Metrodial Dazzles as Five Diamond Monitoring Center

This year’s CSAA Five Diamond Marketing Marvel award-winner was founded more than 35 years ago, but its approach to business and technology is pure 2013 – with an eye on what’s next. See how Metrodial’s professionalism and progressivity are dialing the firm into greater success.

How sweet it is. Metrodial owners Peter, Vita and Andrew Lowitt are savoring the sweet taste of victory after their monitoring company was named 2013’s CSAA Five Diamond Marketing Marvel Award winner. The sweet smell of success is nothing new for the Lowitts, whose commitment to protecting customers, dedication to the security industry and business acuity have allowed them to prosper for nearly four decades. How appropriate then that a company-branded chocolate bar is among its promotional items — symbolic of Metrodial’s marketing ingenuity.

“I have watched Metrodial grow their central station into one of the largest and most successful in the New York area,” says noted security industry attorney Dennis Stern. “This has been achieved in no small measure due to Peter and Andrew Lowitt’s hard work, dedication to detail and focus on offering their customers premium service.”

Metrodial became Five Diamond certified in 2008, five years after the program’s launch. The Central Station Alarm Association established the certification to differentiate the best CSAA companies within the monitoring industry. The designation serves as the security industry’s version of the Good Housekeeping Seal — a stamp of approval to instill consumers with buying confidence.

Qualifying providers must satisfy the requirements of five points of excellence: professional development and standardization of training for all central station operators; a commitment to random inspections and quality criteria standards by a nationally recognized testing laboratory; delivering a high level of customer service; and a pledge to reduce false dispatches. More than 150 operators have achieved Five Diamond status, which must be renewed annually.

To assure the program is leveraged to its full advantage, in partnership with SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION, the CSAA Five Diamond Marketing Marvel Award was established in 2012. The first recipient was Tallahassee, Fla.-based Redwire LLC, with Alarm Tech Central of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., named runner-up. This year’s finalist was Engineered Protection Systems (EPS) of Grand Rapids, Mich. (see sidebar).

Reviewed by an independent panel of judges, the Marketing Marvel Award:

  • Recognizes and honors firms that use their CSAA Five Diamond designation to better position themselves in the central station monitoring marketplace
  • Inspires other certified firms to market their Five Diamond advantage
  • Heightens awareness of the Five Diamond program throughout the industry
  • Elevates the profile of Five Diamond firms for their professionalism to mainstream media and the general public

Now that Metrodial has received its just dessert, it is time to reveal the firm’s recipe for success.

High Aspirations, High Achievements

Founded in 1977, Metrodial Corp. has grown to become the monitoring provider to more than 50,000 customers. Its UL-approved, state-of-the-art command center in Hicksville, N.Y., employs approximately 65 people. The facility handles a wide range of signal formats and is also on the cutting edge of technologies like personal emergency response systems (PERS), IP monitoring and video monitoring.

“One of our specialties is New York City Fire monitoring. We take pride in providing peace of mind to the nation’s largest city,” says Metrodial President and CEO Peter Lowitt, who also places a high value on industry involvement. “Establishing our presence in the industry while keeping informed and up to date with laws and regulations is extremely important to us.”

To that end, the company is a member of local and regional trade organizations that include the Metropolitan Burglar and Fire Alarm Association; Long Island Alarm Association; New York Fire Alarm Association; New York State Electronic Security Association; and New Jersey State Electronic Security Association. On a national level, Metrodial has risen to prominence within CSAA, where Peter Lowitt sits on the board of directors and promotes its agenda to AHJs, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and National Sheriff’s Association (NSA).

“CSAA is an industry leader in best practices. Being part of this group allows us to be best in class,” says Metrodial Vice President Andrew Lowitt, a former president and board member of the Long Island Alarm Association. “We strive to be the most professional in all aspects of the industry including monitoring, operations and false alarm reduction.”

Those aspirations are what drove the company to reach higher than mere CSAA membership to achieve the standard of excellence embodied by the Five Diamond certification. One of the core elements to the entire process is ensuring personnel are thoroughly trained, an undertaking CSAA goes to great lengths to facilitate.

“The education and training of our operators is one of our biggest drivers, and pursuing Five Diamond status assured us of being able to train our staff to the highest standards,” says Andrew Lowitt. “Coordinating and scheduling training courses while also handling the rigors of running a UL-approved command center is challenging, but there are many advantages to being Five Diamond certified.”

Those advantages can be fully realized by taking it all a step further to go beyond via promotion and marketing that enables the certification to serve as a competitive differentiator and trustworthy validation in the eyes of consumers, business owners, first responders, government officials, insurance and banking representatives, and more. This is the path tread upon by CSAA Five Diamond Marketing Marvels. 

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About the Author

Scott Goldfine Elite
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Scott Goldfine is Marketing Director with Elite Interactive Solutions, Inc. Prior to joining Elite, he served as Security Sales & Integration’s chief editor for about 25 years.

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