City to require Door to Door Sales Reps be ID badged!!

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Commercial salespeople going door-to-door in Huntsville could soon be required to submit to a background check and carry a city-issued photo identification badge.

City Council President Mark Russell said the proposal is meant to provide residents some protection against overzealous salespeople who won't take no for an answer. "We've been approached by people who are feeling unsafe on their own property because of these solicitors," Russell said Monday. "Police have said that there's not much they can do about it right now."

Under the proposed ordinance, only commercial salespeople and professional fundraisers would have to apply to the city for a solicitation permit -- not Girl Scouts, religious groups, political candidates or children participating in school fund drives. Employees and officers representing charitable groups also are exempt.

The ordinance requires door-to-door salespeople or master solicitors representing larger groups to provide a current background report, including any criminal history.

Ex-convicts and parolees would be automatically disqualified. So would anyone recently convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor crime of "moral turpitude." Those who pass the background check and pay an application fee to be determined by the city clerk-treasurer's office would be given a solicitor's permit and photo ID tag. According to the ordinance, the badge would have to be "worn constantly ... in a conspicuous place" while going door-to-door.

"It just basically gives us a little more knowledge of who's out here soliciting," Huntsville police Sgt. Mark Roberts said Monday. "And if you get too many complaints from the public, it gives us the ability to take your license away. "We really haven't had that before," Roberts said.

If the ordinance passes, salespeople could not knock on doors before 8 a.m. or after sunset. Any home with a "No Solicitation" sign in the yard would be off-limits. Violators could be fined up to $500 and sentenced to as much as six months in jail. Michele Mason, CEO of the North Alabama Better Business Bureau, said her organization is "definitely in favor" of background checks on roving salespeople. Mason said there are numerous cases of Huntsville residents being misled by door-to-door salespeople, including a company that failed to deliver magazines bought for U.S. soldiers serving overseas. The permit process "may be a little bit of a nuisance," she said Monday, "but it's hopefully a deterrent for those we don't really want going door-to-door in the neighborhoods."

City Council members have scheduled a work session for 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss the proposal.

My company Protection Plus Solutions, http://wwwprotectionplussolutions.com

Is a leading background screening company that provides the safest and most secure background screening system for retail Door-to-Door marketing companies and the home service industry.

Not only do we provide an indepth and thorough background check, we also monitor each employee every month for criminal misconduct after hire. Our CrimSPY monitoring system provides the peace of mind companies need in the home service industry. We also provide a very unique ID badging system that allows home owners, busniess owners, and law enforcement agencies the ability to review information about a home service technician or door to door sales rep by either logging into our website to verify an ID badge or into the company website that they're working for. 

Also, if a sales rep has made an appointment with a customer the ID badge can be sent via email. The ID badge will show that the tecnician or sales rep is authorized to enter their home or business. 

If after hire there is a criminal hit, the ID badge will show as FAILED on our website, an alert will be generated to the company they're working for and will also update on the companies website.

Our pricing is competitive and we do provide volume discounts.

Contact us at 1877 725-5412 or visit us at www.protectionplussolutions.com for additional information. You can also view our ID badging system on our website under BadgeLINK (TM)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to ALL!!

Protection Plus Solutions has some fabulous "new products" for the "door to door sales industry" in 2012. One in particular is our ID badging system that we've taken to the next level that provides the safest and most secure background screening solutions. We've enhanced our ID badge to include a hologram image that cannot be reproduced. Our ID badge monitoring system has also been expanded to call centers that work with both door to door sales- cable providers and deregulated energy providers. We can program anything you need, all you need to do is ask!

When a Sales Rep is hired all of the data information is uploaded into a platform, that includes, a full background screen, drug screening processing, monthly monitoring and ID badging that can be viewed by anyone at anytime 24/7. We've also enhanced the viewing of the ID badging process and now allow for companies to be able to post the ID badging software onto your main website, FREE OF CHARGE!

Many of the companies we're working with are thrilled with our products and services.  We would love an opportunity to show you the enhancements we've made for your security in hiring , contact us today for a a tutorial of our services.    http://www.protectionplussolutions.com . 

I look forward to hearing back from you sometime in 2012. Happy New Year!!

OMG.. My Kitchen is FLOODED!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Protection-Plus-Solutions/120894411289414

It’s Monday morning and you wake up to find water all over your kitchen floor. Your husband has a business meeting in the city and is rushing to get out the door, the kids are racing through the house getting ready for school and you’re frantically mopping up water with towels and a mop. Your husband tells you to call a plumber to come out and fix the leak as he closes the door to the garage on his way out. You get the kids in the car; drop them off at school, and rush back home to contact a plumber. You open the phone book and make a few calls but most of the local plumbers are already tied up for the day. You resort to checking Craigslist and find a Handyman/Plumber with reasonable rates available 24/7. You make a phone call; they answer immediately and tell you they’ll be out to your home within 45 minutes. You’re happy because, the mess will be fixed and you can get on with your day!

You sit with a cup of coffee by the front window of your home and notice a beat up truck trying to find a house number. After several turns around the street you realize it’s the Handyman/Plumber you called to come out to fix your leak. You notice a variety of empty Starbuck’s cups on the dashboard, and when he opens the passenger side of the truck to get out his tool box, the tools are scattered everywhere. He flicks his cigarette butt as he walks up to your front door. He is covered in tattoos; hair is not combed, and looks like he just got out of bed, not to mention that your first instinct reminds you that he looks like a CRIMINAL!

