Shopping Smarthome.com - Not a Smart Move For Consumers
Written: Aug 05 '03 (Updated Aug 05 '03)
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Introduction
After we finished our home theater, my husband and I realized that we wanted to automate several lights there and elsewhere in the house using X-10.
Before X-10 became famous as a cheesy portable camera protocol that was apparently useful for spying on young teens in your local neighborhood (thanks to a slew of annoying popup/popunder ads from x10.com) it was better known as a protocol that allows you to remotely control and automate home appliances and lights using electrical signals over the wiring in your home.
I chose to make my purchase from Smarthome.com because it was the only other major website for X-10 products that I found in addition to the infamous x10.com. After years of hating the annoying popups (and popunders) from x10.com I wasn't about to give them my business. Now I'm wondering if perhaps I should have.
Ordering from Smarthome.com
Browsing the Smarthome.com online website for an item isn't the easiest thing in the world. I was looking for lamp modules and controllers so I went to the Lighting link on their website.
They don't show you all of the lighting modules and controllers they offer. Rather, Smarthome.com has three sections: They display a handful of related items on the main section of their Lighting page, and then have a column to the right displaying New Stuff and Popular Picks.
If you want something that's not in these three categories, you're going to have to hunt for it using the search functions and keywords or catalogue numbers, which is what I had to do.
Order Confirmation
I placed my order around 10 in the morning. I received an order confirmation almost twelve hours later, at 9PM. In the order confirmation Smarthome.com said that the order would be trackable approximately two hours after it had been placed. Since I had placed the order almost a half day earlier, I went to try to track it. It wasn't even in their system yet.
The order took four days to be filled and ready to ship. This was not a complex order and the website had indicated that both items were in stock and ready to ship when I placed my order. I ordered one X10 lamp module and one X10 mini controller. These are two small items that are very common yet for some reason, my order sat for four days before it shipped.
Receiving my Order
My order shipped via UPS ground and took nine more days to get to my doorstep. I tracked it and saw that it had been delivered and I called my husband who was already at home.
My husband was remarkably tight-lipped about the shipment. "Yes, it's here. I've left it in the living room. You can open it when you get home." This is extremely unusual. My husband is the type of guy who calls me when something comes in pleading to open it.
When I got home I found out why he had been so tight-lipped. The box from Smarthome.com had arrived partially shredded and completely crumpled. I have never received anything shipped via UPS in such terrible condition.
I opened up the box to find the two small controllers thrown in with two pillow bags, and a crumpled up receipt, Smarthome.com catalog and several advertisement postcards. The condition of the box wasn't just terrible. The packing job inside the box was equally as terrible.
Using the Products
Okay, it had taken almost two weeks to get these items (which, by the way, I discovered I could also find at Home Depot after ordering them online). I was willing to give them a try before I called Smarthome.com and sent them back.
I went to open up the X-10 mini controller, only to find that the package was already open. Okay. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't lose your temper. See if it works before throwing a hissy fit at customer service.
I plugged it in, set up the codes and tried it. It didn't work.
The lamp controller, fortunately did work, giving Smarthome.com a whopping 50% success rate at delivering functioning merchandise to me.
Returns
Returning the controller requires an RMA number. I checked the back of the receipt to view their return policy (30 day policy on returns of merchandise. Outside of 30 days, only defective items may be returned, and customers only get a credit.)
I called the number on the back of the packing slip to get my RMA. The customer service hours on the packing slip are advertised as "9:00 am to 8:00 pm EST Monday - Friday". When I called at 9:15 AM on Tuesday, I received a recording telling me that customer service was closed and that their hours were "10:00 am to 7:00 pm EST Monday - Friday".
I thought that was a nice touch.
My Experience with Customer Service
I called back again after 10:00 AM and actually got through to a very nice customer service representative on the phone. I told her I wanted to return the mini controller and as an aside, I mentioned to her the condition that our box had arrived in. Specifically, I said, "I don't know if it was the fact that the box was crushed or not, but the mini controller's package was already open, and it doesn't work."
She seemed quite interested in the condition of the box and I gave her the specifics of the problem. She then put me on hold and came back to tell me that they would be refunding my money and additionally, I would not have to pay shipping charges to return the item because of the condition that my package had arrived in. (Normally, customers returning an item must pay shipping charges.)
Finally, she asked me to please place the item back in the box I had received it in and that she was contacting UPS. They would contact me to arrange a pickup and they would deliver the original packaging and box back to Smarthome.com.
I thought it was interesting that they wanted me to return the original box so that they could inspect its condition. I was more than happy to oblige. The customer service representative gave me my RMA number after some prodding. She said that I didn't need an RMA number due to the condition of the box, but I told her I'd feel more comfortable with one, since I definitely wanted to make sure I got my money refunded for this product.
Summary
Does this story have a happy ending? Well, sort of. I was impressed that customer service cared about the condition of the box and the items I received. I got the distinct impression before calling customer service that Smarthome.com doesn't care at all about delivering quality products. I'm still not convinced, but their customer service representative did salvage their reputation somewhat in my eyes.
I won't be buying from Smarthome.com again, though. I'll try to find all of my X-10 supplies locally instead. This was my first experience with this company and they screwed up on just about every front with my very simple order.
Bottom Line: Avoid it.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? X-10 Lamp Module and Mini Controller (Photocell Version)
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"Man was made for something better than disturbing dirt." - Oscar Wilde
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