Re: Monitoring station response time

["Allan Waghalter" <awaghalter@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The response was excessive for normal response.  They may be having manpower
problems caused by the importing of your dealer's information.  Try it from
time to time.  If it is a national station, they might well be overwhelmed
with alarm activity from the Texas/Louisiana areas being hit by the
hurricane.... Rita and Katrina.

Occasionally they may just be too busy to call you more quickly, but it
should be the exception, not the rule.  If you are not happy, talk to the
dealer.  He will have some pull with the central station as he is a new
customer.  By the way, do you know what central station he is using?  Also,
where do you live? (I see a candadian address).

Regards,
Allan


"Warren" <warrens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:43356C73.4050009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> My alarm company recently changed to a new monitoring station and the
> response wait times have become considerably longer.  The panel is not
> programmed to send a cancel code.  If it were I wouldn't be concerned
> about several minute wait for a double check or confirmation call.
>
> I will be talking to the alarm company on Monday for an explanation. This
> is the second long delay I've experienced with the monitoring company.
> Last time I phoned them after four minutes to say I was still alive, only
> to be put on hold until they could check up on things.
>
> The panel has a duress code programmed.  I can think of no reason not to
> have one.
>
>
>
> R.H.Campbell wrote:
>> I would say.... that depends. If you disarmed the system right away (or
>> during the time when
>> the panel was still online with the station), then they could have
>> received a "cancel
>> code" along with the alarm, and most stations won't even call, since they
>> know someone with a valid code has disarmed the system. Your station
>> might simply have been doing a double check (as many do) as a matter of
>> policy, which can be some minutes
>> afterwards depending upon how many alarms they are receiving at the
>> moment without cancel
>> codes.
>>
>> The normal interval to respond to an alarm (assuming no receipt of a
>> cancel
>> code) I expect should be immediately or within a minute, depending upon
>> how busy they are at that moment. Early morning and around 5 pm seem to
>> be the busiest periods of a workday when stations are running at peak
>> capacity, which would normally slow things down a bit (Lots of people
>> disarming their panels at work and screwing things up etc.....)
>>
>> With a cancel code, response can vary (assuming the station calls at all)
>> and can vary greatly based on other
>> alarms being received at the same time. They should probably be
>> explaining to the end user they are just doing a double check ;
>> otherwise, the impression left is slow response as you felt. Cancel codes
>> are one of the things that dramatically decrease problems for customers;
>> however, they certainly can leave the impression of poor response.
>>
>> It should be noted however, that a lot of companies (and customers)
>> prefer NOT to use cancel codes and wish the station to call on every
>> alarm trip. This is a simple programming change in the alarm panel. While
>> lack of a cancel code increases the workload on the station (and IMO
>> likely doesn't add much benefit to the end user), it certainly does
>> increase the false alarm rate substantially.
>>
>> If I lived in LA or another large community with lots of crimes against
>> people, I might be tempted to forget about cancel codes (and probably
>> also activate a duress code in my panel ). But if I lived in a normal
>> community where crimes against people was not a major issue, a cancel
>> code is much more likely to prevent a false dispatch and a fine than it
>> is to decrease the effectiveness of your alarm in any meaningful way.
>>
>> This is something you should discuss with your alarm company in regards
>> to your personal situation.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> R.H.Campbell
>> Home Security Metal Products
>> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
>> www.homemetal.com
>