Monday, September 26, 2011

Got a Hammer? Take a Step Back Instead.


I believe in knowing how to do anything you need to do. I think a grown person should know how a toilet works, why a car runs, and where peanut butter comes from. It is important to me that I know how to fix my leaking roof and my wireless network. Not to get on a soapbox, but frankly, if more people knew more about how stuff works, the world would simply move a little easier.


But, having said that, I also think it's important to hire a person to fix or install things if I think that the professional knows considerably more than me, or at least when I know remarkably little. It gets done faster and usually with quite a bit more quality. I know (or at least have good idea) when I am being swindled or when I am simply not being given high quality workmanship, but I do not have to spend a sweat-soaked Sunday in an attic or under a hood when I could be playing with my babies. It is important to look for several things when you are on the hunt for a good buy on the security service front.


Be on the lookout for a medium-sized company. Size here refers to the product line, not the number of employees or size of the showroom. Hiring a company that specializes in one product is likely to be very expensive and close-minded to anything that is not a regular product they sell. For example, just try to get most high-end home theater companies to interface your favorite record player into your fancy remote control for less than the price of a small island nation. On the flip side, your mega-super chain box stores have great prices and a huge selection but frequently have no idea how to plug anything in, let alone operate it. Your best bet is with a company that sells a variety of products in three or four categories, but keeps it focused on the customer service and less on retail sales.


If you are unsure of where to start looking for a good security company, ask around. The best companies for this kind of work market themselves mostly to builders. Look at your local Home Builders Association (HBA) or in real estate publications. Find a product that you are interested for and ask the company (usually online) who their local retailers are. Find the supply houses in the area - electrical or alarm equipment suppliers - and ask them. Of course, you can also ask your friends and neighbors. Even if they do not have anything like safes bolted in their closets or web-enabled camera systems, they may have simply loved the people that mounted their outdoor key lock-box.


Do not get hung up on showrooms. Almost everybody I speak to wants to see a showroom because they want to see the "goods." The fact is that showrooms cost a lot of time and money. What good is a showroom? Emotion. It's the 21st century, and we do not need emotion. We need product reviews and Consumer Reports (which I recommend highly for everything), and we do not need to touch things. If you feel you need to touch things and the provider you are considering feels as I do about showrooms, than he or she can probably take you to a house where work is currently being performed to show it to you.


Do not research the quote that you are given on the Internet. The Web is chock full of people that will sell you stuff "for cheap," but they are all wholesalers. The Internet does not install stuff. The Internet does not come to your house to help you decide on the right product for your instance. The Internet does not come to your house when the thing you bought is not working and fix it. These things are expensive to offer and so the technology provider that offers them cannot compete with the Web which does not.


I hope this helps you find a professional to install or repair that cool new thing that you have been itching for. Sit back and enjoy a nice tall drink this weekend, and let someone else do the work...just know what it is that someone is doing.


Photo by Arvind Balaraman

No comments:

Post a Comment