Nicole Jacobitz Brings Together Roller Derby and Security

A special message from H&S Protection Co

Who says that roller derby and security can’t go together? Certainly not Nicole Jacobitz, H&S Protection  Office Administrator in our Stevens Point, WI office.

 

She’s found a job she enjoys with H&S and a love of roller derby outside of work. “My immediate family is really my roller derby family – I spend the most time with all 27 of them. My teammates are all so amazing. I absolutely love it,” she enthused.

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Roller derby serves as Nicole’s “very expensive hobby,” she laughed, because unfortunately she does not get paid to play. She also got voted B-team captain this season.

 

Nicole fits roller derby around her H&S duties which include a mixture of different things throughout the day. That includes customer service, shipping/receiving, processing invoices for accounts payable,  reviewing daily alarm reports and troubleshooting any issues that arise from them, assisting co-workers with accounts, and a lot of other miscellaneous things throughout the day.

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(Photo courtesy Tina Stearns}

She started with H&S in April 2019 after ABR assisted her with job placement. Previously, she worked at RR Donnelley in Plover, WI in the New Product Introduction Department, setting up and maintaining product information for kits built there.  In addition, she works as a professional piercer at Mothers Approval Tattooing in Stevens Point and has since the end of 2015.

 

In addition to the joy of playing roller derby for the Mid-State Sisters of Skate, Nicole enjoys “recruiting for our roller derby league.” She also enjoys “spending time with friends and loved ones, getting tattoos, working on my piercing website, comic books, board games, pizza, going on out-of-town adventures and concerts.”

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(Photo courtesy Lynne Whitehorn)                    

When asked by others about H&S, Nicole tells them, “H&S is a really great local company that cares about their customers and we offer some really cool products!”  You can reach Nicole directly at (715.344.0727) or  [email protected].

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We’re There Even When You’re Not

A special message from H&S Protection Co-Owners Steve Garritson and Mike Horgan:

The current chaotic climate with the coronavirus worries all business owners, including us here at H&S Protection. What you SHOULDN’T worry about is whether our security systems are protecting your premises. Our technology and service commitment to you will never waver during this extended disruption to our routines. We will be there for you.

That’s why homes and businesses put in security systems, whether access control, cameras or an alarm system – to protect the premises while they are away (and even when you are there). If your business has had to close due to the coronavirus, our system continues to give you a peace-of-mind solution so you know what is going on when you’re not there. We offer the ability for you to monitor through your smart phone. Our monitoring service can cover you for your fire or burglar alarm.

Though we too are constrained in the current working environment, our doors aren’t closed. We remain available to take your calls, especially in emergencies. We recognize these are uncertain times and some businesses may not want anyone from the outside into their facility, home or building. We will work with you to address any operational issues in these situations over the phone or remotely, as necessary, or by developing a schedule that gives you the protection you seek for your team as our technicians work to resolve any issues.

We also would like to assure all our customers that we are taking all the recommended precautions by our state and federal officials: keeping a proper distance; regular hand washing; mandating employees stay home if any symptoms of the virus emerge; self-isolating if they know they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive; cleaning the surfaces regularly both at our two offices and when we are onsite for a job.

During this cautious period we’ve entered, we pledge to remain available to address any of your concerns. We have our sales staff taking new training to be better prepared to serve you in the months ahead. We have staff working from home to ensure social distance. We have webinars set up for our employees to learn more about the products and services we offer you. All of these help us better serve you.

We will not waiver in our customer support. We will help remotely, as necessary, work onsite. We WILL continue to provide you the service you’ve come to regularly expect from H&S Protection.

Lindsay Sarozek: Keeping Customers Happy

Lindsay Sarozek likes to keep customers happy. She gets to do that in multiple ways at H&S Protection.

 

On a recent morning, Lindsay was filling a number of orders from customers, part of her position as a Customer Service Representative at H&S. She processes incoming shipments, customer call-ins, schedules appointments for services prior to a visit from one of our technicians, handles billing and orders parts. It’s a broad umbrella that keeps her busy and customers happy.

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It was through the initiative of H&S’s Matt Ballentyne, that Lindsay ended up at H&S. It’s not an unusual scenario. Often, current H&S employees reach out to their friends to invite them to apply. That’s what occurred with Sarozek. After a lengthy rehab from back surgery, she’d been volunteering at a friend’s business when Matt reached out to her.

 

“I quickly sent in my resume, and as they say, the rest was history,” she laughed.
Previous to that, Lindsay had worked at Town Bank as a Credit Administrative Assistant.

