Guardian Proves Worthy of Continued False Alarm Reduction Praise
Guardian Protection notched a combined residential and commercial alarm factor of .42 on its customer base of nearly 300,000, earning it a PDQ Award runner-up honor.
Guardian Protection is building a dynasty where it comes to false alarm reduction, management and dispatches. Not resting on the laurels of winning the PDQ Award for its 2018 accomplishments, the Warrendale, Pa.-head-quartered company again threw its hat into the ring on the basis of its 2019 merits — and might have repeated the feat if not for a rule barring consecutive winners.
Guardian notched a combined residential and commercial alarm factor of .42 on its customer base of nearly 300,000 to settle for PDQ runner-up status. Guardian Protection VP Care & Monitoring Operations Jason Bradley shares more below.
How has your program evolved?
Jason Bradley: We didn’t start with a physical numeric projection to reduce our dispatch rate to “X”; instead we collaborated internally to bring to the table ideas that specifically would have a beneficial impact to false alarm reduction. As we started amalgamating these ideas and placing an actionable plan around them, we witnessed the benefits.
What role do standards and training play in successful alarm management?
Bradley: Without the standards and best practices advanced by SIAC, ESA, TMA and NTS monitoring centers would be left to develop them on their own, and the associated costs and complexity wouldn’t be sustainable for the majority of companies. The result would be an industry out of sync with the problems facing AHJs and law enforcement today, and not evolving to meet customers’ needs for emergency response.
The latter is at the core of why we’re here, so the standards and practices driven by these organizations are critical and a lifeline to our survival as an industry. So important to us are these standards and practices that during this past year Guardian’s internal resources were provided pro bono to TMA to help build an entirely new online training program, TMA Level II Operator training.
This module will help create advanced and knowledgeable monitoring agents throughout our industry, even those of our competitors. Guardian was also one of the first financial supporters of TMA’s ASAP program, helping to establish the funding to develop and bring to fruition this tremendous platform to PSAPs and industry partners alike.
What are some recent best practices?
Bradley: We allow the customer a customizable contact list to enable the ability to add more contacts prior to the notification of authorities, further lowering accidental dispatches by means of additional verification. On top of that and all of our previously detailed best practices, two-way voice is offered as a form of audio verification and helps connect the monitoring center to occupants of the protected home or business.
What are some new operations wrinkles?
Bradley: Our sales reps encourage our customers to inform us of vacation plans so we may proactively partner with them to update their emergency contact lists and temporary dispatch instructions while away. When speaking with prospects, our sales reps also promote the benefit of our two TMA Five Diamond monitoring centers, both with UL, FM and IQ listings. Over at our customer care department, a pro-active outbound touchpoint is made when a customer experiences their first alarm activation to ensure they are confident with system use and do not require additional education or assistance. This interaction is also allows us to ensure the customer is satisfied with the response of the monitoring center.
If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!
About the Author
Scott Goldfine
Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].
Related Content
Security Is Our Business, Too
For professionals who recommend, buy and install all types of electronic security equipment, a free subscription to Commercial Integrator + Security Sales & Integration is like having a consultant on call. You’ll find an ideal balance of technology and business coverage, with installation tips and techniques for products and updates on how to add to your bottom line.
A FREE subscription to the top resource for security and integration industry will prove to be invaluable.
