FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions About Business Alarm Systems and Home Security
Isaac Samaniego, our new Alarm Department Manager, has seen a lot of technology changes in the alarm and security industry, but the questions and concerns from business owners and home owners about alarms and security stay very steady.
If you’re looking for detailed information about installing or upgrading your current business or home security, take a look at these questions that he’s heard from local business owners and home owner many times before.
Don’t see what you need? Feel free to give us a call at (559) 486-3466.
The first thing to always try is to enter your four digit code and then press the “off” button (the “1” key on your keypad). This will clear zone errors and other simple problems. If it still won’t turn on or off, check that all of the doors and windows are closed. An impatient co-worker just might be leaning on the door! It won’t arm if the circuit is broken.
Yes, absolutely. If you’re a new client, practice using your alarm a few times. If you’re a business owner, run new employees through the entire process of turning it on and off. You should even try deliberately tripping the alarm and practice turning it off.
Everyone takes too long at one point or another, so practice finding out just how loud the alarm is and getting used to turning it off, even with the noise and stress.
This helps you in two ways:
- You practice turning it off when the alarm is rattling your head (it’s very loud).
- You show your neighbors that your business or home is secured.
If you’re going to practice, you can call ahead of time and let dispatch know that you’re testing the alarm system or training a new employee. But you can also “surprise us” so you can also test our response time because we call you first every time your alarm goes off.
First, as we said in the previous question, all alarm calls go to our dispatch center. We’ll call you at your contact numbers to find out if it’s a false alarm or not. It’s not quite instant, because it does take time to travel through the communications systems.
The Fresno Police Department and Clovis PD have “enhanced call verification” in place for security companies. This means we have to try to call a certain number of people in the home or business before we call to dispatch the police. This reduces the number of false alarms.
No, you’re not going to jail if you’re the authorized user, even if your alarm goes off! So don’t let that rattle you. Just get the alarm turned off as soon as you can and then get to your phone or your cell phone because we will be calling you.
If your alarm goes off, we’ll call you or your designated contact before we reach out to the police department. This saves you time, embarrassment, and money!
Fresno will allow you one false alarm per year. After that, they will charge you around $150 per incident. We recommend that you register your alarm with them as well, it’s a free service and helps them better understand your security set up.
If you subscribe to our patrol services, we can dispatch a patrol officer to physically go to your home or business to see why the alarm is going off and if there are signs of an unauthorized entry or other problems. This can help prevent false alarms and it can also get a faster response.
Unfortunately, while Fresno police officers do their best, they are extremely busy and burglar alarms are not a priority in the same way that violent crimes, gun crimes, or gang suppression are for their officers. While they are working hard though and decreased robberies in Fresno by 21% from 2013, burglaries are still less of a priority, because they lack the immediate, violent threat.
At Turner Security Systems, we represent another layer of security and protection that is designed to prevent these crimes by responding to you and your home or commercial security needs.
If you have any other questions about our alarm systems or other security services, feel free to reach out to Jin Thao, our Alarm Department Manager at (559) 486-3466.