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Lindsay has been married to her husband James for 16+ years and they have three children – Preston, and twins Jared and Courtney. She spends a lot of time at her kids’ sporting events in her spare time, including baseball, basketball and swimming. A recent weekend was a whirlwind for her, driving and watching swim meets. “There’s not a lot of free time,” she joked.

 

Lindsay continues to volunteer at her girlfriend’s business and helps with activities related to her kids’ sports activities. “I enjoy camping, too,” she added.

 

She recommends H&S Protection as a “locally-owned business. All of us have a personal role to take, and we have all the experience of a bigger company.”

 

If you’d like to speak with Lindsay directly, she can be reached by email at [email protected], or call her at 262-574-7777).

Not Your Father’s Security System

H&S Protection doesn’t install your father’s security system anymore. While the wireless/cell aspect of today’s  systems is important, the main emphasis behind “not your father’s security system” is that they do so much more today than they did even 10 years ago, much less 25 years ago. And those changes are designed to provide customer convenience and options.

 

Wired systems reliant on your home landline telephone are more and more a thing of the past. Wireless connectivity is the next generation. It’s the here and now, and where the electronic security industry is headed in terms of the products and services we offer our customers. At a recent  home show in Stevens Point, H&S Sales Consultant David Horgan spoke to an audience on this changing environment, the pluses for our customers (by eliminating a land line, you can save on that monthly bill), and the other new options we provide our customers.

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Working with Alarm.com, H&S provides a host of services through your smart phone. The goal is to integrate your security system with home automation. A “one-stop app” is another way to look at this. You have all the functions necessary through Alarm.com.

 

That means through your phone you get interactive security, video monitoring (just  open the app to view  clips), energy management (set your thermostat), or even automation (put your lighting on a timer). Each of these, and more, are designed to provide our customers convenience, protection, savings (better home or business energy management) and peace of mind (Oh, it’s a security system too!)

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Gaining greater awareness and control over  home devices provides our customers convenience and security. They can make the changes they want when they want. Staying abreast with technology is why we’re no longer your father’s security system. We’re embracing the next generation.

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From Beef Deboner to Security System Installer: Russ Zanow

There are probably only a handful of people in the world, if even that many, who’ve gone from a job deboning beef to installing security systems. H&S Protection’s Russ Zanow is one of them.

 

He never considered the change until faced with Cargill closing down its operations in the Milwaukee area, which eliminated his job about six years ago. Needing a job, encouraged by his mother and knowing H&S’s Danny Greco, who urged him to apply, Russ stopped by the H&S offices in Pewaukee, WI to meet with Operations Manager Mike Solomon.

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“I filled out an application, and they gave me a call, and I came in for the interview,” Russ explained.

 

It’s different from working in a beef processing plant, that’s for sure. When Russ was at Cargill, he could eat anything he wanted. “It was physical, demanding work, and I burned a LOT of calories every day, so I could eat anything I wanted and not gain weight. It was a fun job. You got to meet people from all walks of life,” he said.

 

At H&S, Zanow continues to get exercise in his position as a security systems installer, up and down ladders, crawling through tight spaces and hauling equipment.  He also continues to meet people from all walks of life as his assignments take him to many different types of businesses throughout Southeast Wisconsin.

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“The bulk of my day is troubleshooting and installing low voltage electronics. Finding out what works, what doesn’t and troubleshooting and fixing what needs fixing,” he said.
When Russ leaves a site, he makes sure the customer is pleased with the system and cleanup. “It’s very important when you leave that the site is as clean as when you arrived,” he said.

 

“H&S does really good work. We’re thorough, and though we’re not the biggest company, we are very customer-oriented. Nancy DeSandre makes it her problem if a customer has an issue. She’ll get one of our technicians out to help the customer quickly. H&S cares, and our people are knowledgeable on the technology we install and service,” Russ said.

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Russ and his girlfriend Summer have a new baby girl, Sophie. He loves fatherhood, “the biggest job in my life,” as he explains it. “It’s tough to describe. It’s tough to prepare for.”

 

In what little spare time he has, Russ likes to relax and play video games. “I don’t get out much because I’m burning the candle on two ends. I’ll shop a little bit on Amazon. That takes up more time than I’d care to admit,” he chuckled.

 

Feel free to reach Russ directly on his cell phone  at (262-364-7007) or [email protected].

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The Unexpected

Don’t expect a hard sell when one of our H&S Protection sales representatives stops by your place. That’s not our style.

