Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Delaware County, PA (Delco"") and the surrounding Philadelphia Metro Region.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco
Sherrod Scott's Sandman HD: Crafting Personalized Tech Solutions with a Neighborhood Touch
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Sherrod Scott's Sandman HD: Crafting Personalized Tech Solutions with a Neighborhood Touch
Ever wondered how a nickname could shape a business? Join us on the Good Neighbor Podcast as our host Bob Blaisse chats with Sherrod Scott, better known as Sandman, who transformed his passion for technology into a thriving venture. Sandman HD specializes in electronics, sound systems and alarm installations. Sherrod explains the enchanting story behind his nickname and business name, inspired by a moon-dreaming character he once drew. Learn why hiring smaller, detail-oriented companies like Sandman HD can provide you with personalized, trustworthy service that blends the professionalism of big corporations with the warmth of a neighbor.
Listen as Sherrod tackles common homeowner concerns, such as Wi-Fi issues caused by load-bearing walls, and offers practical solutions like hardwiring. Hear about his roots in the business, starting from working with his uncle as an electrical contractor to managing large commercial projects. Discover how Sandman HD builds trust through tailored smart home and business solutions, ensuring quality work and ongoing support. This episode is packed with insights on how custom installations beat mainstream consumer products and why Sandman can help you sleep better at night, quite literally.
Website: www.sandmanwashere.com
Call: 610-550-3238
--- About The Show--- Good Neighbor Podcast is a spotlight on local businesses in and around Delaware County, PA (“Delco” ) and Beyond... The executive producer and host, Bob Blaisse, is a community sponsorship advocate, business branding specialist, and publisher of several hometown magazines, including: Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, Marple Friends & Neighbors and Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors, mailed monthly to more than 12,000 homes in Western Delaware County, PA, and also available for reading online.
Good Neighbor Podcast
Speaker 1Hello, delco. This is Michael Barkan, welcoming you to the Good Neighbor Podcast, where fans of local businesses and their neighbors come together. It's my pleasure once again to introduce my friend and neighbor, our host Bob Lacey.
Speaker 2Well, thank you very much, Michael Barkan, and welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. We're coming to you again from southeastern Pennsylvania, in the county of Delaware, neighboring Delaware State, but Delaware County, commonly referred to as Delco, and lovingly so. We're the podcast program that brings good neighbor businesses to you. So we have a great good neighbor business. What is a good neighbor business today? It's a business that does business right and does business well for a lot of people that need their business service. So let me bring to this stage really a great good businessman, sherrod Scott.
Speaker 2Let me welcome Sherrod Scott to the stage. Hello, sherrod. Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast, bob, how's it going? It's good to be here. It's great to have you, sherrod, because I've been looking forward to this episode, because you actually perform a service that I often need, because I'm not the best at being able to wire up things in my house, and when I say things, I mean electronics or sound systems, alarm systems and such, and your business, which has a great name, by the way Sandman HD. We're going to get to what that means and really why you brought that in to your business. But may I ask, sherrod, you have a, you have kind of an interesting first name, family name, but do you go by Sherrod or is there a nickname that you use?
Speaker 3Well, my name is Sherrod. Most people knows me, know me as Sandman.
Speaker 2Sandman, oh it's right in the business name. So your nickname sometimes is is Sandman. Well, that's, that's pretty interesting, because I would, I would, I would kind of connote Sandman. You know the name of your business, sandman HD. I would, I would see Sandman right away. I mean, what do I think of when I think of Sandman the Sandman? I think of somebody that helps me sleep better at night. How did you come by that name, sandman?
Speaker 3Sandman is. You know, I was years ago, maybe about 20 years ago. I was working for the cable company. I knew I was, I was going to take flight at some point and I started drawing this because I'm also an artist too. But I started drawing a picture of a cat and he was asleep on the moon and I said I'm going to call him Sandman because he was dreaming. He had Z's come up. He was dreaming. So, sandman, I'm a bringer of dreams, and you know a lot of people they dream, they work for it, towards having a movie room at home or a camera system in their building. And I'm able to do that and I'm able to do it for a fair price and I do my best to do it right up front.
Speaker 2It's what we all look for when we look for a contractor. We look for a contractor who certainly knows their craft, knows it well, but not so well that they think they're the best. It has to charge the highest price. We look for a fair price, quality work and honesty and integrity. That's what is really important. Why? Because we're bringing these contractors into our home.
Speaker 2So I would imagine, in your work, sandman, in your work, are you? Are you being a former cable guy? I want to. I think what I want to say is, from my own experience when would I have ever used someone like yourself in my own home or business, home or business, when? When should I have? But I did not.
