The slogan at Jade Alarm Co. is “Providing Peace of Mind since 1969.” After spending some time at Jade, it’s clear they couldn’t have a more perfect mantra.
The history behind this company is truly something else. When an intruder tried to force his way into the home of Joe Pfefer’s parents, Joe experimented and, after a many trials, he finally found a system that worked. After that, word of Joe’s exceptional electronic skills began to spread and he began to grow the Company as people heard about the level of prompt service it provided. Joe’s parents would monitor the alarm receiver and when service was required Joe and his father would go out on calls together.
After operating out of his parents’ home for years, in 1981, Joe moved into the building at 7636 Troost. Since moving what started as a small, at-home business has continued to expand and has become the premier security alarm service provider for the Greater Kansas City area. Jade has always been on the edge of technology. This included being the first company in this area to utilize computerization to monitor the systems or offer radio as a viable alternative to phone lines. Despite continued growth and its size, it still hasn’t lost the customer loyalty that came out of a home office. Jade prides itself on being locally owned and operated and always, always being there when the customer calls for help.
I met up with Joe and General Operations Manager, Linda Butler, (in truly one of the securest buildings I have ever been in!) to hear about what continues to make Jade such a specialized and secure choice for Kansas Citians.
I understand you have your own monitoring system. What does that mean for Jade customers?
When the alarm triggers at some of these premises — fire alarm, burglar alarm — the signal comes here. Most other companies either subcontract it or you’re going through a huge call center that’s out of state or out of the country. Our Central Station does not use call cues, we have a real live dispatcher answering the phone. That means we believe we have faster customer service and better response times when alarms go off.
Another perk of being a Jade Alarm customer is around the clock service…and when you say around the clock service do you really mean all the time?
Absolutely. If a customer has a problem at 2 in the morning, on a weekend or during a holiday, it makes no difference. We still do it the way I did in the beginning. I built the company on service. We have a technician on call, he answers and can respond immediately. And it doesn’t cost the customer any more — whether it’s 10 am on a regular Monday or Christmas Eve.
We actually just had an incident last week, somebody who was using another compnay called up desperate for service. Their fire alarm was down and they had been told by their huge national provider that they’d get a guy out there in 10 days!
What is FireNet radio service?
We are the exclusive provider of this service in this area. It is a radio/wireless solution that allows us to monitor the fire alarm without any phone lines. Most systems require two phone lines. The type of service has to be POTS (which actually stands for Plain Old Telephone Service). This is going to start to be a huge problem as POTS lines will start being disconnected in the coming years. And, as the number of POTS lines decreases, rates will escalate rapidly. Having FireNet radio will isolate our valued customers from problems associated with being connected to the phone company. This is why we have been very, very busy installing these systems for commercial building owners and managers.
Any other exciting projects or features here at Jade?
We do access control systems. We can monitor camera and surveillance systems from our central system.
What if a camera is broken and a business owner doesn’t even know it?
We check in the cameras remotely multiple times a day to ensure they’re working properly. Recently, at a well known restaurant, when checking the cameras, one of our Dispatchers noticed something was amiss. Responding to this service call, our technician pointed out to the business owner the camera was not ‘broken’ – it was actually turned away from the liquor cabinet and pointed to the blank wall! Reviewing the video led to the termination of the employee who had done this.
I noticed a lot of THANK YOU! notes hanging on the wall from the police department and customers)…what’s that all about?
We believe in complimenting the responding authorities when we have an actual alarm – this is our small way of saying ‘you are doing a great job!’.
Regarding our surveillance video camera systems:
The camera systems can be tied into the alarm systems to trip. When Jade Alarm puts in a camera system to augment the intrusion alarm, when the alarm goes off we’re able to immediately see video. Our Central Station dispatchers look on the cameras and can actually see a burglary or hold-up happening. We’re able to contact police and help ID the suspects. It’s very important. Many times we have burned DVDs for crime labs around the area. The remark by the police technicians is always that they are so glad we’re using the quality of equipment that we do because of the clarity of the pictures.
Recently, a building engineer said this about Jade: “When a service guy is here he’s really talking to ME and about MY system. And when I call into the central station, they know me as customer. They actually care about me.”
Yes, a lot of our customers compliment us on our dispatchers. When they call in we actually know the street where they live. We really do give very personnalized service. We’re very proud of that.
Now, you’re co-hosting a seminar tomorrow beginning at 8:30 a.m. What should people know about it?
We are bringing in a representative from Underwriters Laboratory — these are the certification people. Insurance companies and fire marshals are beginning to mandate UL certificates. This seminar is to bring building managers and engineers up to speed on the new 2010 fire code. We’re also going to be talking about wireless technology and other options that are becoming available.
You’ve been working with UL for decades…can you tell us what it means to be certified by them?
UL is a very stringent organization; they are for the customer. The UL certificate ensures that things are installed properly and maintained and serviced properly. We’ve seen it happen time and time again that customers aren’t getting the proper service. I saw somebody having sold a commercial grade fire alarm and the company that used residential grade equipment. And that’s just totally unacceptable! It won’t meet the code. They got the people’s money, and they are out of business now, and the customer is hung out to dry. We took it over and we’re bringing it up to code. The UL certificate ensures that things are installed properly and maintained and serviced properly. We’ve gotten a visit from them every year since 1981. And let me tell you, they check everything — every “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed!
Who else is putting on the seminar with you?
BOMA is also putting it on.
What would someone wanting to go need to know?
It’s being held from 8:30 a.m. – noon, at 1100 Main St. It’s on the second floor of the City Center Square. For more information and to reserve a space contact Susan Moore with BOMA at 816-985-7053
To learn more about the professional, personalized service and advanced technology at Jade give them a call at (816) 333-5233 or visit their website at www.jadealarm.com.
Information regarding Jade Alarm Co.
FAST FACTS: *started 1969 *UL certified 1981*Joseph Pfefer – President*Janet Pfefer – Secretary/Treasure*provides ‘round the clock service*NBFAA Certified Technicians *NICET Certified Technicians*BOSCH Certified Security Dealer