Cheap Security – is it worth it?

There seems to be an increasing trend towards clients choosing ‘cheap’ security companies. A word of warning – purchasing a security service on price alone can be hazardous – if a security company is charging you £8.00 an hour for a security guard, you have to ask yourself what they are actually paying the guard to do the job – the minimum wage will soon be close to that figure. Would you go into a supermarket and buy their value range and expect it to taste like food from a Michelin starred restaurant? No.

Buying ‘cheap security’ could mean that you end up with guards who are very poorly paid, have a less than basic command of the English language and have no real interest in the job, often falling asleep during their shift while break-ins are occurring. These security companies are usually operating on a shoestring, which means that they have no back up, no checks on the guards and no proper control centre – would you want your property protected by a security company that is run this way? We have witnessed guards from another ‘cheap rate’ company turning up on site to carry out a night shift, bleary eyed and barely able to speak English, and the first question is ‘where do we sleep?’ Our answer would be ‘you don’t!’ but clearly this is not the case with all security companies.

Better to utilise the services of a company that pay their guards a living wage and have the resources to keep a check on their guards’ movements and activities, and have the back up to respond to any situation that occurs. True, this may cost the client more, but what price do you put on your property, your security and your peace of mind? Wouldn’t you be happier knowing that when you go back to your property it will still be present and intact? The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is never more true than when it is applied to security companies, so digging a little deeper into your pockets will be far less painful in the long run than utilising bargain basement companies to appease the bean counters.