Needs of Surveillance Systems for Gas Stations

When it comes to installing a security camera system an expert advise from a professional always
goes long ways. Here at Oviss Surveillance we constantly love to educate our clients and prospects
to help them make a knowledgeable decision. We have been in business since 2004 and have learned
more than just a thing or two about security cameras. After thousands of successful installations
at commercial establishments, we finally are proud call ourselves experts in the industry.

We will discuss and focus on security camera system needs for gas stations in this article. What
challenges is an owner of a gas station is trying to solve with implementing security camera system
for their million (or multi-million) dollar business? Here are just a few of the top reasons we
hear from multi and single location owners of major brands such as Arco AmPm, Shell, Chevron,
Texaco, Valero to name a few…

TOP 5 REASONS:

1. Protect themselves from general liability issues. (Example: a slip and fall, robbery, etc..)

2. Protect themselves from internal or external theft. (Example: shoplifters, cashier theft,
etc…)

3. Provide a business tool to improve day to day operations. (Example: Improve employee customer
Service/Productivity, increase operational awareness, etc..)

4. Protect themselves from damages and false claims. (Example: Wrong change was given, employment
claims, driving off with the nozzle in their car tank, etc…)

5. Provide peace of mind for everyone. (Example: Customers feel safer, Employees feel safer,
etc…)

There are more plenty of more reasons why security cameras are a must-have tool for daily business
operations of your Gas Station.

Let’s get to the basics – the most important part of a security system is system design, placement
of the cameras and camera lens types used to provide coverage for any given area.

FRONT DOOR CAMERA

Many installers, security companies and owners of an establishment fail to understand that a system
is only as good as the view from its cameras. One of the biggest flaws we all see is a security
camera aimed to be looking at the front entrance door from the ceiling. A camera from a 10ft high
ceiling looking at the door will only capture how nice of a hairstyle the person entering the door
has. The purpose of the door camera is to be able to capture a face shot of someone whose
potentially up to no good. If they wear a hoody or a hat, or simply keep their head down while
walking inside a store there are no identifying useful images captured of a face shot.

So how do OVISS CCTV cameras capture a face shot of a person? {INSERT A FULL PICTURE OF THE FRONT
DOOR CAMERA}

It’s a simple technique we implement that experience and knowledge over the years have taught us.
We install the front door camera on the door itself facing in and we capture the face shots from a
5ft height when someone exits the store. Resulting in successfully capturing detailed identifying
images that many police/investigating officers have loved and used for their cases. To top it off
that particular camera ends up doing the job for which normally 2 cameras would be required. it
also ends up providing coverage for an aisle, front of the counter activity or whatever else might
be in front of it from its position.

CASHIER/POS AREA CAMERAS

The areas around the POS system are one of the most important areas to be covered for any business.
A lot of opportunity for theft and false claims occur around this area that must always be
protected as much as possible. On average most c-stores have 2 POS Systems, although some have only
one and others have up to 3 or 4 based on their volume. More often then we would like to see these
cameras commonly get misplaced and installed inadequate positions that do not provide efficient
viewing angles. You may recall seeing a camera covering the POS System is often placed on the
ceiling behind the cashier looking at the POS System and the cash drawer, in efforts to also cover
the customer and merchandise counter. When someone comes and says I gave you a $100 bill and you
only returned change for $20. How do you combat that claim, when the camera that is supposed to
help you does not show you the cash drawer instead only shows the back of the cashier standing in
front of the cash drawer to serve the customer. So now you have missed the chance to resolve the
dispute in this claim. If the customer is correct, and you deny the claim, they are never coming
back to your store again, resulting in loss of business forever. If your employee is correct, but
for the sake of customer service you still end up compensating the claim of your customer, well now
you have just lost some serious profit and that person just made out with $100s and they are now
less likely to come back, in the fear of getting caught. Either way activities, disputes, and
claims as such can cost you a lot of business if you do not invest in the proper tools from an
experienced company.

