The 8 BIGGEST MISTAKES TO AVOID when purchasing
a video surveillance system
1) Being emotional and reactive...you
know an employee is stealing and you want to catch the bastard with hidden
cameras, etc. Seems like a good idea at the time but it will cost you
more to hide cameras, they won't work as well due to their limited features
and everyone else will think you are going off the deep end, consumed by revenge,
etc. Better to be rational about this....adding a highly visible camera
system provides day in and day out deterrence. In many businesses well
over 60% of all shrink, vandalism etc is internally related....employees,
ex-employees, friends of employees, etc. It is inside knowledge that
prompts these crimes. When everyone knows that you have a good digital
video surveillance system that works REALLY WELL, word gets out and these
problems are reduced. Who wants to be recorded committing a crime?
(back to top)
2) Having unrealistic expectations of what a
camera system can and can't do.
Example: Facial
recognition and license plate identification require careful planning to implement. Time
after time customers want to spend as little as possible and then are dissatisfied
when an event occurs but they can't quite make out the face or get that license
plate. Decide what you want and expect and then do it right. One camera
mounted up high in a retail store will not give you any detail. You will
see a person, the color of their clothes, and that may be all. If you
want facial recognition, aim cameras directly at all entry doors, all sales
counters, all cash registers. Same with license plates. One camera
aimed at a parking lot is not going to give you license plate numbers. This
requires planning and very specific deployment of cameras to do. Some of the
new HDTV cameras www.covitechnologies.com electronic pan/tilt/zoom which helps
get these kind of details.
(back to top)
3) Having a blind belief that you have a good
crew. You got rid of the one bad apple last month.
Your other 14 employees would never steal from you. You don't want to hear
that some of the employees that you trust are betraying your trust (what does
this say about your judgement?). You would prefer to be in denial of this
fact than face the truth. It is always trusted employees that do the greatest
damage.
(back to top)
4) Viewing the purchase of a digital video surveillance
system as an unaffordable expense instead of a tool that keeps more money
in your pocket beginning the first month.
Here's the rational way to think about this. Most businesses are losing
anywhere from 1-5% of sales to shrink (not to mention vandalism, slip and fall claims, etc). Assume
you are doing better than most. 2% shrink. What is 2% of your monthly
sales? If that number is greater than the monthly lease payment on a system
then you have more money in your pocket in the first month. Not to mention
the peace of mind.
(back to top)
5) Making a purchase decision based on price
alone. The belief that the system that costs you $98 per month to own
is a better choice than one that costs $175 per month.
Very often this is not true. When events occur and you find out that you can't
get the detail you were wanting because you don't have enough cameras to properly
cover an area, the cameras don't work well in certain lighting conditions,
you need more days of recording, operating the system is a pain (nobody wants
to read the manual), the company that you purchased the system from does not
provide the quality of support that you need, etc.
(back to top)
6) The belief that installing a system will damage
your relationship with your employees.
Present the positive benefits. If this is presented in the proper manner
the only employees who are going to be offended are those who have something
to hide.
(back to top)
7) Not checking your system on a regular basis
to confirm that system is recording and performing to your expectations. If you put your system in a closet, don't look
at it for months, and then an event occurs, you may be disappointed at what
you are or are not able to retrieve. Check the system once per day at
a minimum. All you have to do is confirm that the cameras are functioning
and check the video history to be certain you have recordings made of the
# of days that you think you want (this is an after the purchase mistake).
(back to top)
8) Not purchasing and installing an uninterruptible
power supply and effective firewall to protect your hardware and network.
(back to top)
