The following is an opinion (and you know what they say
about 'opinions')....
You may be having, or have had a different experience. This is
not an endorsement, nor is Oak Tree Enterprises, LLC in any way
connected with Protect America other than we purchased our alarm system
from them and they monitor it. We do not personally know or are we
associated with anybody at Protect America. This is NOT 'paid
endorsement' by Oak Tree Enterprises, LLC from Protect America or any
person or company. Yes, there are other 'financial gain' reasons for us
to invest our time in writing this, but none to do with Protect America
nor anyone they are affiliated with to the best of our knowledge. Our past
experience is no guarantee off future performance by either the
equipment or the company.
Here at Oak Tree Enterprises, LLC, we have been using an alarm system
provided by 'Protect America' for 7-8 years now. The system features
'Wireless Motion' sensors, 'Wireless Door' sensors, 'Wireless Glass
Breakage' sensors, and a few other sensors I won't disclose (wireless
makes them a snap to install, and yes, with the Velcro. I read
complaints about that, but we've had the supplied 'stick-on' Velcro on
outdoor sensors for over 7 years, and it still won't come 'un-stuck'
from the sensors). The system is based around a GE 'Simon XT' master
panel. We also have a wireless 'Remote Panel' that we can use at another
door and / or on another building to arm and disarm the system. It can also
be armed and disarmed from 'key chain' remotes and now via our 'Smart
Phones' with Protect Americas phone app. We also now get audible notice
on our phone when someone arms and disarms the system (which by the way
is also a great way to keep tabs on when the building is getting opened
up and closed each day). Everyone has a separate code so we know who has
armed and disarmed (and that is recorded at Protect America if you need
to refer back to records). We started with the original GE Simon panel, but
have since upgraded to the GE 'Simon XT' (the reason we upgraded was
that the batteries had leaked in our remote keypad at some point, and we
could no longer repair it so had to get a new one. As the old remote
keypad was no longer being produced, and the new 'remote keypad' would not work with the
old Simon, we upgraded to the new Simon 'XT' (there were other
'security' reasons we upgraded, that are confidential), and they sent us a new
'remote
keypad', FOR FREE!
I can add a 'ton' of sensors and other features to the
new Simon XT system
such as; Flood / water Sensors, Smoke / Heat Detectors, Freeze Sensors,
Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Panic Pendant, Touch Screen Keypad, Wireless
Secret Touchpad & Wireless Keypad. The remotely mounted, 'wireless
keypad' is very handy, and for us, a necessity. We use it ALL THE TIME. We share a 'fenced / gated' parking lot
(covered with motion detectors), with
another business and needed to give them access to disarm our system, so
they can punch in their own codes on the outside of our building using
the wireless keypad we have installed in a weatherproof box. Works
great! (yes, I know the motion detectors are not designed for outdoor
use ,and anyone in tech support at Protect America will tell you that,
and not to do it, but we've been using them outdoors for about 7 years
now, and they work perfectly. We get about a 70 foot range with them,
and the batteries seem to last about 5 years in each {not sure what kind
of batteries the folks are using that say they don't get any battery
life. The same goes for all of our wireless door, window and glass
breakage sensors...and we have
many. Of course when we do go to the trouble to change the batteries,
we use quality batteries, such as Duracell Akaline 'Copper Tops', and we
use a Sharpie marker and record the battery change date on each sensor}).
I understand you can also do 'X10 home automation' to
control fans, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, coffee pots, audio
systems, etc with the Protect America System as well (we have not opted
for any of that yet). You can also connect remote 'light flashers',
external sirens / horns and other 'signaling devices'. We're in the
process of adding the external light flashers.
Protect America's system does have video capabilities, as well as fire,
and X10 home automation devices, but we did our own video system for
some technical reasons specific to our location / needs. The main Simon XT panel also speaks to
say what has triggered, what's not ready to trigger, what's open, what's
faulty etc. It also has a back-lit, LCD screen to give status as well. The
built-in a 100db siren is much better than on the previous model as
well, in that it will sound longer without distorting or diminishing in
output.
Depending on which 'main panel' you choose, you can
connect via Phone Line Monitoring, Broadband Monitoring, Cellular
Monitoring. We utilize two of those, and both have worked great (I won't say
which we use for security reasons).
