Protect Your Restaurant with SimpliSafe Security for Businesses

SimpliSafe may be in the home security industry, but that doesn’t mean we only protect homes. In fact, we protect tens of thousands of businesses around the country, ranging from Real Estate to boutiques and even to restaurants. The truth is that businesses, especially restaurants, have a lot to lose from a burglary. This is why we always recommend (to both homeowners and businessowners) getting a system before you need it. Being proactive.

Protecting Your Restaurant From Burglary:

Protecting your restaurant isn’t too tough, but it does require some careful thought and consideration. As a business owner, you likely have several managers who open and close for you, and those managers have keys to lock and unlock your doors. Making sure that you know exactly who has your keys, and how many keys there are to your restaurant, is the first step. Don’t give anyone a key who doesn’t need one, and make sure the key-holders don’t lose them. Replacing a key isn’t hard, but it is a pain. And once it’s gone, you never know who has access. 

This is why we recommend adding another layer of protection: multiple PINs. With SimpliSafe, you can have up to 4 additional PINs which will allow a person to arm or disarm a system. Each of your managers can get their own PIN, and only you will know the Master PIN. These PINs are easy to change, but only through your online account. The other great thing about having multiple PINs is that you will always know who is arming and disarming your system, and at what time.

With homeowners, the most vulnerable time of day to burglaries is in the afternoon, while people are at work. However for restaurants, the most vulnerable time of day is during opening or closing. This is when the place is empty, there aren’t many people around, and the cash register is open. Make sure that you have a procedure that everyone knows well for opening and closing. Know when to lock the door, and even when to turn off the lights. Set the rules early on, make sure your employees know them, and then you’ll never have to worry again. Before they leave for the night, make sure they arm your security system. Have a forgetful manager? You can always log onto your app and arm your system right from your phone!

You will also want protocols for emergencies. In the event of a burglary, keep a Panic Button under the counter. Place it in a location that is inconspicuous and easy to reach, but won’t get hit by accident in the day-to-day.

Protecting Your Restaurant From The Elements:

Burglary isn’t the only threat to your restaurant. The biggest danger zone is your kitchen. There’s fire, there’s water, there’s chaos - how can you manage it? Make sure your fire safety measures are up to par with the building codes in your municipality. Typically you will be required to have a wired smoke detecting system with sprinklers. If you would like additional protection, you can always add SimpliSafe Smoke Detectors which are monitored 24/7 to the mix.

Water can also pose a threat to your restaurant. You never want to come in to find that your pipes have burst, or that your refrigerators are leaking. Not only will you have to pay for the damage, but you may be out of commission while repairs are happening. Place Water Sensors in vulnerable areas so you are warned if there is a leak. You can get notifications directly to your phone or email with Smart Alerts. And you certainly don’t want slippery floors around the chefs, so make sure to discuss safety in the kitchen with all of your staff.

SimpliSafe can also help you with early power outage warnings. If the power goes out, your system will still protect you using the backup batteries in the Base Station. You will also receive a notification of the power outage, so you can go and save the vegetables before they begin to go bad.

Managing Your Restaurant:

At SimpliSafe, we have a few more tricks up our sleeves. You can use your system to help manage your restaurant in addition to protecting it. Remember those multiple PINs from before? With text and email alerts you can get text notifications of when your system was armed or disarmed, so you can always know what time your managers are getting in, and know who exactly it is. You can also use Secret Alerts to know who is going into your office, or who is rifling through the filing cabinets. Triggering these alerts won’t set off the alarm, but you will know exactly what is going on when you’re not there.

Finally, with SimpliSafe there’s no contract and no extra fees, so the money you save can go into your restaurant. Plus, since it’s self-installed, you won’t need to schedule a time for someone to come in and spend two hours drilling holes in your walls. You can put it up in 30 minutes whenever you have time.