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<title>10 Questions You Should Ask Before Choosing An Alarm
Monitoring Company...</title>
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<p align="center"><img border="0" src="images/acmtrns.gif" width="335" height="110"><br>
<strong><font color="#000080" size="6">U.L.
Monitoring Station<br>
</font><font color="#000080" size="5">10 Questions you Should Ask Before
Choosing An<br>
Alarm Monitoring Company</font></strong> </p>
<p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#000080" size="5">All
Central Stations Are Not Alike!</font></b> <font size="4"><b><font color="#8B2B2D">Many alarm dealers take for granted that all
central stations are alike. Many of our competitors would
like you to believe that their service is as good as
ours. You can avoid the costly mistake of choosing a
substandard monitoring station by asking the right
questions.</font></b></font></p>
<p align="left"><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4"><b>Start by asking yourself if the monitoring
company is competing with you for business. Many third
party contract monitoring operations handle wholesale and
retail monitoring, as well as installations, service,
buying and selling accounts - or they have a &quot;sister
company&quot; that does. A &quot;wholesale only&quot;
facility which does not accept retail monitoring or do
any sales or service is better able to focus on
supporting your business.</b></font></p>
<p><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>1. Is the central
station U.L. Approved?</b></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><b>U.L. approval is a dealer's only
guarantee that the central station adheres to industry
standards for building codes, alarm monitoring equipment,
power supply back-up systems, record keeping, and quality
control. If a central station is not U.L. Approved, it
may not meet accepted industry standards for quality.</b></font></p>
<p><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>2. How long has the central
station been at the same location?</b></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><b>You'll want to choose a well
established central station that's been at the same
location for many years. Ask if the owners are on the
premises and how many times the station has changed
owners. You might also want to find out how the station
is funded as well. Stability is an important factor when
selecting a station you can depend on.</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">ACM
has been in business at the same location with the same
owners for over 20 years. We are independently owned and
owner-operated, and are active participants in the
security industry at city, state and national levels.</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>3. Does the station
have a redundant computer system?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">It's a fact of life that computer systems go
down. In the security business, computer redundancy is
the only way to ensure continuous, uninterrupted
monitoring. If the central station has a redundant
computer system, how long does it take to switch from one
system to the other?</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>4. What about signal
receiver back-up?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">In a perfect world, everything always
functions perfectly. In reality, things occasionally
malfunction. Does the central station provide rollover
signal receivers in the event of a malfunction? Does it
rollover within its own unit, or to another unit?</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>5. How does the station
protect its power supply?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">Continuous, uninterrupted monitoring also
requires an uninterrupted power supply. Is the station
backed-up with an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) in
case of a power outage? Do they have their own generator?
Does the back-up power system operate automatically, and
if so, does it have a manual override? Just how many
sources of power does the station have available?</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>6. How does the central station receive
its telephone service?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">Even some of the most sophisticated alarm
systems are still dependent on the good old telephone
lines. Make sure your central station has adequate
telephone lines and has taken steps to ensure their
safety as well. Do the phone lines enter the station
through underground conduits? What happens if the local
phone lines fail? Is the telephone system redundant? What
800-service does the station use and what kind of up-time
guarantee can they provide? The answers to these
questions will assure that your subscribers' signals will
always get through.</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><b><font size="4" color="#000080">7. What kind of
screening and training programs has the station
implemented for its dispatch personnel?</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">Your central station should represent your
company when they are in contact with your subscriber.
