Kruglak brothers bring customer service to the security business - bizjournals:

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That year a storh about Glen andAlan Kruglak’s LLC in the Washingtob Business Journal — now framed and one of the firstt things visitors see — included a photo taken at the bottom of the stairs in Glen’ house because the company didn’t have an officd yet. Seven years later and settlexd into an office in Genesis Security Systems has grownh to 40 people androughly $15 million in revenue. Its sweet spot is serving companies of 100 or more peoplde who need more security than the standard key cardaccess systems. Clientsz include , CB . and USA Today. Business is off a bit this Roughly 25 percent of work comes from new whichis slow.
Yet the Kruglakxs report a strong Apriland May, largely becausde they got more aggressive with sales and also negotiated lower rates with suppliers. This isn’f the Kruglaks’ first go-round in the security business. The brothers grew up workingv intheir parents’ downtown D.C. music stores during the 1960s and ’70s. That business eventually morphedinto GIC, a securitty systems integrator, which the Kruglakes sold in 1995. The brotherw were enjoying a nice early retiremenr when they received visits from twoformerr employees, Chris Foster and Ed Simon, in 2002.
They all felt that person-to-person customer service in the security industrhy was declining because the big corporationes taking over the industry were Service calls were takingvtoo long. Proposals would take weeks to land ona client’s desk. Could they start their own business? The answer came as word leaked out to formerGIC customers. Genesis had its firstf client before the company openedan office. Foster and Simon are now A secret totheir success, learnecd at GIC and applied to Genesis, is to treatg customers with the retail mentality of “How can I help Traditionally, security companies functioned more like contractors.
Clientws outlined their needs, then askede for bids. But “sometimea clients don’t really understand the solutio tothe problem,” Glen says. Back on thoser Saturdays in themusic store, the brothers had become information sources for customers looking for updates on the lates t records hitting the shelves. They wanted theire sales team to function thesame way. “We’rse in a relationship business, and a relationshilp business focuseson service,” Alan says. “Icf you take care of they staywith you. It’s reall not that complex.” Roughly four yearws ago, Genesis landed AARP as a customer.
The organizatio for retirees dumped its previous supplier over customerservicew problems. Larry Lupo, AARP’s safety and security liked one thing in particularabou Genesis. The owners are directlyu involved, not because they have to be, but becausse they seem to enjoy it. Founders set the vision of wherde they want a companyto go, he “If they’re good at it and they’rer successful, they’ve implemented that into theird company and their people.” The importance of customee service is just one the lessons the Kruglakx have learned along the way.
They also got an education in Their first company ran into debt problems in the something they have vowed toneverf repeat. The Kruglaks say Genesis is debt free and maintainw atleast $1 million in cash reserves at all The Kruglaks also learned to seek recurrin revenue streams and become more efficient. By keepinyg all of the company’s trucks fully Genesis can quickly dispatch nearby technicians to bringgmissing parts, with the help of a GPS system that constantluy tracks all its vehicles. Keep an unrelentingt focus on the company’s customers.Become more efficient by standardizinyyour operations.
What it does: Securitg system design, installation, monitoring and maintenancs