from Mobile Electronics Magazine March 2026

ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE

Retailer of the Year Laketown Speed and Sound aims to enhance clients' experience, educate the DIYer and strengthen the industry through education and support.

Words by Rosa Sophia

Draper, Utah-based Laketown Speed and Sound is always looking for ways to enhance customer experience, according to store owner John Mueller. What happens when a potential client brings in their own equipment—purchased on the Internet— and asks the team to install it? “We give them practical advice,” he said, adding that they’ve had experience with radios purchased on Amazon that don’t last or don’t have proper technical support. “The technology eventually fails. You’ll have a much better experience with a brand name like Sony, Pioneer, Alpine or Kenwood, something that’s built to last.”

His business, Mueller said, focuses on nurturing relationships with clients. “We don’t look at things as a one-off service,” he said. “We try to look at each vehicle and ask, how can we enhance this person’s driving experience?”

GET TO KNOW THE CLIENT AND DON’T RUSH THE SALE

Mueller has been in the industry for 36 years and opened Laketown Speed and Sound in 2001. Prior to that, he intended to become a doctor and studied pre-med at the University of Utah. But after returning from a two-year LDS mission in Germany, his brother asked for help getting a business going—a car audio business. “Once I started playing with cars, it was all over,” he said of his medical career. “I got married four months later and realized I’d have to support a household and a family. My focus changed to business.”

Laketown Speed and Sound began in a small house. Today, it’s in a much larger building with about 11,000 square feet and a prominent location. “This gives us the ability to do all types of vehicle customization,” he said.

Installation manager Angel Rivera has been with Laketown Speed and Sound for 22 years. Rivera’s son, Junior, also works for the business in sales. Mueller said Rivera attended MasterTech Expo in 2024, where his team won the event’s build-off competition. Mueller felt it time to involve Rivera in the business, and about a year and a half ago, the two became business partners.

Together, the Laketown team views each car as its own project, which Mueller said opens a multitude of possibilities and helps to raise the average ticket price. He stressed the importance of getting to know each client and to avoid rushing through a sale. “A client will come in with a brand new vehicle, and we can offer paint protection, window tint, a sound system, radar detector, a lift or wheels and tires. There’s so much we can do with a brand new car if a

client wants to build something that’s unique to them, so we aim to give them all the options—even if they can’t afford everything in one stop. They can always come back when they’re ready for the next thing. That’s been very positive for us, optimizing each client and vehicle to enhance the experience.”

SELLING VIA EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST WAY TO SELL

Instead of immediately turning away a client who brings in their own equipment, Mueller said they’ll install product a customer brought in, just once, requesting that next time they need something, they should come in and discuss it first. “We will also match online prices on the same products we carry and provide a lifetime warranty at no extra charge. We can provide a much better experience if they buy the product from us. Because if something goes wrong, they’ll have to pay us to pull the product and reinstall it, and they’ll have to deal with shipping it back.”

A lot of times, he added, customers don’t realize how expensive it is to have the products installed. Mueller and his team take the time to explain proper methods and wiring techniques, demonstrating why a professional installation with quality product is best. “We give them correct information so they know they can’t just plug any amp into any system and have it work.”

When it comes to using education to convince clients it’s better to buy from the store instead of online, Mueller said they have a good conversion rate, “about 80 to 90 percent.” They also have multiple ways to communicate with clients including via the store’s website. “We have a direct chat. Our salespeople know if we can get them in the store and provide that experience, we have about a 95 percent chance of closing that sale. We are not just giving out information, or giving them a price to go shop, but rather inviting them in to have an experience in one of our four demo vehicles,” he said, adding, “Selling via experience is a much better way to sell.”

