i3 International’s video surveillance system beneficial for Bobby & Steve’s Auto World

When it came time for Bobby & Steve’s Auto World to update their Eden Prairie location, they wanted it to be an exciting car service experience. This new flagship would be unlike anything the people of Minnesota had seen before. 

This new complex would offer 16 gas pumps, a convenience store, a large service department, a car wash and even a grill restaurant. With all this square footage to monitor, owners Bobby Williams and Steve Andersen needed to find a video surveillance provider with a proven track-record who shared not only their “out-of-the-box” business philosophy but also their special attention to customer service.

The gas pumps and cash registers were the monitoring areas of the highest priority to the owners. Due to Minnesota's extreme weather, the conventional PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) cameras that they had used in the past proved to be quite problematic. In addition, the PTZ cameras would have only covered about 20% of the area at any given time. Therefore, those legacy cameras provided only a 1 in 5 chance of actually catching and recording thefts and incidents such as “drive-offs”. Although “drive-offs” are still a risk of the business, the installation of the i3’s IP mega-pixel cameras has allowed the owners to capture and record all the video evidence related to these crimes and to provide law enforcement agencies with high quality footage of perpetrators and their license plates.

“None have gotten away yet”, says Andersen. Plus, i3's Remote Viewing Software, which allows only select personnel the ability to view footage remotely from any camera has also proven to be beneficial.

In one such incident, Mr. Andersen, while remotely viewing the live security video stream, witnessed an unprofessional situation involving members of the staff. He was able to immediately take action to rectify the situation.

i3 International and one of their integrator partners, Dan Nordsletten of Digital Surveillance Concepts had the full video surveillance package that Bobby & Steve’s was looking for. In the end, 32 IP cameras, 32 analog cameras and a Hybrid Server were installed with POS Integration Software. The installation of IP cameras provides them with a two-fold benefit over their legacy PTZ cameras.

“First, there are no moving parts, which means no adverse effects on the cameras due to extreme weather conditions. Also, with the new IP cameras, they are able to achieve 100% video coverage, 100% of the time”, said Paul Kerling, Regional Sales Director for i3 International. As for the challenging task of outfitting the entire new video surveillance system from i3 International, owner Steve Andersen had this to say: “They’re the best we’ve seen so far”.