Industry Focus
Security Begins at Home
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Sep 01, 2015
The majority of our editorial efforts focus on
commercial and industrial security. We took a
small turn a couple years ago to add focus on
the dealer and integrator, and while we don’t talk too
much about home security, it certainly is of interest.
Every integrator I have talked with begins our
conversation by letting me know about commercial
installations; however, they all have experience to
some degree with home security.
There are a few moving parts to home security
that have been fascinating to me the past 10 years.
A decade ago I built a new home, and my experience
with home security started only then. The first time
I walked from the garage to the house, I noticed an
alarm pad.
It was then that I determined I wanted more security
than this control pad had to offer. Thanks to
many friends and associates in the industry, I feel like
my home is as secure as it could possibly be. I also
relied on a few experts in the home security field to
lend their guidance.
Protection 1 is the nation’s largest full-service security
company, including residential protection. Here
is what Tim Whall told me about his company’s plan.
“At Protection 1 (P1), it is about the customer experience—
from sales to installation to service.”
For the do-it-yourselfer, Protection 1 has a plan in
place where a homeowner can install their own security
system but also activate and receive 24/7 monitoring
services. Whall said this allowed the company to dip
“more oars in the water, finding out what was comfortable
for P1 and allow them to grab more customers.”
Home security is rather unique in that many residential
customers are contacted by a company representative
at their own front door. Some don’t use
this method.
In an article that we published in January, author
Robert Ogle (Monitronics) made reference to one of
their dealers, Envision Security. Envision tried knocking
on doors, but that wasn’t the way that worked
best for them. While Darryl Johnson, president and
founder holds his strategy close to the vest, one thing
is for sure: he promotes that the customer is king,
and a positive customer experience right from the beginning.
“If the customer needs service, you’ll move
mountains to take care of them,” he said.
Ogle also had this to say about home security and
monitoring. “If there’s any doubt about the value of
live monitoring as part of an effective home security
system, consider a self-monitored system that sends
an alert only to the homeowner. What happens when
they’re in an important business presentation and their
smartphone alerts them that their house is on fire?”
Precious minutes are wasted while they try to figure
out what is going on. When minutes matter, that is
when a quick reaction by a central station becomes so
important. No one wants a front-row seat while their
house is burning, or for that matter, being burgled.
Central station monitoring doesn’t have a secret
recipe, according to Darin Anderson, vice president
for monitoring at Monitronics. He said it is a matter
of finding good people, and I would submit, people
who care about the families that they serve.
Anderson said he is not looking for someone who
is robotic but rather someone who is smart and can
stay focused. I agree. If something happens with my
home security system, I want someone who is smart
enough to stay focused to work through the issues.
When I think of residential security, my first
thought is having a sign in the front flower bed that
indicates that I am a subscriber to security, and here
is my representative just in case you were wondering.
Home security has been and will continue to be the
benefactor of the technology used in the commercial
and industrial space, which, in turn, means my home
is more secure today than it was yesterday.
This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Security Today.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.