The story, which was broken by three Bloomberg News reporters, hit the news Aug. 26. When quizzed, the company refused to comment on “rumour,” but industry experts did not hesitate to weigh in on what they thought was wrong with GE Security. For starters, GE’s executive didn’t get the passion the industry has for relationships. The analyst I spoke with suggested most of the experienced field staff who held the relationships within the companies GE acquired were moved out of their roles and GE people were moved in. The suggestion is they treated security like it was any other division in their vast organization.

What Sandra Jones said rings true to me of this industry — relationships matter very much and involves building a certain degree of trust. No surprise, I suppose, when you think that what you’re buying involves placing a large degree of confidence in someone who is offering you safety and security.

GE’s apparent move to ask JP Morgan Chase to now find a new home for the security division is likely a combination of the results of the economy’s retraction and its decision to do what many companies are inclined to do when the market gets rough — return to core competencies while freeing up cash to support operations.

It’s a good opportunity to consolidate product lines and technology platforms given already strained budgets are no doubt impacting big platform sales. But in this economy who might be a likely suitor? Anyone serious will have to be able to take it on and know it will significantly move the balance sheet in the desired direction. Can GE Security really make such promises?

And who else would have the cash to consider such a buy right now and do they see it as a company that could add to their current client base? Some end-users I talked to say they couldn’t really recall GE Security having any products or “mind shattering technology” that was exclusive to them, although one major Canadian customer said GE had one of the only robust access control platforms that could be installed across the company’s entire geography.

He also noted the company had cut back on maintenance contracts with vendors in general, which may have accounted for the poor customer service. “We have work to do on our end to ensure a strong relationship as well,” he told me.

Whenever a big deal like this is on the block the question is always how will customers benefit or lose? One I spoke with who is responsible for a large property in Canada and specifically has the Edwards fire system installed said, “I don’t really care as Edwards has been bought and sold about five times in the last 10 years and the service never changes.”

When I asked him how he would define that service he said “tolerable.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement. And perhaps that’s where the buyer could make a big difference in how customers receive the brands GE has put together. If relationships and service are really the cornerstone in this business — and I hear it all the time — would it be so difficult for someone to make those kinds of important changes?

It will be interesting to see how GE presents itself in the days ahead. GE Security’s president of the Americas, Mark Barry, is slated to speak at the “View From the Top” session at Securing New Ground in November, alongside Stanley, Axis Communications and Johnson Controls, but will likely have to take a pass if they are being shopped around. And at this point, do they really share the view from the top that those other brands do?