On Saturday (May 18) at 4 a.m., Operator Kris Etheridge received an alarm on the storage hall door at a public junior high school in Kitsap County, Wash.. The alarm did not restore and she heard some bumps, so she dispatched Bremerton PD. While on the phone with the police, Kris heard some faint movement with the HVAC and drawers opening. She then heard another door close. The police dispatcher reported that the officers made contact with someone onsite. One male was apprehended. He found the kitchen door open and was helping himself to things inside.

On Sunday (May 19), Operator Mike Young received an alarm on the southeast classroom and hall doors of a public elementary school in Pierce County, Wash. The doors stayed in violation but Mike could only hear the HVAC in the background. He was starting to dispatch the school district’s guard service when he heard footsteps and voices inside. He dispatched the Pierce County Sheriff and continued to receive multiple door alarms from different areas inside. The sheriff’s deputy arrived and detained three male juveniles. The three were then arrested for burglary. The arresting officer later called back to express his appreciation to Sonitrol Pacific for being able to give him live updates of where the suspects were within in the building. He was the first officer on the scene in the rural area where the school is located, so backup took a while to arrive. By being aware of where the suspects were inside, the officer was able to track the crime in progress without jeopardizing his safety as the only officer.

At 2:40 a.m. on Monday, Joe Orsborn received audio activations from the southwest hallway area of a public elementary school in Tacoma. He heard a lot of banging and possible glass breakage and dispatched authorities. The school patrol arrived onsite and found a broken window on the entry door and saw a shadow inside. Tacoma Police arrived and began setting up to contain the building. The school patrol later called back and reported that the officers found a seven-year-old boy inside the school playing on the computer. The boy is a student at the school and lives nearby. Believe it or not,  he used a piece of concrete to break the window and gain entry. Officers returned him to his parents.

An hour and a half later, Mike received multiple trips on the roof hatch of a retail store in Gresham, Ore. He dispatched Gresham PD, who surrounded the building after spotting someone on the roof. The store contact later reported that officers found two people near the store but could not determine if they were involved in the incident.

We’d like to say that our hardworking operators have been taking a break since the weekend, but unfortunately crime never sleeps!

**We are hosting a hiring open house at our Bellevue office to meet talented candidates for this position on Wednesday, May 29. The open house will begin with a 30 minute presentation and Q&A session at 9 a.m. followed by an opportunity to schedule personal interviews and speak with the hiring manager.** Please register by calling 425.641.8948 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to reserve a spot.

 We are looking for a quick-thinking and highly-motivated Customer Service Representative (CSR) to work with our clients in Seattle.  Our CSRs deliver top-notch service to our clients by communicating effectively face-to-face, on the phone and through email, solving technical challenges and offering strong solutions to security needs. CSRs work closely with all departments at Sonitrol Pacific to provide follow up and ensure that each client’s needs are met.  They make sure our customers are happy and cultivate growth through up-selling of additional services.

This position involves:

-          Scheduling and performing retention visits with current customers

-          Training customers to use our various security products

-          Guiding customers through their installation process

-          Problem-solving with customers and following up on their concerns

-          Documenting client information using a database and company intranet

-          Selling additional equipment and devices to existing customers (with commission)

-          Tracking all account activity that could put a client at risk

You’ll work with clients throughout the Seattle metropolitan area and must be willing to drive your personal vehicle in the area every day. This position is based out of our Bellevue office. Candidates must have dependable transportation and a clean driving record.  Candidates for this position must also be willing to develop a complete and thorough understanding of our technology and equipment, and must be comfortable using a computer.

Successful candidates for this position will have a minimum of a high school diploma and experience exceeding customer expectations. Strong CSRs have patience, attention to detail, willingness to learn new technology and the ability to negotiate. Prior group presentation or public speaking experience is helpful.

Sonitrol Pacific offers a competitive compensation package as well as detailed benefits that include mileage reimbursement, cell phone and laptop, profit-sharing, 401 (k) and  a monthly commission on sales made to current clients.

If you would be a great Customer Service Representative for Sonitrol Pacific, please call 425.641.8948 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to register for the hiring event. If you are unable to attend the event, please e-mail your resume and a cover letter outlining how your experience lines up with our opportunity to Mattie MacKenzie.

Kelly Perry

Kelly Perry, a Service and Installation Technician in Portland, was recently named Employee of the Month.