The store’s demo vehicles include a Tesla Model Y, a Harley-Davidson Road

LAKETOWN AIMS TO REACH DIY COMMUNITY VIA DB DRAG EVENT

Last year, Meuller said Laketown Speed and Sound hosted a sound quality competition at its location, but it was poorly attended. The shop hopes to target the DIY market by holding a dB drag racing competition. “We want to let people know we can do these types of builds.” Mueller feels this will be more effective due to the new generation of up-and-coming bass enthusiasts. “A lot of these guys live and breathe on the Internet, and they’re getting all their information from other do-it-yourselfers. They’re not getting knowledge from shops anymore. There’s a paradigm shift in how people are buying car audio.” This, he said, has the potential to damage the industry.

“Some companies are marketing direct to clients now. They’re not dealing with retailers anymore, and that’s a problem.” This means quality retailers could disappear, he said, adding, “Typically, people won’t have a positive experience trying to do something on their own with the limited knowledge the Internet offers. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. About 50 percent of what I see isn’t true, and you have these people thinking it’s true and having a bad experience as a result.” Because of this, Mueller hopes a dB drag event will attract the DIYer, giving the team at Laketown an opportunity to provide them with an experience.

Glide Limited, a Nissan 240SX and a Honda S2000, providing the opportunity to show clients what a quality sound system is like. Each system utilizes a DSP and is properly tuned to provide a unique experience: “Clients often say they had no idea this type of experience was possible. They always exit the vehicles smiling and laughing.”

Mueller believes this to be the biggest advantage the aftermarket has over OEM systems today. “We make sure every client gets to have this experience when they come into the store. Especially those clients who say, ‘My factory system is really good.’ We always want to leave the client wanting more and understanding the potential of their vehicle’s sound system. It’s a game changer.”

PRIORITIZE STORE CULTURE AND THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW

Mueller said it’s essential to invest in a store’s employees. “Your store culture should be the center of what you’re doing, and don’t be afraid to show that off,” he said. “For our Retailer of the Year video, we brought our staff in and interviewed them. We talked about who they were and their contribution [to the growth of the business]. Then we talked about our facility.”

Laketown Speed and Sound has been able to offer good benefits to its employees, he added. “A couple of years ago, I noticed we were getting hammered on credit card fees. We spent between $80,000 and $90,000 per year on credit card processing fees.” Based

on advice from a friend, Mueller started instituting a two-and-a-half percent fee for credit cards.

“We took the proceeds from what we had been paying in fees and used it to offer our employees a matched funds retirement account,” he explained. “This was a huge benefit to our longtime employees and gave us a way to build value into continued employment with our company. I took a lot of heat from people around the industry when I rolled this out, but I’ve never really lost a sale because of it. To date, we have banked over $380,000 in retirement savings for our employees. I believe that the most important job of a good store owner is to facilitate the success of its employees. This gave us a means by which to do this.”

BRAX AND HELIX EXPERIENCE CENTER COMING TO LAKETOWN SPEED AND SOUND

Laketown Speed and Sound has been a Kicker dealer since 2016, Mueller said. “They have excellent price points and fantastic quality.” He added that the company protects the product, so they don’t have to worry about losing a sale due to the Internet. The store also works with MSC America and sells Brax and Helix products. Laketown is building a Brax and Helix Experience Center in the store, which Mueller said will strengthen the customer experience.

“There will be interactive displays with videos,” Mueller said, adding

that the Experience Center is being built in an under-utilized conference room. “It’s like a sound room, but on a whole different level,” he explained. “There are only three in the country, and ours will be the fourth. Those who’ve implemented that system of selling into their stores have had tremendous success, so we’re very excited about having a Brax Helix Experience Center and being one of their Focus 50 dealers.” The Experience Center should be complete in the next couple of months, he added.

He added that good pay, medical and dental benefits ensure employees have a way to support themselves and their families. “They can come to work and love what they do, and that will be reflected in the quality of their work. It’s not just about building our dream team, but keeping our dream team. And that makes everything work. It also makes everything easier for me because I’m not spending my time hiring and training, and going over all those processes with new people every year or two.”

