Selecting a Central Station—Are You Sending and Receiving the Right Signals?

What are reasonable expectations for a dealer to bring into his or her partnership with a contract central monitoring station? Mitigating long-term costs, ensuring credibility, meeting customer needs, backing up signals, training personnel and adapting to new technology are not only reasonable, but essential.

Does the Central Station Monitor New Technology?

The days of the copper wire ring, down circuits, direct connect systems and the American District Telegraph Co. are behind us. We are in an era of rapid and dramatic change. Cellular phones, Internet access, home entertainment, integrated systems, home automation, structured wiring, biometric access, GPS and digital video verification are upon us.  As a dealer, you are learning these technologies and learning how to sell and service them at the customer level. Where monitoring is expected in any form or format, it is important to know that your central station either already does or will develop such capability.  You are in business as a career and you deserve to know if the central station can assist you in reaching your business objectives. There should be an information-sharing mechanism, such as seminars, Internet distance training, manuals, CD-ROMs or even trainers available for presentations at the dealer’s premises to facilitate information transfer. 

Strive to Form a Mutually Rewarding Partnership

When it’s all said and done, the bottom line is that you must clearly understand your customers, how and what you sold them, their service expectations, and then determine which central station comes closest to meeting all of your needs. Then make the commitment to work with and support the central station while they deliver for you.  In a successful business relationship the value is beyond price, but when it’s not working, no cost is too great to resolve satisfactorily.   Recognizing the criticality of central station selection and educating yourself ab

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