Zodiac Security

The level of standard and quality of your customer service really shows when things are going wrong, rather than when things are going right.

Its easy to be polite provide good service when everything is working as it should.

but what about when it all goes wrong and the customer is deeply unhappy? This is when good customer service is invaluable and will tell you whether yours is good or bad.

At Zodiac Security we pride ourselves on customer service to both our existing customers and potential new customers. I will give you two examples of customer service, one of which happened to me personally and one of which happened with Zodiac Security.

Incident 1: – personal customer service:

I recently took my family for a meal, the service was terrible, had to wait 40 minutes for a starter, half an hour for main course and over an hour for dessert, when i complained to the waitor about the level of service and times between the courses being unacceptable the answer was “yeah, i know but what can i do about it?” needless to say i will not be going back there again. – one customer lost forever.

Incident 2: Zodiac Security customer service:

A burglar alarm we installed over 2 years ago potentially false alarmed twice (unknown cause of activation), the customer phoned to say (shout) that he was unhappy and wanted it sorting – now. Technically the customer was out of the guarantee period and should be charged for any calls or replacement products, but to satisfy the customer we arrived on a sunday, replaced all parts at our own cost and pacified the customer – as a result we have now installed two further security systems for him.

So take a look at how you deal with situations when they are going wrong – rather than when its going right – it may help you in the long run

Here are some simple tips and advice for protecting your garden and the areas around your home, simple ideas can go a long way to keeping the burglars at bay.

• Make sure your garden has the ability to be illuminated, this is usually carried out by a security floodlight, although a a total security lighting system can be installed to give you full control.
• Try to keep the main areas of your garden and driveway free of large objects, this ensures that you get maximum vision and the criminals have more potential exposure areas.
• Avoid large branches or objects that be climbed from being near any windows or potential entrance points, if a burglar sees an opening to his advantage they will take and use it.
• Makes sure that all tools and ladders are kept stored away and not left out in the open as these will be used by a burglar to gain access to your home.
• Makes sure your garage door is locked at all time, try to install an additional lock on the door, maybe a padlock that secures a clasp and bracket that is bolted to the floor, simple to install, cheap and very effective. It is very important to do this if your garage is attached to your house with an adjoining door, once the burglar is in they are hidden from view and has as long as they like. If you have a  burglar alarm consider excteding the system to include protection in the garage.
• Keep garden gates locked at all time, again preferably with a padlock.
• Fit a trellis or similar fence toppings on top of your fences. This makes it more difficult for burglars to climb into your garden without being noticed. combine this with legal, naturally spiky plants that will trp and scratch burglars.
• Never leave door keys under the doormat or under a plant pot or anyo other obvious hiding places outside. If you want to leave a key outside make sure it is left in a keylock that requires a code to gain access to the key. 

Home Security Tips – When you go away on holiday

Burglars target homes that look and appear to be empty, so the easiest way to deter thieves is to make your home look like its not empty – its not rocket science!!.

I have jotted down some simple tips that will make your home look full even when it isn’t

• Use timers to turn on and off lights, tv’s and any other items that can give the impression of someone being at home, a radio is a good example. These appliances can be controlled can be a simple digital timer or you could use your burglar alarm system and X-10 to do this for you.
• Never leave an answering machine message indicating you’re not home / have gone on holiday – you would be amazed how many people change their answer phone message to “sorry we can’t take you call, we are on holiday from the xxx till the yyy”. its an invitation and time window for burglars
• Don’t let letters, newspapers or flyers build up or be left sticking out of your letterbox. Ask a friendly neighbour to push anything through or remove it.
• A home without rubbish shows burglars no-one is at home. Let a neighbour use your wheely bin when you are away.

See, simple tips that are more common sense but its worthwhile using them when you are away, i mean what could be worse than comin home to find your house has been burgled?

A simple statement – fire kills – fact – make sure you are protected.

Make sure your smoke detectors are working correctly. It’s a sad fact but 1 in 3 smoke alarms fail to work and warn residents of a fire; mainly due to missing or non working batteries*. Other simple fire safety tips include:

• Don’t place wet washing on heaters or in front of fires
• Have a spark proof guard in front of all open fires
• Don’t leave candles unattended
• Never store more chemicals and cleaning fluids than you need
• Store paints and thinners in a metal container; never store flammable materials under a stairway
• Close all internal doors to limit fires from spreading, particularly at night

Alternatively another solution for fire protection at home is to add smoke detectors to your burglar alarm system.

By doing this it will ensure that the smoke detectors will always work, as they will be powered by the burglar alarm control panel which has a standby battery. This battery will take over should there ever be a mains failure for a set period of time so you will always be protected.

Two additional bonuses of connecting smoke detectors to your burglar alarm system are:

1. when activated the sounders for the alarm will activate (internally and externally) this means that you will always be able to hear the smoke detector has activated and can act accordingly.
2. if your burglar alarm systems is monitored, then you could have the burglar alarm system call the fire brigade )via the ARC) to come to the rescue.

Smoke detectors can be added to systems wired or wirefree.

for more information please contact us

(* Source: http://www.firekills.gov.uk/ ).

As often is a way in life, keeping things simple usually makes things work better. Here are some simple tips in how you can help to manage your burglar alarm system & prevent unnecessary false alarms:

10 POINTS TO REMEMBER:　

1. Make sure that only people who have been properly instructed operate the burglar alarm system.
2. Carefully close and secure all doors and windows before setting the burglar alarm system.
3. Checked that all movement detectors are not obstructed by any objects etc.
4. Do not allow sources of heat or sound, or permit moving objects in range of your movement detectors when the burglar alarm system is set. Check that there is no unstable stock, and ensure that no birds or stray animals are present in the protected areas.
5. Know the specified exit/entry route and keep to it when unsetting and setting the burglar alarm system. Do not enter other supervised/protected areas until the system is unset. 
6. Treat your security system with care and report all accidental damage, no matter how small or insignificant you may feel it is, to your security company.
7. Inform your security company of any changes in the building and storage of contents, which may affect the security system.
8. Remember your codeword (if applicable). If your burglar alarm system is one where the ARC (monitoring centre) telephones your premises after an activation signal has been generated, you will need to know your password, failure to say the correct passowrd may result in the Police / other keyholders being called. Do not set the system again after a false event until the fault has been determined and you are sure the incident will not happen again.
9. Make sure your regular maintenance checks, are carried out by your security company. Remember that repetitive false alarm activation’s may give result in withdrawal of police response.
10. Record all incidents and visits on a history events sheet or a supplied logbook. Check that all keys or code numbers are readily available and known before entry. 

as i said, all fairly simple and a matter of common sense really but stick to these tips and false alarm activations should be kept to a minumum.