Laketown Speed and Sound aims to continue investing in the business by obtaining large-format 3D printers, a CNC and renovating the shop to make the space more productive. Mueller is heartened by continued increase in revenue, adding, “We’re seeing a lot of these $25-, $50-, $75,000 projects, and that’s positive.” He aims to continue growing the company, maintaining the same team.

RETAILERS MUST COMMIT TO EDUCATION, EVOLUTION

Mueller said he feels Laketown’s submission video for this round of the Industry Awards helped confirm the store’s win. “In the past, I didn’t really dedicate much time or effort to our submission video,” he admitted. “Angel shared a couple of things he’d done with his own videos to make them more exciting and interesting to watch.”

Mueller sings in the Tabernacle Choir, he said, and through that, he befriended a few cameramen and photographers. He called in a friend to film the video for the shop. “I wanted people to see the facility. We’ve worked very hard to get to the point where we have all the tools we need, the space, the talent, the exposure and the reputation. I wanted to capture that, and I think that’s what really grabbed the judges’ attention this year.”

SOUND DEADENING INCREASES OVERALL REVENUE IN-STORE

Sound deadening has been a very lucrative category, according to Mueller. “We do what we call three skins or three layers in doors. On average, it’s $1,200 to $1,500 for just the sound deadening in the doors.” While it can be an add-on sale, some clients come in just for sound deadening, he said, adding that the team tests it out by driving 40 miles per hour down the road in front of the shop with an RTA mic, listening to the amount of noise in the vehicle.

“We do that before and after installing the sound deadening, and we’ve seen dramatic decreases of noise in the vehicle—about 13 to 14 decibels less.”

SHARING DAILY PROJECTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS GROW CLIENT BASE

Laketown Speed and Sound receives a lot of business from referrals, who noted that customers often come in and mention that positive online reviews compelled them to visit. “We use SEO, we have a blog, Facebook and Instagram. We’ve had a couple of customers tell us they wish we were on TikTok, so that’s something we can improve in terms of our social media.”

Mueller said he and his team decided it was important to remind clients of the everyday builds they take on weekly—not just highend custom work, which Mueller noted will be unrealistic to the

average customer. “We do what’s called ‘The Daily,’ and Junior will go around the store with his phone and [make a video], saying, ‘This is Junior with Laketown Speed and Sound and I just want to show you what we’re working on today.’”

The video will showcase five or six different vehicles, Mueller said— anything from a Ferrari to a Chevy truck, demonstrating the breadth and variety of projects.

“I’ve had people come in and say, for example, ‘I noticed you guys did sound deadening on that 4-Runner. Can you tell me what you did?’ That’s been really positive for us,” he said.

One of the things that drew him to the industry, he said, was the opportunity to meet new people every day from all walks of life. “People want to be a part of that, and they like how it feels when they come into the store,” he said, adding, “If you can establish that connection with your clients, they’ll always come back, and they’ll tell other people about you.” Meuller noted that he loves his work, “not because of my position, but because of those I have the honor and privilege of working with—those who support the mobile electronics industry.”

He then stressed the importance of sharing information and learning from one another’s successes and failures in order to offer clients the best possible experience. “We are in a rapidly evolving industry,” he said. “Someone I once admired and looked up to in this industry made a comment to me stating, ‘No one cares anymore,’ in regard to training opportunities like KnowledgeFest and other industry events. It absolutely floored me. Not only do I vehemently disagree, but I would warn that having that attitude and being complacent is a dangerous slippery slope.”

The industry needs organizations like MEA, MECP, MasterTech and other

supporting vendors, he said. “The relationships forged at these events, and the knowledge we gather, will be an absolute necessity in the coming years.” It’s a simple decision, he added: “Learn and evolve, attend and internalize what’s being taught—or fail. Period.”

It’s impossible to think otherwise, Mueller concluded. “Technology will provide a means by which we will all thrive, but if we are foundationally ignorant and do not have the tools provided by these training opportunities, we will become obsolete.”

Mobile Electronics Retailer of the Year - Laketown Speed and Sound