Business door chimes can be a useful tool for knowing when someone enters your store. They can add security and increase efficiency for your employees. But there are so many products on the market that it can be difficult to know which one to choose.
Fortunately, there are only a few major things to consider when selecting a door chime for your business. The information below will break down the various capabilities and costs of different door chime systems. With such variety in features and uses, you can find one that will add security and convenience to your business, and that is within your budget.
Uses for Business Door Chimes
The first thing to think about when selecting a door chime is what you would like it to accomplish. Here are some basic benefits of installing one.
Security
Property crime remains one of the most common types of crime in the United States. Knowing when someone enters your business, pulls into your parking lot, or arrives at your loading dock is a great way to reduce the likelihood of crime.
An alert alone could be enough to dissuade crime, by letting a potential thief aware that their presence is known. You can integrate door alarms into security systems, or equip them with their own monitoring features.
Door chimes are useful for literal safety precautions. These include monitoring entrances to pools, daycare centers, or areas of nursing homes with dementia patients.
Efficiency
One of the main reasons business install door chimes is the convenience of alerting staff that a customer is present. Very simply, entry chimes go off when a person walks through a door or entryway. They are very common in many different businesses where staff want to be able to pay attention to work without having to keep watch of the entrance.
This is useful for places like laundrymats where one or two staff may work in the back as well as serve customers. They are common at restaurants with a drive-through window, where you may not have dedicated personnel. Or you can use them to alert warehouse workers that a delivery truck has pulled up to a dock.
In short, having staff watch an entrance or other areas of your business is a waste of money. It can both distract from their jobs mentally and occupy them physically.
Conversely, it can free up staff to help out when customer traffic is slow. A hostess can leave the greeting table, or a retail worker can feel safe leaving a cash register to help out with other tasks, knowing that the chime will alert them when someone enters the restaurant or store.
Finally, a door chime can help improve customer service. You do not have to worry that a customer is being neglected because no one knows they are in the store.
Types of Alarms
Door chimes are not a new development. Shopkeeper’s bells have been around for centuries. But technology has advanced, and this affords a range of options for the features you can have.
Door Chime Basics
There are two types of door chimes: contact-based sensors and those with motion-based ones. They both have different advantages and disadvantages.
Contact sensors involve two magnetic pieces mounted on a door and doorframe, that activate a signal when they are separated. These are simple alarm solutions for doors that normally stay closed. One of the big advantages is that they are not prone to false alarms.
As its name suggests, motion-based sensors work when they detect movement or heat. A big advantage is that you can install these almost anywhere and configure them to monitor any area or space. For this reason, they are popular for hallways or other open areas, like parking lots.
Motion detectors are prone to false alarms, triggered by animals or other movements. But you can usually arrange them to minimize false alerts.
Both contact- and motion-based alarms either have a built-in alert or send a signal to a receiver that sounds the alarm. Stand-alone sensors usually are battery-powered, but there are exceptions, like mechanical devices that need no external power. Alerts with receivers could run on batteries or require an electrical outlet.
Door Chime Features
One thing to consider is if you are planning to integrate business door chimes with security system features. This affords the benefit of camera activation when the alarm is triggered.
These “smart” features can serve the dual function of alerting you to a customer’s presence and triggering security measures. This can be useful in areas like loading docks, where the arrival of a vehicle or workers may not need immediate attention. Also, these systems provide a wide field of vision, so you can monitor areas that are beyond the normal line-of-sight.
Door chimes also come in a variety of colors and designs, so they can be concealed or match the aesthetic of your entryway. They can have a classic wood or brass design, or have a modern look. They also can be set up to play many different sounds, including melodies or recorded messages like “Thank you for visiting. Someone will be right with you.”
Two big advantages of basic door alarms systems are affordability and simplicity in installation. Basic alerts can be as cheap as $10. And even the most state-of-the-art systems will run no more than a few hundred dollars.
You can install most door chimes yourself. Even those with “smart” features usually involve downloading the manufacturer’s app on your phone or tablet.
Find a Door Chime That Is Right for You
Now that you have a sense of what business door chimes can do, you can find the model that meets your needs and that is within your budget.
At Reliable Chimes and Security, we carry a range of options for door alarms and monitors to meet almost any requirement. From simple and inexpensive contact-based chimes to doorbell- and security-camera-integrated kits, we have a product for every type of business and need.
We have been providing door chimes for businesses for almost 30 years. Our staff can answer any questions about what business door chime is right for you.