Loading…
1
Shelled out $400 for a cellular dialer backup and it saved my butt last Tuesday
Got called out to a house where the phone line was dead and the alarm was screaming false fire signals nonstop. That cellular unit kicked in and kept the monitoring station online while I had to spend 2 hours chasing a bad smoke detector in the attic. Anyone else pay the premium for cellular backups and have it pay off instantly?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
alexlewis1mo ago
Wait, did you say the cellular dialer kept the monitoring station online while the phone line was dead? Because technically the cellular unit is what talks to the monitoring station, the phone line is just the backup if the cellular drops out. I've seen guys flip those around and it causes way more confusion than it saves. Anyway, yeah, I've had mine pay off twice in five years, once for a lightning strike that fried the landline and once when a tree took out the whole street's copper. The peace of mind is worth it alone, but the real kicker is when the customer tries to argue the monitoring fee should cover the hardware. Had to explain that one slow, like three times, before they got it.
10
johnfoster1mo ago
The whole "monitoring fee should cover the hardware" argument kills me, @alexlewis. I read somewhere that most people think the monthly charge is like a phone bill, not a service contract, so they never figure out the gear is separate till something breaks. Had a guy try that on me once, same thing, took forever to get through.
1