“It’s
not what we say about OURSELVES that MATTERS
most, it’s what our CLIENT’S say”
Homewood suites by Hilton
As
you know, we have recently completed the installation
of a digital surveillance system at our Hotel
- The Homewood Suites By Hilton La Quinta.
I am responding to your request for some feedback
on my dealings with you and US Security Systems.
This
brand new Hotel is being built by three very
'hand-on' investors who have hired Windsor
Capital Group to operate the property as a
Homewood Suites By Hilton. The Building Owner's
original assumptions were to provide an elaborate
security network as a deterrence, and so that
there would be evidence in the event of criminal
behavior - both on the part of the guests
and the employees. The Owner's original plan
was to survey the entire exterior of the hotel,
the parking lot and all exterior doors. However,
the price tag for such a system exceeded the
Owner's budget.
As
a compromise, we took the stance that we could
never depend solely upon a camera system to
provide total security - within the constraints
of the Owner's budget. As the Management Company,
we can augment security by ensuring the doors
are locked, the lighting is adequate, the
signage is informative and legible, and the
staff is trained and responsive.
For our security camera system, we are primarily
concerned with safety of the guests in addition
to monitoring alcoholic beverages, overseeing
food operations, monitoring luggage and, finally,
serving as deterrence for would-be criminals.
Our digital surveillance system is capable
of providing a live, remote view from as many
as sixteen camera shots simultaneously.
At this writing, we are utilizing ten cameras
but have pre-wired for future expansion. Our
system is comprised of two outdoor cameras,
eight indoor cameras, a sixteen port DVR with
a 17" Flat Screen Monitor. Also included
are six additional pre-wired camera locations
along with all of the associated camera housings,
wiring and power supplies.
We
placed two cameras at opposing angles behind
the Registration Desk to aid the Front Desk
Management by monitoring the money flow, providing
evidence in the case of a transaction dispute
and capturing close-up facial features of
would-be criminals.
We
placed two cameras in the Hotel Laundry area
at the back of the house. The purpose of these
cameras is to monitor employee safety practices
around laundry equipment, watch for unsupervised
employee activity before and after hours,
slip / fall incidents, employee traffic across
the housekeeping floor to go out the back
door as well as general employee activity
around the time clock.
One
exterior camera covers the Porte Cochere.
This camera is primarily intended to monitor
guest luggage and pedestrian / auto traffic
flow at the entry of the Hotel. The other
exterior camera covers the pool patio courtyard.
This camera is for the safety of our guests,
monitoring pool activity after hours, monitoring
alcoholic beverage use, documenting slip /
fall incidents and general oversight of the
food and beverage operations. We have pre-wired
the Porte Cochere for the placement of three
other cameras should the need arise.
Other
interior cameras keep an eye on the convenience
store, the lobby and the breakfast buffet.
It is important to note that all of these
cameras monitor real-time events and provide
a margin of safety for the employees by means
of passive continuous contact with the front
of the Hotel.
Is
the system easy to use? That depends on what
you what to do. The first time I picked up
the remote and started to 'play' with it,
I quickly discovered how to select a camera,
make it pan zoom and tilt and then get back
to the main screen. The basic functions are
obvious to anyone who has ever used a VCR
or a DVD player.
But,
accessing only the basic functions is like
driving a Cessna to the grocery store. With
some study, you can make the machine do so
much more! Mastering functions such as timed
recording and 'automatic save' takes a little
concentration. Yes, the manual is more than
100 pages long - but it is not wordy. There
are lots of illustrations of the menu screens
that helped me along. I have not yet had to
call Tech Support and I find the menus to
be intuitive.
My
first impression was surprise at how tiny
the cameras are. The smoked globes that house
the interior cameras are about the size of
half a grapefruit. They don't detract from
the decor at all. Yet, inside these little
grapefruits are fully functional cameras with
pan, tilt and zoom. The picture quality is
quite good. (However, when I zoom, I lose
a little detail - the picture is sharpest
when it is biggest.) The exterior cameras
are in the bigger waterproof housing that
I am used to seeing.
Why US Security Systems? Why Bill Richardson?
US Security Systems is the preferred security
camera vendor for Windsor Capital Group. Bill
Richardson has worked with our company installing
systems at several other WCG properties and
was recommended to the Owner of this property
based on past successes. Make no mistake;
it was no 'cakewalk' for US Security Systems.
The owners did not accept Bill Richardson's
proposal without rigorous scrutiny. But, at
the end of negotiations, we have (in my opinion)
an exceptional camera system expertly installed
at a fair price.
