Cannot remember if I posted this or not, but I have my own house now on the edges of Shah Alam. By design, it is fenced, but ungated nor guarded. There are about 100 houses or so in this small community.
Setting up security was a need. Four months ago, house break-ins were rampant. My neighbour lost his BMW. They broke into his house, took the keys and drove away the car. I am unsure if the insurance will even pay for the missing car.
Our system here is real different. Firstly, all we do is to appoint a security firm and pay them. That's all we do. Security labels for cars - security firm to provide. Heck, they even have to provide for a boom gate, and paint the gate as well. We do pay a fair bit, RM 80 per household.
But here-in lies the beauty of it. By the beginning of the month, most of us will pay the security guards. Most of us do not even need to be asked to pay. Reason? The guards has been damn effective and I sure hope they will continue to be as effective. Break-ins have dropped to zero. If my house alarm is trigger (always accidentally), they will be outside my house in less than 60 seconds. I suppose that with such good showing, potential criminals are deterred.
Some in the neighbourhood are still renovating. Drilling and hammering keeps triggering the alarms. But the guards do not give up. They will still come around to have a look every time the alarm is triggered. Criminals can no longer trigger alarms until everyone is fed-up then break in.
And yeah, if you must know, the guards must collect the monthly payments from the residents. This gives the residents an opportunity to provide direct feedback to the guards. No third parties. And if they provide bad service, they know they will not be paid.
So, to keep things simple, we have not bothered to form a Resident's Association (RA). We vote with our pockets. That's the best. If we do not like it, do not pay. Since they are doing a good job, we happily pay. This is a simple yet very effective arrangement.
Setting up security was a need. Four months ago, house break-ins were rampant. My neighbour lost his BMW. They broke into his house, took the keys and drove away the car. I am unsure if the insurance will even pay for the missing car.
Our system here is real different. Firstly, all we do is to appoint a security firm and pay them. That's all we do. Security labels for cars - security firm to provide. Heck, they even have to provide for a boom gate, and paint the gate as well. We do pay a fair bit, RM 80 per household.
But here-in lies the beauty of it. By the beginning of the month, most of us will pay the security guards. Most of us do not even need to be asked to pay. Reason? The guards has been damn effective and I sure hope they will continue to be as effective. Break-ins have dropped to zero. If my house alarm is trigger (always accidentally), they will be outside my house in less than 60 seconds. I suppose that with such good showing, potential criminals are deterred.
Some in the neighbourhood are still renovating. Drilling and hammering keeps triggering the alarms. But the guards do not give up. They will still come around to have a look every time the alarm is triggered. Criminals can no longer trigger alarms until everyone is fed-up then break in.
And yeah, if you must know, the guards must collect the monthly payments from the residents. This gives the residents an opportunity to provide direct feedback to the guards. No third parties. And if they provide bad service, they know they will not be paid.
So, to keep things simple, we have not bothered to form a Resident's Association (RA). We vote with our pockets. That's the best. If we do not like it, do not pay. Since they are doing a good job, we happily pay. This is a simple yet very effective arrangement.
No comments:
Post a Comment