Golf Course Destruction
When you think about destruction of golf courses, you probably usually consider bad golfers hacking huge hunks of turf with their clubs, while their ball flies into the woods. There’s another destruction though – vandals who stupidly think it’s funny to drive their cars onto the course at night and spin their wheels to churn up grass and mud. Sadly, this happens.
This past year, two courses we know of in Southeast Wisconsin were hit by these types of nincompoops. One had to close down while repairs were made. The other closed the damaged holes, but kept the rest of the course open, so golfers played 14 holes rather than 18.
These vandals damage property, the business, and, of course, the golfers themselves who don’t get the experience they were looking for when they show up to find the course limited or completely closed.
While security cameras are no guarantee in preventing these types of incidents, they are an important deterrent, and one H&S Protection recommends to golf course owners and operators. Strategically placed cameras WITH signs announcing that cameras are on the premises recording activities helps deter bad behavior.
If deterrence doesn’t stop the property destruction, you have video to go back and review to identify the car and use that information to inform and help the police find the individual(s) responsible. Golf courses cover large land masses, so properly installing and aligning the placement and angles to ensure the best possible coverage for your course is very important. H&S has the experience and knowledge to work with you to ensure high effectiveness.
We hate seeing property destruction of any kind. If we can help you protect your grounds and buildings, give us a call in Southeast Wisconsin at 262.574.7777 or Central Wisconsin at 715.344.0727.
What’s in a Trade Show?
What’s in a trade show for you – our customers – when it comes to our participation? A lot.
When you work with H&S Protection, you expect professionalism. You want the best and most up-to-date technology installed. Top-trained technicians are important to you. The Wisconsin Security Association (WISA) trade show held in Oconomowoc — which we attended in July – provides our company with all of these things and more.
We send as much of our team as possible (while still keeping the trains running on time in our Stevens Point and Pewaukee offices) so they can experience what other businesses are doing, meet with vendors, test technology and take training courses. That experience adds an edge that H&S in turn supplies to you when we visit your home and business.
One of the biggest take-aways from attending the WISA trade show is our ability to meet suppliers and vendors face-to-face to ask questions and get to know them better. How does this benefit the customer? When our employees become stronger experts in understanding products, that translates into better installations and service for you. Fewer mistakes. Installations better tailored to your needs.
It’s easy to wave your hand and pooh-pooh attendance at an industry trade show, as if there are no benefits. We disagree, and believe it’s important for our team to attend because what we learn and the expertise we gain flows down to our customers. That makes us more customer-oriented, connected to our suppliers, and knowledgeable. It makes us a better company.
Give us a call to learn more at 715.344.0727 in central Wisconsin or 262.574.7777 in our southeastern Wisconsin service area.
Our Drivers, Your Safety
For anyone seeking a security company to hire, you probably don’t think about the driving records of the individuals working at that company. You might look up reviews of the business on Google or talk to friends and closely examine the web site to make your decision on who you hire to service your home or business.
All those are valid and good ways to go about choosing a security company you can trust. Here at H&S Protection, one additional factor that we bring to the table for you is safe driving. Newly hired technicians must demonstrate a safe driving record before we make a hire at H&S.
That may not seem like a big deal or a differentiator for a potential customer. But, we believe it’s one more extra step that we take to ensure our team operates in ways that protect others and themselves. That benefits you on the job site, and also contributes to better driving in your community, which is a plus for everyone.
Our safe driving is important to you and your family. Obeying red lights and stop signs, staying within the speed limit and not taking undue driving risks are all ways that our safety standards affect the communities we serve in a positive way.
We believe it is important to make a good impact through how we operate our business. That’s not always a tangible outcome that people can “see.” We believe it is important for our potential and current customers to know that we take extra steps – like reinforcing safe driving – to make their community safer, not just from theft, but also from a pedestrian and car safety standpoint.
Protect Those Golf Clubs
We heard this story recently about a friend of one of our employees who had his golf clubs (probably valued at $2,000+) stolen from his garage. As you might expect, his garage door was open. Our H&S self-evident tip of the week is to keep you garage door shut if you’re not around in your yard to observe.
