We've had an ADT security system since we moved into our home nearly 12 years ago. If you've never had such a service, it works like this: You sink a fairly large sum (often, $1000 or more) into installation of the hardware, then you pay a monthly fee (in ADT's case, for us, $30.36) for the company to monitor the system and report any alarms indicating break-in, fire, or other bad stuff.
Our ADT system was getting old and crotchety, and we were getting tired of waiting two weeks for a service technician when we needed one. So I called ADT (supposedly the nation's largest such company, and a division of Tyco) and two smaller, regional security companies to get estimates on new systems.
You all know where this is headed. Regional company #1 said, we'll have a rep call you back today; she did, and was in my home that afternoon, pitching her service. Regional company #2 said the same thing; their rep called soon after, and set an appointment to come by two days later.
At ADT, I negotiated a treacherous automated phone system to customer service, and then to sales, where I was told that a rep would call--and I'm not making this up--"within 72 hours."
That was one month ago. Needless to say, I haven't heard back. The regional companies' systems are both fine, and their monitoring service costs between $5 and $8 a month less than ADT's.
So, why are we still with ADT? As of last week, we're not. Which is what happens when companies get too big (and arrogant, I'd say) to pay attention to their customers.
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, customer service, 3, C, T |
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Recent Comments | 11 Total
March 16, 2005 at 10:08am by OneMan
We have used Brinks and they are always quick to get back to us so some big companies in that space do seem to get it.
March 16, 2005 at 10:33am by Jane
I was just having the same thought about big, arrogant companies this morning. I'd received an answering machine message to call Capital One. I called the number and the voicemail system demanded to know the last four digits of my card number before I could proceed. Since I had no idea which credit card the call concerned, the system spit out my first attempt. Trial and error thus completed, I entered my business credit card number and was put on hold. Then I got a message that no one was available to take my call and I should call back later. Hey, you called me! I still don't know what they wanted and I'm disinclined to waste more time to find out. My new goal: close the Capital One accounts and move my credit business elsewhere.
March 16, 2005 at 10:38am by Kamel Takla
We just did the same thing, and saved money. The other thing is ADT charges you everytime (100+) a tech comes out, the new company doesn't as long as you continue with their service.
March 16, 2005 at 11:20am by John A. Byrne
I've had similar problems with ADT which makes me think this is a Tyco subsidiary that is in meltdown mode.
March 16, 2005 at 11:45am by Earl
Congrats - you've just been Wal*Mart-ed. I think we should start a Wal*Mart award for terrible customer service. It sounds like ADT could be a winner (loser.)
March 16, 2005 at 12:41pm by Shivering Timbers
At least ADT let you cancel their service. When we tried to cancel our ADT service a couple years ago, they claimed that the contract hadn't expired--seven years into a three-year contract.
Our solution: simply stop paying their bills (along with a flurry of letters explaining that we'd cancelled). Every time they sent another bill or tried to collect, we politely sent them another letter stating that we'd cancelled our service, along with the entire stack of previous letters.
They finally seem to have gotten tired of harrassing us, but it took about a year.
March 21, 2005 at 2:10pm by Dan Seidman
Funny thing. I collect sales horror stories and get these companies' reps complaining about customers like each of you.
Dan Seidman, SalesAutopsy.com
"One of the top 12 sales coaches in America" (Ultimate Selling Power)
Sales Horror Stories now appearing on Monster.com!
Author, The Sales Comic Book
There is nothing like it on this planet (possibly any planet)!
http://www.salesautopsy.com
April 8, 2005 at 5:11pm by Brian
I think your post is not only talking about ADT, but businesses in general. My buddy and I were talking about this the other day. We are both Mac users. WE love our Macs (as most Mac users do) but we have come to realize that the more Apple gets back into the light of the world...the further they get from the Mac users. It's kind of sad to wish limited success on the company that I love so much.
June 29, 2007 at 12:10am by Jack
I have been with ADT 8 years now. I have read their contracts each time I sign one. Everytime I upgrade my system I make sure I get the Extended Limited Warrenty. That way I don't have to pay anything when the tech comes out. I pay 26.99 for monitoring and 6.00 for the ELW for a total of 32.99. Before I had another service and I paid 19.99 for monitoring and 10.00 for their ELW, but I had to pay a $25 trip fee everytime. On top of that, the company I was with only had 1 monitoring station. What happens when that station goes down and I am not home? Who is watching my place? NO ONE. I was told that they wouldn't even refund any portion of my bill back to me or off the next. I tell you, anyone that goes with a local company better read the contract and make sure your contract can not be bought out by another company, like mine was. I was told that I could pay my $1200 install over a 1 year period along with my monthly payments. I thought how great that was, but come to find out in the small print that with in the first 30 days of my contract, if I haven't paid the install in full, they hold the right to sell my contract to a bank and if the bank wants to collect on the install in full they have that right. By the 3rd month, sure enough, that is what happened. I never got the full 12 months to pay the install. Furthermore, ADT is the only company that offered me a 6 month money back guarentee. No other company even came close. When I first started I did want to cancel because of technical problems, but they fixed it. In fact, they took out the system I already had from the old company and put in a brand new ADT system at no cost. Everything that I had, all the doors, windows, smoke alarm and motion detectors. I was pretty satisfied till I got the next month bill. The customer service wasn't to cooperative. They took me all the way to the manager then to the local sales and service office where they came from to install my system. Finally, I spoke to their operations manager because he was the only one there (during lunch hours). He resolved my issue and called me back 3 hours later with the service tech manager and informed me that there was no charge for the install. The next day I called the billing office and they even informed me that the charge had been credited off. That is another reason I stayed this long with ADT. The way I look at ADT is this, the company has 5 monitoring stations across the USA and evene 2 in Canada. Sure they may be the largest, but they didn't get that way by giving away the business. I know that I have the BEST equipment that money can buy, same as 90% of the Fortune 500 companies that have ADT and all the Government facilities. If it is good enough for the Pentagon then it is good enough for me. I know that my house is secure when I leave and even when I am there. Read your contracts before signing with any local company. Ask about their monitoring facilities. Ask about the quality of their service and how many large companies they serve as well as government facilities. Know what you are buying before you buy it. You do when you buy a car. Why buy a Yugo when you can buy a BMW.
August 18, 2007 at 6:02pm by Adam
You leave and your protected, assuming you have cellular backup that is. And about ADT? I work for them, and have for a few years now...I myself do not find their monitoring reliable, as I have tested on many occasions and even though the service is free for me, I pay for service from another company. Trying to monitor millions of accounts at the same time kinda makes response times to alarms take longer then they should.
February 5, 2008 at 7:18pm by Jack
ADT is the #1 worst customer service ever, not to mention I've had my alarm go off with no calls or police showing up. I've spent countless hours with them on the phone canceling my service. While they let their own ADT rep dealer off the hook for the $800 something he was going to charge me, they won't let go of a $200 "disconnection" fee. Do not use ADT, they will go out of business with service like this. Whatever you do, do not sign their contract. Other services are cheaper, and reliable.