Mixing it Up on the Golf Course

New York integrator protects golfers and residents

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• Jan 01, 2014

It doesn’t matter whether he is protecting high-rise apartment residents from an unwanted delivery person or mixing it up on the golf course by ensuring that people’s favorite course is fully protected, Levy Acs, president and founder of AISG Security, is all about security.

From the company’s offices in College Park, N.Y., a staff of 12 provides around-the-clock coverage at various door entrances that numerous people call home. The staff uses a virtual concierge product that ensures they are able to see who is standing at the door, and talk to them, if and when that person rings the bell for entrance.

“We see people come up to the door and feel that it is locked, and we watch them walk away,” Acs said. “When a package delivery comes, we track that person from the front door to the storage room, and then back out the front door. Over a period of time, our operators have come to know the delivery people, but that also means we’re very vigilant at providing security at the front door. This is all about providing security to the residents.”

The concierge service works rather simply at the all-residential building. The delivery person rings a bell which notifies an AISG operator, who has a list of approved people. All are given a password for entry, but if someone fails to provide the proper password, they are not given access.

Once allowed inside, all eyes—or at least a camera or two—show where that person is going. If a person fails to stay within a certain pathway or direction toward a package room, an alarm will sound. The operator, who stays with the delivery person virtually, can direct them on where they need to go or call for law enforcement backup, if needed.

“It is critical that our operators develop a relationship with the delivery people,” Acs said. “In fact, we’re very fortunate because we have very little turnover in our employees. In our number of years in business, we have only lost two people, and both were working on their doctorate degrees at the time.”

Acs said that he is fortunate to have a very stable business model, because workers who hop from job to job cause damage, and that is the last thing wanted in building partnerships with clients.

The service works in much the same manner for the residents. They ring the bell for entrance, and the monitoring center employee matches the person at the “front door” with an image that is kept on file.

“This is a very personal service we offer the tenants,” said Rhani Ramotar, a virtual concierge employee at AISG. “The tenants are very good to work with. Sometimes there can be some stress at the door, but the tenants are generally very calm as we handle the moments prior to allowing them entrance. The same is true with delivery people. We see the same people every day; and over the phone, I have developed very friendly relationships.”

Virtual concierge is an up close and personal business to AISG staff who never miss a call for assistance and are often asked to provide security in watching the perimeter of a building, the lobby and the elevators in the security building. Though they are a New York-based company, their clients are from every region in the United States. Acs said that they have clients in Philadelphia, California and Miami, so location makes no difference.

In fact, the growth of offering security in various verticals means that AISG has opened a new office in Los Angeles, which is mostly an engineering team focused on perimeter security at various solar energy ranches in that state. The company also focuses on other verticals to provide security for retail, gaming, education and New York City, which seems to be a vertical all on its own.

“We really want to expand in New York,” Acs said. “Competition is fierce in New York because there is a competitor in the business within a 10-block radius; however, one of our competitors offices next door to us.”

Next door to AISG is integrator AES Corp., who does a wealth of business locally but also is not a true competitor. That may change as business in The Big Apple heats up.

Acs is planning an aggressive campaign during 2014, but then, what integrator and security distributor isn’t planning to increase business? Acs is getting involved in the golf course business with one of the biggest names in the financial world…Donald Trump.

Trump has enlisted security help and advice from AISG as he retools three courses of note, including Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla., Doral Golf Resort in Miami and much closer to home, Ferry Point Golf course in New York City.

“Our goal is to secure the perimeter of each course,” Acs said. “The goal is to stop people from riding their ATVs on the course and keep them from tearing it up.”

Acs is diversifying his business model some, as he is best known for his perimeter security work in Arizona and California at several solar energy farms. He takes each vertical seriously by hiring the right people who have experience in that particular industry. Acs recognizes that people who know the industry make all the difference in the world.

“We find that most of our work comes by word of mouth and positive recommendations,” Acs said.

His list of verticals includes retail, where his team has taken charge of the security integration at Bed, Bath and Beyond as well as Burlington Coat Factory. His crew also dabbles in the casino security business, where he has opened a DVR repair shop, known as DVR Doctors, in the New York offices, promising a 24-hour turn around on repairs.

It seems like an ambitious and busy schedule, but as Acs closes out his list of responsibilities, “We’re in the business of we have to be bothered to be successful.”

This article originally appeared in the January 2014 issue of Security Today.