Re: Need help for Engineering Management project

["Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms>]

"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:wpadnZeDzLtZb5fbnZ2dnUVZ_hKdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx
> "Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms> wrote in message
> news:x4Gdnbfo_O9PmpfbnZ2dnUVZ_hqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > Apple's success with the Ipod will make
>> > them look very attractive to someone like
>> > Brinks or Slomin who want to increase
>> > their market share...
>>
>> Speaking from years of experience in the
>> electronic security field, I hope not.  Those
>> are two of the worst companies a homeowner
>> could hire to "protect" anything.
>
>
> http://www.sdmmag.com/SDM/Protected/Files/Images/sdm100_2004_08.jpg
>
> The admittedly out of date lists the top
> residential security providers and
> their # of users:

SDM is a trade magazine with no subscription fee.
Care to guess who pays for it?  That said, I read
SDM as soon as it comes to my door each month.
There are always articles on new products which
I often add to my websites.

> ADT            4M
> Brink's         800K
> Monitronics 377K
> Slomin's      187K

The lists only indicate the number of clients
they monitor. and the revenue they have.  It
says nothing about quality (or lack thereof).
Furthermore, no one verifies the data.  SDM
accepts whatever the companies say.

> ADT is sitting pretty with a combined base
> larger than their three largest competitors.

There are two "flavors" of ADT.  First is
ADT corporate which usually does good
work.  They have the muscle and skill to
handle jobs most competitors can't do.
By and large their installations are very
professional.

Then there are the so-called ADT "authorized
dealers."  These are independent contractors
who use ADT's name while installing mostly
crap.  Thet advertise "free" systems but to
obtain the free system the homeowner must
sign a multi-year monitoring agreement at
two, three or more times the going rate.  The
contracts renew automatically unless cancelled
30 to 90 days (depends on the dealer) before
expiration.  Getting out of it is only slightly
more difficult than breaching a vontract with
Lucifer.

Many of these companies have been sued
by attorneys general in various states,
including Florida where I live, for false and
misleading advertising.  The ads are illegal
here yet numerous "authorized dealers" still
use them.

To make matters worse, almost invariably
the systems sold by these dealers are
so poorly designed and installed that they
offer little or no protection.

> I didn't do the math but it seems like...

Sadly, ADT did the math a few decades
ago and realized that there is far more
profit to be had by installing tiny, nearly
useless systems in a couple of hours
than by designing and properly installing
comprehensive security.  The result is
an industry driven entirely by price
with reckless disregard for the security
of the clients who depend on it.

There are still good, honest dealers in
the security industry.  I like to believe
that most are decent people who want
to give fair value for a fair price.  The
problem is that greedy corporate
giants have made it very difficult for
all but the smallest independent dealers
to succeed offering anything remotely
resembling real security.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
941-925-8650
4883 Fallcrest Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34233
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
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