Re: Brinks Home Security Fraud

["Robert L Bass" <RobertLBass@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

"tourman" wrote:
>
> RHC: Bob, this brings up an interesting question (and one that
definately IS on topic).
>
> Every business has to strike a proper (for them) balance between costs
and income. I chose at the beginning rightly or wrongly to provide an
all inclusive service for a very reasonable rate with no long term
contract. I wanted to be different rather than play in the
conventional marketplace. The gamble paid off for me handsomely and
makes it especially easy to compete against the large companies (there
is no competition really unless they get suckered first by a smooth
talking salesman). My warranty is 100% with no exclusions for ANY
reason for as long as the alarm is monitored through me. The only
"downside" is I don't install alarms at discounted prices, and I ONLY
do automatic billing. If a client wants a system at a lower rate up
front, and doesn't mind signing a contract, I refer him to other small
dealers for service (as they do for me). It's perhaps an unusual
market niche, but one I'm being successful in. I also know that I
simply don't have it in me to insist on the client paying out a
contract when he moves, and if I did business that way, and didn't, I
would be losing money.  So I recoup my equipment costs at the front
end (and then some)

We offered clienbts the choice of a one- or three-year contract.  The price
was guaranteed not to rise during the term.  In return they guaranteed they
would stay with us.  Sometimes people moved before the contact expired.  If
that happened we let them go with no penalty.  Once in a rare while we'd lose
a customer due to a competitor "selling" him a takeover.  If that happened and
the customer was current I'd offer to reprogram the system to the competitor's
station.  We gave the dealer programming code to the customer when the system
was paid for.  Since I didn't offer financing, that was always the same day we
taught them how to use the system.

> Our market in Ottawa is a little different I suspect from a lot of
places. People have a lot of money, and are very fluid here in the
high tech industry, and they move a lot from home to home and place to
place. They like the freedom of no long term contract, and have the
money to easily pay a fair market price for a system. There is little
if any haggling involved. Other places, this formula might not work at
all, and I understand that...

Actually, your approach could be made to work in almost any marketplace, given
a few modifications.  I mostly worked in West Hartford and the Farmington
Valley area -- a wealthy area where most clients expected more than the "2
doors and a1 motion" that the big, national outfits offer and where they could
easily afford to pay up front.  In that respect our market places were very
similar.

Now I sell alarms and home automation systems online to DIYers and I find that
the vast majority (of those who call) can easily afford far more protection,
given the elimination of labor and overhead costs, than is offered by the vast
majority of alarm companies.  Most want to protect every accessible opening
and back that up with motion and glass break sensors.  Most also include
supplemental smoke detectors (over and above the ones the builder installed).

> Over the years when I have had to fix a broken alarm, and the client
has forgotten my motto...."you own the system - we own the problems -
period !!", and his system is fixed at no cost to him, most are
rightly surprised, but pleased (obviously), and my phone is soon
ringing with referrals and takeovers ! This approach would never work
for any large company, or even a small one with large overheads, but
for me, staying small and efficient, it works well. I work out of a
home office, subcontract my monitoring and billing to a large but very
good company, pay no advertising or up front promotional costs, and
keep all other overheads to things that are totally tax deductible.
The way I factor it is there is $1 a month in the monitoring rate for
"warranty", which pays me $1000 a month whether I spend anything or
not, and $2 a month for conventional service and troubles. The rest is
income from $15, less the monitoring fee. So in a sense, I am being
"paid" for my work, but not just in the standard way. Plus the two
high end, full priced systems that I install weekly easily pay my
son's salary plus profit for me. It's different, and does generate
some flack from some other companies, but usually because they don't
understand the cost structure, or are in the "free system" game, or
just don't want to take the longer range view. And in some cases, they
simply disagree with it, and that's fair ball.
>
> But the bottom line question is whether I'm making money, providing a
decent service to the community, and enjoying my business. Bingo for
all three so far (especially the first...:)).

That's the key.  If you can make a living and feel good about yourself for the
way you do it, you've made it.

> I too have had a couple of clients who couldn't afford the monitoring
because they lost their job in the high tech market. I have carried
them while they get back on their feet, rather than see them mickey
mouse their system, and like you, they have come back. Business is (or
should be) all about two things - helping people and making money.
Sometimes one reason takes priority over the other. But that's a rare
situation, and you have to make sure they don't see it as a form of
charity either....

You don't have to be an angel -- just a decent person.  The rest will take
care of itself.

> I do understand when others in the newsgroup snipe at this. That is
natural given their market and the way they do business. I actually
see that as one sign I'm doing things right, although I don't need any
additional  proof in that regard. The tax man reminds me of that once
a year......

Yep :^)

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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