Complaint Review: Securtronics - Pinnacle Security - Oregon

UPDATE:
I must be honest. I tried to contact that blind woman I sold the security system to to apologize. She said that she knew at the time that I was a salesman and that I was going to fabricate things but that she was done using ADT and had wanted to try something new anyways. Although, she did say that Pinnacle was about the same as ADT and that she had had some problems (and said that just like ADT, Pinnacle's customer service was kind of slow to answer her problems), but I just wanted people to know that she kind of knew what she was doing more than I gave her credit for.
But that still doesn't change the fact that I didn't feel right about the dishonest sales tactics I was taught and I was still taken advantage of as an employee and denied wages.

UPDATE:
I must be honest. I tried to contact that blind woman I sold the security system to to apologize. She said that she knew at the time that I was a salesman and that I was going to fabricate things but that she was done using ADT and had wanted to try something new anyways. Although, she did say that Pinnacle was about the same as ADT and that she had had some problems (and said that just like ADT, Pinnacle's customer service was kind of slow to answer her problems), but I just wanted people to know that she kind of knew what she was doing more than I gave her credit for.
But that still doesn't change the fact that I didn't feel right about the dishonest sales tactics I was taught and I was still taken advantage of as an employee and denied wages.

I worked for Pinnacle Security last year (May 2008) for about two weeks, and that's about all I could take and still stand to look at myself in the mirror. First of all they TEACH you to lie at every single door that you knock on. Let me teach you their lying tactics: First of all they won't tell you that they're selling security. They even had us hold our clipboard so no one will see the Pinnacle Security label on our chest. Then you're supposed to say that you have been having break-ins in the neighborhood (whether it's true or not). Then they say, "We're with G&E and that we're advertising for the new G&E security system and that we're trying to find some test homes to put it in, and if you simply let us put up this sign in your yard to advertise for us, we'll put a security system in your home for free," which isn't true because they charge a $99 installation fee. BUT that fee can be waved if customer acts today because "We're not going to be in this neighborhood tomorrow, and this offer is only going to be good for today," which also is not true...they'll travel anywhere to rip someone off. They teach you to charge the person as much as you can for the monthly monitoring fee, something that they teach you not to mention until you are already in the house going over the contract. They tell you to charge $45 bucks a month for monitoring fees and only go down to $36 a month if you absolutely have to. Their systems are nice, they are G&E products after all, but I have yet to meet an installation "expert" (as we're supposed to call them) that is competent enough to install it right the first time without breaking windows and other items in the home. ADT, the most popular of the systems (which I wouldn't buy their system either) only charges $26 a month monitoring fees. AND if you decide to go with a local company (which is my recommendation) you can get it as low as $10 a months...seriously. Now this is how they rip off the customer, but they also try their best to rip off their employees..... My first meeting with one of these recruiters was "inspiring" but was a total let down and a lie. This recruiter (whom I later worked with for several days before I quit) promised me all sorts of money. He asked me how much I wanted to make in one summer and I said, "I think if I work hard I'd like to make $10,000," and he jkust scoffed at that. He said, "I think you can make $100,000 this summer....$50,000 at the least." This just blew my mind. I was seeing dollar signs. He told me that it was soooo easy to sell and fed me all sorts of B.S. about how it was our duty to protect the public and that you make un-godly amounts of money to perform this selfless public service by making these neighborhoods a safer place. He was truly a salesman if I ever did meet one. Very inspiring, but full of lies. So then I started working there and going out from 12:00 noon to 9pm every day(except sunday) knocking on doors trying to sell this equipment and that's when I was taught all these "scare" tactics and lies that I used. Well, near the end of the two weeks I finally made one sell (which was actually better than most of the other employees were doing) and it was to a blind woman, who didn't know any better. Yes, I am the scum of the earth, I used all of the dishonest tactics that I was taught to sell a system to a blind woman, which she didn't need because she had already used ADT for years and didn't know that she could get a discount on what she already had (probably because ADT are jerks too) and save more money than what we would give her, but why would I tell her that when I could get her money instead? I felt so bad the next couple of days, that I quit. And guess what? I DID NOT get paid for that sale that I made. I tried so hard for two weeks to get a sale and I didn't get paid for it because they made up some excuse that I quit on a Friday, and that if I had waited until Monday I would have been paid.....what kind of crap is that?!?!?!? I tried to call their corporate office, thinking that I had just joined on with a bad branch of their company down here in Texas, but he was extremely rude to me and told me that I should have finished out the weekend and I might have got paid. So two weeks of work....for NOTHING. NO MONEY. AT ALL. I was furious, but at the same time, I knew that it was dirty money that I had earned stealing from a blind woman, and so I am glad to know that that tainted money does not weigh on my conscience. It's upon their heads. I had friends who continued to work for Pinnacle the entire summer and NOT ONE of them made the horrendous amount of money that they were promised. The person who made the most money came out with $5,000. That's it. 54 hour+ work weeks of door to door rejection and you end up making about $5.79/hr. It is NOT worth it! DO NOT work for these people, do NOT buy from these people. Do your research and you'll probably find that a local company will give you the best deal and not lie to you about it.

You need to get your facts straight, because apparently this report was exaggerated and put together on false information. 1)Pinnacle Security is its own company, and is not a parent, or affiliated with any other company (including Securtronics whom I have never even heard of. And Pinnacle security doesn't deal for anybody. 2)Pinnacle Security uses GE equipment, all of which is backed with a lifetime warranty, and GE is the top provider of Security Equipment. 3)Pinnacle Security's equipment is far from cheap. We distribute the General Electric 2008 Simon XT system which is the best system on the market, Pinnacle Security is one of only a few companies that has been given exclusive rights by GE to distribute the system. Also, there is no sales representative for pinnacle security, or probably even ANY company, that will make $1,000 off the monitoring fee of a sale. An average rep will make about $300, which is understandable for how hard it is to find customers. ALSO, at the end of our 3 year contract, the monitoring rate comes out to just about exactly as much as the equipment cost, so basically in reality you are getting free monitoring, and paying a monthly rate for the equipment. Which is better than most other companies will do, which is charge monitoring, install fees, AND equipment.

1) We do not have a "parent" company. SecurTronics is a Monitronics Dealership, and has no affiliation with Pinnacle Security. 2) We warranty our service. We provide service on all equipment issues, at no cost to the customer ( except a $30 trip charge) as long as an idividual has an account in good standing with Monitronics, and is being monitored. 3) We use General Electric equipment, which is a top provider in the security system industry. As a member of the management team, I take pride in our companies commitment to our customers. I do not believe this customer has ever spoken to me personally, however, if they were to call our company and verify they are a SecurTronics customer, I would do everything in my power to make sure any issues they may have were handled in a timely manner.