Top 10 MORE Questions To Ask Your Prospective Alarm Company

Not too long ago, fresh out the military, I was an alarm system salesman.  It was a wonderful learning experience that taught me many things.  One of those lessons was "All security companies are not created equal."  People assume, like they do with all major purchases, the most popular or cheaper brand is in fact the better brand.  The majority of the time they learn this is not case.  So, I decided to post some questions for prospective customers to ask when they begin their search for a security company.  (Please note this doesn't just apply to alarm systems.  You can apply these questions to camera systems, access control, locks, etc.)

1. What areas will this alarm system not cover?  There is an implied belief among some customers that an alarm system protects their entire property.  Have you ever considered what would happen if someone broke into your neighbor's store and punched a hole in the drywall you share?  Do you have a sensor that will pick up the noise or vibration?  Chances are you don't.  The problem with modern security systems is they advertise exactly where you have coverage and where you don't.  Don't believe me?  Walk into a small storefront and notice how many infrared sensors you set off.
2. What's your apprehension rate in my area?  This is particularly important if you're in an area where burglaries happen a lot.  If someone breaks into nearby businesses who use the popular name brand security service without getting caught, should you be buying from them?
3. What's your response time to service issues?  What happens if some drunk rams his car into a nearby power pole and kills your alarm system?  Does your system have battery backup until service is restored?  If not, how soon can your company arrive to remedy the issue?
4. How much do you charge per service calls?  Some companies make a living by selling a crappy installation and billing you every time it breaks and they have to come out and fix it.  You want a company with a good reputation for service and who makes house calls on the cheap.
5. Can I cancel at anytime?  One of my first sales lead I had was a lady who was opening up a small Internet cafe.  She knew she had a need for the system but was concerned about our price and contract obligation.  The economy was rough and she, like many small business owners, didn't know if she would be in business for 5 days let alone 5 years.  Pick a company who is sympathetic to that.
6. Are you developing original product lines or selling me something made by the lowest bidder?  I can't tell you how many companies I see selling all sorts of "new groundbreaking technologies" that were developed by a previous competitor just marketed differently.  If they'll lie about the product's origins, they'll lie about anything.
7. Can I manage my account all in one place online?  Some of you aren't real tech savvy nor like to handle business online.  I totally understand that and encourage you to do what's comfortable for you.  However, if you like doing everything online as much as possible, inquire if they offer online account management.  If you're responsible for a large system and want to track multiple alarms or trouble alerts, it would be extremely helpful to have this capability.
8. What kind of redundancy do you have for your alarm centers?  Do they transfer alarm monitoring to another facility if the original is affected by natural disaster?  Wouldn't it be a shame if where your building is at there are sunny skies, but the alarm center which is another state several thousand miles away was hit by a blizzard with no power for weeks?  What happens to your alarms?
9. How much familiarization do your sales personnel get with the product?  Wouldn't you hate being sold a car the car dealer never drove?  How can someone tell you about the quality of their installation and service components if they've never seen them in action?  I would be highly impressed by any company who had new sales personnel going out on these calls with their experienced technicians.
10. What separates you from everyone else?  Most salesmen will attempt to answer this but usually fail.  Why?  Because they're focused on what their company told them makes them different.  If he or she gives you an honest answer such as "We charge a higher price", he's good to go because he'll follow up with "You get what you pay for in life.  If you want a free root canal, I could give it to you but you won't sleep easy.  We charge more because we're worth more.  We provide better service, a better product that we developed, and a commitment to protecting your business rain or shine.  It took you a while to build this business.  We want to ensure you have a while to enjoy it."

Wonder if something like this could happen in the US

I wonder how long it would take a US company to realize it was being duped....Let alone an entire municipality.  Hmmmm.....Me thinks this may happen more than some folks will admit.  While in the United States we are very results-oriented towards crime prevention, given the right of circumstances this is extremely feasible and lucrative for certain nefarious individuals.

Imagine you're a medium size apartment rental community, you've never been robbed or vandalized.  However, given your location and the lack of resources you have to devote to a long-term security presence particularly after normal business hours, you're easily sold a 24 hour monitoring service by what appears to be a reputable company.  They have good letterhead, an 800 number, an awesome website with guys wearing suits staring at monitors, and some pretty authentic looking testimonials.  You decide to subscribe to their service with a monthly fee of $99 and the $2000 deposit for the "equipment" they installed.  There was drilling and a separate WiFi box.  You assumed they were legit.  How were you and the 30 other people in your city supposed to know they were crooks?

Not all flashlights are created equal....