So what does OVISS Surveillance do differently to protect the POS/Cashier area? {INSERT A FOUR VIEW
PICTURE SHOWING 2 POS FROM TOP, SIDE, AND CUSTOMER}

At OVISS we are always striving to make improvements, not only in the technology but also in
techniques and methods of our installation. In our offices, we are always experimenting with new
methods and techniques to try to improve and provide more value to our clients. In this example a
store with 2 POS Systems we would recommend to position 4 cameras around the entire Cashier counter
area providing coverage for everything around it including the safe and behind the counter activity
as well as clearly capturing the cash drawer and the customer on the other side of the counter
along with the merchandise being purchased at the counter. The image below shows how we accomplish
this task. We go a step further and install a camera to watch “Behind the Counter activity” which
allows you to see every possible view of your most valuable area. The “Customer profile” camera
shows the customer standing at the counter, the product being purchased and employee’s interaction
with the customer. The “POS Cameras” on each POS show a clear view of the money and how it’s being
handled, wherein the cashier’s till its being placed and the dollar value of the bill received from
the customer. Which helps resolve many other disputes along with the one mentioned above in this
article.

GAS PUMP CAMERAS

Importance of having cameras positioned correctly at the gas pump is a just as big of a deal as any
other camera being positioned efficiently. Still the majority of the times we see cameras installed
too high on the gas canopy or installed on the c-store’s building to shoot towards the pump which
generally only results in viewing one side of the pump. Positioning cameras in such manner provide
you with a beautiful scenery of our business but not much useful information to assist you when
needed for your business operations. Will you have adequate/identifying information of a person
parked at pump #10 who accidentally drives off with a nozzle in their fuel tank? Especially if they
are do not realize, or are not thoughtful enough to stop and inform the attendant of the incident.
Cameras installed at the gas pump should be able to see the license plate of the car, the person
doing the transaction between the car and the pump, and the pump itself.

So how does OVISS Surveillance better protect gas pumps? {INSERT PICTURE OF THE PUMP/CAR HERE}

We don’t look for easy ways out, installing cameras on a gas pump canopy is a challenging and
time-consuming task, it generally takes 2-3 times longer to install wiring and cameras at the pumps
adequately then it does to install any camera inside or outside the building of a store. So many
security companies and installers chose to install them on the building instead of going the extra
mile or two to provide adequate coverage. We take the time do it properly, we install conduit
where necessary to conceal the wires, we fish through the underground conduits to get our wires to
the canopy and we install the cameras at an adequate location to provide the best view of the car,
the person, and the pump so that the License plate of the car is captured, the person is
identifiable and the entire transaction is clearly visible. In case of a mishap, you have all the
information needed for your OVISS Surveillance system.

CAR WASH CAMERAS

Many owners/managers complain that disputes arise out of their unattended car wash operations.
Customers complain about things like your car wash dented or damaged my vehicle. To protect against
these claims a general response is to install cameras in the car wash facility. We are not
surprised that almost every time these cameras are installed in an inadequate method where it just
does not provide enough proof for the owner/manager to combat the situation. Every instance as such
can have a damaging result on the profits of your business. We all know an angry customer tends to
tell a few others (about 10 other people) to not to take their business there because such incident
happened with them.

So how do OVISS cameras help with car wash cameras? {INSERT CAR WASH ENTRY PICTURE HERE}

Our ability to always be innovating in order to provide more value to our clients have given us the
ability to find solutions to many issues. We position multiple cameras around the car wash area
including entrance, exit and inside the tunnel, all of these cameras have their own job to do. To
start with we have 2 cameras installed at 4 ft height with a particular resolution and lens type at
the entrance of a car wash to detect any damage to the car before it enters the tunnel. One of the
2 cameras also watches the pay machine where the customer interacts to purchase the wash. With this
simple technique and type of camera, resolution and lens type used, we are able to assist our
clients with such claims. Which results in them satisfying their customer and not losing their
business or their friends and family’s business.

These are just a few of the methods and techniques OVISS uses during its installations of security
camera systems. There is a lot more that goes into a successful installation of a surveillance
system for a business. Security cameras have a particular job to do and that is to be a good tool
for your business operations. They should be carefully designed, planned, and installed so that
they can be an effective tool and always help when needed. But lack of experience and knowledge
mostly results in costly mistakes. Hence it’s important to hire an experienced company to assist
you with your projects.

Feel free to contact us for any advice, or if you just feel like saying hello to us, or
consultation for your CCTV project. We are here to help educate you and share our expertise to
provide you a useful business tool for your operations.

Thanks for taking the time to read, I hope I was able to assist in your research.

Beant Singh

Director of Operations

OVISS LABS INC