As a previous security guard company owner one of the things that always perplexed me was Security Guard Service Buyers who use the get 3 bids and choose the lowest bidder to select their security guard provider. And why was that so perplexing….hhhmmmm…could it be that you get what you pay for?
How to Buy Security Guard Service thats beneficial.
When you talk with people who buy security guard services; many times you are talking with someone who invests a lot of time and money in their facilities. In fact, many of these buyers are property managers who spend thousands if not ten’s of thousands of dollars landscaping their properties. Also spent thousands marketing their properties to potential tenants. But then tell their security guard providers give me the least qualified officer that you can find and please skimp on training or any technology that will help improve your services. OK, they may not say it like that, but isn’t that what they’re telling you when they award their security guard contracts to the lowest bidder?
For the record, there are only a couple of things that make up a security guard companies billing rate. First is taxes and insurance and there is NOTHING that a security guard company can do about that. The next is their profit margin.
Unbeknownst to many buyers, profit margins for security guard companies are many times in the Single Digit range. So there is not much that they can cut there. So ALL the cost cutting is aimed at things that matter most to buyers: Wages, Training, and management.
With that being the case, I don’t understand why security guard service buyers are surprised when the service that they are provided sucks…sucks…sucks… and they have to switch companies every few years.
The take away here is, if you are a buyer of security guard service ditch the “Lowest priced bidder process and work with your security guard provider to build a program that suits your needs.”
After all, you get what you pay for.
This is a must-have eBook for Security Services Companies…
By Brittney Lewis
OfficerReports.com is a software company that provides security guard companies with an easy way to monitor their officers, better manage their operations, and win new business. Take a tour of our software to see how we combine Electronic Reporting, Real-Time GPS based Tour Tracking, and GPS based Clock In and Out into one easy to use platform.
