Re: Danger - Independent Alarm Dealers

["Sonicduck" <jones1019@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The topic I created here did specify ADT dealers, BUT, the same
principles apply to ANY independent dealer.  If I were a prospective
security alarm customer, the number one issue I would have with ANY
dealer not from a national company would be monitoring.  FOr instance,
how does the dealer KNOW FOR SURE that every employee of the company
usually subcontracted out to perform the monitoring has a FEDERAL
BACKGROUND CHECK.  One thing independents are known for is getting rid
of an employee a few weeks BEFORE his company HAS to conduct his
federal background check, drug screen, or other certification.  THAT is
how indy's get around the law.  The other major issue is the equipment
they use. Indy's are more inclined (other than Brinks) to use inferior
equipment.  They'll put junk in the home and call it a system.  I could
name the equipment but you know the names.  I wouldn't go out on a limb
and say GE, or some manufacturing company whose real business is not
necessarily security stuff.  Personally, I recommend Honeywell, or
Ademco (same stuff).

If an indy chooses a company that does NOT have a backup facilty with
redundancy abilities located in two different locales, then a disaster
of some type could shut that one existing facility down, and the indy
and his customers would have NO way to backup their customers.

There are, as you are well aware, many companies that do NOTHING but
monitor for the indy's.  It's a cut rate business, and if one of two
employees working the night shift calls in sick, or goes to take a
crap, who's minding the alarms?  Monitoring is like anything else, the
smaller monitoring companies find all kinds of ways to cut costs, and
who really knows what kind of company it is?  Many times the central
station is located a thousand miles away from the independent dealer.
There are companies that will wholesale their rates for monitoring for
as low as $5.00 a customer.  Some for $10.00 per month.  You get what
you pay for.