A-1 SECURITY SYSTEMS

Very helpful with getting on the port and picking up my car. Kyle, who was my escort, was very sociable and went out of his way to help jump the car i was picking up. The receptionist was very friendly and did a much better job of explaining the pick up process than both the port and the customs broker i hired.

A-1 Security was contacted to install an intercom system for a 4-unit building. Provided an estimate for around 2k. After the 1/3 down deposit check was sent, the owner Nancy Fish, informs me that they wouldn't provide electrical power to the system and that I had to find an electrician to do this work. Their estimate said they would completely install the system. I tried to argue with the owner over her bait and switch but she was very aggressive and rude. Since I was in a time crunch with painting to start a few days after they were scheduled to install the system, and needing the wiring to be done before drywall work was to be done, I had to suck it up and scramble to find a solution. I compromised by just having them install all the wiring in through the hallway, the apt units, and the outside call box and I would find an electrician later to power the system. The owner told me it would take 2 full days labor to do all the wiring and install the system. I factored this into the estimate cost. However, they were in and out of the building in 3 hours and did probably about the laziest wiring job possible. The wiring was not tucked neatly in corners and out of eye sight like was promised. The ran it across steps instead of around the walls so they could cut corners. They left drywall and all kinds of mess where they drilled holes in the hallway and in all of the apts. The didnt demo the old intercom units in the apts and just installed the new units on top of the old ones. The made the unit stick out about 2 inches from the wall and was completely sloppy and unprofessional looking. They also drilled through the old custom wood trim in the foyer without me authorization. I told them to drill from the bottom where a wire wouldn't need to stick out in the middle of the wall. But they took the easier route and damaged the antique trim. I contacted them about their poor workmanship and had to take 2 hours to inspect their poor work and then be there while they fixed things properly. I spent an additional 2 hours cleaning the apts after they made a mess. Whats worse is that the owner, Nancy Fish, tried to charge me for having her guys come out and fix all things that weren't done properly. I had an electrician come to install power to the system they set up. The electrician found that A-1 Security didnt demo the power to the old system and instead just cut the wire and went about their business. So I basically had a live electrical wire sitting in the house waiting to cause trouble. Luckily nothing happened because of it and the electrician disabled the wire for me. After I got an electrician to provide power to the system, something that A-1 Security should have taken care of, I set up for A-1 Security to come back and program the system. While doing this they left a huge mess in the basement where the power source and wire-hub was. They also put the wrong apt numbers on the outside call box. I explicitly told them I wanted the buttons to be programed and labels to be placed with Apt 1 on top going DOWN to apt 4 at the bottom. Well they did the exact opposite. I even drew a picture of how I wanted the numbers to go but they did the exact opposite. I can't take more time out of my schedule to micro-manage their mistakes so I'm just going to live with it for now and fix it when I have the time. Avoid A-1 Security!!!! The company is a rip-off, does terrible work, and the owner is rude and unprofessional.