Other than working from your home and talking about your passion in life, the biggest perk of this job is product review.  Sure, I love bragging to all of my military buddies that I work in my pajamas in between  my son's naps and my marathon reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  However, this past month, courtesy of the good folks from Victory Defense, I have had the honor and privilege of reviewing one of the coolest flashlights I've ever come across.  In 10 years of service to my country, I have come across some cool flashlights that have everything from "DNA extractors" to strobe effects to disorient non-compliant subjects.  So what makes the LumenCam so special?

In addition to making dark places bright, it also functions as video recording device.  That's right, folks.  It's a camera and a flashlight.  I know what you're thinking - what a gimmicky product to sell.  I have to admit when I first saw it, the thought did cross my mind.  But there are some things about this flashlight that are hard to ignore.  Here are a few:

1. It's waterproof.
2. It records video and sound.  Why is this useful?  The video can be transferred from the flashlight to a computer and preserved for evidence.  It can also be used to give a first-person view during training after-action reviews.  Can you imagine if every member of a S.W.A.T. team were equipped with one of these during a critical incident in which loss of life occurred?  What if your security personnel were required to have these during their rounds?  If you have an incident where they need to respond, this flashlight could mean the difference between a costly civil suit with consequent punitive damages and a successful motion to dismiss.
3. It has a USB port to transfer data from the flashlight to a computer.
4. It's extremely durable.  Other than being made completely of metal, it has a grated surface to prevent slipping due to moisture.
5. It has a rechargeable lithium battery.  All I have to say is "Holy Long Battery Life".  In a test to see if it would hold up as advertised, my two year old son left it on for THREE hours and it was still holding a charge!!!  ATTENTION FUTURE COMPANIES I WISH TO SOLICIT LATER FOR PRODUCTS TO REVIEW:  My son isn't involved in all product testing.  However, I feel if a two year old can break it, then you have some issues.  If my two year old can operate it, then your product rocks.
6. It's dummy proof - almost.  The operations of the flashlight are pretty standard and thus extremely easy to do.  Don't believe me?  Check out the data sheet below.  However, the transferring of files may be a bit too much of an exercise for some of the less technologically savvy of our security and law enforcement brethren.  
7. Video recording is seamless and the memory storage is pretty decent (4G).  I had zero issues with recording video and audio.  You could hear a whisper two to four arm lengths away.  The video was easily playable and required no special drivers or plug-ins.
8. The light has phase brightness.  I affectionately called these "bright" and "really freaking bright".  I'm sure there's a much more technical and possible professional way of saying that but you get the idea.  It's your standard brightness you'd expect from a tactical light with brightness for near and far objects.

Did I like everything about the camera?  To be honest, I only had a few things I would change:

1. I would like the flashlight to be somewhat smaller.  This is a great light if you have the kind of duty gear that has the ring you can attach standard police flashlights to.  If you don't, then you have to carry this in your hands the whole time you're on-scene.  A smaller light allows for the ability to have the light tucked in or recessed somewhere on your person (i.e. a pocket, inside your belt line, inside a pouch).
2. The price was a bit much for a rookie to purchase right away.  This is where I believe the smaller size would be helpful.  You may lose some memory storage capacity but you would also be lowering the price and increasing your market share.
3. If they do make a smaller size, place a trigger button on the bottom of the light if possible.  Having the light switch on the top could be counter-intuitive for some operators who have gotten use to tactical lights with triggers on the bottom.
4. Make it what I call "rail adaptable".  It seems like every light you see these days looks like you can mount on a rifle or your pistol.  I'm not a fan of lights on pistols but I would like to see this in a much smaller size on tactical carbine.

All in all I really, really, really like this flashlight.  While I wasn't too impressed with its illumination, I loved how easily you could go from having no video to having full video recording.  I also enjoyed how easy it was to operate.  I hate picking up someone's latest and greatest in security tech and realizing its too gimmicky or complicated for the "guy on the ground" to operate effectively from day one.  I like tech that I can give a new guy on his first day without me having to teach him a full-on course.  This product is almost too simple.

You can say I didn't become really impressed with the LumenCam until after I finished reviewing it.  You see I live in a house with a two year old little boy who loves to bang, drop, drag, throw, drown, drench, punch, kick, bite, and bend anything he gets his hands on.  For a solid month, I've had this flashlight and watched in utter amazement as my son did all of those things and more with this light.

Conclusion:  If you have a little bit of cash and want to invest in something that's going to last and possibly be the only thing in your arsenal capable of telling things the way they really happened, drop by the folks at Victory Defense and get the LumenCam.  Believe me, it's worth it.

Looking to buy one, the wonderful people at Victory Defense are the ones to get it from.  Check it out here or at .http://www.victorydefense.com/shop/index.cfm?productID=8653.

Here's a fact sheet about the Lumen Cam:

LumenCam Data Sheet