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.