More Golf

There’s golf, and there’s more golf. Actually, we’ve written about security coverage in the past for golf maintenance shops and the course itself. But, we didn’t touch base on the golf pro shop. We figured we should drop a few tips for that area as well.

The pro shop at most golf courses includes a number of areas that should be protected, like the cash register, apparel, the dining area and golf equipment. With our experience, H&S knows the best types of coverage for these items/areas.

Golf pro shops should consider shoplifting potential when looking at a security system. And like other businesses, they may want to consider using cameras to track customer and employee activity.

No one ever enjoys having to confront internal theft, but the reality is that there are times employees take advantage of their positions in terms of doing favors for customers or offering too many freebies that affect your bottom line. You want to assume the best about your people, and we certainly agree with that perspective.

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But if something isn’t quite adding up over a period of time in terms of your income or receipts, it may be time to give H&S a call and we can work with you to install a system that allows you to monitor areas of concern.

We have expertise in these areas and can confidently give you advice and options to best answer your questions and provide the coverage you need. If you’d like to meet with a member of our team, give us a call in central Wisconsin at 715.344.0727, or in southeast Wisconsin at 262.574.7777.  FORE!

Jonah Van Pietersom Brings Install Tech Experience to H&S

Having previous experience as an install technician in the security industry helped Jonah Van Pietersom take the next step in his career when he joined H&S Protection seven months ago. Jonah had been working in the Stevens Point area for three years with another security company when David Horgan reached out to him to see if he would join H&S, and as Jonah said, “The rest is history.”

As an install technician, Jonah services and installs burglar and fire alarm systems, access control and camera systems. He enjoys the position with H&S and lets others know that “they are going to get a quality product from an excellent company” when they choose H&S.

Jonah has been married to his wife Naomi for six years. She is a full-time wedding photographer. In his spare time, Jonah enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee and basketball.

And he appreciates the H&S culture: “Everyone is kind and friendly and customers will be taken care of well.”

“I enjoy the family-owned business feel of H&S. I enjoy installing security systems and working with everyone in the Stevens Point office, as well as with our amazing customers,” he said.

To directly reach Jonah, you can email him at [email protected], or call him at 715.344.0727.

Industrial Parks

If you’ve lived in Wisconsin for more than a few years, you likely know that our great state is a hub for small- and medium-sized manufacturers. They dot the state. Drive through any town with a population over 10,000 and you will find an industrial park filled with these types of facilities somewhere on the perimeter.

While we didn’t set out more than 60 years ago to specifically focus on the security needs of these businesses, we’ve found that many have become solid customers. Because we spend time with the owners and managers to understand their businesses, we also understand their specific security needs.

When you take time, like we do at H&S Protection, to visit with potential customers, you find out how engaged Wisconsin is in the industrial processes that fuel so many products delivered around the country. From software-based robotics to metal etching for the automobile industry to plastic components used in everyday products, there are countless manufacturing sites throughout the state.

We’ve become experts in servicing these types of sites, which may have as few as 15 employees or hundreds entering their doors daily. The numbers don’t matter. What does matter is our experience setting up access control, or installing cameras that protect your site, or helping with inventory control and loss management.

We’ve worked hard over the years to develop a satisfied customer base by understanding these manufacturing facilities and their unique security concerns.  Check our H&S website if you’d like to find out more.

Wiring Expertise Helps Josh White Carve a Niche at H&S

Sometimes it takes a friend to help you find your next career step. Josh White found H&S Protection through David Horgan, and with previous wiring experience, has found a niche with H&S.

“I’ve been aware of H&S for several years. I have been an acquaintance of David Horgan for many years and learned of the company that way. I learned more about the job when another friend of mine, who also works for the company, learned of an available position and thought I would be a good fit, and was hired in August of 2023,” Josh explained.

Previously, he worked for a company called Extreme Home Arcades, building and wiring custom arcade cabinets that were then shipped all over the world.

Josh’s current position is Security Technician. He performs installations of new security systems and helps provide service for existing systems.

His wife is named Terra, and they recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. They have no children.

