It’s the day of your scheduled appointment, when the contractor is supposed to come
out to see you. You have this sinking feeling, like the company representative will tell
you how unsafe your home is, and what an elaborate (and expensive) system you’ll
need to protect it. Because, selling elaborate systems is what a security provider
wants, right?
A truck pulls up, and you know that the contractor must have arrived. You’re a little
surprised to see a marked truck, with the same name as the company you called. They
come out, personally.
The contractor comes to the door, and as soon as he says, “Hi, how are ya,” you know
it’s the same person you spoke to on the phone.
Well, that’s cool, you think to yourself. With the conversation you’d already had with
this guy about what you want, the contractor knows why you started looking at a
security system in the first place. He remembers from your phone call.
“So, you’re starting to work from home, right? That must be easier on the gas bill,” he
says with a smile.
The contractor walks around your home, and you begin to talk about the rooms you’re
most concerned about, where your kids sleep, and where valuables are kept. You’d
thought of the TV and stereos, but there are so many other systems you hadn’t thought
about until the contractor points them out.
“Who’s your internet service provider?” he asks.
You talk about your internet, and he begins to explain how some of the more popular
security camera systems work today. He sells you on one, both because you won’t
have to drill a single hole in your walls, but also because he’s so confident in his
recommendation. You can’t help but like the guy.
He makes an appointment right there to come back for the installation.
Over the weekend, not only does he come back to do the installation, but he comes
back to do some maintenance that comes up a year later. He’s the one who personally
calls you you when there’s a recall on one of the sensors you bought. You know his
name, you recognize his voice on the phone, and his is one of few companies that
made it onto your holiday card list.
How can I get that same experience?
This kind of experience is the luxury of contracting premier alarm system monitoring in
metro Atlanta, GA today. It used to be that only the bigger companies had access to
the newest technologies, but with the major downward-pressure on manufacturing
costs, local companies like Advanced Security and Fire are even more capable of
leveraging the newest technologies for a greater spread of clients and budgets. And it’s
the local presence and expertise that make the difference.
With higher client volume and centralized warehouses for customer service, the larger
alarm monitoring companies have lost their edge as the most competitive technologies
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have become available to more than just the “elite few” with resources to invest in
premier systems.
Clients of local security providers know that they have a phone number to call. They
know they have someone, a neighbor, watching out for their safety.
How does safety monitoring even work with all these new technologies?
Alarm systems are the intruder, fire, leak or other type of sensors installed in your
home or business, and also include cameras and the control panel that gather data
from one another to go off if something isn’t right.
Alarm system monitoring is an additional service that you can get to notify emergency
services, and to give you an easy way to respond if an alarm sounds while you aren’t
home. The main purpose of an alarm is to notify the people inside the home or building
that something is up, but in almost all cases, you’ll want emergency responders to be
notified just as quickly as you are. This is particularly true in cases of burglary and fire.
When there are signals of a fire or break-in, any system with monitoring then
communicates those alerts to the monitoring security company.
This means that an unmonitored alarm still does benefit you, because it alerts you to
the problem if you’re in the house. However, it doesn’t dispatch emergency responders.
And there isn’t a designated route of communication for you to know what’s going on
when you’re away.
With 30% of break-ins occurring while someone is at home, even if you are home to
hear the alarm and call the police yourself, knowing that responders will be on their
way even if you’re unable to make the call gives us greater peace of mind.
Of course, there’s also the possibility of false alarms, too. That’s why the security
monitoring company tries to contact you first, right before sending first-responders. If
you don’t answer, then the responders are dispatched right away.
But wait—what if everything’s fine and I just can’t answer the phone?
Without a doubt, we are getting worse about answering our phones. Sure, we’ll answer
a text. And we’ll see that 100 th Facebook “like.” But incoming calls aren’t always
convenient to take—especially since our phones are ALWAYS on us, even when we’re
very truly “indisposed.”
Despite having cellphones on us at all time, there will be times where security alarms
are, in fact, false alarms that we already know are false—but we just can’t get to the
phone when the monitoring company calls.
