COVID-19 is Affecting the Entire Business World
First and foremost, all of our customers that have been impacted personally or professionally are in our thoughts and we want you to know that we are here for you and that we are doing everything in our power to protect our employees, while continuing to provide you and your customers with the highest service levels in the industry. GMS is standing strong. We have taken action and want to keep you informed on what we are doing to combat Covid-19:
- Non-essential employees are working from home
- Deliveries and visitors have been highly restricted
- Employees are following CDC guidelines around social distancing, hand washing and cleaning of our facility
- I’m happy to report that employee morale is higher than ever
- Our employees are essential to our success and they are proud to be on the front lines doing what they can for you and all of the homes and businesses we protect!
Businesses of all sizes are under intense pressure to figure out new ways to work and slow the spread of the virus. The majority of states consider security businesses essential and as such many of our employees must still report to work. While shelter in place and stay at home executive orders are continually evolving we must do our best to stay informed especially related to the geographic areas we serve.
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Managing an Emergency Response Center During a Pandemic
By Jessica Lambert, GMS Central Station Manager
A few short months ago I did not foresee the sweeping changes coming our way. The unimaginable disruption that our global economy is experiencing has impacted our businesses and personal lives. The way we work, communicate, and interact with our family, friends and colleagues has changed dramatically since the beginning of this year. However, here at GMS the good news is that we had our systems and processes in place to make the changes with very limited interruption.
We take pride in operating an emergency response center that plays a critical role in protecting life and property. If we have learned anything throughout this pandemic it is that life is precious and kindness can change the world. We are standing strong and we are here for our customers.
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Increased RMR by Offering Remote Worker Solutions
The need for employees to collaborate remotely with each other is now more important than ever. With the right technology, customers will not even realize employees are away from the office.
Ask GMS about:
- A Remote Meeting link that combines calls, chat, video conferences and screen sharing
- The ability to make business lines mobile
- Corporate secure employee mobile hotspots with no throttling of speeds, unlimited business data
- Remote Worker secure VPN connections, with redundancy for up to 8 million simultaneous sessions
The Remote Meeting basic service is free. To help in these difficult times, we can put you in touch with a company that is offering 6 months of all the premium features plus ongoing technical support to help you increase your RMR with your existing customer base and gain new customers.
Ken Gresty
800-839-7212
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A Note from the CPA’s
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act contains many provisions for businesses and individuals, but the most impactful provision for small businesses in the immediate term is the Paycheck Protection Program loan.
The Paycheck Protection Program loan will provide up to $349 billion of federally guaranteed loans for small businesses. The loans are being issued by qualified SBA lenders (banks) and will be available until June 30, 2020, or until funds run out.
Be sure to let them know you heard about them from GMS!
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Billing System Upgrade
As an update to our billing system upgrade, we will be sending out sample invoices from the new system this month. Our goal is to be completely on the new system on May 1! We would also like to take this opportunity to move all of our clients to electronic email billing. You can use all of the tools in Excel to manage and audit your accounts, for fast and touchless account management.
Contact Michelle Pettay
to update your account or with any questions!
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COVID-19 crisis moves government agencies to tag security and fire services crucial
The electronic security, fire, monitoring and life safety services are explicitly included as essential workforce in the DHS CISA Guidelines
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Coronavirus Relief Options
Our nation's small businesses are facing an unprecedented economic disruption due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. On Friday, March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the CARES Act, which contains $376 billion in relief for American workers and small businesses.
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New Free Risk Management and Insurance Services for all GMS Dealers
Last month we announced some of the new changes and dealer enhancements we are introducing in 2020. Today, we are officially rolling out our new Risk Management and Insurance Services program designed to help reduce and even eliminate nuisance lawsuits against your company.
One of the things we have learned in our forty years as a leading central station is that sooner or later every dealer will either be sued or at least threatened with litigation by one of their subscribers. When this happens, the steps you have taken to properly protect your company will determine whether you survive the ordeal, or you perish in the process. To help save you from a catastrophe, we have retained the expert services of Rick Gombar and John Guthrie of Bolton & Company. They are nationally recognized experts when it comes to handling security company risks, and have a 40 year track record in serving our industry.
At absolutely no cost to you, they will review your current insurance coverages and advise as to whether or not you are properly protected. Believe it or not, a high percentage of alarm dealers are improperly insured. Also, and most importantly, should you ever be threatened with a suit, they will step in on your behalf, conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged loss, and more likely than not, will eliminate the threatened litigation before a suit is even filed against your company. In fact, over the past 15 years alone, Bolton has handled 17 separate demand attempts against our dealers totaling nearly $6.5 million in alleged losses, and they won in every instance.
Bolton & Company has been serving GMS and many of our dealers for nearly 40 years. If you are not already familiar with their services, we highly recommend you give them a call and see how they can help you manage your risk. Their expert service is still another GMS dealer enhancement, and we are happy to provide these benefits as part of our regular services.
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Rick Gombar
Executive Vice President
Broader Perspective. Business Solutions.
Pasadena // Santa Clara // Anaheim // Torrance
Insurance License No. 0008309
Proud Partner of Assurex Global® and Benefit Advisors Network (BAN)
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(626) 535-1972 direct
(626) 585-5800 fax
Best Places
to Work 2019
Los Angeles Business Journal
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When you call Bolton & Company, let them know you heard about them from GMS!
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Referral Program
Current and Active Dealer Partners will receive up to $1,000.00 in the form of an invoice credit for referring a new dealer to GMS for Monitoring Service Solutions.
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