Speaker 2I my, my recollection is that anytime I've ever had a cable company or a phone company come out years ago, the phone company come out to do wiring um, it was never done as uh pretty as it should have been done and it probably wasn't done as much as I. I wanted to get done because I knew I was in some kind of time and materials situation. He was out of the place real fast and I was looking to have him get out because I knew I was in some kind of time and materials situation. He was out of the place real fast and I was looking to have him get out because it was costing me money and in the end he got out and, yeah, things work, but it certainly looked crummy. Is that some of your experience? Or is that what the experience where the experience comes from? And people who would invite you into their home to do wiring and what are the typical products that say a homeowner would ask you to do? And then we'll get on to the businesses.
Speaker 3Well, the reason it's funny, you say is the reason I started my business is because I saw the corporation we're doing to people and you know, as I've gotten more mature in my 40s now I've learned that corporations are evil, but they are necessary evil.
Speaker 3So if you want somebody who is, or you want an outfit that's more concerned about the details, you're not going to hire a corporation, you're going to hire a smaller company or a company that's big enough to know better but small enough to still answer the phone. My goal has always been to bring you a corporate feeling but next door neighbor type of results. Right, as far as you know you can trust the guy in your house he's not, you know, in your jewelry drawer when you you know as soon as you walk out the room and and also you know can answer the questions. And one thing that separates the good guys, or separate same NHD from a lot of the other companies, is that you know after the, after the payment clears, I'm still going to answer my phone from a lot of the other companies that you know, after the payment clears, I'm still going to answer my phone.
Speaker 2That's right. You're a businessman who needs to have quality work done, so you have quality customers call you again.
Speaker 2Exactly, Not just call you again, but refer you to their friends and family, because that's listen we all have one thing in common when we're a homeowner, we don't know enough contractors, and we don't know enough good contractors. So what do we do when we need them? Well, we can go online and search for them, but what we want first is for people we know, who have used trusted contractors, to give us a referral, and we hope that, even by mentioning that other person's name, that the contractor will maybe show up and show up on time. That's really what the struggle is these days. Right, I have to think too.
Speaker 2The number two thing that I would always want, when I would have somebody like you that I could ask questions of, even the installer of these utility companies would come into your house. Am I thinking this through the right way? Would you do it this way if this was your home? And you seem like an idea man for people who kind of know what they want but don't fully know what they want Is part of your work when it comes, especially to these days like home theater and sound or alarm systems, are you actually consulting them first, recommending what you would do if it was your home and maybe for a better way of doing it cheaper? Maybe even Do you get into those kinds of consultative type dialogues with customers that are your clients.
Speaker 3So I want to answer your question first. But one thing I want to say is that I don't do alarms, I do surveillance.
Speaker 2So alarms are like Surveillance. Well, that's different.
Speaker 3Surveillance? Yeah, so alarms are more like somebody breaks the window and sends you an alarm, but surveillance is more like cameras.
Speaker 3Cameras and so surveillance, wireless technology, if you've got two buildings that need to be networked together or you have a poor wifi in some area of your house or something like that. That's our specialty, that's. That's something that I do with my eyes closed. So, cameras, surveillance network, computer networking. If you need cable outlets, most most cable companies don't use a lot, a whole lot of cable like they used to.
Speaker 3But all of those things and to answer your question, the client knows what they want in the end. They know what they want the end result to look like. Right, if you pay $3,500 to have the room painted, you don't want stuff stapled to the baseboard. You don't want holes in the wall or left. You know you don't want. When the guy leaves, you don't want stuff stapled to the baseboard. You don't want holes in the wall or left. You don't want. When the guy leaves, you don't want more work to do right. So that's what I help with.
Speaker 3Now, how you get to that point is where my expertise come in, which most clients don't know how to do, which is how to get the wire in the wall, how to get this set up. They just want it to work. They just want it that when they set up a Zoom meeting. It doesn't freeze or they don't have that anxiety about it. It may drop out and it may be the cause of a small level of hysteria. So that's what we come and help people with the things that they know they want. They don't know how to get there.
Speaker 2Well, I'll tell you if they can get there. They are probably sleeping better at night thanks to the Sandman. That's right, we're talking to the Sandman, sherrod Scott, who is a business entrepreneur with the business Sandman HD and he's got his place of business in Newtown Square, pennsylvania. But your service, as I understand, is across several counties, from Delaware County, montgomery County, chester County. You'll go where the client needs you, correct?
Speaker 3Oh man, we go wherever Lehigh County, harrisburg, wherever it makes sense. It has to make sense, but it mostly is in a tri-state area. Yes, it mostly is in a tri-state area.
Speaker 2Yes, Well, if you're listening to the podcast episode right now and you're in the tri-state area which we refer to in southeastern Pennsylvania as South Jersey, northern Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, that tri-state area we're talking to the Sandman who can help you sleep better at night, because his skill set, brought to you, will solve the problems that you're having with your computer, wiring your home theater, wiring sound systems and surveillance, which, rod?
