I'm into smart homes, I love the idea but the google nest has taught me a lesson I won't soon forget.
I finally had the opportunity to get a new thermostat, did all the research (the furnace is compatible, the wiring etc) and made the purchase (which btw isn't a small expense in comparison to other products out there). Less than a year in it stopped working. It kept restarting so basically we had no heat since it would start up and reboot within a minute or 2. it took forever to find support but finally we found the online form to fill out and they called. 2 hours later the person on the phone agreed there was a problem and sent us a link to order a replacement. This was a Sunday night. Monday morning we were freezing and with no confirmation email and pets to consider as well we went and bought a replacement thermostat. (which i realize was my choice but it's February in Canada). With no phone number to follow up with we finally received tracking on Thursday which stated it was "on the way" it arrived Friday with no notice.
so i found the online form again and requested a call. Someone did call back and tell me to ship the defective unit back because they are holding $203 against my credit card.... that's fine however i don't need the replacement now. I guess that's another issue. I called USP to pick up the defective unit and to my surprise the waybill isn't prepaid!!!! Seriously what does Google do for their customers, other than take their money??? and now i've found that google won't remove the hold when it's shipped back they wait until they receive it, test it and determine if they were right to replace it... if it's found not to be defective you get billed. Meaning you pay for the nest initially, you possibly pay again for the replacement, you pay to ship the defective back and if it's winter you have to pay to have a working thermostat so you don't freeze to death waiting for a replacement. This has to be the most expensive thermostat in the world with no thought to customers or customer satisfaction.
here are my take aways from this experience
-do more research regarding "what happens if it breaks"
-realize that you are potentially throwing $200+ away if it breaks
-Google doesn't trust their support agents to properly diagnose a problem
-getting a replacement could cost you another $200+ problem
-support isn't the greatest and the time spent on the phone isn't worth the $200 initial outlay
I work in customer and we do not treat our customers this way and we trust our support people to make the right diagnosis and if they don't then that's on my company... not the customer.
All this being said I'll be looking at new ways/companies with smart products instead of a global leader and it'll be one of the top stories to share about appalling customer service.
