Tirzah Pestenski has been a Monitronics customer for about six years and recently took us with her in a cross-country move from Las Vegas to Florida. Because she’s a long-term customer, we wanted to know what security means to her in her home. These are her words.
“It’s not just security while I’m at home but while I’m away—it’s protection from burglary or fire. It’s 24-hour assurance. Even if I’m not present, somebody is, and that is our alarm system.
Security is also portable. I first had the security system in Las Vegas and what was nice is that when I had to move across the country to South Florida, I was able to call up Monitronics and they reinstalled the system for me flawlessly. It was one thing off my plate that I didn’t have to worry about and the sense of security was still there. Monitronics was on top of it.”
We want to know your story–what is security to you? E-mail Leah Shafer at lshafer@monitronics.com and let her know.
Posted in: Home Security, What Is Security?
What is security: Keeping my kids safe
North Texas resident Kristine Soto started using Monitronics long before she had children, but their arrival has given new purpose to her monitored alarm system. We asked her to explain what security means to her now. These are her words.
“When we moved into our house, it already had an alarm system in place, and we chose to use Monitronics to monitor it about five years ago, almost six. We really haven’t had any problem. When I leave a window open they are quick to call!
“But that was before we had children. What is important to me is keeping my family safe from predators and burglars. I have two boys who are four and three and they’re not old enough to say no to somebody if that person comes up with candy or special treats. They don’t really know the whole ‘say no to strangers’ thing. We don’t want anybody walking into our house and the alarm keeps that from happening.
Another big concern is fire. The kids are interested in matches now because they’ve seen me light the candle and seen me put the matches away. I have had to move them from the drawer where I kept them, but what if they found the matches and took them upstairs and were playing with them? This is why it’s so important to us that our smoke detectors are monitored. It just doesn’t take long for kids to figure things out. Our alarm system keeps us safe in a lot of ways.“
Posted in: Home Security, What Is Security?
Our own Monitronics employee Leah Shafer is a Dallas native who never thought much of alarm systems until her house was burglarized. Now a monitored security system is part of her personal sense of safety. These are her words.
A close call made her a believer
“I grew up with parents who locked every door and double checked the windows at night. But that didn’t stop us from getting robbed when I was 14. In addition to big-ticket items, they took all my Wet ‘n’ Wild make-up, a crimping iron, and a pair of my M.C. Hammer pants (hey, it was the 80s). But more than that, they stole my sense of security in my own home.
“So we installed a monitored alarm system. For several years, it was just a fixture on the wall that we didn’t think about too much. But that changed one summer night when we woke up to the beeping of the back door being opened. At 3 a.m.
“We had forgotten to close the garage door and at least two people had been rummaging around in there, moving the lawnmower out into the driveway and trying to use a screwdriver to start the car. Who knows what they were planning on doing once inside the house, but it couldn’t have been good. When they came through the back door and tripped the sensor, that alarm may have saved our lives. They heard it and ran away.
“Thankfully, I’ve never had another instance like that since that hot summer night many years ago, but it instilled in me a belief in the value of arming my system every time I leave the house and at night. Nowadays, I have more valuable things for them to steal than scrunchies: my personal sense of safety has no price tag.”
Posted in: Home Security, What Is Security?
For one Palmyra, Tennessee, family, security means knowing they are protected from fire by a monitored alarm system. Lee and Cristina Szlosek left a comment on our website about their Monitronics security system and how it saved their lives. We called them for the whole story. These are Cristina’s words.
A fire that could have killed my family
“Monitronics saved my family from a fire that happened October 21, 2008, at 2:31 a.m. The house we lived in had a fireplace and we lit it up and went to bed. Around two in the morning, the smoke alarm went off and that’s what woke us up. I would have slept right through the fire without the alarm because I’m such a heavy sleeper. We went in the living room and there was smoke filling the room. It turns out the fire was between the walls.
“I thought my husband was joking with me—I was half asleep. But he was not. That fire was real. We got the two kids and the dog and got outside—Monitronics had called the fire department already. When we walked around the house we could see the flames had already melted the vinyl siding. It was a close call.
“If we wouldn’t have had that smoke detector and you all monitoring it, the Palmyra Tennessee Fire Department would have been picking up bodies that night. I don’t want to be in the house without an alarm system after something like that. You guys saved our lives.”
Posted in: Home Security, What Is Security?
As part of this blog, we want to include stories from employees, dealers, and customers about what security means to them. How do you define physical security? Control risk? Feel safe?
For this first post, we’ve asked Monitronics authorized dealer David Pulver of American Security Professionals in Colorado to share his thoughts. These are his words.
Peace of mind for my family and my business
“We are in this business because of our conviction of spreading peace of mind for all. As a Monitronics authorized dealer, that is exactly how I pitch my clients. I tell them about the feeling that you have once you have a security system in your house. You don’t have to worry about somebody breaking in, kids leaving the house…
“I had burglary attempts in my old house—two, actually. The system worked. The alarm went off, police were called, and both guys were caught. Monitored alarm systems work for my customers, too. At least every couple of months a customer of mine gets a burglary attempt on their home. They tell me they are so happy to have a Monitronics security system.
“I am forever grateful to Monitronics for allowing me to have the opportunity to give to my community that peace. You will pass that peace of mind down to all your friends and family.”
Posted in: What Is Security?
