Smarthome abhorrent customer service

[jtara92101]

Never again!

 

Placed an order totaling $178 on Sept. 7, about $50 paid by credit card, the balance used a store credit. Took forever to reach them by phone, but had to because the store credit was on one of multiple accounts (that does not have an associated online account), because their system is so messed up and "we wish we were able to merge accounts"...

 

It went the UPS > USPS route. I never received it. USPS claims delivery on Sept. 8. No signature, and no signature requested.

 

USPS has been leaving packages on the floor of the mailroom. They shouldn't. They need to either put it into one of the (few) parcel boxes and leave a key, or leave a notice. Yes, I suspect the package was accidentally or purposely removed by somebody else. Unfortunately, building security cameras show only the lobby, not the mailroom. They know that the postman was in and out of the mailroom around the time of the supposed delivery, that's all.

 

Anyway, Smarthome is not cooperating. Have not been able to reach them by phone at all - right now the wait time is 42 minutes, and they seem to no longer have the "call me back" option. So, we exchanged emails, and the current promise they make on email correspondence is 2 days.

 

They told me to go to the post office and have them track it. I've already tracked it, it says "delivered". Well, I will go to the post office and complain about them leaving packages on the floor, but that doesn't solve my problem. It is up to the SHIPPER to make a claim with the carrier, and Smarthome has not done that.

 

I filed a dispute with American Express, but that will only cover the $50. And it won't get my products replaced with the 23% discount...

 

I would prefer to switch to purchasing Insteon devices from Amazon in the future. But I think I have read here about issues about products not being current version.

 

What do people here think of buying Insteon products through Amazon?

 

- Are they current products always?

 

- Do they offer all the products?

 

If Smarthome somehow denies the claim, I can fall back on Amex purchase protection. But again will only cover the $50. I don't think I want to use my business insurance to cover the rest, I suppose the rate would go up.

 

----

This points out a problem that Teken will probably want to chime-in on.

 

People are purchasing so many things online now that there are inadequate facilities for receiving the packages. My building was renovated in 1999 (it was a famous apartment-hotel in San Diego and was abandoned for a few years). They put in postal boxes that were appropriate for 1999. A few savvy people in the building might have been getting books from Amazon. Maybe stamps and coins on approval. Maybe they didn't want to carry their package home from Macy's.

 

Today, the floor of the mail room is littered every day with packages. (Some carriers deliver to the door, some don't.)

 

Good add-on business for Teken when he does a security assessment and remediation! (Which I guess is the business he is in.) Hopefully the Canadian post office is more reasonable than our's in the U.S. Make any change to your mailboxes, and they make you move them outdoors to the curb! 

 

Amazon started using their own delivery fleet here in San Diego a couple weeks ago. (That is, delivering ANY kind of Amazon package, not just the deliveries from local businesses or same-day deliveries of popular items). Even more boxes on the floor of the mailroom, as the Amazon guy doesn't want to deliver to the door. (I let him in the other day, told him the proper procedure to go to the valet who would let him up the elevator from the garage). But he had contacted the manager and gotten permission to leave in the mailroom and enter through the front door. (Which takes the manager or resident to let him in...)

 

With Amazon I can have stuff sent to an Amazon locker at a 7-11 store, and now I will start using the locker again.  I used it before I moved, because they always wanted signature in my previous place, and so I used the locker for convenience - I never had to worry about missing the delivery guy, and could go pick it up at my leisure. Of course, no signature needed for locker, as it is secure. Carriers are lulled into a false sense of security here because it is a "secure" building that is less secure than my old place.

 

(For one, there are weddings in the first-floor ballroom nearly every weekend. Hundreds of people walk right past the mailroom. But there was no wedding on the day of the delivery. There is an attendant then at the front door, who of course is not going to bat an eyelash at people with packages. It's a wedding!)

 

 

[larryllix]

IIRC  I ordered from Amazon.com, once, and the package was promptly sent directly from SmartHome.

 

 

Delivered means it could have been but they didn't feel like bringing it that day.

 

I only get cards and have to drive into the Post Orifice to retrieve my package, about 30km round trip. Sometimes  I see it flagged as "Delivered" online from the Canadian Post Orifice website and know I will get a card in my mailbox within a day or two.

 

They love to make a fuss 'cause SH didn't pay for the signature delivery to prove a point.

[Teken]

My personal experience is when shopping on Amazon you need to confirm who the seller is. Some are random people selling NOS, Used, to new.

