When I Really Needed AAA Auto Club Service They Really let me down because too many Stupid Fools not Prepared for Winter Driving

This past Monday MLK Birthday and a Holiday so not as many people working or on the road  I was on my way to Burgetsstown to handle an emergency call one of my customers who rents a building to a Pipeline construction company . They had a problem with the outside electrical outlets used to plug in trucks to keep the engines from freezing up it is 17 Degrees out -5 wind chill  . I get on US 22/30 and at Oakdale exit my truck dies out the fuel pump went out. No Problem pull out my AAA Plus card at 1:30 PM  and call and they tell me might be hour or 2  fine I tell them I am properly dressed have emergency heat packs ,blanket   and food and drink .
Great dispatcher tells me have you on priority tow list wish every one else was like you stay warm and safe. Now I have to be extremely careful in cold weather I have 2 plates and 7 screws in my foot so I had on Arctic Pack Boots  as a precaution I am also a cancer survivor as well as other health issues. I should have been put to front of list and dispatch knew this.
90 +minutes go by call AAA  sorry they say 3 calls ahead of you seems others are having issues and instead of being properly prepared they are not need rescued be at least another 90 minutes OK I can hold out but if its going to be longer let me know will have some one come pick me up or walk 2 mile to some where safe. Another 90 + minutes go by they tell me 8PM before they can get to me why they did not tell me this sooner would have called wife or friend earlier.
In worst case asked for police to pick me up and get me some where safe who where already overwhelmed  by unprepared motorists. Luckily my wife who was busy at church came and got me at 5: 30 PM and brought me hot coffee and some food. The driver showed up at 6:15 and finally got a tow to garage which was already closed so now I loose a 2nd day of work customer goes another day with out trucks being kept heated  thanks To AAA
The driver was very nice Younger man and he was telling me all the people he had to go rescue past few days and how many of them not properly clothed no emergency supplies  , even a mother with here kids who where in there shorts from basketball practice and had dead battery and freaked out because they where going to freeze to death instead of insisting her kids put on sweat pants and have a blanket in the vehicle. Its winter time we always have winter and cold weather and bad roads  and so may people do not prepare do not have on snow tires do not have good battery's do not carry or know how to use jumper cables do not even have a pair of gloves when needed. Expecting AAA and 911 to bail their ass out of a bad situation.
I gave the driver a $30.00 tip for taking care of me after all it was the holiday and he appreciated it because he said he rarely ever gets tipped by those who expect him to be there 10 minutes after they break down.
I appreciate the drivers what they and dispatchers go thru but those dispatchers should have been upfront and said you are looking at 4 hr delay for help can we get you some where  safe and thats where AA failed in its duty to me as a member  . I have heard from many others after what I went thru and they say they have dropped AAA and gone to other plans due to same poor response time.
I only use AA when I absolutely need them never call for jump or battery service or Tire service unless no one is around or I can not get a lug nut loose. However others quickly use up all there tows and service in 6 months pathetic AAA allows it to go on. I will be looking for a better plan as well.

My Total and Complete Disgust with Honeywell ADI and tthe Vista Series panels and Total Connect 2

I have been a loyal  Ademco/Honeywell Products dealer since 1979 when I installed my first 1028 Ademco Panel I bought at the defunct New Brite Industries which I will not shed a tear over.

I have used other products over years but Ademco / Honeywell has been my go to panel  all these years.

So Honeywell comes out with this fantastic program called Total Connect and my customers love it they can now get direct to there cell phones and PC's the events going on with there systems. Arming and disarming ,doors not to be opened etc . My commercial customers in particular relies on it heavily to know whats going on at their businesses when they are not there.

So when Total Connect 2 came out and offered even more information as to the individual ID who opened and exact zones that triggered etc.  my customers really wanted it.

But there's a catch you need the Vista128 or 250  BPT and 32 ,128 or 250 FBPT Turbo Panels to do this. You can not just pop in a chip like you do on Vista 15P and 20P

 Especially since you can no longer do Total Connect 1 on older panels that where not already registered with programs  I have had a lot of  commercial customers with High end Vista Panels  want to upgrade to Total Connect 2 since they announced the phase out of TC1 and upgrading to TC2  but they have been waiting for a sale on the panels which go $400-800
Honeywell keeps pushing TC2 but does not do anything to help the small business folks who are most of my customers family owned   business with 4-200 employees

The problem being also is trying to get your hands on one as it seems the local ADI Branch does not have them in stock always 1-5 days out .

The other issue withTC2 for my commercial customers whose panels are partitioned they only get information for partition one not the others while other manufacturers panels can do multi partition information.  Honeywell salesman when TC 2 came out promised this would be available and its been 5 years and still not available and will probably have to change panels again when it does finally come out.

Then you have days like I have today a customers TC 2 panel was damaged with water when a sprinkler line burst and of course local ADI branch does not have in stock I will have to temp install an old vista 32FB I keep for emergency's  and then install the turbo when it comes in customer can not be with out security.

Thats the other rub before ADI there where independent supply houses carried Ademco products but then Ademco formed ADI in 80s  and you can only get from ADI no longer from independents oh ya there's that guy on line if you want to pay more who resales Honeywell stuff.

How f#@!^g embarrassing. I had to tell my customer oh sorry cant get you a new panel for couple days .

When I know I can walk into most supply houses and they have at least 1 or 2 panels  of each kind sitting on the shelf.

At this point there is every day more and more that other manufacturers panels are becoming more attractive  and my dropping the Honeywell line all together  which is a shame when you consider I have over 400 commercial customers. But if thats what I have to do thats what I will do the customer always comes first1#

To make matters worse the panel never showed up till well past 2pm because instead of sending UPS the stock comes LTL less than load by common carrier i got home that night after well after 9pm


 I am going to start using NX8 and Concord  panels enough horse shit with Honeywell

Escape Rooms they are all the rage. But are they safe? Some thoughts before you try one.

Yes the new Escape  room fad is taking off across the country where you get locked into a room with friends and you have to decrypt locks  of all types to escape in 60 minutes and win a prize usually a T Shirt. They even have portable escape trailers which they bring to events but just how safe are they ?

Here are some of my concerns and questions when it comes to these escape rooms 

1# What if a fire breaks out? is their an emergency evacuation plan in place?

 2# What if  some one has a medical emergency ? is staff trained in First Aid and CPR do they have a First Aid Kit and AED available ?

  3# Can the person operating the complex be made aware you need out ? are they observing you thru a camera or other means to make sure everyone is safe  also is there an emergency release and stop button should some one get claustrophobic or other medical issue. ?

 4# If its a permanent type attraction in a building are there Sprinkler System and or Smoke Alarms which automatically power down and unlock all devices? What about a Carbon monoxide alert?

 5# Are the rooms professionally designed and locks etc certified by a 3rd party agency for safety?

6# Are there emergency procedures in place in case a lock system jams even if they are magnets all hardware can and will fail.? 

 7 # From what I have seen some places have full fire detection and protection to nothing at all

Some are approved by local inspectors some are not .

Thats why you need to be vigilant when it comes to going to and participating in one of these escape rooms . 

If your an AHJ with one of these facilities in your jurisdiction are you even aware of it especially with these trailer units taken to events should you be notified when they are in your community

Yes lots of questions need answered about these rooms because public safety is at risk if its not being done correctly