| Using In-house Guards |
Using Subcontracted Guard Services |
| PROS |
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| • |
Greater control of quality and appearance of officers. Customer service and response times are directly monitored. |
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Less work for a dealer because background checks, training, hiring and firing of officers are all out sourced. |
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Guards can be trained to trouble-shoot basic security system problems. |
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No purchase of extra patrol vehicles (and insurance, gas & licenses) required. |
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Officers may have greater loyalty to a dealer. He/she is more personally connected and responsible to the dealer. |
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Usually it is easier to fire a subcontractor than an employee for poor performance. |
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Can be marketed as a bundled service. |
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For small dealers, subcontracted guard services are better equipped to field an adequate number of patrol cars to cover a large service area. |
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Enables better communication with customers. Information is delivered directly to the dealer rather than through a third party. |
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| • |
Can be marketed as a bundled service (although not as easily as if a dealer uses its own employees.) |
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| Using In-house Guards |
Using Subcontracted Guard Services |
| CONS |
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| • |
Potentially greater liability exposures and increased insurance cost. |
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| • |
Guard services may not be available in certain areas. |
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| • |
Requires different management and personnel skills. Patrol officer work requires a completely different mentality than that of a security technician. Management may not be prepared for or experienced in dealing with these types of employees. |
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| • |
Less control of quality and appearance of officers. Customer service and response times not easily verified. |
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Workers compensation and other employee benefits costs increase. |
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Guards usually are not as well trained in electronic security. |
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More vehicles (and the required insurance, upkeep and licenses) must be purchased for patrols. |
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Potential for unscrupulous subcontractor to provide confidential information to competitors or steal business (this can be prevented with confidentiality agreements and noncompete clauses in the contract). |
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Greater number of employees must be supervised. |
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Contract between the dealer and subcontractor is needed. Legal expenses will be incurred if counsel is hired to draw up contract. |
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Dealer is directly responsible for background checking, training and licensing of guards. |
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Because a third party is involved, there may be a delay in communicating customer issues to the dealer. |
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Commercial Alarm Systems 
