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Joe Herron
May 21, 2020
I don’t think anyone would call me a “car guy.” I’m not into the latest, greatest, or fastest thing on the road. However, there are several cars in our household. Every one of us has at least a 45-minute commute on a normal day. We also make frequent trips to visit family, so we heavily rely on our cars. Vehicle maintenance is very important in this family, especially because I keep cars for a long time. Like many people, I hate change, so I have a couple of cars with over 250,000 miles on them. One even has a factory installed cassette deck! Keeping vehicles in good running order requires proper maintenance and watching for signs of possible problems, for example, a new noise (like rattling) or something more obvious.
Application and system dashboards are trending now, but we have been using them for many years in automobiles. Those lights and gauges are extremely helpful in maintaining a car. I recently saw in an owner’s manual that alert lights are called “easy lights.” The alert lights truly provide an easy method to quickly see items that need attention, often allowing us to avoid potential problems. One of my favorite indicators is “Low Fuel.” I see this one frequently—especially after my daughter has driven my car. While I don’t have a “Low Air Pressure” alert in my car, my wife does. And, it’s a good thing she does; otherwise, she would end up driving on flat tires. I’m sure some of you have looked down while driving to find your turn signal was on. You likely wondered how long it had been on and understood why people gave you funny looks as they passed.
Beyond informational messages, there are also more critical alerts, like the “Hot Engine” one we recently experienced on an out-of-town trip. Obviously, I don’t look forward to seeing this type of critical message; however, I know it can help avoid potentially major issues. When the alert occurred on this trip, I stopped the car prior to any permanent damage and got the thermostat replaced. That car is running again at minimal cost (in relative terms). Reacting quickly to the dashboard indicators saved me a lot of money and time.
Equinox has simplified the process of maintaining and monitoring the health of your Protector and TeleLink systems by providing a vast array of “easy lights.” And just like your automobile dashboard, some indicators provide helpful information while others alert you to more critical situations. Understanding the severity and how to respond will result in the most up time for your system. After the recent online user group meeting, we surveyed the TeleLink community. The results clearly showed that understanding and implementing system alerts and messages was the most requested topic for additional education. This request has also topped the list of past surveys performed within the Protector community.
That is exactly why Equinox is hosting a first-of-its-kind webinar for the ENTIRE user community. Just like the owner’s manual explains the meaning of your automobile’s dashboard icons, we want to share the ins and outs of your system’s “dashboard” (alerts and messages). We invite every member of the Protector and TeleLink communities to join us June 2 at 12:00 PM Central for an 'Emails, warnings, and messages, oh my!' online training. During this one-hour session, Equinox Support representatives will cover KEY alerts and provide insight for interpreting and responding to them. To join us for this informational session, register at this link.
In his role as Vice President of Support for Equinox, Joe Herron oversees all of customer support, including quality assurance, product documentation, installation, upgrades, and the customer support help desk. His team’s primary task is working with customers on the day-to-day issues, for example scheduling product updates, turning up a new switch, fine-tuning a configuration setting, or helping troubleshoot a technical issue. When he’s not putting the processes and standards in place that ensure Equinox customers uniformly rave about the service they receive, he enjoys reading and spending time behind the wheel of his convertible.
To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.
