So the customer asks you to quote them a CCTV installation for their shop.
Customer – ”I want a camera to cover the shelves for shop lifting and one to watch the staff at the register to see if they are stealing money.”
You – “Do you have a budget in mind that you are willing to spend and what amount of storage time do you require?”
Customer – “$800 is all I want to spend. 1 week should be long enough”
The shop is small and open with shelves around the walls and one up the centre, with good visibility from the counter for most of the shop. It measures about 10m x 12m with a door towards the rear on the 12m side.
What They Need…
We know what they want but what they need is a camera to identify a person as they enter the shop so if they steal something and leave, we have a good image of their face. A second camera at the counter to cover the cash register and possibly customers and finally one or two cameras in the shop area for the overview of shoplifting.
The Decision…
Do you supply them a budget system that does exactly what they want OR explain the typical scenario that results in shop lifters and armed holdups not being convicted due to poor quality images?
I know most people who bother to read this blog are looking to do the systems better so would choose the second option but with so many other less professional companies out there, you are going to need a strong case to sway them away from the budget system that does nothing.
That is why I use 3D drawing software for all of my quotes. It is a great way of illustrating to the client why they need more or better cameras without sounding like a salesman just trying to get an extra dollar. To achieve what I am talking about will cost you less than AUD$100 and maybe 30 minutes at the most to model a site like this as a beginner. Alternatively we can model the site for you with some enhanced graphics to give you quote a real WOW factor. Either way you will be able to highlight the fact that they are not going to be able to identify or even recognise most people in the shop and that at best, they will get an overview to watch from the back office of if there is a customer in the shop. Even the cash handling can be modelled to show what to expect.
The Process…
Having created a reasonably accurate floor plan that shows where the doors, counters and shelves are, we simple add the cameras.
I would first do exactly what they asked for and show the expected video quality on a 4CIF recording.
In the floor plan to the right, the yellow areas are where we would get sufficient detail to recognise a regular customer in the shop and the green is where we can observe behaviour.
The resulting images would be something like this. Click the images to enlarge them
Given that you cannot but a 2 channel DVR, I would go on to change the 3D drawing adding an extra 2 cameras, which would still fit in the budget if we are working on no name dome cameras and DVR.
We now have nearly 100% coverage with identification at the entry (red), a large area covering the blind spot behind the middle shelf where we can recognise a known person (yellow) and overviews in the main shop and counter areas. All that for about $200 more.
Now to see if we can stretch the budget a bit an move up to a 720p HD camera giving the advantage of much crisper images, a wider coverage per camera, improved back light compensation due to the CMOS chips and the ability to remotely access the cameras more easily to retrieve footage.
I’m sure you would prefer to walk away from a sale knowing you gave the customer the best possible advice so why not download a trail version of the software to see how easy it is to use. If you have any problems finding your way around it, just contact us for some support.
Alternatively if you would like us to model a site for you with advanced graphics similar to below, ask for a quote.
It is a graphically represented about CCTV.
But why?
It is well recognised that much footage is useless but most end users have no idea as to why or if their system is suitable.
If there is a license required to regulate who can install CCTV as there is in Australia, why isn’t some of the funding used to provide educational literature to the end users as to what to ask for ? Its not that complicated to document in layman’s terms as to how much of a scene a person needs to occupy for ID or recognition and the maximum downward angle of view to see under hats. Defining other aspects like back light and low light is harder but if the first is covered, at least there will be a significant improvement in the image quality.
At retail CCTV sales where they are not required to be licensed but sell to the DIY installer, make them publicly have educational leaflets available with the basic fundamentals
I wish most installers were looking for a solution as described above instead of a budget system to win the project.
Far too many companies go for the cheapest cameras/systems on the market. At the same time far too many customers try to get away with a system that cost half of the other system and almost expect the same usefulness or reliability.