Re: Some cautions for "Newbies"

["Everywhere Man" <alarminstall@xxxxxxx>]

Nomen Nescio wrote:
> Everywhere Man said:
>
> >12- Do you refuse business when the customer wants something that you
> >know is an absolute sham? (kind of like cell back-up in NYC).
>
> Care to explain why cell backup in NYC is a sham? <

Getting a signal in some parts of this area is next to impossible. I
used to shudder when Monitronics would send me a service call for the
installation of those. It's sold on the premise that if a crook cuts
the line the cell backup will still report, but there are extremely few
overhead telco lines in Manhattan that the odds of a crook cutting the
line are slim to none and Slim just left town. The crook would need to
dig up the street just to find the main feed.
Getting a signal in Westchester is horrible! Queens? Brooklyn? Long
Island? Ask Jim. I'm sure he stretched his arm more than once trying to
reach for the drill once he finally found signal strength of 3 bars.
The client would be best served if they properly protected their phone
line by moving the demarc. Joe Crook isn't scaling telephone poles in
Westchester to break into a house. Joe will find a home without an
alarm and break into that instead. Selling fear is, and always will be,
bullshit.
ADT for example requires the client sign a disclaimer with the
understanding that it's unreliable (or however they word it, but it
sends the same message).
It's my opinion that cell backup here, given the high percentage of
times you can't find a signal, is worthless. Now with the changes
coming in 2008 regarding the towers it has become even less appealing
to offer.
What's it like in your area?