The dispatchers must always respond in a friendly,
reassuring, and calm, professional manner even under the
most urgent circumstances. Make sure the central station
you choose carefully screens their employees and has
on-going training programs for the dispatchers on
customer service, signal handling, and attention to
detail.</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>8. Does the central
station maintain adequate records?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">Your station should be able to record all
incoming calls and keep these records on file for a
reasonable period of time. You never know when you are
going to need to document an alarm response for your
customers, public safety officials or the courts. </font><font color="#000080" size="5">We
keep full history on-line for 1 year.</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>9. Does the central
station offer regular account activity reports or provide
dealer access to keep you in control of your accounts?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">Monitoring your account activity is an
important part of good customer service. Does your
central station support your efforts by providing timely
reports or access to desired information? What do they
charge for this service?</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#000080"><b>10. How well is the facility protected
from disasters?</b></font></p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">Make sure the central station meets or exceeds
U.L. requirements for fire protection, electrical
suppression, lightning strike protection, and other
emergency situations. The geographic location is also
important. For example, when it comes to natural
disasters, Phoenix, Arizona is considered one of the
safest locations in the United States.</font></b></p>
<p align="center"><b><font color="#000080" size="5">The
answers to these questions can make a big difference to
your subscribers.</font></b></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4" color="#8B2B2D"><b>Don't
assume that all central stations offer the same type of
equipment, similar facilities or adequate training to
their personnel. You owe it to yourself and to your
subscribers to shop and compare value, as well as price,
when selecting an alarm monitoring company.</b></font></p>
<p align="center"><b><font color="#000080" size="5">THE MOST
ADVANCED SYSTEM, BECAUSE SECONDS COUNT.</font></b> </p>
<p align="left"><b><font color="#8B2B2D" size="4">In our business, nothing is more important
than the security of your customers. At ACM, we
continually look for ways to improve monitoring
efficiency through the application of new technologies.
Our advanced main frame computer systems, the fastest
Intel P6, offers you dramatically improved signal
handling by reducing &quot;human error&quot; to provide
greater consistency, unlike most other central stations
which utilize 486-based computer systems. This means we
offer quicker response, fewer errors and peace of mind
for your customers.</font></b> </p>
<p align="center"><b><font color="#000080" size="5">We
guarantee one of the most reliable, accurate and fastest
monitoring services for you and your customers.</font></b></p>
<p align="center"><img border="0" src="images/div.gif" width="465" height="7"></p>
<p align="center">&nbsp;<font size="5" color="#000080"><a href="http://www.acm-ul.com/commit.htm">Our
Commitment to You!</a></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#FF0000"><strong><font size="4"><img border="0" src="images/acmtrns2.gif" align="top" width="135" height="110"><br>
</font></strong></font><font size="5"><strong><font color="#000080">ACM</font><font color="#FF0000">
</font><font color="#000080">U.L.</font><font color="#8B2B2D"> Monitoring
Station</font></strong></font><font size="4"><strong><br>
<font color="#000000">
(602) 220-0205 Metro Phoenix<br>
1-800-422-0205 Nationwide</font></strong></font></p>
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<td width="416" valign="top" align="center" height="23" colspan="2"><font size="5" color="#8B2B2D"><a href="index.htm" style="color: #8B2B2D">ACM
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<p align="center"><a href="what.htm"><font size="4">What
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<td width="208" valign="top" align="center" height="23"><font size="4"><a href="10quest.htm">10
Questions to Ask</a></font></td>
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Line Protection</a></font></td>
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<p align="center"><strong><br>
<img src="images/email.gif" naturalsizeflag="0" width="32" height="19"> </strong><font size="5"><strong>&nbsp;<font color="#000000">E-mail</font></strong></font></p>
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<td><font color="#000000"><font size="4">General Info, Sales, &amp; Support: </font><a href="mailto:monitor@acm-ul.com"><font size="4">monitor@acm-ul.com</font></a></font></td>
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<td><font color="#000000"><font size="4">Maria Malice - General Manager: </font><a href="mailto:maria@acm-ul.com"><font size="4">maria@acm-ul.com</font></a></font></td>
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<td><font color="#000000"><font size="4">Karen Kohn - Executive Director: </font><a href="mailto:karen@acm-ul.com"><font size="4">karen@acm-ul.com</font></a></font></td>
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<td><font color="#000000"><font size="4">Robert Kohn - Executive Director: </font><a href="mailto:bob@acm-ul.com"><font size="4">bob@acm-ul.com</font></a></font></td>
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&amp; our company may be sent, via e-mail, to:<br>
General Information, Sales &amp; Support: <a href="mailto:monitor@acm-ul.com">monitor@acm-ul.com</a><br>
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