 

Instead, expect our representative to ask about you and your business, find out what makes your business tick, and what security issues you might have. Listen to Dave Kwasinski, H&S Sales Consultant, as he describes his approach:

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“After initial introductions, I want to find out about their business and why they want security. Depending on the circumstances they bring up, I’ll let them know what we can provide that fits their situation.”

 

On a recent ride-along with Dave, we were able to get his views on sales calls, and why businesses in the market for security should consider H&S Protection. He’d recently worked with a candy store that was dealing with theft issues. Kids and adults were stealing chocolate from the shelves.

 

“We installed a video system that positions the cameras where the shoplifting occurs. By targeting those cameras, the business should be able to catch them red-handed,” Dave explained.

 

When the images capture unlawful actions, the business owner provides that footage to the police for enforcement, or the owner can hold it over the perpetrators to keep them out of the store, according to Kwasinski.

 

“The customer needs to know we’re going to stand 100 percent behind anything we install. Too many companies do the install, then disappear. Or the customers don’t get the support or service they deserve,” Dave explained.

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“I bend over backwards for the customer. It’s something I’ve always done. Even after we install the system, I’ll come out and help train the customer and make sure everything is running well,” he said.

 

Dave puts his money where his mouth is, having installed H&S technology in his own home to help him better understand how to plan and operate the system. That’s knowledge he shares with customers. “It’s a hands-on experience,” he said.

 

Dave Kwasinski’s approach to selling is the H&S way and it can be expected from all of our reps.

 

Oh, and BTW, Dave laughed when thinking back on the candy story visit, “Man, that chocolate is good.” One of the benefits of helping the candy store owner.

Surmounting Access Control Obstacles — Part II

(Editor’s note: This is the second in our two-part series on access control. Please access our most recent blog for Part I.) 

Obstacles

 

Access control systems aren’t perfect. Obstacles must be surmounted.

 

One of the biggest is getting our people on the same page with our customer’s network person. That’s why we focus heavily on communication during and after the installation. Additionally, each physical structure we service is different. Our solution must be different to meet the demands of the building. That also requires close communication to adapt our installation to protect the facility AND meet the requirements of the customer.

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“You can never get too high or too low on yourself about the installation. You have to stay even-keeled because not all are easy. There are complications and changes in every job,” Greco said.

 

“If we hear from our customer and our technicians that they got through the obstacles, we’re happy and head on to the next job. One installation could go great and another could be difficult, so it’s important to keep yourself mentally in the middle to do your best work,” Greco explained.

 

H&S provides multiple electronic security services to large, medium-sized and small businesses, along with homes. But access control systems are probably our toughest to install and sell.

 

Danny relies heavily on his strong experience to get the sale and installation right. Sometimes, important questions go unasked. That’s when he has to be on top of his game to answer those unasked questions so the final product exactly meets the customer’s specifications.

 

It’s all in a day’s work for Greco and the other sales staff and technicians working out of our Pewaukee and Stevens Point offices. Listening to our customers, communicating consistently and following up makes every one of our access control projects flow more smoothly and keep the customer’s facility expertly protected.

Little Things Add Up to get Access Control Right — Part I

(Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series from H&S Protection explaining how we approach access control installations with our customers.)

 

Little things add up when it comes to installing access control technology in an office or manufacturing environment. Our end goal is similar to the car dealer handing over the keys to the customer after the vehicle purchase: you want to know how to operate the car. At H&S, we share our knowledge so you understand and have complete control of your access control system – you feel comfortable operating the system. Here’s how we do it.

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Like other types of electronic security installations, we meet with the customer first. We find out your needs, then dig in deeply to determine the design and structure of the install. We determine where to run wires from A to B. We’ll get your network team involved. And we’ll use our knowledge to prep the best solution.

 

During this sit-down with the customer, H&S looks at a number of things. Danny Greco, our access control expert out of our Pewaukee, WI office, outlines some of the following areas we will check on to make sure things go seamlessly when the install begins:

 

  • Ceiling height
  • How and where to run wire
  • The customer choice on whether to run conduit or wire mold
  • What type of specific equipment to use, ensuring proper installation on the doors
  • Additional information we can gather to make the installation for our technicians and the customer as seamless as possible.

 

“The little things add up,” Danny explains.

 

While H&S focuses strongly on a sound and tactical installation, turning the successful system over to the customer is even more important. We explain to our customers the installation and components used, along with how the software works. We discuss with our customer’s IT staff how the system communicates on their network and who should serve as its administrator.

