This week we had the chance to interview George Karonis, the CEO of LiveViewGPS. LiveViewGPS provide GPS vehicle and fleet tracking solutions and products for business and personal use. Read on to find out more about the company including their latest products including a mobile locate card.
1. Hello George, thank you for the interview opportunity. To start off, could you tell what your typical day involves as the CEO of LiveViewGPS – an advanced GPS tracking company?
First and foremost each day is started off by ensuring we are continually providing truly world class customer service to our customers. Employees will respect what you inspect. Scanning through customer emails, and open support tickets are the first things that I do on a daily basis. It is my goal to provide every customer extraordinary value for the services provided by our company.
2. As a company, what is your mission statement and overall aim when it comes to serving the business and consumer customers who are looking for a GPS tracking or surveillance solution?
Our mission statement is based on the following principles: Integrity, Value, being Humble and acting with a sense of urgency.
3. During your time working in the GPS tracking industry, what have been the biggest changes and challenges that the organization company has had to adapt and react to and why?
We’ve seen the industry evolve from passive to active GPS tracking. We’ve seen many other GPS tracking companies come and go. The challenge we face is operating a viable company, in the face of fierce competition. We are not the cheapest solution in the marketplace, nor are we the most expensive. Our services are provided again with value to our customer in mind. We always try to under promise and over deliver on what we do. We enjoy doing what we do, is challenging and involves countless hours of work.
4. How has your company had to adapt to the ever changing world of technology, and in particular the proliferation of devices such as smart phone which are now GPS compatible?
Working in the technology field is very challenging. A lot of people are still unaware of the services we provide. Many times people see things on television and believe that it’s real and readily available, when in reality it’s years away from being developed. I think the proliferation of devices such as smart phones are a boon to our industry, as it raises the public’s awareness of what technology is capable of.
Our back end platforms are a huge differentiator too. Not only do our systems tell you where a device is, we can tell you when your vehicle’s ignition is on or off, alert you when your vehicle is speeding, and alert you when your vehicle has left a predetermined route or area you set. Furthermore, some of our devices can even remotely start, disable or unlock your car’s doors.
5. How was LiveViewGPS originally conceived and started, and where do you see the company developing over the next few years?
Back around 2005, our sister company began selling a passive GPS tracker. This device used locations obtained via GPS satellites to record where it had been. A user would retrieve the passive GPS logger and download its data to a computer. Around this time, active or real-time GPS trackers began to make their way into the marketplace. Many of our customers demanded real-time tracking. Although it did take us some time to do our due diligence and research on the technology, LiveViewGPS was eventually formed.
6. Which is the best selling device that LiveViewGPS produces and what are the most compelling features that it comes with?
Our best selling device is the LiveViewGPS Live Trac G5. We’ve partnered with some great companies to make this product happen. Hardware, web-based software and wireless carrier services perform flawlessly. Clients can monitor their vehicles with lightning fast update speed at 5 or 10 seconds.
The monthly service starts at $29.95 per month for unlimited use for 10 second tracking, and $39.95 per month for 5 second tracking. There are no contracts and service is billed month to month. Users can access the system from any internet enabled computer, or mobile device with a web browser. We’ve also built and deployed specific iOS and Android applications that users can use to monitor their devices with. The dedicated apps are great, giving users instant access to their devices and locations.
7. Is there a particular customer testimonial or piece of feedback you have received from the users of the LiveViewGPS products that is particularly interesting that you could share with our readers? For example, stories where your products have really made a life-changing difference?
Over the years we have heard a lot of stories from our customers. We have heard from countless parents who use our system with their teen drivers. Most parents use it not to monitor and watch every move their teen driver makes, but as an added layer of security. It gives them peace of mind.
Without getting into specifics, one organization discovered tremendous amounts of employee abuse with their company vehicles. Within two weeks of deploying our system, they discovered over $100,000 per month of company resources being spent on wasted fuel and labor costs. For this company, the LiveViewGPS services provided and to this day continues to provide tremendous value.
The most tragic incident we heard of was from a client who had an employee go missing. This happened during the winter at a time when the roads near this client were piled high with snow. After looking at the historical playback feature on our system, our client saw the exact location of the employee’s vehicle which was several hundred feet off the main roadway in a snow flurry. When they responded to the location, they found the vehicle and employee deceased, apparently from a medical incident while driving.
8. Do you have any future innovations or products in the pipeline that you could tell us about, perhaps just a quick glimpse into what’s coming next from LiveViewGPS?
Yes, as a matter of fact we do. We are the first company to market with a patent pending prepaid mobile locate card. The card allows the purchaser to redeem a code at our website www.mobilephonelocate.com which allows a metered number of position locates with any cellphone that has been properly registered on our system.
The mobile phone locate card has garnered carrier approval and works with ATT, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Rogers and Telus in Canada. What sets us apart is that, with our system,you don’t need any software or app for it to work. Users opt-in via SMS message or via phone call – to enroll their phones with our service. Once enrolled a user can login to our system and locate a phone on demand.
More information: If you want to know more about the GPS tracking solutions and services that LiveViewGPS offer then please visit their website on: www.liveviewgps.com.
