The Cable Guy goes pro as telecoms enter security space

Watch out security industry! Here comes the new version of the Cable Guy—one that's more likely to wear a suit and have a computer science background than be a rube who's always late.

As the telecoms enter the security space at a fast and furious pace—I've recently written about the new home security/home automation offerings of Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Frontier Communications, AT&T, Cox Communications, and Comcast—the security industry has expressed confidence that small, professional security companies will outperform those giant companies when it comes to service.

That's because the archetypal Cable Guy in everyone's mind is someone who's always late and barely seems to know what he's doing. But as the telecoms offer new products such as professionally installed and monitored home security systems, they're also creating new teams of professional Cable Guys to install and service those products, according to a recent The New York Times article.

Here's more from the article, entitled “Today's Cable Guy, Upgraded and Better-Dressed:”

“Long depicted as slovenly cranks who dodged growling dogs and tracked mud on the living room carpet, cable guys (and gals) these days often have backgrounds in engineering and computer science. That kind of training is now required — along with a new dress code for some, calling for button-down dress shirts and slacks — as cable companies and their telephone rivals try to lure customers and increase revenue with a suite of [new] products. ... That means added pressure for installers and new requirements for a job that traditionally appealed to high-school graduates looking for reliable blue-collar work. …

… Robert Kolb, a 33-year-old installation and service supervisor for Comcast's Xfinity television, phone and Internet service, has a one-year certification in network engineering. He wore pressed slacks and a sporty fleece jacket on an Internet upgrade job in the Philadelphia suburbs recently, where he worked on a company-issued MacBook laptop and had a waterproof hand-held computer that could withstand a five-foot drop.

… To make sure he stays up to date, Comcast requires him and other installers to take classes at an in-house training facility known as Comcast University.

OK, the advent of the upgraded Cable Guy doesn't mean that small professional security companies won't still have a service edge with customers who continue to view them as their trusted security provider.

But I do think it shows that no security company should be complacent about the telecoms entering the market this time around—and that having professional, well-trained staff that provides excellent customer service is a key to success, no matter what size your company is.