Permit Issues Already for APX Alarm

From the News and Tribune in New Albany, Indiana:

Denison not secure about alarm system salesmen

Board of Public Works and Safety President Matt Denison admonished a sales manager for Apex Alarm after he appeared before the body Tuesday in hopes of retaining permits to sell the company’s products door-to-door in New Albany.

Denison said he was surprised the company actually asked about a permit, since it had been selling security systems in New Albany for the past two years without approval from the board.

Denison cited multiple instances when city police officers had to be called regarding the company when it solicited the area in the past. Maj. Sherri Knight — who serves as police representation on the board — said the department would be hard pressed to make extra runs regarding sales people this summer with a limited amount of officers on the street.

She told board members the department would respect its decision, but added they hoped the permit would not be approved.

Denison said Apex’s actions have made him ask “100 questions” of every vendor who comes to the board in hopes of getting a permit to sell items door-to-door.

“People come to our door more and more about things now,” he said, stating he would have a difficult time approving a permit for Apex. “It’s just not something I can agree with, especially based on past experiences.”

But Apex — a Utah-based company — now requires every sales representative to be affirmed through a governing city body before they can knock on a door, the sales manager said. He added Louisville recently issued a solicitor’s permit for Apex, which would assign 30 representatives to New Albany if approved.

City controller and board member Kay Garry recorded Apex’s request and said she would research the situation and possibly bring a resolution on the matter to the board next week.

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As I mentioned a while back, issues where going to be harder to come by and the police are not going to be too friendly if they do knock without a permit.

This will be interesting to see how APX Alarm implements and deals with that new policy. Over the past few years it has burned a lot of bridges, and will now be going back to seek those approvals. It will be harder to ask for a permit, get denied, and then still go knock doors. Flying under the radar will be much harder. We'll see how it turns out!

Link to Original.