Human Error

Is inevitable.  Wherever there are people there are going to be errors.  I’m usually understanding of this except for in the situation that arose this evening. It is completly unacceptable in my opinion and all though I have to live with “human error” for the answer it’s does not be  put me at the ease that I am paying money monthly for.

I went to my parents and got a call on my cell phone. I missed it and just as I was checking my e-mail, my mom’s phone rings and it’s our alarm company. She’s on the list as an emergency contact.  My mom hands me the phone and the guy proceeds to tell me that our alarm has gone off, the police have been dispatched and can I make my way home to meet them there.  I had just spoken to hubby who was on his way home about 20 minutes prior. I’m confused. I ask the guy how long the alarm has been going off for them to dispatch the police. He looks at the file and says the first alarm came from the main entrance motion sensor at 5:07pm and the back door went off at 5:42pm. The police were dispatched and could I go home. I informed the guy my husband should have been home by now and that I was going to call him to see what was going on.  I immediately called hubby (who had jsut got home and turned the alarm off) and he said everything was fine.  I left my parents house and made my home. Now my head is filling with questions.  If the first alarm went of at 5:07pm why was I not called until 5:45??  If I had been home and something bad actually did happen, that means no one on the contact list would have been called. Not even hubby.  I came in the door and called our security company back with a birrade of questions. The woman I was speaking with I think sensed how upset I was (I’m not nice in situations like this) and put me through to her supervisor.  All he could say was “this is totally unacceptable and we’re working on it right now. See the data on your file was a bit messed up and to a new person working here and seeing the motion detector going off and that the police had been dispatched, didn’t know to make any further calls because of the way your file was set up but the 2nd person who phoned you was a more experienced person and knew what to look for.”  That is supposed to make me feel better?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!   If I was home and something horrible was happening to me, no one would have been contacted becuase of the way my file was set up??????  The whole point of having an alarm company is for the reassurance that you are taken care of in an emergency and most importantly that people are called who need to be called.   What actually happened is it was probably the cats that somehow set off the motion sensor all though pets under 40lbs are supposed to be undetectable, the police were dispatched and the cop set off the back door alarm when he came to check things out.  I’m thankful that it wasn’t a real emergency and I’m thankful that this error is being straightened out now before a real emergency actually happens.