Security Sales & Integration June 2021 - 56

EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
Monitoring Matters by Sarah Salazar
Making Hurricane
Season a Breeze
The time
to start
putting safety
information
and updates in
your invoices
or newsletters
is now.
▶ IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN ...
summertime! While summer is the time for grilling
and vacations, unfortunately its warm temperatures
usually brings with it some bad weather.
Th at's right, hurricane season is upon us.
Th is month's column will focus mostly on those
companies that live near the more than 95,000
miles of coastline in our country, which in 2014
comprised more than 40% of the U.S. population
according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. However, while not
everyone is situated in a location that is directly
aff ected by coastal storms, emergency circumstances
created by storms can impact anyone at
any time of year.
Th e good news is that your monitoring center
should have many tools to help make this potentially
stressful time easier for you and your team.
Taking advantage of your monitoring center's
automation system and staying in constant communication
with your reps and customers will
make weathering hurricane season a breeze.
First, and foremost (which is something you
Sarah Salazar
is Account Manager at
United Central Control.
56
see as a recurring theme in many of these columns),
it's important to understand the procedures
your monitoring center has in place today,
and the changes that you should expect if and
when a hurricane approaches. For instance, it's
been my experience that monitoring centers typically
have the ability to auto-log low priority signals
like troubles, power failures or low batteries
so operators can focus on higher priority signals
like burglary, fi re, medical and panic alarms.
In addition to asking your monitoring center
to send you a copy of their emergency monitoring
procedures and understanding the options
you have, make sure to also ask about the reports
you can receive. Be sure to review them in the
morning to see if any procedural adjustments
need to be made or if any customers need immediate
service before and after the storm. You
can also use your monitoring center's web portal
to check the history of your customer's accounts
to better understand their needs. If your CRM
system integrates directly into your monitoring
Security Sales & Integration JUNE 2021
ssalazar@teamucc.com
station's automation platform, leverage that resource
to expedite notifi cations and help your
team stay on top of service calls.
Once you understand the emergency procedures,
ask your monitoring center if they can
establish a dedicated emergency voicemail box
for your company that provides instructions and
emergency tips for your customers when they call
in for service. Automatic text, chat and email notifi
cation features may also help to communicate
instructions, signals and dispatch information to
your customers. Th ese types of automatic notifi -
cation procedures can be implemented immediately
by the monitoring center and can signifi -
cantly improve communications between your
customer and the monitoring station.
Next, make sure your emergency crew assigned
to provide assistance to your customers during
and after the storm is able to log into your monitoring
center's mobile app to check signals, place
accounts on test and view account history. It's a
good idea to check your supplies now to ensure
you keep an adequate inventory to expedite service
calls after the storm.
Th e time to start putting safety information
and updates in your invoices or newsletters is
now. Post information and/or video tutorials on
your website or social media to show customers
how they can prepare for an emergency situation
while also giving them information on what your
company is doing to help ensure their safety.
Th ese types of preventative measures can help
lessen the burden for your emergency crew and
help your customers understand and prepare in
case an emergency situation should occur.
Finally, be sure to communicate all changes in
staffi ng or procedures to your monitoring center
so your needs are met appropriately and let them
know what to do with service requests in case
you or your team cannot be reached. Make sure
to also subscribe to the automatic announcements
and notices from your monitoring center
prior to and during the storm. Once the storm
has passed, review activity reports and information
online to help determine the clients that
need assistance.
You shouldn't have to endure summer's inclement
weather alone; your monitoring center
can be an effi cient partner that helps prioritize
and automate signaling, relay information competently,
and serves you and your customers with
professionalism and calm profi ciency.
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Security Sales & Integration June 2021

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