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Ken, 
    Quite a chain of emails! I don't wish to add to it except to say we have been in business in SW Florida since 1995.   Quite frankly, it is nice to see the industry expand to others new in the business as Simpli Safe has done. Having said that however,  I find it amusing and somewhat reprehensible when companies mass market advertise, as SimpliSafe does on the radio down here constantly and advertises to the people that they don't need a contract.  Is it wrong to assume that the reason they do this is to attract mass amounts of people  through their "no contract" low monthly cost for monitoring advertising but in fact, have absolutely no responsibility to the subscriber if something fails on the system, since there is no contract?  
     If a person who purchases SimpliSafe has to install their own system but does not do it correctly and subsequently has a home invasion, or something doesn't work, can Simpli Safe absolve themselves from liability if they were sued because there was no contract - fiduciary relationship - between the seller of the equipment and the end user? All people are doing is buying a product.  How dangerous is that in a day and age when both a Dealer and a subscriber should be responsible to each other.
    A perfect example of something we ran across, we were referred to someone to help (by local law enforcement) who had a new home, signed up with XFinity, armed and who left to return to his trucking business up north. When he got back 3 months later, his system via a cheap IPad, a couple doors and 1 motion, was not working. The screen on his IPad was blank.  And someone had broken in.  He was so ticked, when he contacted Comcast Xfinity, they said it was his problem because he should have been home to re-power up the system when it went down. (They use VOIP & have issues with it).  
    It is my hope our Industry as a whole could come out to refute some of these businesses like Simpli Safe.  
For example, in the case of Simpli Safe, they do bash our industry, I hear them all day long advertising on  Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity talk radio between client appointments.   Are they not guilty by omission if they are required to tell people "no contract, no liability on their part" by not telling buyers no contract means no responsibility on their part?  If our Industry would spend a little money to counter these grifter companies, smart buyers would "get it" loud and clear.  
    Best regards,
Sherry Lucas
Advanced Security Technology, Inc
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Ken
    Regarding Jeff Martin of Paragon Monitoring Center, lay off of Trump. If you want to see character bashing, you have to look at Hillary and the Democrats. There are many, many times as many examples of them doing character bashing than Trump. Many of these instances rise to the level of very extreme. Do you just not follow the news, or do you just wish to pick on Trump?
    I know you know a great deal about the security industry, but maybe not so much about politics. Let's all keep to the proper subject matter, which is the security industry.
Gary Dawkins
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Ken,
    Sorry but the writer [Jeff Martin]  lost me with the uncalled for comment with regards to "Trump type bashing"!  What do you think he is doing with such remarks!  He and all of us need to stay on course with the real issue and that is the lack of professionalism and integrity of the problem he is addressing!  We do not help our Industry when using such examples and therefore lower ourselves to the same sub-standards of those being so rightly criticize! 
    I have been in the Security Industry for over 45 years and have seen many "so called" security companies bash our Industry while attempting to gain the edge; MOST have self-destructed as a result of their greed and attempt to demonize those PROFESSIONALS in our Industry who have a desire to build a professional company, to make a fair profit and most importantly, SERVE their customers with a PASSION second to none!
    Most people really know and understand that you get what you pay for and what the whole thing comes down to is that if we take care of our customers, be HONEST with educating them about THEIR security, charge a FAIR price and be there WHEN THEY NEED SERVICE, the money with take  care of itself!  
    Have I lost customers to "cheaters, scammers, etc.? Yes, but very few over the years!  Most of our customers TRUST us because they know that we TRULY care about them, their families, friends, employees and businesses of those we serve!  Security is a RELATIONSHIP type of thing! Call it a marriage if you will; the longer you are together, the strong the bond of TRUST is developed! Stay in contact with your customers, let them know how much you appreciate them and their TRUSTING "YOU", and odds are that you will not lose them to any other good or bad security company!
    Highest Regards,
Denny Williams
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Ken,
            Your newsletter from August 24th and the two comments by Jeff Martin at Paragon Monitoring Center and Lee Jones of the Support Services Group should hit home with all alarm installation companies and especially for the smaller guys who for years have taken it on the chin from the major national players and more recently from the major media companies entering our arena and now from the DIY industry.  Jeff’s comment expressing his frustration and indignation at the “character bashing of the respectable companies in the alarm industry…” can be appreciated by all who are reading this and Lee’s reality based response which calls for us to stop moaning and groaning and do something about it should be a wakeup call.
            We know that there’s one thing that’s constant in the alarm industry and that is change. We all remember when there were no options other than hard wired security systems. (We called ourselves Contractors then.) Then along came unsupervised wireless devices. Thankfully we soon had reliable, supervised wireless transceivers, long range radio, cellular back-up, cellular primary communication and now even IP communications. As I write this, there are company owners out there who can’t imagine spending more than an hour or two on an installation. This comes from the “one size fits all” mentality birthed by the big nationals and their free or $99.00 systems. Is this “fair” to all the guys who remember when every device was hardwired to a control panel? I’m sure, to them it seems unfair but that’s the way of technology. Innovate and adapt or get out of the way because surely someone is looking to take your share of the market.
            Twenty plus years ago, the phone company entered the alarm business and promptly crashed and burned. The reason? Real alarm systems had to be installed by professional alarm companies and the technology and installation techniques employed by the phone company just couldn’t compete with the professionals. Those days are gone. Every large Telecom and Media company in the country is either in the alarm business now or seriously looking to enter soon courtesy of the previously mentioned technological innovations.  This fact along with the growing DIY sector will be taking a chunk out of the market share enjoyed by every traditional alarm company in the coming years. For many of you, it’s time to innovate and adapt to the changing industry.
            Fight back against the telephone companies and the cable companies who are cutting into your market by entering their market. Just as advances in alarm technology have allowed the cable providers and Telecoms to compete with you, changes in telecommunications technology now allow alarm companies to compete right back. Hosted Business Communications is a field that all alarm companies should seriously consider. There are many companies that provide this service as a resale opportunity. Crank up your Google machine and do the research, you’ll find them. There are even two of us who have consistently posted on this newsletter: Concord Communications Group and MongoTel. We are both listed in Ken’s Alarm Exchange as well. While we have two somewhat different business philosophies, I ask you to please investigate both of our companies as well as other providers. This is a good RMR opportunity and after all, that is truly the business you are is, is it not?
            We began business in 1985 as an alarm company. We understand your industry and the challenges you face. If you have an interest in learning more, please call me directly at 866-362-0705. This number is good all the time and goes direct to me. No sales pitch, just a conversation about the technology and the industry. Check us out, if not first then at least last.
John W. Haenn, President
Concord Communications Group, Inc.
www-voip-rmr.com