“The most rewarding part is saving people’s homes and helping give our customers peace of mind.”
This month we are featuring Tammy Black who plays a vital role in our award-winning monitoring station. She has been with Alarm Systems since 2009 and takes great pride in delivering peace of mind for our customers.
What brought you to Alarm Systems – and when did you join?
Tammy has worked with TAS/Alarm Systems for almost 12 years. After returning to school for retraining, she was looking for new challenges. Originally drawn to a role in monitoring because of the parallels she saw to working reception for a company, it has proved more interesting than she ever could have imagined.
Like reception, Tammy sees monitoring as a front line for our business. The friendly voices you hear when you call handle everything from service requests to alarm response. Setting the tone for customers and ensuring someone is looking out for what’s important to them.
What is your role at Alarm Systems?
As our Customer Support Senior Specialist, Tammy is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day of the monitoring center. She considers herself a Jack of all trades. This includes managing updates to our customer database, daily service requests, and programming responses for every new customer.
This is a key role at Alarm Systems, every system we install is programmed individually. When our operators receive signals from systems, they assess the code and dispatch based on its programming. For instance, a response for one of our Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) may begin with a call to the home, then a registered caregiver, then emergency services. An intrusion signal may be programmed differently.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
“Right now, I’m into Scentsy,” Tammy tells me, referring to an air freshener company her sister-in-law turned her onto. Tammy enjoys the scented wax warmers and the adorable stuff scented Buddies. Overall, though “I’m more focused on saving for a home.”
If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be?
Without hesitation, Tammy began with her two stepsons. They are no longer local, and the pandemic has only made that separation worse. Even though they still chat regularly she can’t wait to see them in person again. “It’s different in person, you can see if they are really ok”.
Her next choice would be any member of her family who she lost too early. The death of any family is difficult, but it becomes harder to process the younger they are. Tammy would love the chance to reconnect with loved ones.
The last seat would be for Garth Brooks, “he’s my favourite musician.”
You wake up and discover you are now a character in the last movie/tv show you watched. Where are you?
“Hudson, Alberta, on the Heartland Ranch”, Tammy tells me. Heartland is one of her favourite shows, tuning in every Sunday. Tammy could see herself as a long-lost relation of Fleming family, working on the farm with them. Her affinity for the show stems from memories of her aunt, and Tammy would love to learn to ride so she could experience the freedom of a place like the Albertan wilderness.
Although she did say this question could have easily been Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle or Firehouse 51 in Chicago depending on when I had asked. “I like action, comedy, rom-com, anything except horror” she laughed.
Tammy is a fantastic member of our team and we are so happy to have her.
