Buyers beware - Some sellers don't care!

Normally my blogs are just about various forms of electronic security and I certainly will bring this post around to that. However, I thought it was important to focus on a different kind of criminal that many in society have just accepted – the dishonest sales person. When I consult with potential clients, I don’t just analyze their security needs but also learn about who they are, how they are and good or bad experiences and it amazes me how some people will just share their personal mishap stories and it made me think of righting this blog (and of course tying it to security). Recently, one customer told me of an unfortunate situation at a furniture store. She told the sales person she had a bad back from a car accident and needed a firm and supportive mattress. He pushed her towards one that felt ok at the store but, once she had it at home, it was the opposite of what she requested. She spent $3000 for this and when she spoke to a manager, they wouldn’t exchange and the manager actually admitted that the sales person probably pushed that mattress because that was part of a contest. Another customer showed me an issue they were dealing with. They had a new tile floor installed and whoever did it did not support it with the proper subfloor so they were experiencing cracking all over the place. This is just a small sampling of sales people that sold what they wanted to sell to get paid what they wanted to get paid instead of properly listening to the customer and selling them what they could truly need and benefit from. This couldn’t be more important than when you are choosing the company to help you secure your home or business. Have they been in the industry for many years or just get hired last week? Do they offer a verifiable warranty or will you end up with a tail light warranty? Is the system designed to meet all of your needs and concerns or just so they can do a quick installation, get a quick commission and move on? Are the products they use really what they say they are? Especially when it comes to security cameras, many times the products are made in remote foreign countries where the specifications on the box don’t necessarily have to be true because they are not governed. You then buy something that should be a high definition camera and instead you have a view that looks like how someone who has glaucoma would see. Does the person who is designing your system really know the product, the capabilities and do they know how to properly design what you need or are they selling you some prepackaged system that may not meet your needs and could cost you more later? All of these questions are extremely important ones to ask when you are choosing a security professional. I will end with a quick story that we were recently involved with that exemplifies what I have just said. In Bucks County, there was a well-known coffee stop that got robbed at gun point later at night. The Franchise owner bought the cameras that the parent company told them to get and got them from the company that the parent company told them to buy from. When the franchise owner went to the video, it was such low quality video that none of it was able to be used for any form of identification. Luckily, our company deals with the property manager and had cameras throughout the exterior of the strip mall and parking lot and we designed the system with the right quality resolution cameras. The property manager was able to take video off, give it to the police, the police posted those videos and pictures online and on the nose and it helped identify and catch those criminals. It goes to show you – one business bought the wrong product and it did them no good. The other bought the right one and it helped them, the police and the residents and businesses in the area. Please contact me for any additional information at 215-264-4234, email me at cfnydick@verizon.net or visit our website at www.thesecurityguyusa.com. Stay safe out there everyone!