Is Rooms To Go Furniture a retail store?
We are the largest furniture retailer in the United States. Rooms To Go Furniture is located mainly in the southeastern
United States. Currently, there are stores located in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
But we are looking to expand very soon. We will be opening stores in the northern part of the United States. This should
be happening in the near future. We sell all kinds of furniture from bedroom sets to dining room and kitchen tables.
Do you work out of a retail store?
No, I work at the corporate facility. My location is the main distribution center and the corporate offices. There are 1,500
employees that work here. We have all the typical office departments with an extra large Customer Service department to
handle orders. Most of our space is occupied by a warehouse that is filled with furniture. The retail stores do not stock
furniture, so we have to deliver it. We deliver to all the states that have stores, so we need a lot of trucks and truck
drivers.
How many stores and warehouses are there nationwide?
There are 110 retail stores and five distribution centers. We are in the process of opening two more distribution centers
very soon. All the distribution centers use Guard1 and The PIPE,
including mine. Each distribution center has its own warehouse and corporate offices. We use five PIPEs here, at the main
distribution center, and all the other centers have two to three of their own.
What is your role with security at the company?
I have been with Rooms To Go Furniture for two years. I started in the same position I am in now, which is Corporate Security.
I handle all of the technical security for the entire company, nationwide. That is, all five distribution centers report
to me. The guards at the individual facilities have a manager that they report to. Then, that manager will relay any incidents
or problems to me. I handle anything that is security and technical based. Things such as cameras, access control, and safe
locks are what I control. We have cameras set up around the grounds to watch different entrances.
How do the officers view Guard1?
They know what their job is, and that they need to just go out there and do it. All of our guards are contracted out. With
a facility of our size, we employ a lot of guards.
What made you interested in Guard1?
We were using a digital system that had similar features to Guard1. The value of that system
was not nearly as worthy as Guard1, however. Everything went wrong with it. The digital system
would always break down. The batteries would die out and the general reliability of the system was poor. I think that everyday
use combined with some guard damage was the problem. The system was here when I started, so they used it a couple of years.
We started to use Guard1 after I got here. My boss and I found the system and decided to
try it. Everything that we did not like about the old system we like about Guard1. The difference
has been amazing! Guard1 is the complete opposite of our old digital system.
How many buttons do you use at the main distribution center?
I would say that we have about thirty to forty buttons and checkpoints. The buttons are positioned all around the facility.
We have two buildings, each with one floor. The warehouse itself is around 600,000-700,000 square feet. As big as that sounds,
it is actually small. Our biggest distribution center is almost two million square feet!
Are tours done regularly?
Yes, the tours are done once an hour. It takes the guards about an hour to do a tour. So, they are supposed to be continually
doing them. Once the guards do a tour, they take a short break and then they are supposed to start the tour again. All the
tours are walking tours. Security is not a big problem at Rooms To Go Furniture, however. The guards mostly check the physical
doors to make sure everything is secure. We have a digital keypad to gain access into the facility. So, the warehouse is
what we are mostly concerned with. No tours are done on the inside of the offices or warehouse. The checkpoints are all
on the outside of the building. The PIPE has gone through some extreme conditions, but not
many.
Do all five distribution centers download The PIPE?
Yes, the distribution centers all download and print reports separately. We also have a Mobile Downloader which is used
from time to time. Once the reports are printed they are then given to me. I take a final look at them. We are checking
to make sure they are doing their rounds. Luckily, we find that they mostly are. The reports tell us what they are truly
doing.
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