Re: Honeywell LYNXR-EN Expansion?

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Dec 8, 11:32=A0pm, mleuck <m.le...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Dec 8, 12:25=A0am, Jim <alarmi...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> > > Perhaps because many times those more "user friendly" small companies
> > > that you appear to think walk on water are more likely to go out of
> > > business
>
> > More likely than ..... what?
>
> > A larger company being bought out by another even larger company?
>
> > Granted, just like any trade or industry, small start up companys go
> > out of business pretty often.
>
> > I think Robert would be referring to a smaller company who's been
> > around for some years. Who would you refer someone to? =A0Any large
> > company or a smaller company that's been in business for 10, 15, 20
> > years?
>
> To me there isn't much difference, as far as service goes that's many
> times handled by smaller companies who may have installed the panel in
> the first place or independent contractors who deal with just about
> everything on a day to day basis. Monitoring is usually better with
> the big boys, I've seen a lot of crap by local companies who contract
> the monitoring to small stations.

Here's my experience on that subject. Some of the larger "dealers"
fall into the same category as the mega companys. That is, both
service and installation is a production line process. Installs
consist of a "package" and amount to lick and stick type installation.
If the install is a "full" alarm system, then the "full system crew"
is dispatched while the customer pays about half again as much as they
would buying their system from a local "non-associated" type dealer.
Sometimes these dealers will "raid" an area trying to take accounts
away from other alarm companys. They use their "association" with a
well advertised or well known alarm company, using a low leader
monitoring fee to entice the end user. This is approach is mostly to
the small commercial businesses. If the end user is enticed enough to
switch, many times the end user either has forgotten or doesn't
realize that they are in contract with their present alarm company and
now they've signed TWO contracts that they're obligated to. The
raiding company never mentions that possibility to the customer.

In my experience regarding the "smaller"  megacompany dealers, they
are usually the people who can't make it on their own (for various
reasons but mostly for the same reason most small companys can't make
it, they're installers, not businessmen)   and think that by
associating with a nationally known brand name, they'll defy the odds
and be able to make money, in spite of the fact that the dealership
game is fixed in favor of the mega company. Now, it follows that if
they can't make it on their own, they're most likely to not be able to
make it in a dealership for the very same reasons. But they, for some
reason, can't see that. It seems that, ( speculation on my part)
because they're associated with a large company that somehow they're
"protected" and craftmanship, customer relations, flexability,
customer relations, is not an important part of what they're supposed
to be doing. The quantity of installations is the motivation (because
of the buy-back process) not necessarily the long term satisfaction of
the customer. This is traditionally where the "successful and
established" smaller companys leap ahead of the mega companies.

As far as "smaller" central stations, I place them in the same
category as "smaller" dealers. The quantifier is "well established" Of
course I use myself as an example. The length of time that I've been
in business is what gets me the jobs over the small, short term small
companies. What looses me jobs is the fact that I wont compromise my
prices. When a prospect tells me that the previous sales guy will give
it to them cheaper I tell them that "He's the only one who knows what
the value of his work is. During all my time in this trade, seeing the
work of many of my competitors, I also know what the value of my work
is in comparison the them." If the prospect is swayed by only the
price and doesn't consider what my length of time in the trade and
experience is worth, that's his problem.

>
> > Some people are highly satisfied with ADT or Brinks or whoever. Simply
> > because they don't know that they could get/have better and are not
> > inclined ( for whatever reason) to seek more.
>
> And simply because ADT, Brinks and whoever provide good monitoring.

You certainly can't say that from what you've seen end users have said
here about the slow, lackidasical, not at all response that they've
experienced. . So I have to presume that since you work for a large
monitoring company that you associate it from that point of view.
Which I can understand ...... in the same way that I associate from a
small dealer perspective. We've all heard the war stories that fortify
our respective points of view. And I can also understand that
certainly we've never or not at all often seen end users come to this
group lauding smaller or larger alarm companies or central stations.
People only come here complaing about their bad experiences.

So it amounts to Large companys are unpersonal and small companys are
more personal. There are good and bad experiences in both.  However,
my personal opinion is that even when choosing someone for services in
my personal life, I'll look for a smaller well establised company
before I'd ever use a giant company. I just think it makes sense
because you can investigate a smaller companys history but not a
larger company and because the smaller company has a personal stake in
making their customers happy vesus a hired mega companys sales person
who's working on commission.


>
> Name a company other than ADT who covers the outside of a customer's
> house with an electronic field of 1's and 0's? HUH? Emergency 24
> doesn't do that!-

I tried that but the customer didn't like the color I used and do you
realize how long it takes to do that with a magic marker in the middle
of the night?