The system is really no big deal to install. Once you
get most of it placed, you can call them, and they are happy to walk you
thru the entire installation, then testing. I've had them spend,
literally an hour or two on the phone when we've added multiple or more
complicated sensor combinations and been patient with me as I come up
with 'names' for the sensors to program into the system.
Anytime we have called 'tech support' they have been COMPLETELY helpful
in either setting up new sensors, re-naming sensors, trouble-shooting
the system or anything. We are never on hold more than a few minutes.
The techs are always very patient, and we never get the feeling that
they are in a hurry to dispense with our call. In fact, it is usually
the opposite in that they want to make sure all the bases have been
covered on anything we need help with, bringing up details we didn't
even think of. VERY IMPORTANTLY their tech support is located IN THE
USA! (Texas I believe).
Jerry Gahagan of
OakTreeVintage
Taken in portion of Speaker Audition Room
Vintage Home Audio Speakers from the late 1960's into the 1980's
The equipment has a
'Lifetime' warranty on it, and on the rare occasions anything has gone
wrong,
they sent out
replacement units. The replacements were always the 'newest and most
improved' parts / sensors. We once had an issue with some of my outdoor
motion sensors not reaching thru the metal on the building and they sent
a wireless 'extender / transponder' for free to solve the issue (that
transponder would have been an expensive unit for me had they not
supplied it free of charge). If any sensor even seems to be at fault,
they have sent an upgrade, FOR FREE! With the replacement projects, they
have always sent a 'pre-paid' label
for me to return the old or defective gear.
I am generally skeptical of anything that says, "it's
free", so was not interested in most of the alarm solicitations that
touted a 'free alarm system'. Our alarm system was what we thought was a
reasonable price for everything included, including the lifetime
warranty on the hardware. We've since upgraded here and there and added
to it. The monitoring is 'currently' less than $35 a month (and worth
every penny of it). THEY WILL CALL if there's ANYTHING that triggers a
sensor / alarm. They will ask for a verbal password. They will dispatch
police as well if either no one answers, or the person that takes the
call can't answer the verbal password, so REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD.
I have read many reviews about Protect America on-line,
and I have to say that probably 90% of them are either not really
applicable or written by people who have an 'un-realistic' grasp on
life.
Most were complaining that they "couldn't get out of the contract".
Well, DUH!!! It's a 'Contract'. THAT'S HOW CONTRACTS WORK!!! Once the
contract is fulfilled, the monitoring will go to a month to month. I
don't think they do an 'automatic roll-over', but you might want to ask
them. If they do, then mark in your calendar to call and go to a month
to month if that's what you wish to do.
One person said he was upset that he ordered the system 4 months before
he planned to install it, and was upset that the contract started as
soon as he signed up. Again, well DUH!!! That's how contracts work. They
have a 'start date' and that's generally when billing starts as well.
Otherwise, everyone could just claim that they didn't need to start
making payments either until a date that suited them, which most folks
would probably prefer to be 'never'.
Many were complaining about a restock fee, even if they
hadn't opened the merchandise. Those are most likely folks that have no
grasp on business operations, how business work or basic economics (at
least not business based on 'long term' models). A
business has projections for revenue and for merchandise stock levels.
There are also 'costs of sale' involved in a transaction. If every item
a business sold came back, their doors would have to close soon after
opening. Additionally if everything a business sold was 'junk', they
also wouldn't likely be able to stay in business long.
A restocking fee does a lot of things:
Firstly it keeps a consumer from 'willy-nilly'
purchasing / committing to merchandise 'to try out, just in case they
might want it' by encouraging a consumer to do a bit of homework /
research into which product might work best for their specific needs
(which is usually a good idea anyway).
Secondly, a restocking fee also encourages the consumer
to make sure they can afford something before they 'pull the trigger'.
A consumer would also be more likely to 'read / research' the
contract before placing an order.
LINKS TO OUR 'HI-FI' DEPARTMENTS
Wondering where
the "tone" you remember went?....
.... Surround yourself with Silver and find it again!
