How to find a reputable installation company

I feel your pain, Rich...

This is because one cannot even rely upon the State licensing authorities to provide timely and accurate information.

Consider this: Bay Alarm Company, of Pacheco CA, a CA corporation, claimed to be licensed, but, in fact, operated its unlicensed burglar/fire alarm business for over five years beginning in late October 2000, becoming licensed, only after complaints were filed, in December 2005.

Consider this: Apex Alarm LLC, out of Orem UT, a UT L.L.C. residential burglar alarm company, also claimed to be licensed in CA, but did not possess, and was unqualified to obtain, either of the required CA licenses.

Consider this: An unlicensed fire alarm company (name withheld) did not notify the Southland area CA fire department of the address where the fire sprinkler alarm system had activated, and a $$$ major loss occurred.

Consider this: Yet another burglary/fire alarm company (name withheld), with thousands of subscribers, has operated without either of the required licenses for several years in the San Francisco CA area, and is presently unable to obtain the required licenses.

Consider this: The examples above are only part of a lot longer list...

cam35pilot wrote:

Hmmmm.......

I was waiting to hear your solution for putting a stop to this unique occurence that only happens in the alarm trade.

In this trade the best way is to ask your friends neighbors ..... people and business owners who they use, and if they're satisfied. Look for alarm stickers and lawn signs and follow up on one or to common companies in your area. Interview them or ask them in for an estimate. Call in 4, 5, 6 companies. You'll pretty much be able to tell which one is telling you the truth and which isn't by the time you're done. There's no "clearinghouse" as far as I know who would guarantee that someone on their list would be good for you.

Not sure unlicensed operators happen only in the alarm trade; I suspect it happens in other licensed trades/professions as well.

Jim wrote:

What state are you located? If there are unscrupulous persons doing alarm work, it is not a reflection on the majority of professionals but the inability of state authorities to keep up. They're slammed just like building inspectors and fire marshals who are expected to cover large jurisdictions with no manpower.

The public also plays into this by shopping on the basis of price.

The regulatory agencies involved in fire and sprinklers are not the same agencies which watchdog residential burglar alarms.

For an apartment, you might consider doing it yourself since you're renting. What kind of equipment do you think you need? Give me a description of your layout and what floor you live on; I can easily spec it out for you.

Are you in a metro high crime area? I can find you a locksmith too.

Or give me your ZIP code and I'll give you a list of licensed reputable dealers.

All those other negative posts are useless.

In this trade the best way is to ask your friends neighbors ..... people and business owners who they use, and if they're satisfied. Look for alarm stickers and lawn signs and follow up on one or to common companies in your area. Interview them or ask them in for an estimate. Call in 4, 5, 6 companies. You'll pretty much be able to tell which one is telling you the truth and which isn't by the time you're done. There's no "clearinghouse" as far as I know who would guarantee that someone on their list would be good for you.

Good general advice. Find happy customers and join the group.

In my opinion...

So far as not having criminals working for them, I suppose an alarm company which installs "U.L. Grade Alarms" and has a U.L. certified monitoring center might have a better process of checking out their employees than others. (Since they would be installing higher security systems.) I think most alarm companies are careful who they hire though.

Note that most burglars are not very bright and prefer to NOT work. So most would not think of getting a job at an alarm company. Watch America's Dumbest Criminals. This is who you are dealing with mostly. Than any burglars who ARE intelligent are not going to be breaking into apartments typically. So not to worry...

So far as dealing with an honest alarm company which will not try to rip you off (and doing business with companies in general) - large corporations are more likely to squeeze every last nickel out of you and have you sign contracts which take you to the cleaners for years to come. (Read every single word in any contracts! Beware!) Small mom and pop companies tend to be more ethical.

Where in the UL standard does it forbid hiring an ex-felon to work in a central station or even as an alarm installer?

Being UL listed doesn't measn the alarm company installs only UL certificated alarms. They might do as little as 1% of their systems to UL standards and the rest could be "lick 'n' stick" nonsense.

True. Most burglars are drug and/or alcohol dependent and are only looking for enough to buy the next fix or bottle.

There's one guy who worked in sales for a competitor in CT. He would ask the usual questions about the client's needs, check the house and design a system. He also asked about the family's schedule -- when the kids come home from school, etc.

If the customer didn't buy he'd call back after a few days to ask if they'd made a selection. If not, he'd rob the house the next day.

*Then* he would call again after a day or two saying he'd read about a burglary "in the neighborhood" and was concerned for them. The guy was his company's top salesman until some cop figured it out and they set up a sting.

There seems to be a pretty much equal mix of good and bad companies. There does not appear to be a correlation between company size and honesty. The one area where there does seem to be a higher percentage of rotten apples is among the so-called "authorized dealer" programs.

Excellent advice.

Some are. Some aren't. This isn't intended as a slight against any particular alarm company or group of companies. The alarm industry, like any other business , has good and bad eggs.

"Robert L Bass" a écrit dans le message de news: V8CdnSM827zqCGDYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

I am sure that you know allot about this topic...

after all, being an ex-felon yourself,its something you kind of have to know...

It does not, however these alarm companies are more likely to do business with "certain" customers who are quite picky about how the alarm company screens their employees. So the alarm company might design their hiring practices to get the business of these few customers. But this is a good selling point for selling to *all* customers. "We do bla bla bla to screen our employees, etc. The other companies in town do not..."

Perhaps that's true but over the 24 years I ran a small alarm company I think there were at most two or three customers who asked if we were bonded. Although I didn't do banks, we had a number of jewelry stores, lots of city government clients and so forth.

I don't recall if anyone ever asked me how or even if we screened our employees. We were a small company though. I mainly hired people who were referred to me by other employees and sub-contractors.

They might be very careful, checking backgrounds, giving thorough training, etc. They might also simply hire amyone who walks in off the street, give them a few days' in-service training and turn them loose. I've seen both and that's from large, UL-listed firms as well as small, mom-and-pop outfits.

Agreed. It sounds good to the prospective client and that helps close a sale.

I'd leave out the dig on the competitors. That's a major turn-off to most customers. Just tell them how great you are. If they ask about another company tell them, "They're a competitor. I prefer to let them stand or fall on their own merits." Then continue with your presentation. I guaranty you will blow the bad-mouthers out of the water

99% of the time.

We will of course ignore the fact that most insurers of jewelry stores require UL Listed installations and monitoring (in Canada that's ULC) and that by your own admission your company wasn't certified to do either. As to Hartford's "City Government", I can't comment on their particular requirements. For Vancouver, and the surrounding environs, you can't even qualify to bid a "City Government" job without the requisite licensing, bonding, insurance and ULC certification.

I did that once. In Edmonton. A company I worked for hired a guy that was recommended by the manager of one of the distributors we used. We wound up dismissing him a few weeks later when he couldn't provide a clearance letter from the City Police Department. It's just plain

*stupid* for any security company not to screen their employees (or their sub-contractors). The very LAST THING I would want a competitor to be able to use against your company would be the fact that you're in the habit of hiring a person without performing your due diligence.