A local company re-brands with their customers in mind! Expert Security Solutions, formally Phone Experts Security, is evolving and it’s about a lot more than just a new look!
“Having determined what we didn’t want to look like and listening to our customers feedback, we decided to make some bold changes that set us apart from all our competitors and give us some key differentiators.” – Brad Dufresne
We recently sat down with Expert Security Solutions’ owner Brad Dufresne and spoke about the company’s renewed focus on security solutions and how it all began.
Q: When did The Phone Experts first begin to focus on security solutions and what was the catalyst for that?
A: The Phone Experts Security was born in 1995 out of a need that we saw for a local, reputable company to provide security systems for small and medium commercial businesses. At the time we were doing a lot of network cabling for computer and telephone systems and we were often asked if we could wire for security, so it seemed like a great fit for our business.
A: While we never ruled out the prospect of providing residential security it wasn’t our focus; but we would regularly receive requests for security quotes from the consumer market, so we eventually started to sell and install in that segment as well. Back then our greatest obstacle to being competitive in the residential market was our ability to finance the customers over 3-year terms. Providers like ADT and VOX were able to do this, but we lacked the capital. The only way we could compete was to provide the hardware and installation at or below our cost and rely on revenue from monitoring to attain profitability.
Q: Tell us more about Expert Security Solutions- why the re-brand and why now?
A: The re-brand gives us the opportunity to tell customers we aren’t just a phone company that sells security, and it allows us to retool and redefine who we are as a security provider. We got to take a hard look at the industry and make decisions about what we didn’t like about the industry and offer customers a better product and service than what’s typically offered in both the consumer and commercial markets.
Q: How will you be offering better products and service- what does that mean to you?
A: The products and services we offer are tailored to what our customer needs are and ensuring they are protected. We are a security company that provides security products that go beyond what the average alarm company will provide at a price point that is fair to both the customer and the company. The installation will be completed by professional well-trained technicians who will exceed the customers expectations. We are constantly evaluating products to ensure that we are current and relevant with respect to changing technologies and we are constantly evaluating our customer service – we want to provide exceptional customer experiences.
Q: Tell us more about what went into re-imagining Expert Security Solutions; what did you discover about your business and your customers?
A: We started by asking ourselves questions like; Why we are in business, How do we differ from our competitors, What level of service do we provide, What image we want to convey and Who our customers are and Who we want our customers to be?
The answers we came up with provided us with a clear sense of what we want to be.
Then we created a value statement. This was created by our security team, specifically for the security division;
“We are a local company that cares about protecting what you value most, through innovative and personalized security solutions, while providing an exceptional customer experience.”
We want to create loyal clients that refer others and exceed our customers expectations while providing quality customized security.
Q: You certainly did your research! So where does all this bring Expert Security Solutions? What’s the way forward?
A: Having determined what we didn’t want to look like and listening to our customers feedback, we decided to make some bold changes that set us apart from all our competitors and give us some key differentiators.
The three pillars to our change and future success are the following:
No Contracts for Monitoring
We believe this is our key differentiator and the one that holds us the most accountable to our customers. When customers sign a long-term contract for the installation and monitoring of their security it puts them a terrible bargaining position when it comes to ongoing maintenance and even for the quality of the initial installation. By having no contract for the monitoring, it gives the customer the freedom to leave us if we aren’t providing the services they anticipated. While this a huge risk to us, I love the potential implications because it makes us constantly review our products and services to ensure that we truly are providing the best products and services at a competitive price.
Customer Loyalty Program
We review our customer accounts regularly to ensure they have opportunities to upgrade to current equipment and new technology. We have incentives for new and current customers.
Ongoing Support
Our dispatch is local and our technicians are local too. This allows us to offer services like troubleshooting and service work faster than a company that isn’t local. Our technicians can be reached 24 hours a day for technical issues or concerns.
Q: Any final thoughts on the future?
A: I believe that our vision for Expert Security Solutions as a “customer first, continuous improvement, learning organization”, will set us apart from the competition. But our success will hinge on our ability to get word of mouth advertising out to the market, so people will want to buy from us and seek out our services when required.
Expert IT Solutions– From cloud managed antivirus to our full suite of remote and onsite support options, Expert IT Solutions keeps your business concentrated on business not your IT infrastructure. We keep your data secure by using our online back up services, available to all business service clients, and offer multiple combinations of services to fit your business needs.
Consumer Solutions – Phone Experts Consumer Solutions, provides wireless and internet services across Alberta, this includes Optik TV solutions, and rural services. Offering the latest cellphones, smartphones, prepaid devices and tablets!
Business Solutions – Go where your business takes you! Enable business growth and success with the right solutions and services from Phone Experts Business Solutions, backed by network reliability and industry expertise. We keep your business connected on the go.
