Home Automation System Reviews for California
Don't buy anything without checking reviews!
Now that is some GREAT advice. We live in a world where Hollywood has oozed into every area of life. Just check out the super-bowl. Well, the commercials anyhow.
Who could forget the 9 year old in 1979 that got a sweaty jersey from Mean Joe Green after giving him a coke. Or, In 2012 when a young "Darth Vader" finally summons the force to start the all new Volkswagon Passatt. Now we all want to drive down the street, wind in our hair, drinking a Coke Classic out of the nice glass bottle.
BUT, how do we know coke is good. If you're an injured athlete hobbling out of the stadium, is coke really the refreshing oasis you want. Is the Passat a lemon? The commercials don't tell you that, they scream, "FALL IN LOVE! LET ME PULL AT YOUR WALLET-STRINGS," i mean... "HEARST STINGS."There are some lemons out there with some might impressive commercials and fancy sounding credentials.
As you already know, reviews are written by real people like you and me, that went before us and bought a Passat (great car from what I hear,) or in this case, they got a surveillance system and want you to know exactly what they thought about the equipment, the installer, the gal who answered the phone when they called... or didn't. Reviews are your chance to test drive a product without leaving your couch or opening your wallet.
We all have either written one or read one, some good and some bad in hopes that we find the best of the best. At California Security Pro we can assure you that we will meet or exceed your expectations when it comes to your home security needs and budget.
Home Automation System Reviews
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Featured Reviews:
Yelp Review
"Now we feel a lot safer and love the automation especially the automatic door locks and outdoor cameras. "
I just recently installed adt pulse along with a host of home automations. Kyle was absolutely a pleasure to work with. He was very open and honest and answered all my questions with a lot of detail. He was also able to give us an amazing price given the complexity of my installation. When it came down to installation day, Jesse was able to complete the install in a very short amount of time which was great and allowed me to enjoy the system quickly. Now we feel a lot safer and love the automation especially the automatic door locks and outdoor cameras. Very reasonable prices, great service and very professional. I highly recommend these guys.
Salim T.,San Francisco, CA
Trust Pilot Review 
"entire house at the basic price because we had pre-wiring, and that they also offer all the gizmos"
After a recent break-in, we were searching for an alarm system company. We were considering going with a different company that advertised not just security but smart temperature control and other home automation, but since our first concern was security, we called California Security Pros after reading excellent reviews on Yelp. When I found out that they could setup our entire house at the basic price because we had pre-wiring, and that they also offer all the gizmos of the other company, the choice was clear. We are very happy we went with California security pro's and feel we made the right decision.
Luis R, Sacramento,CA
More Home Automation Reviews:
Having had a negative experience with a competitor, we were leery of the whole security business. Dorelle was incredibly responsive, friendly, and really took her time explaining what she recommended and why. It's clear that she's passionate about home security, and ensuring that her customers are EXTREMELY well taken care of.
The positive experience continued when Pat came to install our system. Never have I met a more professional, patient, and knowledgeable installer. In all cases he went above and beyond, and truly made us feel like the system was being installed correctly the first time. He walked us thru using our system and we haven't had any issues sense.
If you're in the market for a security system, contact California Security Pro, you won't be disappointed.
Morgan K., Pleasant Hill, CA - ADT Pulse system with Home Automation and Video Sureveillance
Yelp Review
8/2/2016 "Excellent customer service"
I am so pleased with my new system as opposed to another company's that didn't provide nearly the protection I now have. Excellent customer service from office staff, Kyle and Carl. Kyle was great in explaining the system and my different options. Installer, Carl, was efficient, knowledgeable, did a great job of cleaning up and explaining how the system works. I highly recommend them. ( ADT Pulse system with 2 Cameras and Home Automation)
-Mary G., Concord, CA
Yelp Review
These guys are extremely customer focused. I was paying $25 a month for monitoring services for a 20 year old alarm system that was tied into my home phone. We dumped our home phones because they are just a waste of money and only use our cell phones these days so the old alarm system didn't work anymore. The old alarm company wanted $700 to put a new cellular pad in the house and it had nowhere near the bells and whistles I get with ADT.
I now have the $59 a month service from ADT and they used all my old door and window detectors which is a very large number that are hardwired in so that is great. Kyle, my sales rep explained all of this to me and he was great through the whole process. Pat, the installer came by today to install the system - he was awesome - knows his stuff inside and out, was pleasant, and efficient. For the $99 I upgraded to cellular, got a motion detector, a camera, another wireless detector for the wine cellar, a lamp switch, and the alarm can be armed and disarmed from one of 4 places:
1) The downstairs keypad
2) The upstairs keypad
3) A key fob - this is great for walking the dog - go out the back door and arm the whole house with a press of a button
4) My cellphone - the ADT Pulse App from the App Store works great. I can see what is going on on the camera, arm the house from NY if I want, set up a vacation schedule so the lamp goes on and off at certain times while I am on vacation.
I needed a new system anyway, and if I think about some of the things we spend money on, an extra $35 a month for great safety, piece of mind, convenience, flexibility, and state of the art technology was an easy decision for me.
