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1)
The Police Department is changing their phone number.
How do I make this request, and how long will it
take to update my accounts? |
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Provide
the Dealer Support Service or Data Entry Department
with the new phone number. We will verify the
new number and update your accounts accordingly.
There is often a grace period during which the
switch is made, but our phone table can be instantly
updated.
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2)
How can I be sure the Rapid Response Control Center
Specialist dialed the correct subscriber number?
My customer said s/he was sitting by the phone,
and it never rang. |
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Rapid
Response utilizes cutting edge technology, including
an advanced form of "auto-dial." Our database
and phone-switch are linked via automated dialing
software. The Control Center Specialist selects
a number from the call list, and the auto-dial
places the call. This feature reduces the number
of miss-dialed numbers. However, there are many
variables that could prevent our operator from
successfully reaching the intended entity. If
you or your subscriber has call waiting, there
is the possibility that the phone would not ring
at the subscriber's premises, since the alarm
panel is dialing out, the Control Center Specialist
gets a busy signal. Call-waiting has a tendency
to interrupt the verification call with respect
to the alarm panel. If the subscriber does not
hear from the Monitoring Center within one minute
of an alarm activation, s/he should call the Monitoring
Center to cancel.
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3)
Why didn't the Control Center Specialist leave a
message on my answering machine? |
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That
depends on the type of alarm activation. In a
burglary or duress situation the Subscriber's
life may be in peril. Under these circumstances,
it is our procedure not to leave a message, as
this would alert an intruder the home is being
monitored. For a fire activation, we will announce
over the answering machine that we have received
the fire alarm, and will be sending the fire department.
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4)
Rapid Response notified one of my customer's RPs
that the alarm had been activated. The RP said
he would respond. A Control Center Specialist
called again 15 minutes later. Why?
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Party
notification must occur each and every time an
alarm is activated. If you are responding to an
alarm signal, inform the operator that you are
responding. The Control Center Specialist will
notify the police that there is an RP en route.
However, we will alert the police of any subsequent
activation. We treat each activation as swiftly
and critically as the first.
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5)
I received an alarm violation from my local police
department, what should I do? |
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Police
departments set their own parameters to determine
whether or not the alarm is false. Rapid Response
cannot make that kind of determination as we are
only the monitoring provider. Any alarm coming
into Rapid Response Monitoring is considered "real"
unless otherwise specified (such as a test signal,
etc.). If an alarm panel is malfunctioning and
has been repaired by the service company, a copy
of the service request could be submitted to the
police to show that this problem has been corrected.
All inquiries regarding false alarms and any fines
incurred should be brought to the attention of
the municipality governing your location. The
majority of the police departments allow a reasonable
amount of "freebies" prior to a request to pay
a fine. Subscribers should also inquire as to
whether or not their location requires a permit
listed with the local authorities.
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| 6)
My burglar alarm went off and the police never showed
up. Didn't Rapid Response dispatch the authorities? |
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If
an alarm signal was received and dispatched on,
this history can be obtained from Rapid Response
Monitoring showing specifics such as the time
received and verify the police dispatcher who
received the information. We can trace the telephone
line and we also record every outbound and inbound
call from the Monitoring Center. Rapid Response
can verify not only the number that was dialed,
but can also supply a copy of the recorded conversation
between our Control Center Specialist and the
police dispatcher. The Monitoring Center does
not follow up with the police department unless
subsequent signals are received. If a Subscriber
has any doubt as to whether or not the officers
did respond, they should address their concerns
with the police department.
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| 7)
Will Rapid response Monitoring call me when my alarm
goes off? What should I do? |
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Unless
otherwise instructed, Rapid Response will call
on every activation from the alarm panel. Many
municipalities have a 'dispatch immediately' ordinance,
usually with fire alarms. One event that we find
is frustrating not only to Subscribers but our
Control Center Specialists, is when Subscribers
get anxious, and call the Monitoring Center right
away. This results in the Specialist trying to
call the Subscriber, but receiving a busy signal.
Rapid Response Monitoring continues to reach the
Subscriber for a maximum of one minute before
going on with the next set of instructions. Our
rule of thumb is "Verify, Dispatch, Notify." Meaning,
we try to verify the alarm; will dispatch the
authorities; and will notify the RP list.
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8)
What information does Rapid Response Monitoring
provide when calling an RP? |
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Rapid
Response will advise the RP of an alarm at the
monitored premises with a detail of the events.
For answering machines, we leave this type of
information." This message is to notify Mr. Smith
the police were dispatched in response to an alarm
activation at the Jones Residence at 3:00 p.m.
on Tuesday, 09 March, 1999. The alarm received
was an intrusion from the basement door." A Control
Center Specialist cannot instruct the responsible
party (RP) on any action they should take. This
should be established in advance between the home/business
owner and the RP. If the police request an estimated
time of arrival for the RP, the operator will
relay to the RP the police request, allow the
RP to determine whether or not they can respond,
and convey that information to the police. The
police will then know if the RP is en route. We
also try to establish what type of vehicle the
RP will be driving so the police can be on the
look out for that person.
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| 9)
Instead of a numeric passcode, can I use a password?
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Yes.
Rapid Response allows Subscribers to use passwords
as well as passcodes. However, the password in
our database must match what the Subscriber is
saying to the Control Center Specialist exactly.
For example, if the password is "cigar" and the
Subscriber is saying "cigars," we will not accept
it. It must match exactly. For this reason, Rapid
Response prefers alphanumeric or numeric passcodes:
Their uniqueness makes it difficult for someone
to guess the passcode.
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