Thank You!
Sincerely,
Donald
W. Sahs
Chief
Engineer
Homewood
Suites by Hilton La Quinta
Embassy Suites
I would like to take the time to thank your company
for doing a quality installation of our security
system. The work was performed in a clean
and professional manner with no interruptions
to our guests. I have recommended U.S. Security
Systems to another property for additional
work and I am pleased that they elected to
use your firm. Please give a special thanks
to Bernard for ensuring that all special needs
and requests were taken care of I really appreciated
him taking the time to follow up to see if
everything was completed to our satisfaction
after the job was finished.
Sincerely,
William
Mac Gregor
Director
of Engineering
Embassy
Suites Hotel
Security Pacific Capital Bancorp
I would like thank you for
your effort in supporting the installation
of the Digital Video Recorders (DVR's) in
our forty-five (45) retail banking locations.
Your dedication and level of customer support
led to successful installs at each location.
US Security Systems responded to all of our
concerns and technical issues in a timely
manner. Although this was my first time working
with your company, I was satisfied with the
level of service that was provided and would
consider US Security Systems for future projects.
Reggie
Ellis,
Senior
Vice President Director of Enterprise
Security
Pacific Capital Bank N.A.S
Bridgeman Foods Wendy’s Franchisee
I
would personally like to thank you for you
never ending communication to make sure that
Bridgeman Foods is happy with the systems
that we have purchased over the last 3 years,
we are very satisfied with the support staff
as they have been there to answer any questions
that the managers, district managers and I
have inquired about. We are happy with the
response time be it by phone or when a technician
might have to come to the site. We now have
your systems in restaurants in Milwaukee,
Tennessee, and Florida.
I
am sure in the future; we will be doing more
business.
Sincerely,
David
Spychalski
Bridgeman
Foods, Inc.
Vice
President of Operations
Alhambra High School
I’d
like to express our satisfaction with the
security system your company has provided
Alhambra High School. After the October installation,
we have had numerous incidents on campus that
were investigated with the assistance of our
digital video surveillance system. In the
course of our daily monitoring, we found the
equipment very "user-friendly" and
have trained all members of our security staff
and site administration in its use. The cameras
and web log-in capabilities have operated
in an efficient and consistent manner.
Let
me give you an example of one the most serious
crimes, including theft and illegal entry,
that have occurred on our campus and could
not have been solved without the security
cameras in operation. On Thursday, November,
14th at 8:45 AM our school received a call
from the Alhambra Police Department dispatcher
indicating that a 911 call had been made from
our school in which the caller claimed. "There's
a sniper on the roof at Alhambra High."
As a result, I initiated a lock-down of our
school and police officers arrived in force.
The
police had a helicopter launched to "sweep"
the school's rooftops. During this time we
identified the pay telephone (one of four
on our campus for the convenience of students
involved in extracurricular activities). Next,
we reviewed the video footage of the fixed
camera that was installed in that vicinity.
The color video revealed the student prank
caller in distinctive clothing. I personally
went to the gym where six-hundred physical
education students were held because of the
Jock-down. Within a few minutes I was able
to spot the prankster. He confessed to the
call and the police arrested him. The "all
clear" bell was rung at 10:01 releasing
staff and students to a regular schedule.
Believe me, without the cameras we would have
no way of identifying the prankster amongst
the 3200 enrolled students.
The
Alhambra Police Department and school staff
praised the efficiency of the security system.
Definitely, the cameras not only provided
the identification of the caller, but, provided
a speedy culmination to an emergency situation
that could have lasted many hours to the distress
of students and staff.
We
look forward to a continued relationship with
you and as soon as the budget allows we’d
like to complement the cameras we now have
with seven more to fully utilized our current
system's capacity.
Respectfully,
Victor
M. Sandoval
Assistant
Principal, business & activities
Alhambra
High School
Loeb & Loeb LLP
The
purpose of this letter is to express our appreciation
for the work that Dan Harold did on the recent
installation of the security cameras, in our
offices at 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard. Mr.
Harold was responsive to our requests and
handled the entire project in a very professional,
efficient and courteous manner. Additionally,
his follow through with me and with other
involved personnel. Our project was a success
due, in part, to the diligence and attention
of Mr. Harold. Please take a moment to thank
him on our behalf.
Philip
W. Hacker
Administrator
Nasco Foods
We want to thank you for
the system that you installed at our distribution
center, the warehouse, cold storage, and loading
dock coverage, has made our facility a safer,
and more secure place to work.
Management