What happened was this: the owner left to drive his daughter to school, something he’d done the entire school year. He would only be gone for 5-6 minutes. The school was just down the street.
What likely happened: two adolescents (or perhaps someone older) had driven his block during this time period and realized the garage was left open daily for a few minutes while the father drove the daughter to school. A moment of opportunity. A brazen teenager (or more seasoned crook) seizes the moment on a dare or to steal something he can fence later.
Regardless of the motive or the type of thief, the result was a disappearing set of golf clubs that could have been prevented. Beyond our simple tip above, you also may want to consider a camera system or video doorbell to protect your home from these types of invasions. We can set a system up that not only protects your driveway, but can also cover the street and maybe even help your neighborhood as well.
We have all the technology you need to keep your home protected. You don’t know when a crime of opportunity could occur in your neighborhood. But, you can make the theft much more difficult, which is a BIG STEP towards prevention of the crime.
Give us a call if you’d like to speak with an H&S representative about your home or business. In central Wisconsin, call 715.344.0727. In southeast Wisconsin, call 262.574.7777.
Highway Cleanup 2023
We recently completed our annual highway cleanup outside Stevens Point. H&S adopted a two-mile stretch of Rt. 66 between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids 20 years ago. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s big to us.
As a company focused on the communities we serve, we believe having roadways looking pristine and green is important, both aesthetically and in terms of keeping trash out of our waterways, trees and bushes. Those plastic bags you see flapping in the wind in trees or shrubs won’t be an issue along OUR stretch of highway. That’s important.
Each year as we work together filling bags with the discards of our society, we also get that feeling of camaraderie with our team. We catch up on each other’s lives. We hear about family issues, tell jokes and hear stories. Connecting with each other is good for us, and it also helps us be better providers because our team members know and support each other. That enhances our service to customers.
This year, 15 team members participated in our cleanup, including two who traveled from our Pewaukee office. We have to maintain staff answering phones and handling any critically timely issues, so not everyone can participate in any given year, but we work to ensure that everyone who wants to do their part in keeping Wisconsin’s roads trash-free get that opportunity. We hope our efforts inspire others to adopt a road for cleanup. Our roads and environment deserve this extra care.
Alicia Jensen Wins “Toni” Award for Exceptional Service
We recently honored Alicia Jensen with our annual “Toni” Award, which recognizes exceptional service by an H&S employee working with the community, co-workers and customers. It’s an award we’ve handed out to a selected member of our team for over 20 years. We believe it’s significant to keep those three pillars – customers, co-workers, community – in the forefront of how we approach business every day.
In some ways that’s hard to do as day-to-day activities, challenges and problems arise that can distract from “how” we approach our work. But, we all work hard at H&S to keep those three pillars at the top of our list on a daily basis.
Alicia, in many ways, exemplifies how we approach our work. She is someone you can count on regardless of the project she undertakes. She shows enthusiasm, goes the extra mile and thinks through how best to service customers, engage with the Stevens Point community and work in tandem with her fellow employees. It’s a pleasure to have her on our staff.
We find the winners of our Toni Award help the office in terms of morale and enthusiasm. Those are important qualities to have in a business environment, ones we value and want to see emulated. Alicia is at the top when it comes to those qualities.
The Toni Award shapes who we are at H&S. It is also a way for us to reward and recognize an individual each year who exemplifies how we want to do business. Thank you, Alicia, for setting a high bar.
Russell Zanow Wins WISA “Technician of the Year” Award
Russell Zanow was recognized by the Wisconsin Security Association (WISA) as its “Technician of the Year.” Zanow, who has been with our team at H&S Protection for eight years, received the award at WISA’s annual ceremony recognizing excellence in the Wisconsin security industry last week in Pewaukee.
Making the jump to H&S from working in the beef processing industry, Russell probably never foresaw he’d become the top honored technician in Wisconsin. But, we’ve seen it coming.
