Re: Problem with ADT Security Company

["Bob Worthy" <securinc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"R.H.Campbell" <rh.campbell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EfWdnU7NT7zXIsjeRVn-tg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> However, with an auto renewal long term contract for 1 to 5 years, the
> customer becomes locked in for a second (and perhaps third) time, because
he
> or she didn't take some positive action to stop the renewal. This second
> long term is not being used to pay for the "free system" anymore, but to
> simply lock in the client's revenue stream for an undue length of time to
> benefit ONLY the alarmco.

Not to question your business plan, but that is when the alarm company, that
has the "free" marketing approach, finally starts to make some profit. The
rate doesn't drop because, instead of paying off upfront costs which they
are doing during the first term, they are making up the profit that was not
there during the first term.

 There is NOTHING of value or benefit to doing so
> for the client !!

Sure there is. A client that signed on with me in 1999 is paying far less
than the customer that signs up today. If a client did not agree to have the
auto renewal, which I have some, and wants to continue using us as their
security provider after their agreement expires, then I go out and sign them
to a new agreement at today's rate, so now they are paying more than if they
had simply let it renew at the old rate.

Most customer hardly
> remember what kind of system they have, let alone when a multi year
contract
> is coming up for renewal !!!!!

No, they believe what they have assumed, thought, someone else told them,
wished to be true, and any other reason they can come up with, anything
except for BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN AFFAIRS. The auto renewal clause
was in the agreement from day one. If they don't read anything else in an
agreement, they read the terms, where the clause is located, and they have
three business days to question, negotiate or strike the clause. To say they
don't remember is BS. I'll bet everyone of them can tell you the day their
last car payment is due right off the top of their head. It is called
responsiblity and in reality the only time it becomes a problem is when they
want out. All of sudden they come down with Alzheimer's.

 Yet if they don't, they're committed. It's
> the same sort of bulls*it that Alarmbridge pulls here locally with their
> hidden small print stating that the client must advise in writing three
full
> months in advance of the desire to stop monitoring, or the contract
> auto-renews for another full five years.
>
> You buy a cellphone with a contract; after the term is up, you go month to
> month.

We are not in the cell phone business.

 >Although it's not a perfect analogy, if you buy or lease a vehicle,
> you either own it outright eventually, or if leased, you turn it back in
at
> the end of the term. Your dealer doesn't hit you with another term if you
> forget to call him up.

No, it is worse, right down to grand theft auto and full cost of the value
of the vehicle.

 If you sign a long term natural gas contract, BOTH
> sides are committed to a certain rate for a given length of time. Neither
> can change that rate. But alarmco's see fit to raise their rates sometimes
> annually based on a "cost of living" increase, and the consumer has no
> realistic option to act if he doesn't agree with it.

Bob, Bob, of course they do unless the provisions, ie cost of living, for
increases are clearly stated in the agreement, they orignally signed, and
there are usually caps on those. Do you think the cost of doing business is
the same in year one as it is in year three? Companies can't just throw out
increases at will because a customer will always have the opportunity to
either except or decline.

> It seems only in the alarm industry do we get away with this lopsided sh*t
> because for some reason, consumers let us do so !! Beats the hell out of
me
> why !!
>
> Unethical ? You're damn right !

So you are saying that a 130 year old, multi Billion dollar industry,
involving all aspects of our life, has been built on unethical business
practices? The one constant that I can see in the business world is that all
business owners are free to choose their own business plan. Some choose to
be pioneers but the mass majority follow what has been the norm. With that
being said, the norm on the customers side is that they just claim to being
abused when they want out. I have never seen one of my customers, that are
paying 1995 monitoring rates because of auto renewal, come running to me and
say "Boy, you've been monitoring me for 10 years, you need to raise my
rate." They are as happy as clams just were they are at. They are reminded
of that everytime they see a Brinks or ADT advertisement showing that $30
plus monitoring fee.

> "mikey" <loismustdie@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:jvOdne27GqkpLsjeRVn-2Q@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Unethical? Whoa, you're out to lunch here, Bob...