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This October thousands of security professionals will head to the Big Apple for ISC East, which returns to New York City for a third straight year; and like the revival of a hit Broadway show, the excitement has been mounting.
With that in mind, I thought that it would be a great time to speak with a security dealer integrator whose company has been serving New York since 1910. From its origins, New York Merchants Protective Co. Inc. has been a family run business. Today, Wayne Wahrsager, president, along with partner Mark Fischer, have kept that tradition alive. Two of Wayne's three sons play an integral role in managing the day-to-day operations. Aaron Wahrsager is the central station manager, managing over 70,000 commercial and residential accounts. Eric Wahrsager is in charge of marketing and is tasked with creating and placing advertising and making sure the business continues to grow.
From their bunker-like headquarters in Freeport, NY, they manage all 70,000 accounts through Nationwide Monitoring and run 14 service vans as well.
Measuring Success: Wahrsager is proud to mention that Merchants has one of the lowest attrition rates for accounts in the industry at 2.6%. "Our average employee has well over 15 years of service. In fact, the accounts receivable manager will be celebrating his 55th year with the company. And at 78 he's still going strong," he says.
Keys to Success: Look for chain operations, do not offer free systems, no subcontracting, and have a large inventory of parts.
Merchants is one of only a handful of NYC / FDNY-approved central station operators. The company's largest client is the City of New York, including the Department of Education's 1,500 schools.
"Fire is a huge percentage of our business and the fastest growing segment. In terms of RMR, the average commercial customer pays $ 65.00 per month while the average fire customer will pay $ 350.00 per month, Wahrsager comments.
"The owner of a commercial building has a vested interest in protecting his investment. This market is a no brainer. Systems are required by law. Insurance companies require the protection and people with expertise are limited," he adds.
An upcoming installation that Wahrsager is very excited and proud to have been chosen for is New York's own White House—Gracie Mansion.
I am always looking to visit with our readers and would welcome your e-mail or phone calls. If there are any other issues that you would like to see Security Dealer cover, please don't hesitate to contact me as well. We are here to serve your needs.
author: Peter Harlick
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