On Guard Reviews
Ray & Gail
Tinley Park
It wasn’t that we wanted to test our burglar alarm, as we had had it for over 18 years. We felt safe in our neighborhood, glad that we had On Guard’s protection, but never expected to use it. But with our changing economy and hard times, NO one is really safe.
We had left on a motor-home vacation for a few weeks in February, as we had usually done. The house was locked up tight with deadbolts and our alarm activated. Five days into the vacation, we received a call from On Guard that our alarm was activated and the motion detectors reported motion in our living and family rooms. I explained that there should not be anyone in the house and the police were sent. My neighbor across the street was also home at the time and witnessed three people in a blue van kick open my front door with such force that it sounded like a gunshot. This was at 1:30 in the afternoon. The kick was so strong, it shattered the oak door frame. My neighbor called 911 immediately, and the alarm also sent the police flying over. Even though they had gained entrance to our home, the alarm was so loud and intimidating, they ran upstairs to our bedroom, stole our TV and three jewelry boxes, threw them into our bedspread and ran out of the house within 4 minutes. Yes – they did get some things, but it could have been SO much worse. The police told us that in all their years, they had never heard an alarm like ours and felt sure that it scared them out fast. The police, unfortunately, did not catch the robbers. It was a horrible ordeal to deal with when you are 1000 miles from home, but I felt that the alarm did what it was supposed to do.
Three months later, again we went away in our motor-home for a weekend trip. We were not even 30 minutes away when again we got a call from On Guard that the alarm was going off. This time we were able to turn around and come back home. The police were again called and found that someone who had to be very small, crawled through our bathroom window which we accidentally left open a little, to gain entry. When the alarm went off this time, it must have scared them off, as NOTHING was taken, but the front door was open. A different officer responded to this call, and again, he commented that he had NEVER heard an alarm like this and to never get rid of it. We figured it must have been younger kids this time because of the size of the opening that they crawled through. But our alarm sent them running before anything was taken or damaged.
THANK YOU On Guard!!!!! Hoping that we NEVER have to go through this again – but some peace of mind knowing you are there when needed!
We had left on a motor-home vacation for a few weeks in February, as we had usually done. The house was locked up tight with deadbolts and our alarm activated. Five days into the vacation, we received a call from On Guard that our alarm was activated and the motion detectors reported motion in our living and family rooms. I explained that there should not be anyone in the house and the police were sent. My neighbor across the street was also home at the time and witnessed three people in a blue van kick open my front door with such force that it sounded like a gunshot. This was at 1:30 in the afternoon. The kick was so strong, it shattered the oak door frame. My neighbor called 911 immediately, and the alarm also sent the police flying over. Even though they had gained entrance to our home, the alarm was so loud and intimidating, they ran upstairs to our bedroom, stole our TV and three jewelry boxes, threw them into our bedspread and ran out of the house within 4 minutes. Yes – they did get some things, but it could have been SO much worse. The police told us that in all their years, they had never heard an alarm like ours and felt sure that it scared them out fast. The police, unfortunately, did not catch the robbers. It was a horrible ordeal to deal with when you are 1000 miles from home, but I felt that the alarm did what it was supposed to do.
Three months later, again we went away in our motor-home for a weekend trip. We were not even 30 minutes away when again we got a call from On Guard that the alarm was going off. This time we were able to turn around and come back home. The police were again called and found that someone who had to be very small, crawled through our bathroom window which we accidentally left open a little, to gain entry. When the alarm went off this time, it must have scared them off, as NOTHING was taken, but the front door was open. A different officer responded to this call, and again, he commented that he had NEVER heard an alarm like this and to never get rid of it. We figured it must have been younger kids this time because of the size of the opening that they crawled through. But our alarm sent them running before anything was taken or damaged.
THANK YOU On Guard!!!!! Hoping that we NEVER have to go through this again – but some peace of mind knowing you are there when needed!
Rachel F.
Chicago
On Guard replaced a nonfunctioning system in our home with a new one, added a few elements, and is now monitoring the system.
I first called On Guard because our door chime was going off when no motion to the door would occur. The system was not being monitored at the time, and I could not seem to get it to stop. I had fired ADT months prior so I had no one to call. They were very helpful with this. The chime recurred so I decided to have On Guard come out and give an estimate.It was much less that what I had expected, and included new elements that I did not have prior. The installation was wonderful. They sent 2 people and were here a good four or so hours. They corrected errors that previous service people could not. They did the little things that are often lacking for instance: they replaced a control panel in one room. The one we had was larger than the newer model so they actually looked to see if we had the paint for the wall still.They also gave us an upgraded panel to attempt to cover the unpainted wall. In addition I had a door replaced and the craftsman left the alarm wire in the wall so it could be accessed and reinstalled to the door. There was about a 1 inch hole to the wire. On Guard repaired the hole when I said I did not need that door alarmed!
I am thrilled with On Guard.
I first called On Guard because our door chime was going off when no motion to the door would occur. The system was not being monitored at the time, and I could not seem to get it to stop. I had fired ADT months prior so I had no one to call. They were very helpful with this. The chime recurred so I decided to have On Guard come out and give an estimate.It was much less that what I had expected, and included new elements that I did not have prior. The installation was wonderful. They sent 2 people and were here a good four or so hours. They corrected errors that previous service people could not. They did the little things that are often lacking for instance: they replaced a control panel in one room. The one we had was larger than the newer model so they actually looked to see if we had the paint for the wall still.They also gave us an upgraded panel to attempt to cover the unpainted wall. In addition I had a door replaced and the craftsman left the alarm wire in the wall so it could be accessed and reinstalled to the door. There was about a 1 inch hole to the wire. On Guard repaired the hole when I said I did not need that door alarmed!