I have worked in stores that sold items with a
'utilitarian' aspect to them. Many times people would purchase them
specifically for an immediate use, then try to return them the next day or week
for a refund. It was usually fairly easy to deduce the unit was 'used'
and that they originally bought it with "using it and returning it" in
mind. That is just one of the many reasons that a 'return' should be
subject to at least, a restocking fee. I am sure that the big box home
supply stores have to deal with this issue many times a day (yes, I know
you are going to say, "well that is why they are so successful!". NO it
isn't. It's simply that so far the revenue lost via returns has not
become a big enough issue to warrant a modification of their policy. At
least two national chains (one is pretty much the largest retailer in
the world) recently modified their return policy on a number of
different aspect, after many years, to cut down on returns.
RECENT ADDITION; Headline - "Bloomingdales
cracks down on worn
clothing returns"
(I say GOOD FOR THEM and all retailers should do the same. Exactly what
I was referring to above! People were purchasing clothes for 'a night
out on the town', or for a wedding, reception, meeting or who knows what
other event, then returning them to the store, taking advantage of what
was likely a fairly liberal return policy. Now the original tags must be
attached, utilizing their method to accept an item for 'return for
refund'. The same is why most electronic stores have cut back on allowed
returns or restricted them, especially in the area of computers, video
gear and digital camera gear, as folks were purchasing them, WITH THE
INTENTION of simply using them, accomplishing a task such as taking
photos on a vacation, then returning them. Essentially 'renting the
equipment for free'. Doesn't take 'an Einstein of business' to figure
out that that can't go on for long without serious losses.)
Merchandise that has been opened or used / demo'ed will
not be able to easily be re-sold, and likely won't bring as much as
'fresh' / "A-Stock" items will. It is not usually a business's
responsibility to 'eat' those losses, especially through no fault of
their own, but simply through consumer laziness, ignorance or malice
(purchasing with the intent to 'use then return').
Generally defective merchandise will be replaced or repaired or
potentially refunded if necessary. I am pretty sure, and my experience
has borne this out, that Protect America is not going 'knowingly' send
out 'junk' of defective merchandise.
I would imagine they have thousands of customers,
probably ten's of thousands', maybe more. Most businesses should expect a 2.5-5%
dissatisfaction rate, which means that 2-5 people out of every hundred
are going to have issues. Probably many of those issues are resolved to
a satisfactory level for both parties. It is much more in human nature
to 'complain' when something is unsatisfactory, than to compliment when
things are going well, so you will, by default, read many more
'negative' reviews, than positive. That will likely be the case with
most any company, product or service. Given that, you are likely going to see
mostly negative comments on a review site. Unfortunately many negative
reviews about products or services are directed to some aspect that was
either blatantly apparent upfront, or would have been with just a bit of
research by the consumer on the front end. In my opinion, those are generally
'worthless' comments.
Comments such as;
"it was too
expensive." If that is the persons
comment, then why did the purchase it in the first place and not a
'cheaper' system or unit. Now had they stated, "it was too expensive for
the benefits realized, relative to a
competitive product such as, ____", then that is a more useful comment.
"I had to sign a
contract". That is not something to
comment negatively on. You must have known that upfront, or at least you
could have chosen NOT to comment to the contract. Once you've 'signed a
contract' that is not a 'point of negativity'. Now if they stated, "I
signed their contract, but then found 'alarm company x' and they didn't
have a contract, so I wish I had gone with them", then that might be a
bit more useful. Of course, there's many more aspects to the decision
making process, then whether there's a contract or not.
"I spoke with someone
in customer service and they were rude".
This one may or may not be 'comment worthy', and is likely too
specifically unique to 'that one call' to be of any use. Personalities do not always 'mix
well' regardless of which 'side of the sales / service counter' a person
is on.
"I was on hold for 20 minutes".
This one may or may not be 'comment worthy', and is likely too specifically unique to be of any use, ie;
time of day, or level of call volume at their time of call. As I stated
before, when you call their customer service, you are calling within the
states. That in itself is WORTH A LOT! It's also more expensive for them
to maintain a call center based in the US. They should be commended for
that alone. (PS. I have never been on hold for more than just a few
minutes, and I have called many times. No, not necessarily because we
were having an issue with something not functioning as it should, but
because we were adding sensors, re-naming sensors, moving to a different
building / location etc.)
