Merchant Spotlight: Absolute Automation

Q: What led you to launch a monitoring solutions store?

Garnet McBride: I have always had an interest in electronics, alarms and monitoring devices. When the internet was developed it became clear to me that this was the perfect time to start an alarm and security store using the web as a powerful marketing tool.

Q: You specialize in Do-It-Yourself projects -- what is the general process for installing one of your products?

Garnet: Most of our products only require the user to plug them in or install the batteries. A few of them have different programming options which you can personalize as needed or desired. Some of our higher end monitoring units have so many options and features you could likely spend a lifetime experimenting with different variations or functions and still never run out of new ideas for the unit. We often have new customers calling us with new applications for our products we have never even thought of!

Q: How is it easy to do, and what kind of help do you offer along the way?

Garnet: We offer life time technical support on all of our products.

Q: How are your products customized for customer needs?

Garnet: Many of our products have features on them, such as alarm contacts, which allow us to add specific accessories to the product as needed by a customer or allows the customer to add our product into an existing complete monitoring system.

Q: How does your product information library help with the buying process? What kind of information is typically featured in the downloadable files?

Garnet: We offer a full range of downloadable manuals, technical specification sheets and product comparison charts to help our customers make an informed choice. Where applicable we even have the audible chime or alarm tones available for playback for our different alarms so you will know exactly what the unit is supposed to sound like.

Q: In what ways do your products bring secruity to families at home?

Garnet: Most of our products can be applied to multiple security and/or monitoring applications. Whether you wish to protect your home from intrusion, simply be notified of unexpected guests, monitor your second home for temperature alarms or even be alerted to a family member leaving the home (a popular application for caregivers) our systems can give you and your family peace of mind by monitoring whatever conditions you are most concerned about.

Q: How do your online retail assistant services (live help, "Let me help you choose!") help buyers with their purchasing decisions?

Garnet: Our live chat feature is a REAL person actually sitting in the Absolute Automation office. If you have a question but cannot use the phone the live chat feature is perfect, it also allows for us to quickly and easily send you links to get you to the appropriate product or application page. The Let me help you choose is a series of our most frequently asked questions which quickly directs you to the product we feel would best suit your needs.

Q: What feedback have you recieved on these retail assistant services?

Garnet: We have had tremendous feedback on our live chat function, it makes communicating with customers extremely easy and efficient as well as allows us to communicate with multiple customers at a time. Using our website analytical tools we can see that the Let me help you choose feature is very popular among customers, and leads them directly to the same product we would have ended up recommending over the phone!

Q: Your customers have grown to include large corporations and institutions -- how has this changed your business?

Garnet: It has been a humbling experience having the US military, NASA, leading universities and even the Pentagon ask us to select the proper monitoring equipment. However we do take pride in having very knowledgeable staff to direct all customers to the appropriate products.

Q: Which products have had the most success and why do you think this is?

Garnet: Our line of driveway alarm products and home temperature monitors or freeze alarms have grown the most over the past few years. These products are popular both among home owners, store owners and are sometimes even used in industrial applications. Their price points are also reasonable for many home owners which makes them an attractive option. The temperature monitoring units are versatile enough that the same system to monitor someones cottage in the winter for freezing temperatures will also work for a greenhouse operator looking to maintain the perfect humidity and temperature values in their greenhouses.

Q: In what ways would you like to see your store grow or evolve in the next 3-5 years?

Garnet: We would like to see our stores online experience continue to become more and more customer friendly while also making our customers feel comfortable shopping online with us. This will involve continuously updating and adding new forms of media to display our products information in both informative and easy to view methods.

Q: What else can you share with us about Absolute Automation?

Garnet: With our 15th year of business underway everyone at Absolute Automation Inc. has a sense of pride that they were all part of this success story and we also look forward to another 15 years of serving our customers with new and innovative products that will separate us from our competition.