Slomin's Review 2023

The Good

Slomin's is a home service provider that offers home security, heating, and air conditioning services and products. They are one of the largest family-owned alarm companies in the U.S. despite being a regional company, and they capitalize on that by providing personalized customer service to their customers.

The Bad

Slomin's requires a long-term five-year contract, way longer than the industry standard three-year contracts. It's regional availability also limits the options for customers who are planning to move.

Bottom Line

Slomin's is a good alarm company with high-quality customer service, but its equipment and feature offering could use a revamp.

Who's It For?

Slomin's is only available in some states in the Eastern seaboard, more specifically, California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. That being said, it's only for residents currently residing in those states. The good news is they offer services to homeowners and renters alike. However, the rate and contract term is different for renters.

Slomin's Sales Process

To get started, first, you'll need to contact them via phone and schedule a home visit so their sales rep can give you a quote tailored specifically to your security needs. That said, in reading numerous customer reviews, we've noticed that many customers applaud Slomin's sales reps for not being too pushy. According to a number of customers, they let you decide what equipment to get and they offer suggestions that are actually helpful. This is in contrast to many alarm companies that employ pushy sales reps who are only after making sales.

Once you're given a quote, Slomin's will give you time to decide whether or not to sign a contract with them. If you agree to the contract terms, a technician will come install the system, walk you through how it works, and even take time to answer questions you might have regarding the system.

Slomin's Equipment Review

Slomin's security system is called Slomin's Shield, and it's built on a touchscreen control panel. The panel is the primary component as it's the ultimately responsible for sending alerts to the monitoring center and it's also the one tying the entire system together. It wirelessly connects to sensors, smart home devices, and cameras.

The control panel also has built-in features that can help you manage your home security system and make life a little easier and safer. For example, it has a battery backup that allows it to run continuously even during power interruptions. It also provides weather reports as well as an intuitive control interface right on the touchscreen display. Using the interface, you can arm the system with one touch, disarm it by entering a PIN, and control your smart home devices conveniently.

Equipment Packages

Slomin's offers a free basic equipment package when you commit to a 5-year monitoring deal. The basic package includes a touchscreen control panel, a motion sensor, up to three door/window sensors, and a set of yard signs and decals. This offer, however, is only for new customers and homeowners. Renters might be offered a different package that likely includes an upfront equipment fee.

Besides the equipment package, you have the liberty to add as many sensors and devices to your system as the control panel allows. You may add remote touchscreen keypads, extra motion and door/window sensors, keychain remotes, and even security cameras and home automation devices. In fact, Slomin's offers more automation devices than security sensors. They only offer motion sensors and door/window sensors under the security category, but in the home automation department, they offer:

• Z-Wave Light Switch
• Z-Wave Smart Lock
• Smart Thermostat
• Z-Wave Appliance Control Module
• Z-Wave Garage Door Controller

Slomin's also offers life safety products, such as smoke alarms (for detecting fire), water sensors (for early detection of floods), and temperature sensors (for detecting heating/cooling abnormalities).

Installation

As mentioned earlier, Slomin's requires professional installation on all their products. A technician, employed and trained by Slomin's, will come to your house, install the system, and explain to you how it works. Installations could take 4 to 6 hours and you or an authorized individual must be present when they arrive. However, if you have to leave during the installation, Slomin's gives their word that your belongings are safe and your property will be respected. Slomin's assures that their technicians are professionals who underwent a background check and drug tests. In addition, professional installation is free for new customers.

Warranty

Any equipment sold by Slomin's is covered by a 1-year warranty. Within the first year of use, Slomin's will service, repair, or replace malfunctioning equipment or equipment damaged under normal circumstances (e.g. wear & tear, faulty installation done by their technician, etc). Damages caused by misuse, acts of God, and disasters (i.e. fire, flood), however, are not covered by the warranty.

Slomin's Monitoring Service Review

Slomin's security system is tied to their monitoring service. Upon receiving the system, you'll start paying a monthly fee as upkeep of the service, which includes 24/7 professional monitoring with police and fire department dispatch. In the event of an emergency, your system will send a alert to the monitoring center. Trained agents in the central station responds to alerts by calling your phone number and sending the police or fire responders to your listed address if needed. In case it's just a false alarm, however, you can waive off the alert by providing the security code, a verbal passcode you would have set prior to activating the system.

For a cost assessment, check out the article we've put together about Slomin's deals, promotions, and monitoring plans.

