-------------------------------------------------------------------------- File Updates and Special Instructions Bulletin 3000 10/16/01 Copyright (C) 1999, Coastal Security Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After an account has been created in the central station all additions, changes and deletions to the information in the subscriber's record is called a file update. The central station has created forms and internal procedures to protect the integrity of the subscriber database and to assure that each subscriber's record contains accurate and manageable information. To maintain high standards for information management, certain rules and restrictions must be made in connection with data entry. Dealers who use internet access to make changes to their own database must comply with these rules. Any instructions that do not comply may not be followed or correctly followed at the time an alarm signal is received. 1. Special instructions which determine the circumstances under which an alarm will be dispatched must not depend on more than one contingency. For example, an instruction to "dispatch on weekends only if the system was not armed by user 2 on Friday night" is too complicated to be followed without great risk of error. Frequently, by finding out what the subscriber actually wishes to accomplish, a straightforward instruction can be devised which is easy to follow without risk of misinterpretation. 2. An instruction received from a subscriber to perform a service which customarily involves an extra charge will be referred to the dealer as a sales lead. 3. An instruction received from a subscriber to perform a service which the central station does not provide will also be referred to the dealer. For example, an instruction to "meet the police at the premises after dispatch" will be referred to the dealer even if the dealer does not offer the type of service requested. The dealer may propose an alternative and is the only proper person to reject the request. 4. Instructions and information that is temporary must be accompanied by an expiration date. The central station computer does not display expired special instructions to an operator handling an alarm. This prevents errors which commonly occur when someone forgets to remove an "until further notice" instruction. 5. Medical history information including present medical conditions and current medications should not be submitted to the central station. The central station will provide free "Vial of Life" kits to any dealer or subscriber on request. These kits, produced for the National Safety Council, include medical history forms, stickers which virtually all paramedics recognize, and easy to follow instructions. The central station will accept a special instruction to advise paramedics to look for a "Vial of Life". 6. An instruction from a subscriber to permanently cancel service will not be accepted by the central station operator but will be referred to the dealer. An instruction from the subscriber to place the account on test to prevent dispatching is accepted. 7. An instruction from a subscriber to change the account name will not be accepted by the central station operators or the data entry department and will instead be referred to the dealer. Most dealers will obtain a new contract under these circumstances. 8. When the telephone company or a recording advises a dispatcher that a telephone number is bad or when the person answering a call assures a dispatcher that there is no such person at the number called (or the person called no longer works there) the data entry department will remove the number from the database record. This procedure is necessary to maintain the integrity of the central station database and applies even if dealer approval for file updates is required. The file update form will be faxed to the dealer by the operator who made the call data entry department will put "BN" in the field and will flag the account so that it appears in the subscriber trouble report. If the premises or alternate phone number was bad then "missing subscriber information" will appear on the report. If a callout number was bad then "missing callout information" will appear. 8. Special instructions that conflict with a cancellation policy or procedure cannot be accepted because the screen that displays special instructions may not be seen before the alarm is cancelled. The data entry department must be consulted to determine the best way to meet your needs. For example, an instruction to "ignore cancel signals" will not be seen by the operator. The alarm would be cancelled before the instruction could be read. 9. Instructions that can be automated or incorporated in dispatch steps must not be given as text. For example it is an error to set up steps: 1 verify, 2 dispatch, 3 notify callout and then add a text special inst- ruction that sayes "notify callout before dispatching". The correct way to accomplish this is to set up the steps as 1 verify, 2 notify callout, 3 dispatch. When this is done, the dispatcher needs to know whether to dispatch if no callout can be reached. Each dealer must designate whether the central station can accept file update information directly from subscribers. If a dealer elects not to permit direct subscriber updates, all calls received from subscribers for that purpose will be rejected by the central station operator and referred to the dealer's office. The only exceptions are (1) information received from the telephone company, (2) information received from a fire, police or medical dispatch agency, or (3) an instruction from a callout to remove his/her telephone number from the contact list. The central station will fax file updates that contain these exceptions to the dealer's office. Subscribers with proper code will remain able to cancel false alarms and to put their systems on test. If direct subscriber updates are permitted the central station operator will accept file update information from a person who knows the alarm cancel code and who is listed as the subscriber or a call out - unless the call out list specifically shows that the caller cannot change instructions. Each dealer should review each modified subscriber database record to verify that changes were made correctly and according to the dealer's wishes. This can be accomplised by checking the account on the internet. When submitting file updates to the central station it is important to identify the account using both the account number AND the subscriber name. Central One provides forms that must be used when submitting file updates via fax. When submitting file updates by email you must use the format of the data entry forms which is (1) the field to change, (2) the present contents of the field, and (3) the new contents to be entered. The following example shows the proper way to format file update email to dataentry@centralone.com: Account: 123456 Subscriber: John Q. Smith Field: Directions Existing: blank New: cross street 4th Avenue Field: Callout #3 Existing: Fred Flintstone 401-555-2323 401-555-9876 New: Barney Rubble 401-555-0202 The data entry personnel will fax a file update form back to the dealer if the information submitted is illegible, is not in the proper format or if it contains a discrepancy. For example this would be done if a file update says, "change code from ELVIS to 9446" and the existing code is not ELVIS.