIP install package at BJ's. I had my SONY 52" LCD TV wall mounted last night. It was NOT a pleasant experience. Firstly, the guys were cribbing all the time about not getting enough money from ZIP about the job and that ZIP did not tell them that the TV was supposed to mounted over fireplace. My wife told ZIP while scheduling that the TV will go over fireplace. Secondly, they were complaining that they will not be paid enough by ZIP to cover the price of molding they will have to install to conceal wires and they did not even have enough molding with them so one of them went out to buy while the other one waited. Not that they needed huge length of molding. The total molding length needed/installed was about 7-8 feet. They even called their home office (not ZIP I think) asking if they can install molding and if they will be paid by ZIP. Thirdly, the worst part, they goofed up while measuring the TV height and drilled 4-6 holes and mounted the wall mount 4 inches lower. Then, while placing the TV on the mount they realized what they did since the TV wouldn't fit. They had to uninstall, re-drill 4 more holes to finally place the TV. I bought the service since I wanted to avoid drilling unnecessary holes on my wall. Thought that these guys are professionals and do this work day in and day out. Now we feel that we would have taken our chances to try installing ourselves. May be we would have saved this frustration and money. I personally wouldn't recommend this product to my friends and family. I am sure that there are other companies / professionals that do these jobs right and are more experienced. We just selected wrong one.

First the finished product--the installation of Samsung Series 7000 above a gas fireplace, was flawless. Because of the height, we had them install with a forward tilt mount. All cables were hidden for a very clean look. Duane and Nick knew what there were doing. They also did the electrical outlet that was required. Their price was $499 with a 15% Amazon discount. Would highly recommend Zip.

Never do business with these people! I ordered the service online from their website then canceled it a week later before they came out for the installation. They charged me $186 for cancellation. What kind of business is that? Oh, they double charged me as well on the order and it took awhile for me to get the refund. In all, it was the worst experience I had with this company!

I scheduled an installation for early morning on a weekday. The tech didn't show in the scheduled time, so I went on line to doublecheck my order. My account listed no order. When I called the 1-800 number I was told that the order was still valid but that "lots of people have been complaining about the website's ability to show their orders." I should have known then that the company had limited interest in customer satisfaction. The operator noted that the time window had expired and transferred me to operations. Operations also put me on hold only to return with the news that they couldn't locate the installer. They promised to call back. This back and forth happened until 2:00. Never once did operations actually call. Finally at 2:00 they admitted that the installation wasn't going to happen, completely blaming the incident on their subcontractor. Although I explained to the poor soul who was unlucky enough to receive my last inquiry that I had been calling since 9:30, he still insisted that the mess wasn't their fault. They offered no compensation for the day of leave that I took from work and never acknowleged any responsibility for the disaster. I declined to reschedule. Recommend caution using this service, they obviously have done little screening of the people they hire to install and do not appear willing to take any responsibility for anything beyond setting the inital appointment. Buyer beware.

Zip Express Home Theater Installation Appointment - Next-Day ServiceStay away from this company. Initially I called them to install my TV and they were late but all went well. A few days later I hired them to set up my Harmony One remote. They gave me a 9 to 10 am appointment. At 9 am the technician called to say that he would arrive at 10:30. As he was not here at 11:30 I called to reschedule. I was given a 5 to 6 pm appointment, which was then changed to 6 to 7 pm, and then to 7 to 8 pm. The technician never showed up.[