I am thrilled with On Guard.
Andrew T.
Chicago
My installer’s name was Tom. He showed up early for a 7:30AM appointment (!) and spent the next five and a half hours installing the system. He was very professional and cleaned up after himself. The installation took so long because the CPU for the alarm turned out to be bad. Tom doggedly tracked down the problem and replaced the whole CPU with a new one. He explained how the alarm functioned clearly, and if I had not been in a hurry to get to work because of the technical difficulties, I am sure he would have been willing to answer any other questions I had.Of three or four different companies I called on Angie’s list, this one was the best value with the best feedback. I was pleased to find that when I hired them, I had made the right choice. I would hire them again (and probably will to upgrade my system). The monitoring policy also runs through them. They are affiliated with a local monitoring company and have very affordable rates, although a 3 year contract is required.
Chris J.
Chicago
They installed a complete alarm system for a property that I own. They were very responsive. They answered all of my questions, promptly scheduled the appointment, and did a thorough job of the installation. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
When I notified them of a minor equipment problem, they returned without any questions to resolve the issue.
When I notified them of a minor equipment problem, they returned without any questions to resolve the issue.
Corin T.
Palos Park
I spoke to Joe over the phone after reading great reviews on Angie’s List. We originally were going to go with ADT since we had them service our previous home and got a decent customer discount with our quote. I wasn’t that pleased with our prior ADT customer service and decided to shop around.Joe was very helpful and pleasant over the phone and even gave me a rough estimate during our conversation and also scheduled someone to visit our home to verify the equipment we would need.
Tom the technician was so helpful and knowledgeable when he came out, and I trusted him completely. I had another company quote me $1200.00 for an installation, and ADT came a little bit under On Guard’s quote, but their monitoring was more expensive.Needless to say, I felt more peace of mind with On Guard and their consistent positive reviews. Tom, the same technician came out to do the work and we received everything that was promised. I’m very happy that we decided to go with On Guard versus ADT or anyone else. It went smoothly without any glitches or problems. We received everything that was guaranteed without any unforeseen issues or paying extra.
Tom the technician was so helpful and knowledgeable when he came out, and I trusted him completely. I had another company quote me $1200.00 for an installation, and ADT came a little bit under On Guard’s quote, but their monitoring was more expensive.Needless to say, I felt more peace of mind with On Guard and their consistent positive reviews. Tom, the same technician came out to do the work and we received everything that was promised. I’m very happy that we decided to go with On Guard versus ADT or anyone else. It went smoothly without any glitches or problems. We received everything that was guaranteed without any unforeseen issues or paying extra.
Alene K.
Palos Heights
I really don’t like service calls because I’ve had a lot of bad experience with contractors who don’t know what they are doing, speak down to you, overcharge, or try to sell you something you don’t want. This was a most pleasant service call. Jim came out and quickly determined that the problem was of my own making… that I left an internal door ajar which deactivated the system. He also determined that the security contact points at two doors were not activating, and he corrected it. On Guard didn’t install my system so Jim had to learn the layout and security parameters and did so very quickly. He refreshed my use of the system and provided a few helpful tips including a suggestion to change the delayed activation times based on our home activities.He had a very good disposition and demonstrated a high level of professionalism while he was explaining things to me.
I asked him to comment on the effectiveness of my overall system and he said it was good. I appreciate that he didn’t try to sell me anything that was unnecessary. I quickly developed a high confidence in Jim during the time he was here and would not hesitate to recommend On Guard based on this service call . . . Given the very good experience, I will be using them going forward.
I asked him to comment on the effectiveness of my overall system and he said it was good. I appreciate that he didn’t try to sell me anything that was unnecessary. I quickly developed a high confidence in Jim during the time he was here and would not hesitate to recommend On Guard based on this service call . . . Given the very good experience, I will be using them going forward.
Cristal M.
Chicago
Joe was very responsive and called me back with a quote within 20 minutes. They also were able to set up the installation very quickly, and the installer was prompt and friendly. I was unable to be there at the completion of the installation, so the installer came back the next day to show me how to use it. Great customer service!! I would definitely hire this company again in the future!!
Letters to the Manager
Dear Joe,
Tom [the service tech who takes care of us] is always prompt, courteous and does his job very well. The last time he was here in January, he had to reroute a line from our basement to our second floor. This meant he had to run cable around a room in our second floor, and while my husband and I told him we’d take care of it later, he did the job neatly and quickly with no complaints.
Tom also had to go outside several times in freezing temperatures to fix a connection in the garage. It was snowing that week, and although we told him not to worry about it, he removed his shoes Every Single Time he had to go in or out of the house. Tom never accepts the tips we offer, so we figured this was the only way to show him how much we appreciate his professionalism. Please pass on our thanks for his great work.
Tawnie C. and Bill L.
Chicago
On Guard,
I currently use On Guard for my home alarm system. I want to let you know what wonderful service your company has given me over the last four or five years. I have had three service calls since my alarm was installed and each time you have sent out Tom to work on the problem. All three times have been great experiences! He is punctual, quick, and pleasant to deal with. It really is a joy to work with a company that has workers that are so good at their jobs!
Kudos to On Guard and especially Tom.
Thank you!
Bruce C.
Chicago
Dear On Guard,
I would like to take this opportunity to hail one of your employees, Tom. Tom was at our home on Wednesday to repair what I now know was a broken sensor. He was very patient with me, (I know nothing about technology), he explained the same thing to me several times. He was very courteous, respectful, and I learned a lot from him. He should be commended for his professionalism. Please let him know that I appreciate his work.
Sincerely,