It is very cheaply made and can be bypassed very easily. As a customer service representative I deal with more complaints about door sensors falling off, motion detectors going off for no valid reason and the system not arming. 90% of the product sold to customers is refurbished and sent out as new. It's very tiresome to hear irate customers calling in and not be able to talk to someone in the technical support staff. Why? Because at any given time there maybe 3 or 4 people dealing with all of Canada's and the US's problems. So as a customer service rep, we generate a service ticket and tell the customers someone from service will call you back. People call back sometimes up to 2 weeks later saying that no-one from service called them back therefore having customer service deal with many irrate customers demanding service now. People are paying for a functional alarm not for a piece of trash that keeps breaking down. People then try to get out of their contracts because of constant problems only to find out that "Oh well that's to bad your locked into a contract." People beware the company does not like law suits or people going to the Better Business Beaureu. So rather then getting upset with the Alarm Force Rep. Don't just threaten to go the the BBB follow up with it and they will let you out of your contact. They don't want to ruin there reputation with BBB.
As for the Central Station, again there are only 4 to 5 people covering active alarms. So when you think it's a good idea to get Two-way, it's not. It may take up to 10 minutes before you get a response on the two-way from someone in central station. In the meantime you could be dead or your contents stolen from your home thus defeating the purpose of a two-way system. I strongly recommend you consider another company. As a employee insider they are very un-organized and they scam people when signing work orders to get them to commit for another 4 years without even advising them. They have no compassion for people who become disabled, the elderly, people who have lost there jobs or even people who run into hard times. They protend to give you the best for your money but in the end you are a number, not a customer. Just to inform you that they are losing at least 100 to 150 customers a day because people are becoming wiser that this company is a joke. THINKING ALARM FORCE THINK AGAIN
Showing posts with label security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label security. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Sunday, December 2, 2007
The Beaver made me do it – Security Alarm Systems and Telecom Companies
I can’t really say I blame them, in a business model; alarm monitoring is very much like cell phone service. There is however one major difference, a faulty cell phone merely needs to be brought into the local sales office for replacement. When it comes to a security system, a higher level of service is required… after all you are dealing with the safety of your home and family.
The phone companies will argue, the system is wireless and a failing device can easily be pulled from the wall and brought in for replacement… just like a cell phone? Seriously now, is that really effective home security?
It is all about the contract - This is by no means a new venture, cable companies and local phone companies have all ventured into the home security realm. Tempted by fast profits and re-occurring revenues, how can one argue. The thing is, pretty much every one of the previous companies has sold all their accounts to a third party, usually a foreign Based Company with cheap out of country monitoring. To a company less concerned with maintaining a loyal and happy client base, a monitoring account is worth anywhere from $ 600 to $ 900 on the open market. These large monitoring stations are often located out of the country where local regulations are less strict when it comes to the employee’s they hire. I am by no means saying all monitoring stations operate in this manner; in fact there are plenty of local monitoring stations within the Vancouver area who are highly regulated by the Attorney Generals Department of British Columbia.
So before you let yourself be tempted by the Beaver and their cute marketing techniques, think about how you want to be treated… as a commodity… or a person? Remember, although cute on the outside, beavers have sharp teeth. Has anyone ever truly been happy with the level of service from their cell phone company?
The phone companies will argue, the system is wireless and a failing device can easily be pulled from the wall and brought in for replacement… just like a cell phone? Seriously now, is that really effective home security?
It is all about the contract - This is by no means a new venture, cable companies and local phone companies have all ventured into the home security realm. Tempted by fast profits and re-occurring revenues, how can one argue. The thing is, pretty much every one of the previous companies has sold all their accounts to a third party, usually a foreign Based Company with cheap out of country monitoring. To a company less concerned with maintaining a loyal and happy client base, a monitoring account is worth anywhere from $ 600 to $ 900 on the open market. These large monitoring stations are often located out of the country where local regulations are less strict when it comes to the employee’s they hire. I am by no means saying all monitoring stations operate in this manner; in fact there are plenty of local monitoring stations within the Vancouver area who are highly regulated by the Attorney Generals Department of British Columbia.
So before you let yourself be tempted by the Beaver and their cute marketing techniques, think about how you want to be treated… as a commodity… or a person? Remember, although cute on the outside, beavers have sharp teeth. Has anyone ever truly been happy with the level of service from their cell phone company?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
