CEI Alarm

I bought a house in Gardnerville, NV from the bank in a short sale. The house had an existing alarm system from Ademco with door sensors and motion detectors. I went on the CEI website and aksed to be contacted. Dave, the owner called me within 1 hour. Dave a has local subcontractor, Mike Haanpa in Gardnerville. Dave had Mike call me and Mike came over to look at my system. Mike spent two hours getting the system operational (replacing the battery, testing with my new phone line, testing sensors). He even tested the security sensors and motion sensors in the RV garage. (The motion sensors were painted over, so were inoperable). There was no charge for the service set-up visit. All I had to do was sign a monthly two year monitoring contract with CEI. Mike came back a week later and put security signs in my driveway. And he gave me a very reasonable quote for replacing and relocating the motion sensors in the RV Garage. All in all, I couldn't be happier with the service.

When our house was built all entry points (windows and doors) as well as infrared motion detectors were hard wired in. Recently, all the windows and doors were replaced to provide for more efficient ones and with the replacement my wife and I decided to refresh our home security alarm system as well as it was 15+ years old. Refreshing the security system would allow us to determine the exact level of security we wanted to retain in our home. Using Angie's List, we narrowed the companies we wanted to use down to two local firms. (If you are considering putting an alarm in or upgrading I strongly suggest you do not do this without looking at Angie's List.) One company we were familiar with, the other company we were not. We interviewed the company we were familiar with; got a lot of sales rhetoric and little else of value. It was my job to interview CEI Alarm and see what the benefit would be by using them rather than the first company. I drove to the company offices unannounced and asked to speak with someone about alarm system upgrades and/or replacement. Dave Sinclair, President of CEI, introduced himself and we began to converse about what type of systems are currently in the market place. As we progressed, he invited security consultant Rick Nichols to join us. After a 90 minute discussion about alarm systems and what CEI does and does not do (much to my relief there was no sales pitch or "is your family really safe" rhetoric involved) I invited CEI to review my system and give me a bid. Rich Nichols arrived on the date and at the time agreed upon. We spent 2 1/2 hours discussing the pros and cons of adequate, good and excellent home security options. In the end I chose a system that was a blend of my existing hardwire system and the addition of varying wireless components including a wireless cell. Rich indicated that he would sit down with Dave and work out an estimate for the work. Approximately 5 days later I met with Rich again and reviewed the estimate. My hardwire requirements drove the cost of the work up considerably due to the labor involved. (I knew this going in as an average labor for all the companies I spoke with was $75.00+ per hour for work on existing systems and we have a lot of doors and windows.) The overall costs of the additional security upgrades were acceptable. We discussed contract terms for monitoring and ownership of the system when the contract expired (which is extremely important to know) and agreed on the total estimate price. Prior to installation, I spoke with Glenda Mueller, office manager, twice to complete necessary paperwork and assure that all the I's were dotted and the T's were crossed. I was grateful she initiated these conversations as I had forgotten many things of importance for an operational system. Alex Chmelewski, CEI's installation/service manager arrived on the date and at the time agreed upon to do the necessary work and install the new pieces of the system. The work took almost 10 hours to complete. Alex reviewed the system with me and made sure I knew how it worked. He was neat, clean and efficient and the final product revealed that. Three days after the installation Rick called me to inquire how the system was working and if I had any questions. The system works great and I told him even though Alex was thorough about the system nuances I had forgotten how to rename zones. Within 2 minutes of completing the telephone call with Rick, Alex called from another work site and walked me through the procedure again. I am grateful we chose CEI as our alarm company. They held to their bid, completed the work in a timely and expert manner and I received what I paid for. This is a local company that cares about customer service and will make sure you know every option available to you. I found no hidden agendas or sleight of hand, if you will. I would recommend this company to anyone looking to install or upgrade their alarm system. They will work hard to earn your business and retain it.