Russell is one of those people who puts in his dues every day. As our General Manager Mike Solomon puts it, “Russell is one of the best. He knows everything you have to do in the field.”
Russell thanked the H&S team upon receiving the award, saying it takes “all the people around you to succeed.” Don’t let his humble character fool you.
Over the years, Russell’s diligence, his willingness to take on new types of projects and explore how we can improve our installations and service shines through. We see his commitment on a daily basis. We hear back from customers who appreciate how he interacts with them.
We’re tremendously pleased not only that Russell was recognized with this statewide honor, but also that he is a leader on our team at H&S Protection. We hire staff, looking for talent and the desire for growth in the individual. We won on both fronts with Russell.
Our thanks to WISA for recognizing Russell’s efforts over the years, and our thanks to Russell for sharing his talents with us and our customers. We hope there are many more years to come.
Supermarket Security
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you, but almost all supermarkets in Wisconsin have their share of security protection – cameras, sensors, access control. They monitor for inventory control, theft (internal and external) and damage to merchandise, among other things.
Aldi, Piggly Wiggly, Sendik’s, Pick ‘N Save, Walmart, Metro Market, Meier’s, you name the supermarket, they have similar needs when it comes to protection — from the perimeter to the product. H&S Protection is a one-stop-choice when it comes to determining the specifics of your security needs if you operate in the supermarket retail sector.
We focus heavily on business security. That means in every situation figuring out what drives our customers’ needs. When it comes to supermarkets, there might be an issue with regular damage when product is unloaded from the trucks to the site. Why is that? You might rely on anecdotal evidence, or you might have a sense that workers aren’t paying close attention to the unloading process and the Ragu bottles are shattering far too often.
That is information you need to know. The store manager may have a “sense” of things, but it’s extra important that video validates what the manager is thinking. That allows you to make sound decisions, whether it means a hard discussion with your trucking company regarding the unloading process or with your employees on their safe handling of product.
Successful supermarkets and other businesses run on extremely tight margins. Supermarkets comprise one of the most highly competitive markets in the United States. Protecting inventory and eliminating theft are two issues that help them remain competitive.
Check out our H&S web site for more information on who we are and how we can help: www.hsprotection.net.
Snow Be Gone
Is the snow gone yet? It is April in Wisconsin. So, the answer to that question is: “kinda, but not really, you never know.”
It’s a weird month in our state. One day it’s 77 degrees and the next it’s 29. One day the wind is from the south at 17 mph and by the evening it’s shifted around to the NNE at 21 mph. You never know what you’re going to get.
At H&S, we’ve had enough of the snow but realize this can also be a perilous time of year for businesses, particularly in their parking lots. Unforeseen ice causes falls. Drivers think the lots are dry and perhaps overnight they’ve frozen again, and someone not thinking skids and hits another car or a pedestrian.
Those are potentially dangerous situations. Security cameras covering your parking lot are a good idea. The tendency can be to neglect safety issues this time of year, but the April time-period in Wisconsin is one where you should stay extra vigilant for that very reason – people relax, thinking winter, along with some of its hazards, is over.
Security cameras are important to cover your outside premises – sidewalks, parking lot, front entrance areas. At the same time, H&S encourages you to take safety precautions: continue clearing your sidewalks and parking lot of ice and snow. Remind employees to be careful.
H&S is there to help you with advice on the best ways to protect your business, your people and your assets at any time of year. We’ve had a lot of Wisconsin winters to learn and prepare. Give us a ring at 715.344.0727 in central Wisconsin or 262.574.7777 in southeast Wisconsin.
Business Hours
Monday through Thursday:
8am to 5pm CST
Friday: 8am to 4pm CST
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
Pewaukee Office
N8 W22520 Johnson Dr
Unit H
Pewaukee, WI
53186
Phone: (262) 574-7777
Fax: (262) 574-9088
Stevens Point Office
901 Clark Street
Stevens Point, WI
54481
Phone: (715) 344-0727
Fax: (715) 344-0728