Todayville Content Team works with a wide variety of clients to develop compelling content solutions. Our experienced team develops strategic campaigns that use video and storytelling, digital advertising and social media to help our clients position and distinguish themselves in the market.
Chief David Jimmie is president of Stonlasec8 and Chief of Squiala First Nation in B.C. He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group. Photo courtesy Western Indigenous Pipeline Group
Stonlasec8 agreement is Canada’s first federal Indigenous loan guarantee
The first federally backed Indigenous loan guarantee paves the way for increased prosperity for 36 First Nations communities in British Columbia.
In May, Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV) announced a $400 million backstop for the consortium to jointly purchase 12.5 per cent ownership of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system for $712 million.
In the works for two years, the deal redefines long-standing relationships around a pipeline that has been in operation for generations.
“For 65 years, there’s never been an opportunity or a conversation about participating in an asset that’s come through the territory,” said Chief David Jimmie of the Squiala First Nation near Vancouver, B.C.
“We now have an opportunity to have our Nation’s voices heard directly when we have concerns and our partners are willing to listen.”
Jimmie chairs the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance, which represents the communities buying into the Enbridge system.
The name Stonlasec8 reflects the different regions represented in the agreement, he said.
The Westcoast pipeline stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from northeast B.C. near the Alberta border to the Canada-U.S. border near Bellingham, Wash., running through the middle of the province.
Map courtesy Enbridge
It delivers up to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas throughout B.C. and the Lower Mainland, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
“While we see the benefits back to communities, we are still reminded of our responsibility to the land, air and water so it is important to think of reinvestment opportunities in alternative energy sources and how we can offset the carbon footprint,” Jimmie said.
He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG), a coalition of First Nations communities working in partnership with Pembina Pipeline to secure an ownership stake in the newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system.
There is overlap between the communities in the two groups, he said.
“It’s not a new idea. Alberta started it before us, and Ontario,” Labelle said.
“We hired some of the same advisors AIOC hired because we want to make sure we are aligned with the market. We didn’t want to start something completely new.”
Broadly, Jimmie said the Stonlasec8 agreement will provide sustained funding for investments like housing, infrastructure, environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. But it’s up to the individual communities how to spend the ongoing proceeds.
The long-term cash injections from owning equity stakes of major projects can provide benefits that traditional funding agreements with the federal government do not, he said.
Labelle said the goal is to ensure Indigenous communities benefit from projects on their traditional territories.
“There’s a lot of intangible, indirect things that I think are hugely important from an economic perspective,” he said.
“You are improving the relationship with pipeline companies, you are improving social license to do projects like this.”
Jimmie stressed the impact the collaborative atmosphere of the negotiations had on the success of the Stonlasec8 agreement.
“It takes true collaboration to reach a successful partnership, which doesn’t always happen. And from the Nation representation, the sophistication of the group was one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”
“So we’re going to have an order on that pretty soon – we can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels, we’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”
President Donald Trump said Thursday that changes are coming to his aggressive immigration policies after complaints from farmers and business owners.
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote in a social media post Thursday morning. “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
Later Thursday, Trump made it clear that businesses need workers.
“Our farmers are being hurt badly. They have very good workers – they’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be great. And we’re going to have to do something about that,” the president said.
He added: “We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’t have, maybe, what they’re supposed to have.”
Just how Trump may change his approach to immigration enforcement remains unclear, but he said he wants to help farmers and business owners.
“You go into a farm and you look and people, they’ve been there for 20 or 25 years and they work great and the owner of the farm loves them and you’re supposed to throw them out. You know what happens? They end up hiring the criminals that have come in, the murderers from prisons and everything else,” Trump said.
Trump said changes would be coming soon, but gave little detail on how policies could change.
“So we’re going to have an order on that pretty soon – we can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels, we’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”
In a later post on Truth Social, Trump said illegal immigration had destroyed American institutions.
“Biden let 21 Million Unvetted, Illegal Aliens flood into the Country from some of the most dangerous and dysfunctional Nations on Earth — Many of them Rapists, Murderers, and Terrorists. This tsunami of Illegals has destroyed Americans’ Public Schools, Hospitals, Parks, Community Resources, and Living Conditions,” the president wrote. “They have stolen American Jobs, consumed BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in Free Welfare, and turned once idyllic Communities, like Springfield, Ohio, into Third World Nightmares.”
He added that deportations would continue: “I campaigned on, and received a Historic Mandate for, the largest Mass Deportation Program in American History. Polling shows overwhelming Public Support for getting the Illegals out, and that is exactly what we will do. As Commander-in-Chief, I will always protect and defend the Heroes of ICE and Border Patrol, whose work has already resulted in the Most Secure Border in American History. Anyone who assaults or attacks an ICE or Border Agent will do hard time in jail. Those who are here illegally should either self deport using the CBP Home App or, ICE will find you and remove you. Saving America is not negotiable!”