 

Smarthome has a on line presence there and its easy to check simply click on the item and it lists off the seller. You will always get the latest hardware / firmware for items that sell whether it be switches, KPL, plugin modules. Items that don't sell often like energy display, iMeter Solo, N.C. Load controller pretty much have firmware and hardware from back in the day.

 

With respect to your lost parcel unfortunately Smarthome does have to initiate the claim. Its a real PITA when comms are so in terms of exchanging information etc. It would probably be best to use the secure lockers as you mentioned via 7-11.

 

In our town parcels from Canada Post either come in the community mail box with a secure key. Or if its too big or you missed the one time delivery its simply dropped off at a postal outlet for later retrieval.

 

In my time I've only had three really bad experiences with shipping - one was with a contractor for Purolator which they indicated delivery but never did. I was supremely pissed off because the product(s) was time sensitive and very expensive and came direct from Ottawa.

 

After spending what seemed like days on the phone with every moron in the system. It came down to some public shaming to get the company to get their act together because I went public and used the power of You Tube to get the attention I needed. Its safe to say companies are very sensitive of public shaming.

 

LOL . . .

 

Ultimately it was identified the *contractor* had dozens of parcels still in his personal warehouse and just didn't feel like delivering them!

 

The pain point for me is the robotic replies and *Our systems don't lie*?!?!?

 

It has nothing to do with what your systems says you stupid morons! It comes down to the human element of lazy and those *Systems* rely on stupid to enter into the mainframe that data you so rely upon! My public shaming never mind video feed that countered all their *Our systems don't lie* pretty much cut them at the knee's. 

 

For those so interested the reason this became so heated is this parcel came via ground freight. Meaning my parcel was heavy and required no less than two people and large dolleys and air lifts. I did not let the stupid people know right away because this same information was in their systems to view.

 

No human being could have unloaded 8 refrigerator sized UPS systems and left it on my front door step. Never mind stating one old timer did this incredible feat all by himself!

 

When I uploaded the video show casing what and how big a APC Symmetra UPS looked like and the gross weight of the just the batteries alone. Its safe to say Purolator hauled aszz to figure out where my stuff was.

 

Classic people have no common sense and even though they had all the details in the computer as to size, weight, etc. Not a single moronic soul stopped to think how did one old man move thousands of pounds up a drive way with out any help or gear?!?!  

[ISYhbsh01]

I have a mailbox at a private mailbox store. I once ordered something from Amazon direct, not a 3^rd party seller, and they shipped it with USPS to my box. The tracking info on usps.com showed as having been delivered on a day when the store was actually closed. I filed a claim with Amazon that it was never received & to their credit they sent me another one no questions asked. About a week or so or maybe more, after I already received the replacement the original order was delivered by USPS.

[jtara92101]

FYI, I finally got ahold of somebody by phone. This time the "call me back" option was working.

 

They agreed to replace the order if I would remove the dispute with American Express. I have done so.

 

Quick adoption of religion!

 

Rep discussed with his manager, agreed that it is the shipper responsibility to file any claim with the carrier. Which, of course, is what UPS told me. Actually, UPS told me once it is handed-off to the post office, they have done their job. It's got to be a pain dealing with losses with these multi-carrier shipping arrangements.

 

They are going to give me a "free order". Which I guess means they eat the loss. I guess they have calculated that it is cheaper to eat an occasional loss than to buy the insurance. Of course, it is always so with insurance - it's economically advantageous to bear as much of potential loss as you can yourself. (Well, except for American "Bronze Plan" medical insurance.... don't get me started, it's a ripoff and then you get shamed at the front desk for having "one of THOSE insurance plans"...) But if they are going to eat the loss and not buy insurance, then they need to suck it up and deal with it, instead of leaving the customer with the impression there is no recourse.

 

I suggested some education of the reps, so that they don't tell people to march down to the postoffice and complain, but instead just initiate the procedure for lost packages.

 

I will still march down to the postoffice and complain. But I think building management already has, because today, I had another package in "Box A", and there were NO packages on the floor. So, I was one of the lucky ones who got a package in one of the 3 parcel boxes...

 

Thanks for the feedback on Amazon. I will make sure I only order with Smarthome as the vendor.  I don't suppose there's any way to take advantage of the periodic sales that way? If I need something, I just order it, so that is fine. If it is just a want, I wait for a sale! Much prefer the security and convenience of being able to ship to an Amazon locker. For sure, they will want a signature now!