ADT has good technology but the real difference maker here is California Security Pro. These things can get complicated and having a great dealer that is first class from the sale through to the install deserves a review like this . Not easily impressed but was today.
Thanks! - Roger S., Oakland, CA
Yelp Review
6/21/2016 " ADT pulse also allows me to lock and unlock my front door"
Im not sure where to start with this review. From the first call to the installation of my alarm system Ive been completely satisfied! I called them because i was about to spend an arm and a leg for an alarm system but i called this company before buying because the wife didn't let me buy from the other ADT dealer. So fast forward, i spoke with Otis and he was very professional from the get go. He offered to come out for FREE and give me a quote . I felt that i didn't need him to come out but I'm glad he did . When he came out he showed up on time and was very nice. Never did i feel pressure to buy and i got wayyyyy more information from him than i did from the other company. He showed me why ADT is the alarm company to go with.
What i love about my alarm system is that i could make sure my garage door is closed. I always have a worry about it because i have all my tools in there. I can CLOSE and OPEN it with my phone, how cool is that?? Lol ADT pulse also allows me to lock and unlock my front door. I definitely recommend Otis and his team for anyone looking for an alarm system. Nobody ever solicited me to leave a review which makes this even more genuine . Shout out to my wife for making me shop around before making a buying decision. Thanks Otis & ADT my family is now safe!
Yelp Review
5/27/2016 " you won't be disappointed."
- Christopher W., San Mateo, CA (New Homeowner in Hayward)
Yelp Review
"Great ADT pulse system, got me a great deal!!"
My wife wanted a security system for our new house. Initially I was reluctant bc I've always had big dogs protecting my home. Anyway Ana B. was great. She helped me get a great ADT pulse system. I even got automation so I can unlock doors if I get locked out w my iPhone and even set the temperature. I got carried away and included video surveillance and sensors for the windows and motion and glass sensors as well. She was able to work with me and got me a great deal!! I will definitely call her for more upgrades!!
Leo M.,Van Nuys, CA (New Homeowner North Hills,CA)
Yelp Review
Got a couple estimates and California Security Pro with DSC systems have the best overall balance solution with no sales pressure. The sale/rep guys and their manager from San Jose / San Ramon are friendly and always follow up on every questions on time. No hackling on final discount with upgraded bigger system pricing. Overall system installed price were well worth the amazing ADT pulse alarm security, camera, Z Wave home automation, cellular/battery backup, and the ADT cloud application from any devices. The installed guy name Carl were very knowledgable, answered/recommended all the proper installation options with best effective locations, careful about people's home, and work really hard on the job all day long (doesn't want to take lunch break). Better if the bigger installation job done right rather than fast.
Highly recommended to all my friends and colleagues ... Regards, Kevin Fremont, CA
Yelp Review
" looking forward to Pat’s final installation and activation of the system and to exploring some of the advantages of the Pulse home automation system."
I had been with a competing security company for many years. I had no complaints and thought that we would simply re-install their system after a fire occurred in our house that destroyed about 25% of the hard wiring and that required a complete replacement of the control box, all keypads and many of the smoke and motion detectors.
After a few months of dealing with my former company regarding the details of the rewiring and equipment replacement, my frustrations with their lack of responsiveness, uncoordinated sales and service departments, unclear and shifting cost estimates (after relying on the original estimate for my insurance claim) and general rudeness drove me to consider other alternatives. I did a pretty thorough investigation of reviews on Angie’s List and other similar sites. I interviewed three of the firms with the most favorable reviews, including California Security Pro. The other two firms were small firms with some fairly impressive aspects to their services and systems and with some very loyal customers.
However, I was impressed from the outset with the professionalism of California Security Pro and the clarity with which they explained the various options. I also liked the fact that they have a large, redundant monitoring facility, they use widely respected ADT equipment and that they seem to be moving aggressively into home automation with their “ADT Pulse” system. I also liked the fact that they actually sell rather than rent the equipment and that they have a relatively short contract (2 years) which renews on a month-to-month rather than annual basis. In addition, California Security Pro did a good job of following up frequently to see if their sales representative was providing the service I needed.
Having gotten off to a good start, I was hopeful that the complications that would inevitably arise from the timing and construction requirements incident to the restoration of our house would go equally smoothly. Unfortunately, initially they did not. The sales representative was on vacation during a crucial time period, and the combination of some of the wiring having been done by another company and some additional work needing to be done during the course of construction and before the actual installation and activation of the service seemed to throw him off balance.
At one point he explained that we were dealing with ADT and there simply wasn’t any flexibility in how they could approach the project. I sent a rather strongly worded email to California Security Pro and fortunately they got Kyle Madison, their District Manager, involved. My experience from that point on couldn’t have been better. While we are still not to the point where we can install and activate all of the equipment, and thus I can’t give a definitive rating at this point, Kyle and the service technician, Pat, have been so responsive and helpful that I wanted to provide a preliminary rating and review of the company in view of this experience.
