"The voice-mail system wasn’t personal, and people were upset when they didn’t reach a live person. A lot of our business is emergency related, so it’s reassuring to our customers to talk to someone who can help them."

Reliable Monitoring Services (RMS) has grown since it started as a monitoring service for fire alarms and methane gas detection. A little over a year ago, the company expanded its services to include installation of methane gas detection systems. With 22 employees, many of them technicians who are out in the field working at client locations, it’s not possible for someone always to be in the office.

"Alert has saved us a lot of time, in addition to money," explains Denise. "I didn’t want to incur the additional expense of hiring a full-time receptionist."

Alert’s call-protocol option, which allows clients to customize the handling of their business calls, is a lifesaver for Denise. "Our company is reactionary – responding to emergency situations," she says. "We have to be flexible. Alert is often dealing with RMS customers who don’t understand the severity of their problem. They’ve been told by the fire department that they need to get someone out to their property right way."

"Alert is great at talking these people through the situation and getting as much pertinent information as possible to put the call through to the right RMS person. The custom, call-protocol program Alert put together for RMS ensures I have to handle as few calls as possible."

After setting up her account with Alert, Denise was pleasantly surprised to find Alert managers checking back with her regularly to see if the service was working and if there was anything Alert could improve.

"The managers made suggestions I never would have thought of," Denise says. "They’re willing to go the extra mile and very willing to put in extra effort. Unlike other companies I explored, Alert didn’t push me immediately to commit to a long-term, minutes-per-month plan. We took it month by month until we could see what would be right for RMS. Alert doesn’t just want my business, they want to keep it."

"I highly recommend Alert. They’re worth their weight in gold."

"We can't afford to miss a call," explains Wynne Schumacher, director, LifeLine business administration. "The community needs us to be able to respond quickly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Until it became cost prohibitive, the county fire dispatch handled both emergency and non-emergency calls for LifeLine. When the company needed to consider alternatives, Alert Communications was at the top of Wynne's list.

"Someone I met when I worked as a night dispatcher recommended Alert's services, " Wynne says. "She said Alert was the biggest player with the best reputation." Wynne checked out the competition, and in 2006 LifeLine partnered with Alert Communications.

Alert handles LifeLine's calls after hours, on the weekends and whenever the office isn't open. The protocols agents follow for the different types of calls that come into LifeLine are always a work in progress, according to Wynne.

"If a situation comes up that we haven't created a call protocol for, then an Alert agent contacts us immediately. Updating protocols and making account changes is easy with Alert," Wynne says. "I also like having the opportunity to offer additional training. Alert provides ongoing training for their agents and invites LifeLine to come in twice a year to offer intensive in-service training specific to our business.

"I have a very good relationship with everyone at Alert," she adds. "I'm confident about how our calls are handled, because I know Alert is proactive in managing the LifeLine account. Whenever a problem does occur, it is addressed immediately. I would definitely recommend Alert Communications."