 

“An access control system is like buying a car. You’re not involved in the design, but when the keys are handed over to you as the customer, you want to know how to operate it flawlessly,” Greco explained.

 

(Stay tuned for Part II.)

The 3G to 4G Upgrade

For the layperson, understanding the upgrade of our nation’s cellular network can be confusing. Terminology makes it complicated. You must also understand the technology aspects of how the system functions and moves data.

 

Staying away from explaining the highly technical aspects, most cell carriers (the companies you pay your monthly fee to, so you your phone and text messages get to the recipient) are upgrading their cellular digital networks. Most have moved or are moving to 4G (four gigabits of data) from 3G. Others are in the process of moving directly to 5G.

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The advantages for those of you with alarm systems are simple: You want your system to continue sending its signal to the monitoring center through a cell signal (if you don’t use a landline). As the upgrade is made, the transition should be seamless – you shouldn’t see anything different from your current service. The more gigabits, the better the connectivity and transmission of data.

 

At H&S Protection, we are working with our customers on these upgrades to their security systems. It’s a simple, yet important process, according to H&S Sales Consultant Dave Kwasinski. “There are sunset provisions making 3G obsolete. As a company, we work to stay ahead of the game, which is why we are meeting with customers to make the necessary changes,” he said.

 

If the systems are not upgraded, customers run the risk of losing connectivity. “The signal from the alarm system wouldn’t go to the monitoring center in those circumstances. We don’t want that,” Kwasinski said.

 

H&S is working systematically with its customer base to get a technician onsite, make the technology changes and test the system for secure operability. “We’re updating their cellular means of communication. It’s a pretty easy visit for our tech guys. Steve and Mike (Co-Owners of H&S Protection) are offering the upgrade at the cost of hardware. It’s a great deal for our customers,” Kwasinski said.

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Once the technicians upgrade the SIM card in the alarm communicator to 4G, they’ll check the communication signal as the network is switched to ensure smooth functioning. End of story.

 

There’s a big benefit to getting rid of your landline and using cell service for your security systems, according to Kwasinski. “With no phone lines, a potential burglar can’t cut the line to severe the connection. Plus, if the landline is eliminated, that monthly fee for the phone line goes away.”

It’s a seamless transition. “We want to ensure reliability and that the system works properly when we’re done with the upgrade. This isn’t just about H&S Protection, but instead a technology upgrade from the cell carriers that the security industry embraces for better service in the long run,” Kwasinski said.

Combining the Mental and Physical a Good Fit for Danny Greco

Danny Greco knows the best job for him is when he works with both his mind and his hands – combining the physical part of a position with the mental challenges. At H&S Protection, he’s found that perfect fit.

He’d been working for another security company for five years when his brother introduced him to H&S ownership at the time, which led to an interview, then to his being hired. As a technician at the time, he brought those skills over to H&S, and has refined them into his current position as a Systems Designer/Inside Sales.

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In the sales arena, he focuses on existing customers where he’s worked on past installations. Access control and large camera system installations are his forte, his way of “keeping customers happy.”

 

Danny typically designs larger-scale systems for H&S’s Waukesha, WI office, and also “brings in a few new customers each year. I like to eliminate the word ‘should’ from interactions with customers. We need to provide customers the certainty of knowing exactly what we are and aren’t capable of in terms of our installation abilities,” he said.

 

Greco found school wasn’t the way he wanted to advance when he moved into the workforce. “Maybe that’s how I got to where I am today,” he laughed. “I don’t like to sit still. I like to work with my mind and hands, and being a technician is a good fit.”

 

He finds that communication between H&S staff is a strong reason to recommend H&S to clients. “We don’t have a large staff. But we do more based on our communication than you’ll see in any corporation. Our staff trusts each other tremendously. They’re great people to work with day-in and day-out. We help each other personally,” he said.

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Danny enjoys the freedom of his position, not having to be managed. “Steve (Garritson, H&S Co-Owner) gives me freedom to do my job. He knows and trusts what we can do,” Greco observed.

 

In turn, Danny trusts his teammates. “When I sell a job, I hand it over to operations. I rely on them to line it up to our standards. They do a tremendous job,” he said.

 

When the day or week is done, Danny likes to follow his love of sports. He enjoys tossing bags in a local league, spending time with his girlfriend Kelsey and his family. He is also seeking exempt status on the Bad Golf Tour.

 

Danny can be reached directly at [email protected] or 262.894.2461.