Community Spotlight-

ABS Alarm Company

A commercial and residential alarm company in Tracy.

You have spent the evening at the movies with the children.  You start to unlock the front door only to find it was not locked.  You're baffled because you remember locking the door as you left.  The mystery becomes clear as the door is opened and you see your belongings strewn all over the floor.  You feel violated as you call the police to make a report.  This scene, or one like it, is played out an average of more than once each day in in Tracy.

   All Brands Security, which is more commonly known as ABS Alarm Company, is a local company providing residential and commercial alarm systems and monitoring services to help prevent people from loosing their valuable belongings to an intruder.

   Founded about five years ago by Doug and Janet Anderson, All Brands Security Alarm Company took its name from the fact that they can work with nearly all brands of security equipment to allow customers to use existing alarm equipment when they change to ABS. 

   Doug had worked for a company in the Silicon Valley, but the company was bought by a large national company and it was not long before Doug became uncomfortable with the new management style.  He decided to leave the comfort of a large corporation and build his own alarm company.  Doug had provided such good service that many of his customers followed him to his new company. 

   Janet kept her job with Corporate America and was able to pay the bills while Doug worked to build the business.  Things were difficult at first, but those first customers who came over helped ease the burden of getting the ball rolling. 

   Janet feels the biggest change in their lives is in not having any days off or vacations.  She finally quit her corporate job to began managing the home office on a full-time basis as they continue to grow the company. 

  Their biggest challenge has been in trying to start a new alarm business in a community where established companies have been around for a while.  Persistence has been the key to building the business here and Janet reports that many companies prefer to do business with another local company as it allows them a more personal form of service.

      Doug and Janet have focused on delivering personal customer service as a means of differentiating themselves from the competition.  Many of their customer management methods and product offerings reflect that orientation.

   With their focus on personalized customer service, ABS does not do any  advertising other than the yellow pages.  They prefer to rely on the word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied customers.  Janet says they know of no customers who have left ABS and switched to another alarm company.

   Spending some time with Janet was educational and I learned a lot about the practices of some companies.  I learned that some alarm companies offer free installation or equipment, but those costs are simply added to the monthly price of the monitoring service and paid out over the life of the contract.

   Contracts are another problem area in the alarm business, because some companies have special clauses in their contracts that make them to automatically renew if the customer forgets to cancel the agreement thirty days in advance. 

   One questionable practice is to convince people to replace their alarm monitoring equipment with that of the new alarm company when it isn't needed.  Another questionable practice is for companies to use lock-out codes in their equipment to prevent a customer from using equipment they have already purchased when they move to another company.

   These practices by the big companies seem intended to prevent people from switching their service from one company to another.  ABS ties to use any existing equipment or wiring the customer might have in order to save them some money on the installation costs.

   ABS also allows a customer to pay out their installation costs through a contract with a slightly higher monitoring rate, but they allow the customer to lower the rate or to switch to a month-by-month service when the contract is complete.

   If the customer has their own equipment or paid separately for the installation, ABS will allow them to purchase their service on a month-by-month basis or allow a discount.  These plans seem intended to allow the customer more choice of providers, which places more emphasis on providing excellent customer services to keep the customer rather than using long-term or catchy contracts.

   Although ABS Alarm company is located in Tracy, they contract the monitoring to a company located in San Jose.   This allows them to share the costs of the central station with other alarm companies in order to be more competitive with the larger companies.

   Crime and burglary rates are rising and Janet says they feel good about providing a service that can do something to provide more peace of mind to their customers when they are away from home.  She reports it is very rewarding to learn that a burglary has been stopped by one of their alarm systems.  Although it is rewarding to know that a burglary was stopped, Janet prefers to think their alarms have caused burglars to keep walking and pick another target.

   Janet also reports it's very disheartening when they receive a call asking about signing up for an alarm service after the caller has lost irreplaceable valuables.   She likes to point out that most people can get a discount on their home insurance premiums just by installing an alarm.  Financing is also available for large alarm installations.  She would prefer to install an alarm system before the crime has occurred.

      Although potential customers receive many suggestions for securing their valuables, Janet recommends alarming all doors and windows as an absolute minimum.  She reports that motion detectors are also helpful in detecting when someone has entered the home if they have gotten past the window detectors.  One burglary in Tracy involved a burglar entering an unalarmed store and tunneling through the wall to the alarmed business.  The motion detector sounded the alarm as they came through the wall. 

   False alarms have plagued the alarm industry, but Janet says false alarms caused by equipment problems are very rare.  She cites statistics that show that most false alarms are caused by people not understanding the equipment, procedures, or letting other people stay in the home.  Her advice is to listen carefully to the training on the equipment and to practice the use of the system.

   Will an alarm system prevent a burglary?  Not always.  Although most burglars will move on to an unalarmed home or business, some will boldly attempt to take things if the value of the items in the building justify the risk.  The alarm may get the police to the scene before the burglar has reached his objective.  It is best if the building owner uses other methods, such as safes, to slow the burglar and keep them on the premises until the police arrive.

For more information on ABS Alarm services,  you may contact them at: (209) 835-6003 or visit them at their web site at:  ABS Alarm Company.

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