“I play a couple of sports in my spare time. During the summer I play Ultimate Frisbee with the Stevens Point Ultimate Frisbee Association (SPUFA). And over the winter I curl as a member of the Stevens Point Curling Club,” he said.

“If I were to recommend H&S to someone, I would tell them that the people here care about the work they do. Success is achieved as a team and the people at H&S are always striving to set each other up for success,” Josh said.

“My favorite part of working for H&S is the variety of work that I do. I am regularly being sent to different locations to do different things, so it is difficult for the work to become stale,” he said.

To reach Josh, email him at [email protected], or call 715.344.0727.

Warming Up

The weather is warming up in Wisconsin, and with it, residents’ love of the outdoors becomes more apparent. Swimming, boating, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, golfing all start picking up.

In addition to sports and other activities, we see more and more outdoor dining taking place in the cities and towns we service. There has been a noticeable uptick in outdoor seating, as restaurants, cafes and taverns look to meet the desire of customers to sit outside and socialize while enjoying the nicer weather and their favorite food or beverage.

With this trend growing the past five years or so, it’s important for your business to consider unique security coverage for those outdoor seating venues. Most eating and drinking establishments have indoor video and alarm systems. That’s important and good to see. As seating is added outside, it is a good idea to consider extending your video coverage to those areas.

Food and beverage establishments need to ensure the outdoor seating and service areas are covered with video cameras. Designing and installing this add-on to current coverage for a restaurant, coffee shop or bar is an area of our expertise. We have hundreds of retail establishments as customers and know exactly how to best extend video coverage to these areas.

If your business is adding outdoor seating or you are opening a new establishment that includes an outdoor venue, please get in touch with us regarding your security needs. We’re here to help you best protect your business.

In central Wisconsin, call us at 715.344.0727, or in southeast Wisconsin at 262.574.7777.

Locker Room Break-In

This past week, two lockers were broken into at one of the Wisconsin Athletic Club’s (WAC) fitness facilities. The locker handles were yanked and ripped off the locks. The brazen thieves stole wallets and cell phones. We predict they won’t get far.

While the WAC is not one of our clients, they do have strategically located security cameras. It is our understanding that those cameras will be used to help identify and apprehend the thieves.

It is good the WAC has cameras installed. All fitness facilities should have cameras and access control. If you own or operate this type of business, and want to update what you have, please reach out to us here at H&S Protection. In SE Wisconsin, call 262.574.7777. In Central Wisconsin, call 715.344.0727.

But the point about this column isn’t so much about your equipment and installation.  It’s the considerations you should make when thinking about security for your business. Bad people strike when you least expect it.  They do dumb things, taking risks most people wouldn’t take.  They don’t consider the consequences. It’s why people seek us out to determine vulnerable points in your facility and the best way to protect them.

We found out later last week that two individuals were involved in the WAC incident. One distracted the individual at the front desk, while the other walked quickly behind him and down the hallway to the locker rooms, wearing clothes similar to those of the staff. They went to the back of the locker rooms and faced towards the entrance so they could see if anyone else was coming in. This occurred extremely early in the morning, when fewer people would be around to see what they were doing. They were in and out in four minutes. They knew what they were doing. Law and enforcement believes the perpetrators had familiarity with the facility.

What does that tell us? Be careful. Protect your valuables when you put them in a locker.   If you own or manage such a facility, make sure you have strategically-placed cameras. While law enforcement has not yet made an arrest, they will utilize the cameras, checking the timeframe for when the break-ins occurred, and use the captured video to identify the perpetrators.

We are here to help if you need to determine how best to protect your premises. Give us a call.

Fantastic Customer Service the Calling Card for Heather White

You might say Heather White’s calling card is “fantastic customer service.” Having been in the customer service field previously, along with her current role at H&S Protection, she knows how to provide first-rate service when it comes to billing, customer inquiries and other administrative issues.

White came to H&S in July 2023 after a previous work experience didn’t turn out the way she thought it would. It was “an extremely toxic environment,” she described of her previous situation, and she contrasted that to H&S where the “people, hands down” are her favorite thing.

“I have felt accepted and liked by the team from my first interview, and that feeling has continued every day.  I’m very thankful to be a part of H&S and look forward to our future and growth and being a part of all that we do,” she said.