Speaker 2I have to kind of suggest that, when it comes to surveillance, I'm confused because, while I would like to have it and I'd like to be able to look at my phone and see things going, I just have in the back of my mind what a lot of people are talking about how you really don't own the footage and it's going to ring doorbell or somebody's going to be able to look inside your house and it's all loaded to the cloud. I think that's starting to change. Are there ways that you can recommend to your clients that you don't have to worry about that anymore? We can kind of store it here or store it there and nobody else will get to it, but you.
Speaker 3So the way how it works is, your consumer grade products are going to be a little bit cheaper than the commercial grade stuff, and with that lower price point you know you're going to you're going to give up something. So oftentimes it's privacy and the ability to own your own storage. Oftentimes it's privacy and the ability to own your own storage. So you've got to pay a monthly fee for well, another monthly fee, because it seems like that's where everybody's going monthly fees. You have to pay for that storage, you have to pay for this, you have to pay for that little thing, or you have to renew the subscription another year or two. And it's just. It doesn't have to be that way.
Speaker 3Commercial-grade equipment is going to be made better. So instead of plastic, you get aluminum housing. It's going to last longer and it's more secure. And you, it's a hard drive. So you don't. You have the option of cloud storage or you can get a one terabyte or 10 terabyte hard drive. It depends on how much you want to spend. Now there's more front costs, but there's no cost in the long run, except for maybe lightning strike or or some uncanny act of uh, you know, an environment that'll cause you to maybe have to replace a camera or maybe add some more.
Improving Wi-Fi and Learning Craft
Speaker 2Well, you get the benefit of a professional's opinion when you call the Sandman. Let me give out the phone number for Sandman HD and the Sandman. You know who actually can help you sleep better at night? Sandman, who actually can help you sleep better at night? Sherrod Scott. He can be reached at 610-550-3238. And, sandman, I got to ask you about this website URL because you would surprise me a bit. I would think that the URL would be different, but you got to tell me this story here because it's kind of I think it matches up to what you've been talking about. If you want to visit, the URL would be different, but you got to tell me this story here because it's kind of I think it matches up to what you've been talking about. If you want to visit the website for Sandman, just remember the website sandmanwasherecom. That is a cool URL. I mean, when somebody wants to refer you and they can say just go to sandmanwasherecom because he was here and I'm sleeping better at night, I'm sleeping a better night because he was herecom, because he was here and I'm sleeping better at night. I'm sleeping a better night because he was here.
Speaker 2You know another simple question that a lot of businesses would have homeowners would have been. You know, is it as simple as it sounds? I struggled for a long time to have Wi-Fi in my home office because it was on the side of the house near a bearing wall. Okay, there was no way. And even when I tried these extenders they talk about, it wasn't really working. And then I've got some advice from a guy like you. He looks in the room and he says you know what? I can put a hole in that floor, I can get through that wall, I can get down to the basement and we'll actually put some wire here and we'll plug your laptop into the router directly down in the basement, or something like that. And so suddenly I'm now hardwired, rather than wearing on on on Wi-Fi. Is that a big part of what people will call you about? It's something as simple as Wi-Fi, but they just don't know how you can make it better.
Speaker 3Yeah, they don't understand. A lot of times, people who call me they're looking for their hand to be held, which is fine because I have both hands to hold and I'm happy to you know, come out and do a consultation or try to help you figure out what the issue is. But you're right, a low-bearing wall sucks up Wi-Fi. Wi-fi is really magnetism, right? So anytime something is grounded in the earth or has some iron in it, it's going to suck up that signal where it won't reach the destination you want it to reach to, and there's ways to get around that. You don't have to be tied to a wire if you don't want to. It will be an investment, but it's an investment worth having if it makes you, like you say, sleep better at night.
Speaker 2Yes, and I have to think that those simple problems can be solved easier by a man who knows these kind of answers and even the harder problems. Let me ask you this, sean Did you, did you learn your craft primarily from working with a cable company, or did you? Did you actually do electronics or schooling? Or what age did you start and who was your? Where's your first job that you worked with?
Speaker 3Oh man, that's a good question. You're going to dig up some memories now. So my my first summer job was working with my uncle, who was an electrician. He was an electrical contractor out in the midwest that's where you learned a lot of it.
Building Trust Through Services
Speaker 3I'll bet that's where my parents made me work with him and we worked oh my god, he worked from 6 am to 11 pm straight and it was just a lot of 6 am to 11 pm straight and it was just a lot of learning. And, but primarily, I mean you learn. You learn decorum from the corporation, from the cable company. You learn how to deal with the customer. You learn, you know the pitfalls of this type of work, but the, I'll tell you, in 2008, when the market fell out from the bottom, definitely fell out of the bottom of me, but the opportunity to learn I had companies call me saying, hey, we want you to represent our product and we'll train you.
