Complaint Review: Sentry Surveillance - Kennesaw Georgia

Where to begin.....(coming from an employee)

This company sells and installs security camera systems.

They do have the best warrenty in the industry: 5 years parts, 1 year labor.  But take a look at how much you are paying and it does not seem that great.  They do 99% of their sales/installs by leasing them out to customers.  The lease is done by a 3rd party company.  Just to give an example of how much you are getting screwed:  I recently installed an 8 channel DVR and 1 camera at a customer's location.  They have to pay $236/month for 60 months.  That is $14,000!!!  For that amount of money you can go out and buy a new DVR, 8 cameras and everything you would need to install it every year for 4 years.  Also, read the lease terms and fine print carefully.  It may say you will pay $236/month but they have to add on tax and an insurance fee on top of that.  All of that can raise your payment by $20/month. 

The warrenty basically covers the equipment if it fails by itself.  It does not cover damage by people or weather (lightning strikes).  At a customers a kid threw a rcok at an outdoor housing and broke it.  Not covered under warrenty.  For the $30 housing, the company charged the customer $250 for a new housing, $75 to install it ($75/hr, 1 hour minimum), and a $29.95 trip charge.  Their total profit from the 1 hour of work: $325.  I also installed a lens on a camera at another location.  The lens cost $60, they charged the customer $345.

Are you wondering where all of your money is going?  Well they have a staff of about 50 in their office in Kennesaw, GA.  About half of those are telemarketers.  They do build the DVR's in the office but not everything is done there.  They pay a company called RealEyes to design their remote viewing software and dashboard.  They also now "manufacture" their own cameras.  Basically they have another company make them and we pay them to put our name on them.  To be honest, they are not any better than ones that Sony or Samsung or JVC make. 

As to working fro them.....be weary.  They will give you a truck allowance of $125/week.  With gas prices and how much you will drive this will not cover all of your expenses.  I have gotten $1550 this year so far for my truck allowance.  I have spent over $2500.  They refuse to give me more even though gas prices have doubled since I started.  They also do not care how long you work there.  They will never give you a raise.  I have been with the company for 2 years.  The Lead Tech in Houston (I am also a Lead Tech, in Chicago) has been there for 13 years.  We make the same amount of money.  They go through techs like crazy and only hope you are dumb enough to stay for a long time.  I am quitting in 2 months. 

Also, if you work for them do not let them tell you that you are an exempt employee.  Techs do not meet the guidelines for exempt status.  They must pay overtime for any hours over 40 in a week. 

I have turned them in to the Illinois Department for Labor-for unpaid overtime, OSHA-for work safety violations, and the IRS-for tax evasion (long story).

Overall, the company and its services are just way overpriced.  The same quality can be found for much cheaper.