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comment on vehicle advertising
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Ken,
I’m a little slow in responding, but in regards to the question on October 15, 2013 about advertising on vehicles, here is my response.
I have been in the alarm, and locksmithing business for over 30 years now. Advertising on our vehicles has been the best, and cheapest advertising we have ever done. I’ll bet that at least 25 – 30 percent of our business has been from people seeing our vans fully decorated with lettering. I have been at many commercial job sites working and have had people come up and inquire about our services. I have acquired a new customer right then and there, all because they saw the advertising on our vehicle.
As far as people targeting us and our vehicles, it has never happened yet. But I can tell you that your drivers need to be on their best behavior when driving. People will call and complain about the silliest things with our drivers. Things like speeding, not using turn signals, road rage, etc. are probably the biggest complaints. Drivers need to just obey the rules of the road, and remember that everyone has a bad day every now and then. And if someone is having a bad day, they will take it out on the nearest marked vehicle so that they can air their frustrations.
Just remember with your drivers that there are 2 sides to every story. Don’t ream out your drivers every time you receive a complaint. Talk to them behind closed doors and get their side of the story, then discuss how to take care of the problem for the next time something might happen.
We drive mainly Chevy Astro vans and have them striped and lettered extensively. It is well worth it to have a sign company work something up nice and have them do it professionally. Just having a name and phone number on your vehicles doesn’t make it stand out and get peoples attention. On the locksmith side of our business, there is actually an annual competition across the nation to see who has the best advertised vehicles. Take that into consideration when creating your designs.
Hope this helps.
Thanks, and hope everyone has a great day.
Jim Gale - Owner
Keyman Security, LLC
Olathe, CO
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Response - thanks for contributing and sharing your knowledge and experience. Everyone is welcome to participate !!
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Question - E-Signatures - changing contract
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Ken,
We are going to start using E Signature for the electronic signing of our contacts and our third party central station. I am wondering about the legalities of having the customer sign a monitoring contract with no zone information and then adding the zone information afterwards? When the salesman sells the job we have the customers sign the all in one and our central stations contract. So when they sign there is no zone 1 fire zone 2 front door .....so basically we are adding the information on to a contract that is already signed?
Have a Great Day!
Michael A. Ash
Garden State Fire & Security
Aberdeen, NJ
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Answer
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It's bad idea to make changes to a contract once it's been fully executed. Consumers are entitled to a fully executed contract at time of execution. Contracts, paper or electronic, should not be altered once executed without getting approval of the changes, which means another signature by the subscriber.
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another bad idea - working for a foreign consulate
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Ken,
Is there any issues working for a consulate? For example, if I do work for the Japanese Consulate and they decide not to pay me, do I have any legal recourse with them. I know you always hear how they do not pay traffic tickets etc and basically tell the city to go scratch.
Just wondering since we are bidding a project and wasn’t sure if they can be pulled into the legal system or not if there was an issue.
RA
NYC Fire Alarm Co
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Answer
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I would not suggest you work for a foreign consulate or diplomat unless you get paid in advance in full. Why? You cannot sue a consulate or diplomat, at least not the same way you can sue anyone else. This is a particular problem in the NY metro area because of the UN.
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Webinars
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December 4, 2013 12 noon EST Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4919260455763006721
Title: 10 Things Residential Security Alarm Companies should consider BEFORE entering the world of Commercial Engineered System Fire Alarms
Presented by: Bob Williams, President of Briscoe Protective Systems and his Management Team.
Briscoe Protective Systems has been in the industry for 35 Years and has made the transition from a Residential Alarm Company in the late 70’s to a Engineered System Fire and Security Company that is an SDM Top 100 Company. Find us on the web at www.BriscoeProtective.com or on LinkedIn under Companies, Facebook and Twitter@BriscoeProSys
Description: There is a big difference between installing Residential Fire Systems and Commercial Engineered Fire Systems and there are “Key Factors” that Security Company’s should consider before attempting to go into this lucrative but challenging market.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners and fire techs.
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