Controlling False Alarm Costs

False alarms and their resulting fines can cause headaches and drain the bottom line. For chain merchant Dollar Financial, which operates stores under the Money Mart and Loan Mart brands, the problem was a never-ending battle. In many cases the corporate office was not being properly notified of false alarms by the stores, with notices remaining onsite, or reaching the office weeks after a problem began. Fines were beginning to mount and multiply. Fred Baish, national director of loss prevention for Dollar Financial, states that since there was no effective way of identifying the problem early on, there were often multiple false alarms before a resolution.

Help was needed from Dollar Financial’s alarm service provider, NuTech National. NuTech National and Dollar Financial realized this was a problem that was not going away. False alarms usually boil down to one of two main causes; employees not arming/disarming the panel properly, or not reacting properly when the central station calls after an alarm trip; and on-site issues, whether air conditioning units turning on, signs moving, pests, or other environmental issues cause the alarm to trip.

Investigating each false alarm instance at every location looked to be a necessary yet impossible task. NuTech National had the perfect answer for Dollar Financial’s situation.