Here we go again with more ADT bullshit. Last I checked Tyco operated in the
tax haven of the Bermuda Islands. An Island which is not a United States
Chartered State. It will be interesting to see how the latest issues pan out
with why they choose to evade paying taxes just like the rest of the
legitimate businesses who deal with the Federal Government.
Prior to the last annual shareholder meeting, Tyco management had
strongly suggested that the company relocate it's headquarters into
the US. Since Tyco is a publicly traded company, it ain't as simple
as packing up a U-Haul with a couple of your drunk cronies and moving
your trailer across town. Tyco shareholders voted down the move by a
margin of about 2 to 1. ADT, however, being a US-based operating
company, may or may not feel any effect from proposed legislation
limiting non-US based businesses from participating in Federal
Government bids, depending on what version of what bill eventually
makes it into law.
ADT is the
largest, but in scale with all Federal work, it's less than 10 percent. Get
a fucking clue.
You oughta know by now that I've got a clue. Btw, 10% in this very
fragmented business is a helluva lot.
ADT is the largest at every level, including false alarms.
Could explain why ADT has 1 Lawyer per 100 employees. You have always had my
respect until I read that pile of bullshit. **** ADT! They are also the
largest problem in this Industry.
I haven't posted for a while. However, I noticed three or four
threads, with bad information, attacking a company that employees
about 20,000 Americans. I simply stated a few facts.
Also, ADT's legal department is severely understaffed. Just ask
anyone in the company who has had to get a contract reviewed lately.
Let's look at the false alarm problem and its causes.
The cause can be boiled down to one thing: Lack of value placed on
our products and services by consumers
Everyone wants to do it faster and cheaper which leads to poor quality
equipment, salespeople who don't have a clue, terrible installations,
poor service, customers who aren't trained on the products. All of
this ultimately contributes to the false alarm problem.
How did it start? In the good old days, the only people with alarms
were business owners with something substantial to lose, who paid a
pretty penny for the service. It was a substantial cost, and
therefore, people tended to learn the system and how to use it. The
companies that installed these systems generally did a much better job
than today. The systems were built to be reliable and to function in
an industrial envirornment. Alarm companies provided armed guard
response service. Many times, the alarm company guard would arrive at
the same time or before the police. The police respected these alarm
companies and saw them as an asset.
Then came residential security. It used to be that only weathy
business owners installed home security systems. Most commonly, they
had a similar system in their business and thought it a good idea to
protect their family and home in the same way. During the mid to late
1980's, advances in the electronics industry made the equipment cheap
enough to be marketed to the home owner. At first it was sold or
leased in the same way as commercial security, with a substantial
initial cost an a moderate recurring charge for monitoring. As the
market became more competitive and economies of scale began to be
realized, companies in the industry saw the true value in the
residential market to be recurring revenue. In the 1990's low or zero
down schemes were devised to make the acquisition of equipment very
attractive for the average homeowner. The catch was the long-term
monitoring contract which ensured a multiyear, high profit revenue
stream for the alarm company. Alarm companies were bought and sold
soley on the value of their recurring revenue income. The problem was
that people who invested nothing into the alarm system placed very
little value in it. Why should they? They didn't learn the system
and attrition rates sored because of nonpayment, false alarms, and
poor service. Alarm companies tried desperately to cut costs so that
their initial loss on a "free" system was minimal. This resulted in
poor installation, sales, and service. Again, more false alarms.
Finally, equipment manufacturers tried to cheapen their products to
make them more attractive to zero-down installation companies.
Quality suffered and caused more false alarms still.
What ADT is doing:
http://www.adt.com/fade/index.cfm?source=501