However, you are just as likely to see one of our trucks providing best in class service to the corner laundromat as to a prominent store. Plus, our award-winning monitoring center and access control teams provide around the clock service no matter how many employees you have or how many people have heard of your brand.

DGA’s managed security services are the ideal way to allow you to focus on growing the business, while we focus on giving your the security, video and access systems you need.

• Environmental monitoring can notify you immediately when the temperature in the walk-in exceeds specified levels.
• External video surveillance on the garbage receptacles to keep an eye out that they are covered when not in use.
• Video cameras pointed at various food stations to make sure that proper food handling occurs at all times.
• Case control can ensure that the right people have access to the right food at the right time of day.
• Remote video surveillance, online access and email reports to make sure that your restaurant runs smoothly even when you are not present.

DGA provides security, video and access control services to many of NYC’s finest restaurants. Contact us today to see how we can help you.

For its US headquarters Spotify has chosen New York City for its proximity to music executives and wealth of technology talent. (Daily non-stops to Europe probably don’t hurt either.) As with many other top Silicon Alley tech companies, Spotify is using DGA Security System’s access management system in its office.  With managed access from DGA, Spotify can focus on providing the best music streaming service while DGA’s Card Access team manages their security.

With a managed access control system from DGA, giving temp employees access to the different parts of your business is easy. Simply contact DGA’s Card Access team 24 hours a day. When the season ends, there is no need to track down keys, simply call us again and access will be terminated.

It is also critical to make sure that your security company offers line security, making sure that you are still protected in the event of a power outage.

While analysts are cautiously optimistic about this year’s holiday retail outlook, retailers need to take steps to prevent shoplifters or a dishonest employee from dampening a good selling season. Here are 10 tips to help protect your business this holiday season:

1. Make sure your video surveillance system is working properly.
   It may have been a while since you looked closely at your video surveillance system and confirmed that it was capturing images properly. You may have also changed the layout of your store for the holidays. Look at your surveillance system’s video to make sure that the cameras are still positioned to give you optimal coverage. Check that the video images are clear. Make sure the system’s digital video recorder (DVR) is plugged in!
2. Verify that your holiday decorations and displays do not obstruct your security systems.
   Watch out for decorations and displays that may obstruct video cameras or set off motion sensors. Mylar balloons are notorious for causing false alarms.
3. Test your holdup buttons.
   Many businesses have holdup buttons (also referred to as panic buttons) to silently alert the security company in the event of a robbery. It’s important to test your buttons to make sure they are working properly. Let your security company know that you are planning on doing a test. This will ensure that they don’t call the police when they receive the holdup signal.
4. Inform your security company of your revised holiday hours.
   Some security companies offer supervised opening and closing service, in which they monitor that your security system is only disarmed on a schedule that you set. If you use this valuable service, you need to notify your security company when your hours change.
5. Check that your emergency notification list is up to date.
   If an alarm is triggered or some other critical event occurs, your security company needs to contact the people on your emergency notification list. Call your security company to review the list to make sure it contains the proper names and phone numbers.
6. Be smart about seasonal employees.
   If you hire new staff just for the holidays, make sure that their access cards only let them into the areas where they need to gain entry and only during the hours that you wish them to have access.
7. Watch your video surveillance system’s live feed.
   Pickpockets love crowds. Use your video surveillance system to keep a close eye on the store. Some businesses tend to only look at their surveillance video after the fact, but to stop pickpockets you need to take an active role and assign a responsible employee to view live video.
8. Restrict access to stockrooms.
   Do your salespeople need to go into the stockrooms? To reduce theft by employees, let stock clerks bring inventory to the retail floor. Tie the stockroom entrance into your access control system to monitor and restrict access.
9. Protect sensitive inventory with environmental monitoring.
   If you have inventory that’s sensitive to heat and cold, install temperature sensors to alert you when the temperature gets above or below an acceptable level. Additionally, cold weather can result in burst pipes so add water sensors to ensure that you can get immediate notification of any flooding problems.
10. Leverage your security audit trail.
    Most security systems log who is entering your premises and accessing secured areas, and at what times they’re doing it. This creates an audit trail that can provide you with valuable security and business intelligence. Review the information regularly. Your security company should be able to email reports to you daily or weekly, depending on your preference.

BONUS TIP: Be vigilant.
Your security systems are tools to help protect your business, employees and customers, but ultimately security comes down to you and your employees looking out for potential problems. Keep an eye on your customers, make sure that valuable inventory is never left unattended and that display cases are locked when not actively in use.

DGA Security System customers can call our customer support team at (212) 840-5160 for more help and information on any of these topics.

If you don’t have a security system, it’s not too late to take steps to properly protect your stores, employees and customers. Contact us so we can get you up and running.