Kelly is a hard worker and has a positive outlook. Even when he’s juggling many tasks, Kelly is always happy to help. He’s an especially great resource for our operators in our Verification Center in Everett, who frequently call him for answers to technical questions.

Perhaps the most heartfelt endorsement for Kelly’s recognition came from Barbara Hamlin, who said, “Kelly has so many exceptional qualities and attitude is right at the top of the list. No matter what is going on, no matter how much is asked of Kelly, he looks back at you with that wide smile of his and then gives you his best.”

Congratulations on a job well done, Kelly!

Stephany Ripley

Operator Stephany Ripley was monitoring accounts in our Verification Center yesterday afternoon when she received audio activations caused by crashing and banging in the basement of a vacant house for sale in Everett. She dispatched Everett PD. Officers found a male on the property and arrested him. The mother and sister of the intruder were in a car in front of the home and were identified as accomplices but have not yet been arrested.

According to the homeowner, the suspects were carrying a list of all the unoccupied homes in the area, which indicates that they may have had a plan to break into other properties as well. Not surprisingly, the homeowner is pleased that the suspects were caught.

This apprehension goes to show that verified home alarm systems are of utmost importance even for vacant, for-sale or vacation homes. Criminals can find items of value at almost any property and once they find them they often come back. Audio verified home alarm systems can detect intruders from even the most unusual entry points and take the stress off of homeowners who may no longer live at the address  or who cannot verify that a crime is in place.

For a free security assessment of your home, please fill out an online request or give us a call at 1.800.898.1899.

If you answered “Yes!” to the questions above, we have a fantastic opportunity for you.

Sonitrol Pacific is looking for a quick-thinking and highly-motivated Customer Service Representative (CSR) to work exclusively with schools in the Puget Sound.

You’ll love working with Kerry, our Director of School Security in the Puget Sound!

Our CSRs deliver jaw-dropping service to our customers by communicating effectively face-to-face, on the phone and through email, solving technical challenges and offering strong solutions to security needs. CSRs work closely with all departments at Sonitrol Pacific to provide follow up and ensure that each school is as secure as possible.  They make sure our customers are happy and cultivate growth through up-selling of additional services.

This position involves:

-          Scheduling and performing retention visits with current customers

-          Training customers to use our various security products

-          Guiding customers through their installation process

-          Problem-solving with customers and following up on their concerns

-          Documenting customer information using a database and company intranet

-          Selling additional equipment and devices to existing clients (with commission)

-          Tracking all account activity that could put a client at risk

-          Completing special projects as required

You’ll work with school customer throughout the Puget Sound area and must be willing to drive frequently in the area. This position is based primarily out of our Everett office but the CSR will be expected to spend at least one day a week in both Seattle and Tacoma, as well as surrounding areas. Candidates must have a dependable personal vehicle and a clean driving record.  Candidates for this position must also be willing to develop a complete and thorough understanding of our technology and equipment, and must be comfortable using a computer.

This could be your office!

Successful candidates for this position will have a minimum of a high school diploma and experience exceeding customer expectations. Strong CSRs have patience, attention to detail, willingness to learn new technology and the ability to negotiate. Prior group presentation or public speaking experience is helpful.

Sonitrol Pacific offers a competitive compensation package as well as detailed benefits that include mileage reimbursement, cell phone and laptop, profit-sharing, 401 (k) and  a monthly bonus potential.

If you would be a great Customer Service Representative for Sonitrol Pacific, e-mail your resume and a cover letter outlining how your experience lines up with our opportunity to Mattie MacKenzie at hresources AT sonitrolpacific.com, or call Mattie at 503.223.5822.

They probably won’t have too many snacks where this suspect is headed…

Kris Etheridge, an Operator in our Verification Center since 2007, detected a school intruder helping himself to a pre-dawn snack on Monday. At 3:13 a.m., Kris received audio alarm activations from a public elementary school in Granite Falls, Wash. She heard rustling sounds and movement and dispatched Granite Falls police. She continued hearing rustling through items – until she heard the officers make the apprehension. One male was taken in custody. He appears to have gotten in through an unsecured window and was helping himself to an “honor jar” of snacks.

School alarm systems are one of our security specialties. Earlier this month, we received the following letter of recommendation by the Everett School District, explaining how they actually saved money with Sonitrol Pacific compared with the “cheaper” alternative. See it for yourself!