Kyle made a real effort to understand our needs and was instrumental in getting Pat lined up to come out, assess our situation and do the preparatory work that we needed to have done before walls got closed up and the construction work progressed too far. Pat was very knowledgeable and flexible in meeting our somewhat unique needs, and both he and Kyle made sure that we were happy with their service. I am looking forward to Pat’s final installation and activation of the system and to exploring some of the advantages of the Pulse home automation system. In the meantime, I am giving the company an "A" rating, with confidence that now that things are going so well, the remaining work will, too.
Marshia Beck, Orinda, CA
Yelp Review
Angie's List Review
" looking forward to Pat’s final installation and activation of the system and to exploring some of the advantages of the Pulse home automation system."
I had been with a competing security company for many years. I had no complaints and thought that we would simply re-install their system after a fire occurred in our house that destroyed about 25% of the hard wiring and that required a complete replacement of the control box, all keypads and many of the smoke and motion detectors.
After a few months of dealing with my former company regarding the details of the rewiring and equipment replacement, my frustrations with their lack of responsiveness, uncoordinated sales and service departments, unclear and shifting cost estimates (after relying on the original estimate for my insurance claim) and general rudeness drove me to consider other alternatives. I did a pretty thorough investigation of reviews on Angie’s List and other similar sites. I interviewed three of the firms with the most favorable reviews, including California Security Pro. The other two firms were small firms with some fairly impressive aspects to their services and systems and with some very loyal customers.
However, I was impressed from the outset with the professionalism of California Security Pro and the clarity with which they explained the various options. I also liked the fact that they have a large, redundant monitoring facility, they use widely respected ADT equipment and that they seem to be moving aggressively into home automation with their “ADT Pulse” system. I also liked the fact that they actually sell rather than rent the equipment and that they have a relatively short contract (2 years) which renews on a month-to-month rather than annual basis. In addition, California Security Pro did a good job of following up frequently to see if their sales representative was providing the service I needed.
Having gotten off to a good start, I was hopeful that the complications that would inevitably arise from the timing and construction requirements incident to the restoration of our house would go equally smoothly. Unfortunately, initially they did not. The sales representative was on vacation during a crucial time period, and the combination of some of the wiring having been done by another company and some additional work needing to be done during the course of construction and before the actual installation and activation of the service seemed to throw him off balance.
At one point he explained that we were dealing with ADT and there simply wasn’t any flexibility in how they could approach the project. I sent a rather strongly worded email to California Security Pro and fortunately they got Kyle Madison, their District Manager, involved. My experience from that point on couldn’t have been better. While we are still not to the point where we can install and activate all of the equipment, and thus I can’t give a definitive rating at this point, Kyle and the service technician, Pat, have been so responsive and helpful that I wanted to provide a preliminary rating and review of the company in view of this experience.
Kyle made a real effort to understand our needs and was instrumental in getting Pat lined up to come out, assess our situation and do the preparatory work that we needed to have done before walls got closed up and the construction work progressed too far. Pat was very knowledgeable and flexible in meeting our somewhat unique needs, and both he and Kyle made sure that we were happy with their service. I am looking forward to Pat’s final installation and activation of the system and to exploring some of the advantages of the Pulse home automation system. In the meantime, I am giving the company an "A" rating, with confidence that now that things are going so well, the remaining work will, too.
Marshia Beck, Orinda, CA
Yelp Review
"each plan is totaly customized to fit your home and situation."
Our home was burglarized and after reading several positive Yelp reviews for California Security Pro, decided to call them for pricing on a home security system. Phoned them up on a Friday morning and they were able to schedule me for an in-home consult that very afternoon. Greg (their President) arrived on time and presented me with ADT's service plans and went over the many features and benefits of the system. There are a few different price points to choose from depending upon what type of features you desire (basic security, mobile access, home automation, etc.), but each plan is totaly customized to fit your home and situation.
The monthly service plans are fixed prices, but Greg offered me a great discount on any of the additional equipment I decided to purchase. I told Greg I would need to discuss everything with my wife that evening. He provided me his contact information and even offered to install the system the very next day if we needed. He was friendly, professional and knowledgeable about ADT's product and services. Called Greg later that night (8pm, after-hours) and he got back to me right away and scheduled a technician to install our system the very next day (Saturday afternoon) within a two hour time window.
Our technician, Micah, called in the middle of our scheduled window to let us know he was on his way but may be running a little late due to traffic. Very professional and appreciated. Micah arrived within the scheduled window and got right to work. Again, very professional and courteous, Micah explained the installation process and answered any questions we had along the way. Once installation was completed, he walked us through the programming and basic usage of our system.
We opted for the ADT Pulse service plan, so he helped us with the online setup and features of the remote access as well. After our technician left, one of the door sensors popped off from being installed too close to the door opening. Called Micah on his cell, and he drove all the way back to our house the same evening. He could have put us off till the next day, but he wanted us to feel satisfied with our system. Came in, replaced the sensor, and everything worked great.
Yvette (customer service) emailed us a couple days later with the security certificate for our insurance, and Greg even followed up again to see if we needed anything.Bottom line... if you decide to go with ADT for your security monitoring I HIGHLY recommend you choose CA Security Pro for your installation. Very professional, competitive pricing, & excellent customer service. A+ all the way around.
Kat Z.,Pleasant Hill, CA
