What Should You Watch Out For, When Dealing With A Security Salesman?
4.) “We do training for most guards in San Diego County, even guards from other companies…”
These could very well be legitimate claims about the company they represent however, before taking them at their word, it would be prudent to take a second look.
1.) “We can offer a lower price AND MORE patrols than the other guys…”
Offering a lower price for more patrols is actually pretty standard in this industry. But, will the company actually follow through with what they say they will do? The company is obviously in business to make money and, if they can’t be profitable for the number of patrols they are claiming they will do, they won’t be able to sustain that service and ultimately you end up paying. They will continue to charge you the same rate for a decreased amount of work. Because of this ACCOUNTABILITY is key, and the company should offer you some type of accountability system, free of charge, to allow for 100% transparency into the service.
2.) “We offer a 24 hour dispatch…”
Just because the company offers you a 24 hour DISPATCH, doesn’t always mean they offer 24 hr RESPONSE. This is a disingenuous way of getting your business by misleading you, the potential client, into thinking that your residents can call the patrol service and a guard will respond to the problem. But remember, a dispatch is essentially, just a call center. If call RESPONSE is only available during contracted hours. Some companies will offer this knowing that if a call comes in someone will answer will log the call and but not respond until hours later during the contracted time frame.
3.) “Are you sure you want to go into business with that company? Just Google them and see what pops up…”
If “Company A” isn’t highlighting the positive attributes of the service they provide and is only targeting negative attributes of “Company B”, “Company A” most likely doesn’t have much more to offer you. If they really had a quality service, they would talk about how high their standards are and how much better they are than ALL companies, not just the bad ones. Make sure the company you choose to do business with can not only offer you something better than the low quality service you’ve already experienced, but can offer you a service that also reaches and/or exceeds your HIGH STANDARDS.
4.) “We do training for most guards in San Diego County, even guards from other companies…
“There are two types of training in the security industry, internal and external. Internal training, is training that the company provides the guards currently employed with the company. External training, are the classes the company provides anyone who comes to the office, pays their fee, sits through the class, and gets a certificate. If the company claims to train guards from other companies, they could quite possibly, be talking about the state mandated training required of anyone who wishes to work as a security guard in the State of California and every single class is exactly the same. There is literally no difference of proprietary value from one company’s guard card class to another. Make sure the company ALSO provides internal training to it’s current work force that teaches them things like:
- Field Interviewing
- Field Contacting
- Officer Safety
- Customer Service, etc.
All in all, you should always do a little research before choosing a company. Ask questions, check references and if something doesn’t seem right, bring it up. You will always be able to make a more educated decision with more information.