**By Rick Miller, Portland Security Consultant**

I recently joined the Sonitrol Pacific team as a Security Consultant. I have been a representative for a variety of industries for the past 30 years; some good and some not-so-good at providing customer service. And although I’ve only been at Sonitrol Pacific less than two months, I can tell you I have never encountered the enthusiasm and praise for outstanding customer service as I have in talking to business owners using Sonitrol Pacific as their business security system in Portland.

Got a business in a strip mall? We have a security solution for you.

My first foray into the field was to visit and introduce myself to our existing Sonitrol Pacific customers. Each and every business I called on was excited to talk to me about how much they appreciate our exceptional service and eager to let me know that they highly recommend our business security system to all of their professional contacts in the Portland area. For example, this past week I met with the owners of a business in a small strip mall to discuss potential upgrades to their current system. It was not long into our conversation that both owners told me that Sonitrol Pacific’s customer service is absolutely the best and how obvious it is to them that we truly care about providing the highest level of service in the industry. In fact, they actually told me, “If I didn’t have Sonitrol Pacific for my business security system, I wouldn’t have security at all.” That is pretty high praise and is what I heard consistently from the other Sonitrol Pacific customers I have visited in Portland over the past several weeks.

At Sonitol Pacific customer service does matter, just ask the people who know: our customers.

**By Adam Prenguber, Portland Security Consultant**

I was talking recently with a property manager who manages about a dozen multiple occupant commercial buildings in the Portland area. Each building has similar challenges when it comes to securing the building, especially in terms of access control (also called keyless entry). One common concern is finding the most economical way to grant access to the tenants in the building as well as monitor their comings and goings when appropriate. Keeping unauthorized people out is also a major concern.  The property manager let me know that every time a tenant adds or deletes a user, he has to make a trip all the way out to that building with his laptop and plug into the business’ access control panel, go though the entire user list and make the necessary change.  He also has to do update every single user twice a year this for each building he manages to account for daylight savings time.  In his estimation, managed access control changes and issues consume about 10 hours of his time per week – and he even admitted that necessary changes to user permissions sometimes slip through the cracks.

I was so happy that I was able to help him out with Sonitrol Pacific managed access control systems.  With Sonitrol Pacific, all changes can be made remotely with a call or email to our Verification Center.  No trips to the building across town, just a simple call and everything is taken care of.  If you are interested in finding out how your Portland business could benefit from a managed access control system, please give me a call to see how much time and money it will save you.

At yesterday’s all-company meeting, the Sound Security Inc. Board of Directors announced the first Employee of the Quarter for 2013: Swing Shift Supervisor Jeff LaMont.

Jeff has a great focus on operator training. He works hard to make sure that every operator is an expert at verification and he exceeds the expectations of our clients. Recently, Jeff volunteered to develop a new formal training program to ensure continued excellence in the Verification Center. He also has a near-perfect attendance record and never misses an opportunity to grow his skills. A Sound Security, Inc. employee since 2009, Jeff started as an Operator and worked his way up to be the Swing Shift Supervisor. As Employee of the Quarter, Jeff was recognized at our quarterly all company meeting, received a cash bonus, and is in the running for the Employee of the Year awarded. Jeff won Employee of the Month in January.

1. Ensure there are multiple trespassing/no loitering signs in parking areas and that they are visible.
2. Check to make sure the name of the company and address are clearly visible for police responders.
3. Post emergency response numbers near the building’s entry.
4. Attach building lighting adequately so that it reaches all areas.
5. Don’t plant trees right next to the building. These may allow for roof access by burglars.
6. Put away all unsecured ladders or other means of roof access.
7. Install cameras and peepholes at loading area doors to prevent armed intruders.
8. Do not leave roll-up doors open and unattended. These entice robbers, burglars and transients.
9. Are there rocks around the building? Rocks can be tools to break building or car windows.
10. Keep ashtrays and trash cans in areas inaccessible to the public to dissuade transients.
11. Overgrown bushes around parking areas provide hiding places and block police scrutiny.
12. In parking areas, opt for more lights, not less.
13. Go incognito. Parking spaces marked with employee names or titles invite vandalism and assault.
14. Lock trash and recycling dumpsters.
15. Keep the outdoor areas near your building well groomed and free of trash.
16. Keep the parking lot free of abandoned vehicles or RV residents, which may harbor unwelcome guests.
17. Make sure that your security decals are visible on windows and doors and that they are not faded, which gives the impression of an outdated system.

For more suggestions for how you can improve your office building security, you can schedule a no-pressure assessment at your facility. One of our experts will walk through your space and point out areas for improvement as well as explain how a verified security system can protect you and your employees.