Ian B.
Critique from the Treasurer of a small condo association.
I am the Treasurer of a 2 building condo association in Minnesota, 14 units. We decided to upgrade our outdoor parking lot cameras and add cameras to the front foyers of the two buildings, using a local security contractor that installs Alarm.com equipment. The local contractor did a very good job with the installation and the tech-nicians were resourceful and knowledge-able. Almost immediately the new cameras paid off, alerting us to night time "visitors" trying to enter the buildings late at night - something we would never have been aware of without the camera systems in place. But, there have been two problems. First, instructions on how to use the recorded camera clip system has been haphazard at best. The installer gave a brief initial description on how to search and store video clips and from that point on, additional advice was on a meter. The technical support that is normally needed to ensure the system is operable by the customer seems to dry up when the last installation invoice is paid. Alarm.com's web page makes it clear that it is not responsible for customer support and its supporting material on how to establish and adjust recording rules, while helpful, requires patient searching. You would think that a company selling alarm equipment to consumers would display ample support materials easily obtainable from its web site, particularly since it refuses to provide direct customer service. Second, the Log In process is a continuing challenge. Today the user name and the password work, tomorrow they don't. Today the laptop log in works, tomorrow the laptop can barely access Alarm.com. Today the cell phone logs in quickly, tomorrow it won't. From one day to the next, Alarm.com seems to be here and then gone, and if you have a problem, you call the service contractor and work it out while the meter is running. If my internet service provider behaved like this, I would change providers in a minute. Our condo likes the camera product, but the ongoing internet connection problems and the lack of instructional material has been a big disappointment.
Response from Alarm.comAug 19, 2021
Hello Ian, We wanted to thank you immensely for your feedback. While it is never easy to hear difficulties like what you're experiencing, it does help us to grow. We've shared your feedback internally with not only our product teams but also all of our executives in an effort to improve the login process and video challenges you mentioned here. It also gave us insights into how our business structure affects end-users, presenting opportunities to work with the companies who sell and service our technology. We attempted to reach out to gather your contact information so we could work together with your provider to help resolve the issues you've experienced. If you'd like to reach out directly to us, please email [email protected] and we'd be happy to assist!