“We are a genuine group of people who care and want to do better for our customers, our teammates and our company.  Our customer service is fantastic and our response time to any issues and/or concerns is quick and courteous.  You won’t regret going with H&S for your security,” Heather said.

In addition to her previous work in the customer service field, Heather has worked as a stay-at-home mom for over 15 years. She has three boys, Aidan, 16, Noah, 15 and Brendan, 11.

In her spare time, she “loves sea glassing at Grant Park Beach in Milwaukee.  I spend most of my summers watching two of my boys play baseball with their traveling teams and being in or by the water as much as possible.”

To reach Heather directly in our Pewaukee office, you may email her at [email protected], or 262.574.7777.

A Great Place to Work

For eight years now, we’ve been publishing profiles of our employees so current and future customers can put a face to a name and get a sense of who we are — our professional backgrounds, community involvement and family/personal interests. We believe this sets us  apart by helping you make a fully-formed decision on selecting a home or business security provider.

In putting together these profiles, we ask our team what they like about H&S, what makes them enjoy working for us. While the responses vary, we do hear overwhelmingly that they like it here because it’s a great place to work, everyone is helpful, and that  we work together to get the job done right.

Those comments are great to hear because it says something about who we are, and, quite frankly, why we are in business. As a small business, we obviously must turn a profit to stay viable.  At the same time, we have always felt it important to create a supportive environment for our people. That makes for good business. It also translates into how we serve our customers – the team support gravitates to customer support. By caring around the office, that care extends to our customers and the community.

If you get a few minutes, read through some of our past employee profiles. Get to know our people better. H&S is not perfect, but we work very hard to hire good people, train them properly, and give them everything needed to perform their jobs well.   That’s our formula for long-term success.

Get it Right or Make it Right

Get it right the first time. That’s our motto.  And in the rare cases when we don’t, then motto number two is “make it right.” Those are good values to live by in life and in business, and we work with our team to instill  and support them.

When a member of the H&S team enters your home or business, your expectation should be that a security system is installed or serviced to your satisfaction. And every one of our visits involves learning and addressing your unique security preferences.

By listening and following through, we work to “get it right.”  But, since there is no perfection in life or security, that occasionally doesn’t happen and expectations aren’t met.  In these situations, we want to hear from you so we can “make it right.”

We never want to lose a customer because of unmet expectations.   If there is something that needs fixing, we will fix it. Let us know. We will listen to your concerns and take the necessary steps to make it right.

Doing business in the security arena, our people spend lots time in homes and business working to ensure our customers’ safety and protection. We understand how important it is for us to get it right the first time.  But rest assured if something gets missed, we’ll be back to make it right.

Give us a call if we can help you with your security needs. In central Wisconsin, call 715.344.0727 or southeast Wisconsin at 262.574.7777.

Leadership Changes at H&S

Over the years, we have featured employee profiles to introduce our people to our customers – give others a better feel for who we are. In the security industry, customers want to feel comfortable with people working in their homes and businesses, installing equipment and ensuring the site is safe after completion of the job.

As we have published these employee profiles over the years, we are proud to note that when asked about what stands out about H&S Protection; almost to a person we get a response that our team likes working here, they feel appreciated and that everyone pitches in to get the job done.  As the owner of H&S, that’s wonderful to hear.

We work hard to foster a positive work environment for our team with ample growth opportunities.  As a small business, that is not always easy.  We try to move individuals into growing roles when appropriate.  Sometimes, for example, a technician is able to move into a sales position.  Or we are able to promote someone into a supervisory position.  We are always proud to offer these opportunities when they arise.

Recently, two of our senior technicians were promoted to Operations Manager positions; Ross Peterson in Stevens Point, and Russell Zanow in Pewaukee.  In these roles, each will be in charge of our Technical staff, coaching and training, developing their respective teams and ensuring resources are properly allocated to all projects. This will also provide general leadership to the company as a whole.

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We are proud to have Ross and Russell move into these leadership positions and confident our customers will continue to be served well as they apply their experience and talents to this important company mission.  If you would like to find out more about H&S — what we do and who we are – visit our website here.