Unfortunately in these tough economic times, there is often a thought process where the "low bid" is the wisest choice. While there are organizations who undoubtedly care about security, and have a management team who understand the benefits of effective guard force management, this is not always the case. There seems to be a prevailing notion that contract security = contract security...period. There is much more to the story than that. The security industry has begun to realize the need to promote adequate wages, performance incentives, and thorough training in order to provide the best services to our clients. The security companies who have evolved with the times, are able to provide more effective premise security, and customer service. Our goal as an industry should be to demonstrate to our clients, that security isn't a "necessary expenditure" but an asset to the entire experience our clients provide their customers. We need to move away from the idea that "warm bodies" at the lowest cost possible are ever the right solution.
None of us would buy a product based on the belief that is manufactured by the the least trained, lowest paid, highest turnover and least motivated employees. So, with that in mind, why would you choose a security company who provided the same?
As customers you need an understanding of your provider's bill rate, the officer's wage, hiring practices, training program, and employee retention, not just the proposed hourly bill rate. We realize clients are bombarded by security guard providers whose entire selling point is based on perceived low costs. This low bid makes the clients feel they are paying too much, and is often used as the basis to negotiate an even a lower rate to retain the account. What is needed is a fair comparison of just what the companies are promising, vs. what they are ACTUALLY able to, or in some cases...even intend to deliver.
