For years we’ve been trying to get the right formula for securing the outdoor perimeter of a car dealership. So much money in inventory is just sitting there waiting to be stolen or vandalized and the insurance companies are trying to find every reason to hike up premiums.
Here is what Not to do:
1. Outside Motion Detectors:
This is one of the fastest ways to accumulate expensive false police dispatch bills (around $150.00 each time) and to quickly be put onto the “do not respond” list. Any little thing will set off an outdoor motion detector and there is no way to verify whether it was a person or a raccoon.
2. Fence Sensors:
In order to add fence sensors, you will need to get a fence installed around your whole lot. Although they are less prone to false alarms than outdoor motion detectors, there is still no way of verifing whether a person or raccoon is climbing the fence. Without verification you will still be stuck with false alarms… maybe just not has many.
3. Guard Dogs:
Guard dogs may deter people from coming to your site but at the end of the day they are an animal and animals don’t provide the best security. I’ve heard horror stories of dog droppings being left around the yard, scratches being found on the hood of vehicles, and, in one case, the fence was cut and the dogs ran out to eat a couple of steaks that where left for them.
4. Security Guard:
A security guard may solve your problem, but it depends on what service you decide to go with. If you choose to get a “rover”, which is a security guard that passes by your site a couple times per night, then you might as well throw your money in the garbage. The chances of a “rover” coming by at the exact time that someone is stealing from you is very slim.
If you choose to go with a full time security guard, then you will have to be prepared to spend a lot money. This will not only cut into your profits but you will also be left with the uncertainty of not knowing whether the security guard is sleeping while on the job. Unless you go with an expensive company the chances of getting a below average security guard are high.
So now that we’ve uncovered the wrong and expensive way’s to secure your car dealership, lets look at the right way.
Virtual Security Guard
With Virtual Security Guard, you will get a great combination of technology and people. With the use of cameras and intelligent software, your outdoor area could not be better protected. During non-business hours the camera software will constantly watch the lot and look for people or vehicles entering the scene. Upon alarm, a live video feed will be pushed, in real-time, to a monitoring agent. The agent can then assess the situation and determine whether to dispatch police, call the owner, or dismiss it as a false alarm.
Adding Audio
By adding a loud speaker to the lot, our monitoring agents can easily provide a custom Voice Down message to the site:
“To the person in the red shirt, Good evening and welcome to ABC Dealership. We are now closed and we want to advise you that the site is being monitored by a live agent. Feel free to browse the vehicles and if you need further assistance we will be opening at 9:00am tomorrow morning”.
With Virtual Security Guard you can better protect your valuable inventory, eliminate expensive security guards or dogs, and provide an extra level of customer service to your business.
The retail market is very competitive and one of the key’s to success is keeping your operation costs low. Are you opening your stores too early or closing too late? Are you over staffing during certain days of the week? Are you spending your advertising dollars properly?
I met with a client this week to discuss a project that is currently in progress. When we touched on the subject about administrator and user rights on the video surveillance and access control system, he told me that he was surprised at how often he finds systems at his facilities (phone systems, other security systems, etc) that still have default username and passwords.
For quite some time I’ve been trying to figure out how we can use video surveillance as a proactive tool rather than only being used as an evidence grabber. After testing different mixes of software and hardware, we finally have come up with the right combination to solve our problem. We all know that high definition IP cameras are the way to go for better coverage and better clarity. Now, by adding video analytics to the solution, we can have the camera detect intruders and react. The reaction could be anything from an automated message over a loud speaker or a a flashing red light to a live monitoring agent calling the owner or the police.