Re: Lying Competition

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 9:56:12 AM UTC-4, tourman wrote:
 RHC: I know you and I disagree on a lot of things Jim; however, your "tong=
ue in cheek" comments above have an unfortunate ring of truth to them. I've=
 joked with many others that to be head and shoulders above the crowd in th=
is industry, all you have to do is be honest and straightforward with clien=
ts and do the job properly as you say you will. That is a sad reflection on=
 our industry but we are not alone in that regard. Every industry has the s=
ame problem. Organizations like CANASA up here, that purport to represent t=
he security industry are nothing but self serving shills to various other o=
rganizations. Take the drive to bring licensing to various provinces that h=
ave none in this business. All agree it is long overdue and needed to bring=
 stability and quality control to alarm installations. So the corrupt Quebe=
c government, along with the equally corrupt Quebec trade unions, along wit=
h major players like ADT who consult, bring out licensing control that serv=
es ONLY to keep Ontario business out of Quebec. You now need a $2000 annual=
 business license along with $100 a year annual license per employee, plus =
a "bricks and mortar" office on Quebec, otherwise you are not allowed to op=
erate in any fashion there. This conveniently keeps all small alarm compani=
es from working in Quebec (although Quebec companies can work here in Ontar=
io) at risk of a $5000 per incident fine if you are even caught over their =
in an official capacity. Nothing about necessary competence in this licensi=
ng scheme - only restrictive trade practice - and of course large companies=
 like ADT are smiling all the way to the bank. I'm sure this same sort of s=
hit will be going on long after I'm pushing up daisies, but I and my son wi=
ll continue to oppose this sort of abuse of customers (him long after I've =
faded from this business). Society will get the sort of service they deserv=
e, only if others continue to argue against this dishonesty and abuse.

I was part of the licensing movement for the industry in my state and .... =
like you and so many others who start out with the hige ideals, it turns ou=
t to be nothing like we envisioned. We wanted it to "clean up" the trade. K=
eep out the trunk slammers. Provide for some type of qualifying standards.

Although the licensing fees are not a exorbitant as yours, they only go to =
feed the coffers of the govenment and serve no other purpose. The number of=
 people who have been penalized for no license is miniscule, the enforcemen=
t is non existant. There are no requirements for keeping up with technology=
 or for continued qualifications. I've been licensed for decades and the on=
ly communication I've ever had from them is the license fee bill and notifi=
cation of an increase in the license fee. They have sent out periodic notif=
ications that agents will be contacting companies to make appointments to "=
inspect" our records, etc but that's been happening for years and years and=
 no one that I know of has ever been contacted.=20

The NFPA has repeatedly threatened to set an alarm system installation  "st=
andard" or "code" in this trade and our renowned (for doing nothing) Nation=
al Alarm Association (whatever their latest alias is now) only objects to t=
he Fire Association getting involed in the burglar alarm installation trade=
 and then you hear nothing else until the next time the NFPA threatens to d=
o it.=20

Well, as much as I like what I do and would like to continue, I know that e=
ventually I'll have to stop. I'm thinking that it'll be just about the righ=
t timeing where my disgust will equal my need to retire. Problem is, I'm so=
 diversified now, I've reached the point where I'm doing fewer jobs but the=
 income equals what I'd normally make on multiple jobs. And I get to get my=
 fingers into CCTV, computer networking, whole house audio, home theater, I=
Pads, IPhones and remote contoling all kinds of systems. It's really, reall=
y lots of fun. Occasionally, I even get to install an alarm system. The rec=
urring income is what allows me to persue the fun stuff now. I never though=
t about that in the beginning. On the other hand, I never considered that o=
ne of the hazzards of being in the alarm business for so long is that after=
 35 to 40 years, your customers begin to move into condo's, or in with fami=
ly, move to Florida, or die.=20

Oh well................