Zip express operates out of MN (or some other midwest state, you know where the real America is)and uses local contractors (in my case Arlington VA) to do the actual work. When you first call them they will try to up your package and look for additional charges. While I understand that you can't get a 65 inch TV + single surround sound bar installed for $199 I was hoping they could do it for double that. However, I got a quote for $850 and eventually settled on $720. Why settle for that amount you ask? Well my wife's birthday was comming up and I only had 8 days to get all of this done in addition I am somewhat clumsy, don't have a lot of patience, 50% disabled vet and I had the money so what the heck...
The local install guy they hired came out with a helper (this kid who was a 120 lbs had never done this). The rewire/electrical install kit that Zip express had sent wouldn't work according to install guy and he proceeded to charge me an additional $150 on the spot. ("I am not trying to scam you are nothing but you know..." Aaaaahhhh, took the check book out wrote him a check and decided I would deal with the MN Zip Express people later to recoup my money. Install guy and his helper did not have the right tools or equipment with them to do the job ("It's in my shed, you kow I have all this stuff in my shed just don't have it in the car") so they had to make 4 YES 4 separate trips to the local hardware store before this TV went up. Oh I forgot to mention I supplied the bracket (good quality, make sure you don't skimp on this people) with all hardware included.
The lifting of the TV above the mantle piece was another fun event, install guy and his 120lbs helper just couldn't get it done (TV weighs 136lbs) so I decided to help lift and although I am 6'1" and relativaly strong this was not easy (Which reafirmed my expenditure to get his done in the first place) after my oldest son (4th person) helped lift we finaly were able to line up the TV with the bracket. This initial ordeal took 3 hours and multiple trips to the hardware store as I mentioned before. I had stipulated that I did not want to see wires after this was done but unfortunately install guy did not bring a drill bit long enough to go through the wall and I wanted them out of the house anyway by this point. Install guy proceeded to tell me that this would only take 10 minutes and he would be back the next day. Unfortunately that was 13 November 2010, today we are December 19 2010 and despite many additional promises from install guy and ZIP Express(did get my $150 back from them after 3 weeks, 7 E-mails and 4 phone calls) no one has shown up (Did take off from work twice since install guy promised he would be at the house).
Bottom line DO NOT use some 800 or 888 number to do ANY substantial work at your house. Ask a neighbor if he had any work done and use references people...Enjoy the holidays I know I will on my (wife's) 65inch TV.

Ordered the service which had a decent price. Was told technician would be here between 2 and 3, technician confirmed it for 2:30. At 3, I called and he said 4:30, then at 5:30 I called again and he said he would he would not make it.

I contacted "Zip" to get a price on mounting my 55" tv over a fireplace.

Lets just start by saying if you think you are getting Zip employee's..you are not. They are all "sub-contractors" who clearly are connected to Zip because the can not do it on their own.

The first person who actually was very nice, made a claim that he had to go through my walls to the outside and re-entry through my fireplace wall. YES..2 holes on the outside of the brick house. Didn't seem right, since my fireplace is not brick but drywall.
THEN, this same "sub-contractor" contacted me with a quote if I "went with them not Zip". Which I have to say was half the price than Zip which was over 1600.00 with additional cost for parts I needed to get and repairs to the walls.

So, after telling Zip what THIER subcontractor did...they said they wanted another chance to earn my business and wanted to send another person who they said was the "top notch, main guy" they use. He knew less than the first company.

All said and done it has been over a week since this occured. My TV looks awesome up over the fireplace by another company, with NO HOLES NO DEMO of walls, except where the plugs and cables are which were covered with plates.

NOTE: I have not heard anything from Zip since the second contact.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!

If you are in Texas try local companies. I used the Texas Cable Doctor. They came out within an hour after I called gave me a price right then and the TV was up within 3 days. They do excellant work,a third of the price, included suggestion on cables(which they provided in the estimate) that would be best for my components.

I read the reviews here and thought it would be a good idea to get my TV installed over the fireplace where the previous owners had their HDTV installed with all the wiring etc. A guy showed up for installation he was courteous and kept saying he knew all about installation and went looking around the previous wires and said they were not in code and it would cost me 5000$ to have an electrician and some more of his partners to fix it. But he could mount the TV in a place I didn't want it for the installation we had paid for. So I called it off, now they want me to pay a $65 for the visit and send the installation kit at my own cost with fedex or UPS and another $10 for restocking .

A over $100 for telling me they can't fix the TV in the same spot where previous owners had it installed. I am thoroughly disappointed with this service, as they advertise no hidden costs.