Landline vs. Cellular Monitoring

With regards to your system generating and sending alerts, Slomin's offers two communication standards: landline and cellular.

Their basic monitoring plan uses landline, which is a cheaper communication methods, but it's unreliable because landlines are prone to disruptions. It's also unsafe considering that burglars can simply cut your landline wire to disable your system. Cellular monitoring is more reliable and safer because it's wireless and less permeable to disruptions. However, cellular monitoring requires a higher monitoring rate.

Between landline and cellular monitoring, we recommend the latter. It's generally better and if you come to think of it, it's more practical because there's no need to maintain a working phone line.

Smartphone Access

Slomin's also offers smartphone access as an added feature to their monitoring service. This feature allows you to control your security system on-the-go using the MySlomin's app. The app, which is available to Android and iOS users, allows remote arming and disarming, smart home control and automation, and security camera streaming. Unfortunately, user reviews seem to point to the fact that the app is unreliable, from having login and connectivity issues to having lots of bugs. All of the three user reviews on the iOS App Store gave the app a 1-star rating, while the Play Store version of the app holds a 2.5-star rating.

Fire, Flood & Abnormal Temperature Monitoring

On the brighter side, Slomin's not only monitors for security breaches, but also for fire, flood, and abnormal temperature changes if you have the right equipment. Smoke alarms, water sensors, and temperature sensors are all sold separately. If you purchase these products, they too, are linked to the monitoring center. If there's smoke, flood, or abnormal temperature changes, the monitoring center will know and they will contact you. In contrast, most alarm companies sell self-monitored water and temperature sensors, meaning that if triggered, the sensor will alert you, not the monitoring center. With Slomin's, flood and temperature alerts are treated just as importantly as intrusion and fire alerts.

Scenes & Rule Automation

You can further make your home more secure and safer with the help of smart home products (smart lights, thermostats, locks, garage door controller, etc.) and the system's scenes and rules features.

Scenes let you control multiple devices in one command. For example, you can create a scene that turns off your lights, locks your doors, closes down your garage, and arms your security system. You can create and trigger scenes using the MySlomin app, the control panel or remote keypads.

On the other hand, rules allow certain actions to trigger another device or an entire scene. For example, you can create a rule that arms your security system whenever you lock your door. You can also create rules that react to a trigger. For instance, if a door/window sensor detects an intrusion, all your lights will turn on to potentially scare away the intruder.

Slomin's Customer Service Review

Slomin's puts a heavy emphasis on their customer service. They've been in the business of providing services to homeowners for almost a century and it's the reason their customer service is stellar. When we looked at customer reviews, it's clear that providing high-quality customer service is their utmost priority. They have an easy-to-access phone line, stellar after sales support, and their support staff are often noted as professional, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Those are all good customer service traits, but unfortunately, Slomin's lacks customer-friendly policies.

Moving Policy

Regional and local companies are inherently not-so-good with moving policies, mainly because they offer services to a limited area. If you move outside Slomin's service area, you're going to have to terminate the contract and pay a hefty cancellation fee. However, if you relocate to a state covered by Slomin's, you have three options.

First, you can take the system with you and resume your contract in your new address. Only installation fees will be charged. Second, you can leave the old system for the new owners of the house to use and pay $395 for a brand new basic security package. Your contract will resume in your new address, so there's no need to lock yourself in another contract for another five years. The third option is to leave the security system behind and sign a new five-year contract to get a basic security equipment for free.

There's another option, but it's one we don't recommend: terminate your contract. If you do that, you'll pay a hefty penalty. Although the system is yours once the penalty is paid, it's highly unlikely that you can use it. Slomin's programs their security systems to work with their monitoring service only, so you'll only end up with a security system that doesn't work.

Early-Termination Policy

So how much will you pay if you terminate the contract? The penalty is equivalent to the number of months remaining in your contract multiplied by your monthly rate. As an example, if you sign up for basic monitoring ($33.95/month) and you terminate the service two years into the contract, you'll pay a $1,222.20 penalty. Another way to look at it is paying for a monitoring service for five whole years while only using the service for two years. It's a great loss on your end, so be sure you can and will use the service for five years before signing the dotted line.

Return Policy

It's also important to note Slomin's has no return policy. Once you sign the contract, you're already locked in. You can't return the equipment nor cancel the contract without paying a penalty. Your only protection as a consumer is the three-day Right of Rescission period as enforced by the FTC.