This reality explains the increasing popularity of new feature of premier alarm system
monitoring. In metro Atlanta, GA, business and homeowners are using this service that
communicate the alarm to your phone through push notifications, or directly through
the monitoring company’s application. With the push of a button or the swipe of your
thumb, you can easily indicate what you need to happen (whether you ignore the alert
or need to send help). This is called “self-monitoring,” but don’t let that fool you, it’s only
“self” in that you take action without talking to anyone—you always need a 24/7
monitoring company.
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INSIDER TIP: So, the biggest thing you want is peace of mind. Right? Well, think about
this…for local considerations, there’s another important element to finding true, premier
alarm system monitoring in metro Atlanta, GA. The monitoring companies pick up other
signals from your control panel, too, like malfunction, low batter, and missed test
signals. So, when there is a problem, a local security provider is the company who will
be able to take care of you quicker, and get you up and running faster. Plus, you’ll be
working with someone you know—not a random sub-contractor that’s hired out by a
national monitor.
So, what's up with these maintenance signals?
System malfunction alerts, missed test signals and other signs of something wrong are
what REALLY keep you safe, because these flag problems that you won’t know about
until your system doesn’t work during an emergency.
These maintenance signals are important, not only for the functionality of your
monitor’s multiple routes of communication, but also for the overall working status of
your security sensors and control panel.
Maintenance signals are even more important in vacation and seasonal homes.
Whenever there’s any reason to suspect a problem, any reason to doubt the
system—even if it’s just that no one has been around to disarm it for a while—then the
monitoring company sends out a test signal.
Alarm panels can fail because of low battery, or even bad fuses or other troublesome
conditions. This maintenance testing is exactly what marks the best of all your options
in premier alarm system monitoring.
In metro Atlanta, GA, business and homeowners are looking around and wondering
what to do. Not only has there been an enormous market scramble for the best burglar
alarms, but new features like temperature sensors and leak detectors have become
even more relevant as these technologies have been expanded and improved upon.
This is what's happening with alarm competition these days…
Wireless camera systems were first introduced into the market in the mid-90s, and they
were pricey. Even today, they commonly remain more expensive than analog (or
“wired”) systems.
That said, these systems are now totally affordable for almost every property owner,
because prices overall have come down.
The costs of technology and tech production has dropped radically since the 1990s.
Despite the fact that these machines and systems are becoming more complex, today
we’ve created the designs, systems and material to get these products constructed
more efficiently than ever.
Do you remember how much computers use to cost?
Alarm systems are no different, which has put additional pressure on the market in
other ways. Monitoring companies have benefited from cheaper technologies, too,
meaning that their overhead is lower. And, much though companies are designed to
make money, less overhead gives a company the competitive edge to offer lower
prices that the “other guys” can’t beat. This has started a downward-diving trend
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between competing monitoring companies to attract those clients looking for the lowest
bid.
Additionally, because the hardware is so much cheaper than it was even 10 years ago,
this means that businesses and families who previously didn’t have access to the
systems are now able to afford them. But, without being able to afford the monitoring
contract, they’ll stick to unmonitored surveillance if the monitoring companies can’t give
them the right deal.
This is where the business acumen kicks in and comes back in the favor of the
consumer once again. Because monitoring companies all want a piece of this new
market who didn’t have security alarms before, new packages and pricing have been
introduced into the market so that whoever can afford a security system, can also
afford some form of security system monitoring.
This is an exciting time to be looking for alarm systems, and to be talking to companies
to learn about your options. Speaking to a local provider like Advanced Security and
Fire gives you the added benefit of talking to professionals who will personally take you
through the whole process, from consultation to installation and maintenance. And,
talking to the locals will also give you access to local insights that will keep you safest
based on what’s going on in the Atlanta metro area.
Now is the best time to get your premier alarm monitoring! Give us a call to learn more
about the options, and to get all the details you need to make the best choice for your
home or business.