It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Vector Security had an easy time soliciting customer testimonials to help its cause in leading to Installer of the Year runner-up honors (large company).
The Warrendale, Pa.-headquartered company has been around for 45 years and as part of The Philadelphia Contributionship — whose founding dates all the way back to 1752 — Vector Security delivers security and automation services to more than 300,000 residences and businesses.
Among the glowing words used by a handful of customers in speaking about their Vector Security experience, the virtues are similarly extolled — “I was very happy and thankful”; “so courteous and professional”; “best customer service agent I’ve ever dealt with”; “took the extra mile”; “it was a true blessing to work with [the Vector employee]” and so on.
All that customer equity has added up to Vector topping $300 million in annual revenues in 2016, up from $256M the year before, including $15.4 million in RMR.
The company operates more than two dozen branch offices from New York to Texas in addition to running a National Service Center for National Accounts to comprehensively cover its vast clientele.
“We have a large focus on using technology to reduce our level of effort. We recently launched a new workflow management system for our National Accounts Division. We recently launched our new Dealer Portal, which streamlines and automates formerly paper-based and manual processes,” explains President and CEO Pam Petrow, who is also president of The Monitoring Association (formerly CSAA). “We are also implementing technology to reach our customers via text, email and auto notification. Recent programs have reduced our level of activity with a specific customer by over 50% providing better service to the customer and reducing our labor effort.”
The company has a dedicated IT team that evaluates each project and determines which provide the most significant benefit to either Vector’s customers or internal users, and it budgets for that and prioritizes accordingly, Petrow says.
Additionally, Vector’s online bill payment portal allows customers to pay their bills, check account balances and update their payment information with ease, which reduces traffic into the branches and allows for a more secure method of account management for the customer, notes Vice President of Marketing Art Miller.
Not only that, but Vector operates an e-Commerce store that enables consumers to go online and select a security package, add devices and have the system professionally installed.
The online store lets a consumer receive a quote, accept the quote and then go through the online four-step process which includes credit screen, address validation, e-Contracting and installation date request, Miller explains, adding that customers have vouched for it as a “simple and easy process” and “extremely user friendly.”
In addition to the bill payment portal and e-Commerce store, Vector is proud of its online “Knowledge Center” that customers can go to for answers to frequently asked questions and common concerns, says Miller.
From a central resource, customers can to view how-to videos for using their control panels, mobile solutions, etc., troubleshoot alarms, manage their account, and much more.
Vector Security invests in its personnel as much as it does its customers.
“Employee retention and engagement are very important components of our company philosophy. We believe that employees who are engaged and experienced will deliver the highest service levels to our customers,” says Petrow. “Including high turnover areas like central station operators and sales, Vector Security is proud to boast an average tenure of 7.89 years.”
Some examples of how Vector keeps employees motivated and fulfilled, she notes, include:
- Operations President’s Inner Circle recognizes service and installation personnel; individuals receive a $2,000 travel voucher and five additional paid vacation days.
- Sales President’s Inner Circle rewards top sales reps with a week-long, all expenses paid vacation, with families invited as well.
- Fast-forward. Employees give a shout out to each other via our internal web platform.
- “One Vector” Program. Employees earn handwritten notes from their teammates when they exemplify any of the company’s core values.
Vector’s nature of giving extends to the community as well, where at the corporate level it’s supporters of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and The Salvation Army; and at the branch level is involved in the ALS Foundation, Girl & Boy Scouts, firefighters and local law enforcement agencies, churches, schools and community sports teams, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Adopt-A- Highway, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, American Heart Association, breast cancer awareness, SPCA, Toys for Tots, food drives, school supply drives, marathons, neighborhood watch groups, and more.
BEST OF THE BEST: Check out the rest of the winners and runners-up here!
