CLEVELAND — When it comes to crime during the coronavirus outbreak, we’re hearing from some communities and cities like Akron that crime is down. But that’s not stopping people from investing in security systems. We’ve heard the customers concerns and found out what the differences are between professional and do-it-yourself systems.
You’ve seen the creepy videos of people trying to break in to a home, car, or business, desperate and turning to crime. That was even before coronavirus hit.
“It’s a scary situation. It’s unchartered which I think makes…the unknown even worse,” said Kelley Stewart, district sales manager for home and business security company ADT.
ADT is one of many that’s seen a spike in new sales and current customers upgrading their systems.
“We have spouses who are now home all day with the kids…educating, cooking, and their essential spouse are 12-hour shifts, 5-6 days a week,” said Stewart.
With all of that cooking and new distractions at home now, there have been more fires reported around the country. ADT said it has noticed there are people looking for more fire and carbon monoxide alarms.
“It would not only contact their emergency contacts but it would dispatch fire right away,” said Stewart.
There are several systems like ADT that provide professional security like Guardian and Protect America. All three of those companies come with required contracts. ADT carries 3-5 year options.
Do a Google search and you’ll find all kinds of reviews for do-it-yourself security systems like SimpliSafe.
“We have seen a sharp increase in the interest of our products,” said SimpliSafe CEO Christian Cerda.
It's system allows you to set it up all on your own around the house or small business.
“So they had to close down and therefore even more insecure about the state of the retail shop or restaurants that we are helping them protect,” said Cerda.
One of the selling points of SimpliSafe is that the company says it’s easy to install. We tried it out. In about 15-20 minutes we had the system up and running all without a contract for the alarm. It does offer monitoring but you’re not locked in.
“You can cancel anytime without any questions asked,” Cerda said.
Some customers are worried about when they go back to work, but others will still be without a job for a while. Customer's homes will be vacant during their work times.
Monthly monitoring with ADT can vary, anywhere from $37-$63. SimpliSafe offers monitoring for $15-$25 a month.