"Protect America
is a
'Rip-off", "They are a
'Rip-off" or
"It was a 'Rip-Off'!" etc... Ok, this is one of
the most useless 'complaints', especially with no other content or
verbiage. I am a firm believer that unless there is egregious
'withholding' of goods or services, or there was not 'follow through'
from the other party as expected or as customary, YOU, yourself generally
is the person that is
allowing YOU to be "Ripped-Off". If you think 'three, four,
five or ten dollar per gallon gas'
is a 'rip-off', then DON'T BUY IT. If you think $50, $100, $200, $300 or
$3000 per night is too expensive for a hotel room, then don't rent it. If you know the price of something up
front, you willingly pay the stated price and goods or services are
delivered, then you did not get 'ripped-off'. You may have paid more
than you could / should have, but you weren't 'ripped-off'. If there is
a 're-stock' fee you had to pay, you didn't get 'ripped-off' if it was
posted / stated somewhere up-front, and I'm sure it was. If you 'do your
homework' / research prior to an exchange of consideration for goods or
services, and you still choose to execute a transaction, then you can't
claim you've been 'ripped-off'.
"Protect America
Sucks!", "That alarm company sucks",
or
"They suck, it sucks, etc...!".
Ok, these are probably THE MOST USELESS if posted with no other content.
Even if the writer 'drilled down' to something like,
"Their customer service sucks",
or, "their system sucks",
again, without any detailed content, those types of comments are not only of little
use to either the consumer or to the company to know what aspects need
focused improvement. Those types of comments are fairly 'sophomoric' as well,
and generally lends less credence to whatever else the author may be trying to convey.
Sorry, but just my '2-cents'.
Again, I'm not associated with Protect America, other than
they are my alarm company provider, for which I pay full price for, who
has done nothing but provide me with excellent service for 7-8 years
now, and I hate to see their name 'dragged through the dirt', in what I
would guess in most cases were un-warranted. Maybe there are some alarm
companies, and / or monitoring services that are less expensive. Maybe
there are some equally good, or even better services than what I have.
There probably are, but I have too much on the line to "shop around and
take a chance that the gear may not work as well, or the monitoring may
not be as good, just to potentially save a few bucks". Protect America
stands behind their gear, and their monitoring (or whatever company they
use for their monitoring) have been completely dependable.
Bottom line is, they are probably one of the top 2 or 3 alarm companies
in the nation, and you don't get to be at the top of your game by being
an idiot. Yes there are a few hundred pissed of folks on the blogs,
ragging on Protect America, but I would venture to guess if you do the
math on the un-happy folks, vs total number of Protect America
customers, you find that they are a VERY small percentage.
Sorry for
sounding 'preachy' and for being so 'long winded', but some folks need
some 'schooling', not only about the preceding topic, but on life in
general. Just my opinion...
We will soon be adding more
info as time allows...
So, new update; We recently
purchased a property across the back alley from our main warehouse. Just
for the 'heck of it' we thought we would install a couple of door
sensors and motion sensors on it as well (since they're wireless, it was
certainly easy enough to try out). The closest door has to be at least
125' from the Simon XT control panel and the furthest another 30' AND it
has to go through 2 walls, AND there's TWO chain link fences in between,
the alley, a parking lot and a metal pole barn. It STILL WORKS!!! So now
we're covering both properties with the one alarm system. We've been
using it that way for a couple months now. CAN'T BEAT IT!!!!
In addition to the 'Protect America / GE Simon'
alarm system, we also utilize some simple 'Bunker Hill Security'
wireless / RF 'Drive-way' monitors sold by Harbor Freight for both our
commercial parking lot, and an adjacent house. Even though they seem
'too cheap' to be any good, they work GREAT! We have three of them. Not
only do the motion sensors transmit from a few hundred feet away, they
are VERY sensitive, and VERY loud (so loud that I can hear one of them,
while in my truck, with the windows up, coming through a concrete block
building (with the volume on 'max')). They serve multiple purposes for
us, letting us know when someone is approaching the property, or has
entered it, and the receivers are loud enough to alert trespassers, on
the outside of the building that they have 'been noticed'. Also, very
importantly, the transmitter (all are mounted outside in the weather)
and receiver will run well when the batteries are VERY low. I just
changed the 'transmitters' 9-Volt battery after a few months (a cheap,
carbon version) as it had just stopped transmitting, and it's voltage
was just over 2 Volts! That's incredible that it still worked all that
time from 9 volts, all the way down to below 3. Most things that require
'9-volts' would stop at around 7.5, maybe 6 Volts. Again, for less than
$20 for each set, they're hard to beat for what we are using them for.
...UPDATED
4/23/20
