Home Security Rant

And to rant back a bit...

If the home security market in general weren't such a racket, with expensive plans and hardware, dishonest and deceptive tactics, only long term and overly priced contracts, hidden fees, terrible installers, flawed security tactics, and dispatchers outsourced to non-native speakers in India, I think you'd see a lot more of these in the typical home. Home security has for a long time been one of the worst rated industries by consumers and for the most part, is only accessible to the most wealthy. And yes, I did note that your web site sells security systems and has a reference to the crime sited above (and also noted that many of the items above are addressed). :wink:

With that said, I think there are a lot of things we can do to protect our homes better. Nothing works better than a dog and a shotgun. Not making our homes look like potential targets helps a lot also. Keeping the doors and windows locked, garage doors closed w/ cars inside, blinds closed, expensive toys out of the yard, etc. helps.

My home was built with the window wells directly below the windows above making it pretty hard to climb in without a long ladder. I always insist on sleeping between my wife and the entrance to the room so that anybody coming in is going to meet me first.

I agree. I'm not trying to promote my business with this, it is something I feel strongly about.

In fact, my business isn't licensed to do Security at this time, but I put it on my website in reference to a friends company that does do security. (If you click on my "Security" link you will see that any security work is performed by a different company).
I do agree that a dog and a shotgun are a good resource, but not everbody has or wants a dog. And some dogs are no more security then a hampster.

I was just so shocked at the fact that someone got all the way to a knife and this ladies throat without anyone even knowing he was in the home.

That is my only real point here, it that we need to be aware of our home and surrondings better, even when we are asleep. I know it can happen to everyone, and I know even the best & most expensive security system in the world can fail, but I strongly believe that it can be a good alert to someone entering your home while you are asleep.

(PS - I agree with you on the dishonest practices of bigger alarm companies. In fact, I worked for one of the "Big Three" in Salt Lake. I was employed by them for FOUR DAYS before I QUIT. I quit because I leanred enough about how they did business, and how they treated their customers in those four days, and I did not want any part of it. I couldn't bring myself to work for a company that did business that way.

I big motivation for my quiting was when they told me I had to go rip out a $2,300.00 system that the customer had already paid for. I asked why we were removing the equipment they "owned" and they told me it was because they cancled their contract early. Yikes.)

apollosmith said:

With that said, I think there are a lot of things we can do to protect our homes better. Nothing works better than a dog and a shotgun. Not making our homes look like potential targets helps a lot also. Keeping the doors and windows locked, garage doors closed w/ cars inside, blinds closed, expensive toys out of the yard, etc. helps.

Click to expand...

Another rant, just agreeing with what you said above: Last night I went for a drive just to get out of the house, it was about 10:00 at night and I just wanted some fresh air after being indoors all day.

I drove around my neighborhood and several surronding communities for about 45 minutes.

I started to count how many people had NO outdoor lighting, and had their garage doors WIDE OPEN. I lost count after about 50. No joke. The houses had no lights on indoors or out, and they all had the garage door wide open, cars and toys parked inside for all to see.

I agree whole-heartedly with you, the best thing we can do is to make the next guys house look like an easier target then ours. That works wonders if the person is only looking for theft.

But if they are interested in YOU then it is up to YOU to protect yourself, and in that case, a good gun or two, or three is the best resource you can have at your fingertips.