Choosing Your Knight Protector

In the alarm industry there are just a few manufacturers of alarm equipment that all of the hundreds of alarm companies use, so the equipment from one company to the next is pretty much the same. Monitoring facilities of reputable companies should be listed or rated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Any low voltage electrician should be able to run wires or program a wireless alarm, as there is really no secret there. The real difference comes in sales and service. Sales people should be adequately trained, not only in the art of “closing” the sale, but how to best protect a business or family based on individual, specific threats and anxieties. Service should be prompt. Call backs should be timely and service calls should be few and far between.

Another place where you find disparity between companies is their purchase policy. Some companies only lease equipment, requiring contracts that state that you will never own the equipment.  Other companies will sell the equipment to you and still require a contract for monitoring.  Then there are companies that charge the fair installation price for the equipment and will monitor your system on a month to month basis.  Pay as you go or pay to play, whatever you call it.  The latter method ensures that you will get prompt service.  It is logical that if a company fails to perform, you should be allowed to fire them without penalty.
 
In closing, I urge caution when dealing with companies who have as many attorneys working for their collections department as they have sales people working in their sales department.