He rings the door bell… and you open the door. Do you LET HIM INSIDE? You know absolutely NOTHING about him… Do you lie and tell him that you were able to fix the problem and thank him for his time? Do you ask for an ID badge to verify his credentials?

NO… You let him inside, you need that faucet fixed so you can get on with your day………Sometimes people are lucky and sometimes they are not. You know those times you read a horror story about what happened to someone exactly like you after they let a stranger inside their home all the time! Can you REALLY take a chance like that????

This story is not uncommon. More and more you read about women or seniors being alone at home during the day and opening their doors to strangers who do them harm. From home service contractors to door- to- door salesmen to even Caregivers, “Do you REALLY KNOW who the person is that you just let into your home or office?”

Claudia Bernard, owner of Protection Plus Solutions says “People need to “wake up” and not allow people not properly identified into their home or office. If their gut feeling tells them something isn’t right then it probably isn’t. They need to have specific questions fully answered before they allow a Repairman, Caregiver or even a Door-To-Door Salesman come inside. Does the person have verification that they’re working for the company they’re representing? Do they have a visible ID badge that says who they are and a phone number to call to verify this information?

Claudia says that her company Protection Plus Solutions provides a unique background screening service that offers “peace of mind” to homeowners and business owners alike because they can verify who the individual is that works in their home or business 24/7. “We monitor employees every month, not annually. Wouldn’t you want to know immediately if your employee had a criminal issue after hire, not a year later? Plus our ID badgeLINK system allows companies “Free of Charge” to post ID badges on their website that links back to ours to show customers that the person coming to their home is Crime-FREE if they use our background screening products.” For additional information regarding BadgeLINK please visit them at www.protectionplussolutions.com

WARNING!!!! CRIMINAL HIRED!!!!

Consider this scenario.  Employer “X” contracts with a Fortune 500 company to perform “door to door cable sales”.  The Fortune 500 Company does have a contract with Employer “X” to insure that background screening is performed, but never checks the credibility of the background checks they’re supposedly running.

Employer “X” hires 2 Sales Reps to sell cable in residential neighbors, but conducts no criminal or background search prior to hiring.  Both Sales Reps gets into a verbal altercation with a customer of Employer “X”.  The verbal altercation leads to a physical altercation with the one of the Sales Reps beating up the customer. The other Sales Rep smashes a window and destroys the customer’s property.  The customer ends up in the hospital and suffers physical injuries.  After Employer “X” is sued by the customer, it comes to light that both Sales Reps have a criminal record for assault and battery including theft.  The customer also sues the Fortune 500 Company for failure to insure that Employer “X” has performed the necessary background checks for both Sales Reps. The news media gets involved and although they mention the name employer “X”, they have a field day blasting the fortune 500 company all over the internet and local news stations! Customers are now worried about opening their doors to a Cable Door to Door Sales Rep and the Fortune 500 companies sales drop 35% Nationwide!

Employer “X” is sued for, among other claims, ”negligent hiring”, but the Fortune 500 company has deeper pockets and thus winds up with a multi-million dollar law suit against them and a mountain of legal costs!

So, what exactly is negligent hiring?  This “negligent hiring” holds employers responsible to third parties who are injured by employees when the employer has failed to carefully select competent and safe employees.  

In essence, the claim is that Employer “X” and the Fortune 500 company were both obligated to their customer to insure that a thorough  criminal background check was performed.

READ THIS!

 The Tort Reform Act of 1999 provides employers with a defense to negligent hiring claims if they conduct effective pre-hiring background checks.  The statute, entitled “Employer Presumption Against Negligent Hiring” applies to negligent hiring claims against an employer based upon negligent acts taken by that employer’s employee. 

The statute creates a presumption that an employer exercised reasonable care in selecting an employee if the employer conducted a “background investigation” that “did not reveal any information that reasonably demonstrated the unsuitability of the prospective employee for the particular work to be performed for the employment in general.” 

This is why a Criminal Background Check is imperative to ANY employer, but more crucial for employers who hire employees that work in the Home Service Industry, especially if they enter a customer’s home.

To obtain the benefit of this presumption, the employer must:

1.   Conduct a criminal background investigation on the  prospective employee with a  reputable background screening company like Protection Plus Solutions.

2.   Make reasonable efforts to contact references and former employers of the prospective employee concerning the prospective employee’s suitability for employment.

3.   Require that the prospective employee complete a job application, which includes questions concerning whether the prospective employee has ever been convicted of a crime.

4.   obtain, with authorization from other prospective employee, a check of the driver’s license record (if relevant to the work to be performed); and 

5.   Interview the prospective employee.

Thus, all employers should conduct background checks that comply with requirement numbers 1-5 above.

Why Choose Protection Plus Solutions??

Protection Plus Solutions, provides the most comprehensive background screening services for “door to door sales”.

We provide monthly monitoring, not annually of your Sales Reps and Sub-Contractors. We also make each Sales Rep and Sub-Contractor sign a waiver allowing corporate the ability to review information about the Sales Rep at all times.

Protection Plus Solutions ID Badging system allows home owners, business owners, and law enforcement the ability to review information about your sales rep 24/7 by logging into our secured website.

Wouldn’t you want to know NOW if your Sales Rep got into trouble after they’ve been hired? Our CrimSPY feature monitors your Sales Rep every month. Safe and Secure background screening is what Protection Plus Solutions is all about. Contact us today, hire safe and smart with PPS!

www.protectionplussolutions.com

1 877 725-5412

email us at: support@protectionplussolutions.com