Speaker 3That's how I started to learn a lot of this other stuff and I'll be honest with you, it was only like 10% of what I know now, but the other 90% came from making so many mistakes in my own house. I'll be honest. I mean, I was the kid that took my toys apart. I want to know what's inside of, I want to know how it works and I want to know what makes the car go around the racetrack. Why is it doing that when you pull the trigger? And I'm still that same way now middle-aged. And before I put it in your house, I put it in my house first.
Speaker 2That's right. Sometimes self-teaching and experience and having a mentor like your uncle in those early years can all stack up for not only good business sense and technical knowledge but common sense, the kind of homeowners common sense that other homeowners want to hear about and businessmen want to hear about. I want to. Before we close, I want to just also mention that Sherrod Scott's business, sandman HD, is also servicing businesses and that's a major part of your business, I understand. Tell me, does that kind of naturally flow from business owners who live in a home, need some home help, or they hear about you and they bring you into the business and then send you to their home? I mean, I got to think that you're working for clients both in their home and their businesses.
Speaker 3Most of my business clients came from me working in their homes first and we build up trust and then they say, hey, once you come over from our business, I'll tell you the first time, somebody I had a client of mine and I just had a breakup and I was just, I was trying to work off the pain. So I was working on christmas day and I had a customer come in. He said, well, actually the customer's brother. He said who's the guy working on christmas? And I thought that was enough of nothing of it. And a year later he called me I need you to do something in my house. I mean, we're talking an 8,000 square foot house probably and I came in, put his smart home in Well, at the time I was doing a lot more smart homes with the keypads and the music and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3Put that in. He said I need you to come to the office and and all that kind of stuff. Put that in. He said I need you to come to the office. I came to the office. It's this 10 story building, concrete and steel. I never worked in this before. You know what I mean. So I was I kind of procrastinated on it and he kept calling me, kept calling me when you come in, when you're going to give me a price. I finally gave him a price. Three months later, the system was installed. I was terrified, but it was my first crossover from residential to, like, major businesses and now today I've probably done dozens of high rises and dozens of businesses and I'm able to teach other techs and bring them on and give them the confidence they need to work with me and also to you know, do what needs to be done and also to do what needs to be done.
Speaker 2We're talking with Sherrod Scott, who is also well-known as Sandman. His business is Sandman HD and we've heard Sherrod tell us of his efforts with regards to both homeowners for their benefit and businesses in areas of wiring and sound systems, surveillance systems, those kind of technologies that are in both home and business. And I guess, sherrod, the other big thing these days, bigger thing these days is the total accomplishment of all things Internet, like the automation of these appliances in our home, whether it be surveillance or lighting or sound systems, and I would think that that is kind of becoming a bigger and bigger part of your business. And people want to say, alexa, do this and all that. But you know, you basically need a hub, you know an automation and control system, which I think is one of the things your business is known for which I think is one of the things your business is known for.
Speaker 3Well, the, the, the. You know some of those problems. You products you can get online and about local box stores, are going to be consumer grade products. My business is more so geared towards less consumer grade and more custom. So, if I so, if I put a sound system in your house, we can use Sonos if you like, or I can put some touchpads, keypads, in there. You might have a record or CD collection that you have stored on a hard drive, or maybe it's on a record player and we can. We can do that. So those type of things, and also, for you know, if you've got a room with a tile floor or hard surfaces, you're going to need some sound treatment to keep the echo down, which is going to add to the quality of your music or your, you know, whatever your setup is. And those are the type of things that I get into more so custom rather than mainstream.
Speaker 2And that is important. What a what a great closing there. I think we've heard it all gang that Sherrod Scott, who we call the Sandman, helps us sleep better at night because he's there with Sandman HD. His skill sets from many years and thousand plus jobs that he's performed is a mainline contractor here on the Pennsylvania mainline in Delaware County and Montgomery County, chester County, pennsylvania, to serve both home and business. Sherrod, we want to thank you for being a guest on the Good Neighbor podcast. You really are a good neighbor business because you're bringing a service that's needed and you're doing it with really skill and tactical abilities that come with integrity and right pricing, right product. You really are the Sandman. You really do help people sleep well at night. Thanks for being our guest today on the Good Neighbor podcast. Thanks for having me Bob.
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast hosted by Bob Lacey. This is Michael Barkan inviting everyone to get on the Good Neighbor team. Nominate your favorite local business to be featured on an upcoming episode by going to GNPDelcocom or by calling Bob at 610-557-3745.