SH and Insteon

[Spot]

I've been a wallflower on the Insteon discussion....I like the concept and was an early adopter. I did read the postings about Insteon issues w/concern, but had not seen the same issues of switch failure because of my usage pattern.

However, I was flabbergasted at the SH response to my email concerning their lack of options/concern for the folks that got them started. I have/have had real issues with the technology and cannot believe that SH is not concerned about customer satisfaction.

Dave






--- On Tue, 7/22/08, Smarthome Support <[email protected]> wrote:

> From: Smarthome Support <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: New Insteon Products: Motion Sensor and 220V Outdoor SwitchLinc Kit [Incident: 080719-000082]
> To: [email protected]
> Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 2:13 PM
> Please see answer below.
>
> Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Subject
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Re: New Insteon Products: Motion Sensor and 220V Outdoor
> SwitchLinc Kit
>
>
> Discussion Thread
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Response (Tim) - 07/22/2008 11:13 AM
> Thank you for your Email. If you have any questions or need
> any trouble shooting please feel free to ask. Also I have
> successfully remove [email protected] from the Smarthome
> Weekly Email Newsletter list.
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> I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have
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> Sincerely,
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>
> Tim Albert
> Product Support Rep.
> SmartHome, Inc.
> www.smarthome.com
> www.insteon.net
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> Tel: (800) 762-7846
> Fax: (949) 221-9240
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> SmartLabs...Making every home a Smarthome
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> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
> This e-mail message is intended only for the person(s) or
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> Customer (. .) - 07/19/2008 10:12 PM
> You can stop sending me these emails. I just tried to
> find the link to upgrade my signalinc's and discovered
> that the offer had expired...No email, no prior notice,
> nothing. Now I am stuck with ver 1.0 of Insteon, and it
> will stay that way.
>
> First, it was the failed switches...flickering lights
> (still...with no response after an hour on the phone with
> customer service) ... dropping the ICON line...price
> increases...then PLC vs PLM...now Signalincs are EOL....
>
> I will not continue to buy into an ever-changing technology
> with limited upgrade paths and poor customer support. I am
> just glad that my automation software allows me to integrate
> other technologies seamlessly.
>
> Dave
>
> --- On Thu, 7/17/08, Smarthome
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> From: Smarthome <[email protected]>
> To: "DAVE XXXXXXX" [email protected]>
> Date: Thursday, July 17, 2008, 1:34 PM
>
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[aehusted]

I also though that the ICON stuff was discontinued, but I just got the catalog in them mail yesterday and there it was. it is also on their website now. Back by popular demand perhaps?

 

[DeLicious]

i like how you printed the email with confidentiality notice and everything... that won't get you in trouble at all...

 

[wuench]

I bet I can predict how this thread is going to go.

 

[electron]

Actually, you can't, I won't let it happen

 

[gatchel]

i like how you printed the email with confidentiality notice and everything... that won't get you in trouble at all...

I was thinking the same thing. It's kind of funny if you ask me.

 

[Mike]

i like how you printed the email with confidentiality notice and everything... that won't get you in trouble at all...

I was thinking the same thing. It's kind of funny if you ask me.

If someone sends you an email, unless you have some form of NDA, you can do what you want with it. I am sure there are exceptions, but I don't think this is one of them. Also note the portion of the sentence that reads "by anyone other than the intended recipient is nauthorized and unlawful." I'll defer to a lawyer, but you have to accept an agreement for it to be binding. I believe the disclaimer is so they can say they have that added to emails (as part of security/privacy/etc policies), but it is more of a request than a requirement. Right?

 

[aslamma]

Getting off topic, but if you read this it says "BY ANYONE OTHER THAN ITS INTENDED RECIPIENT".

I think really is for protection in the event that you inadvertently received someone else's email.

 

[Digger]

I would call SH back and ask for a supervisor. Explain you were never notified that the exchange program was expiring and ask them to honor it for you as a service to a loyal customer (there own term). They have nothing to lose and everything to gain if they keep customers happy. The few dollars that it would cost them in the end would be a good investment for their future. If 300 people have to be accomadated like this does it really cost them anything since they let thousands do it for a year or more? If you had been notified it was expiring maybe you would have done it sooner but as you stated there was no reason since there were no RF products out that had any value to you at the time.

There are many people who claim SH does no wrong etc but this is a clear case of a SH CS person not using good judgement or is not empowered by their management to do the right thing and keep customers satisfied and coming back. One of their own representatives on the other forum is actually trying to get you to "buy more" rather than saying nothing or trying to work it out fairly for you. The "buy more" is not an attractive solution to a customer that is already upset.

I have worked for several large companies over the last 25 years and customer service is a very critical part of the success or failure of a company in the long run.