Why PSG?
EXPERIENCE – Most technical trades only have to understand how to install service and repair their systems. In the case of alarm installers they must have a pretty good understanding of electronic circuits, construction framing techniques and some computer science, etc. but we must also understand various local, state and national laws, codes and standards. So far we have only discussed the easy part. What no trade technicians, other than us, are confronted with are intelligent human beings trying to circumvent and destroy their work. This is where our “street” experience sets us apart. In 1976 while an active police officer I started installing alarm systems off shift while investigating burglaries during shift. A couple of years later I went full time in the security business and now that represents nearly 40 years of experience. In fact we will send no technician by himself to your site with less than 15 years’ experience.
VETERANS – As of the writing of this page (9-1-17) – all technicians dispatched out to your house/business are honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Each one received at least some of his training in the physics of electricity while in the service.
INTEGRITY – Besides our military indoctrination regarding reliability and honesty a great deal of effort is placed in making employees understand how to act when on a customer’s site.
ATTENTATIVENESS – There is no better way to make an employee have a real interest in a customer than to make them a shareholder in the company. If the company does well the employee does well. New employees are told they have between five and ten years to gain shares in the company. They gain those shares by proving to us they are of the caliber we bring on board permanently.
REAL SECURITY – Our mission is to walk out of your site feeling confident that you will suffer no significant loss of property or injuries from intruders. It is not a mission of speed or simply getting something on line in your house or business so we can start a recurring revenue stream? We take the successful operation of our systems very personally.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE WRONG COMPANY
- If they show up to install your system in an unmarked vehicle.
(In New Jersey all installation vehicles are required to display their name, address, & license number on the truck)
- If they try to sell you a system over the phone without ever visiting your house.
(These folks are marketers – not electronic security specialists)
(A person who has valuables such as collector items, expensive jewelry, guns, valuable toys, etc. might need more security than their neighbor).
(For a security company giving a price over the phone is usually a disaster – the customer always forgets to tell you things you should know before designing his system.)
- If they ask you for names of your neighbors so that they may solicit them as well.
(They are primarily a marketing company not a technical security company)
(Do your neighbors really want to be harassed by a bunch of unsolicited high pressure salesman?)
- If you ask them where they are located and they say “All over the country” or are otherwise evasive.
(That probably means they have a boiler room operation of hundreds of marketers sitting somewhere in Utah and they subcontract your work to companies who are jobbers bent on installing “Cookie cutter” systems quickly and on the cheap.)
- If after signing their contract they leave your house without leaving the following minimal documents they have broken the law in New Jersey:
- A copy of the contract you signed: (They are required to do this and you have 3 days to rescind on any contract signed in your home, not necessarily contracts signed in your business if it is not part of your home.
- “Three Day Right of Rescission” or it is sometimes referred to as “Notice of Cancellation” (They should keep one copy and two copies for you, one for your records and one to send in.)
- A Written Receipt for any up front funds given to them
(This is not required if your contract includes the same information.)
- If they are in their late teens or early 20s.
(When you were that age, could you do the job you do today with the same quality? It is not a matter of actual age or even formal training but rather a matter of knowledge & skill sets that come with years of experience outwitting those who are trying to defeat your efforts.)
In New Jersey all of their “Form” documents must by law have their business name, address, and phone number on them. If they say that “We don’t need a contract” you should really start thinking “I need a contract”. Unless they are self-insured (only very large companies) most liability carriers will not insure them if they are not using a contract. Some large national marketers do not require a contract because they only sell equipment and push the liability for the installation off on their sub-contractor.