Hey all, I’m new to the forums, not new to the internet, however. I work at a major electronics retailer, and SmartThings is one of the products we sell. I wanted to gather some feedback from the community on your buying experiences. I would really like to own one, but I am a student, and after the bills are paid, I can either buy SmartThings, or eat for the next week, I choose to eat.
Admins: I read the forum terms, I don’t think this is not allowed, but if it is not allowed, please delete the post.
I have a pretty good sense on how you can set up rules, but someone please give me a scenario which you have setup which you use on a weekly basis…
How did you find out about SmartThings, and what attracted you to it the most?
What was the one thing you would say confirmed your decision on buying it?
What did you find useful after setting it up and using it, which you hadn’t considered before buying it?
If I’m talking to a customer about it, what do you think I should offer as the key benefits?
My main point is to sell more of these, but it is one of the least selling devices in the area. Which is strange, because the SmartThings Bridge, in my opinion, is one of the best on the market, if not THE best. I am reaching out to the community to help me out on selling these and showing the customers the benefits.
A few scenarios I use: Turning off all the lights automatically once my presence sensor is gone - no more wondering about if I left a light on or worrying about wasting electricity. Having lights turn on in the bathroom once the door opens and motion is detected - the fan will turn on if the bathroom visit is lengthy. Voice commands for lights using Alexa - this one is an almost must; Amazon Echo should be in every SmartThings household for that added convenience.
I found out about it from IFTTT actually. I saw it on there and did some research. What attracted me to it was compatibility with things I already had or planned on getting soon: Sonos, Logitech Harmony, Philips Hue.
The one thing that confirmed my decision was the new V2 hub which offered local processing (only currently works for Smart Lighting though). I’m still waiting on the local processing to be improved and expanded. THAT will make this the go to system and industry leader in DIY home automation.
What I found useful after setting it up that I hadn’t considered before was receiving text notifications for my Washing Machine cycle competing. It’s useful for me as I will go for a walk late at night so I don’t have to hear the washing machine run, but this way I know exactly when to come home and move the load to the dryer.
The key benefits as I see them are expanding product compatibility, a great developer community to add new products and applications, and the ability for the system to grow with you as your needs change.
I would explain it to people as having the ability to combine security with convenience.
Thank you Brian and cody,
I’m not in direct sales for SmartThings, I work at a electronics retailer. We have extensive selling guides that list the features, as well as what to say and do to demonstrate the features. I wanted to get a real world idea of how all those features are useful in day to day activity, and which ones you use the most.
Thank you for that feedback, that was very helpful. When I’m showing someone, you’re going to be my"friend who has SmartThings that uses it for X, Y, and Z."
I would not recommend ST to your customers unless those customers are serious technology enthusiasts and willing to learn (or already know) a programming language. Adding devices is straightforward enough, but automating them is a chore.
Simply put, ST is not anywhere close to a mainstream product. What product they do have is currently unreliable, and therefore not suited to a mainstream audience. Spend some time poking around this forum and you’ll see, it’s bleak. Do not believe their marketing or their slick website.
Home automation is a hobby for me, and I don’t mind getting my hands dirty when it fails (which is good, because it fails often). Things might change in the next 18-months, but for now, skip ST.
Be sure they know ST cannot reliably schedule turning a light on and off. If they can fog a mirror, this will be enough information to make the right decision.
This! And point whomever is providing the selling guides to these forums for a dose of “reality” of the product you’re slinging… however, if you’re selling spontaneity as a feature of the product with stuff working one day, not another, then ST is the product!
Until journalists start helping, we are never going close the gap between the image that is depicted by ST marketing and the actual user experience.
I should add, this gap exists in all DIY home automation systems. It’s just incredibly pronounced in ST because the marketing is so slick and the media impression is so positive.
A majority of the customers who inquire about SmartThings, or the ones I show SmartThings to already have a few Zigbee, or Zwave devices, and they want an app or interface that can link all of these devices together. My go to is ST, or I will mention Wink or Amazon Echo to them. That’s good to know though. If someone is completely naive, and just starting off, I will gauge their tech knowledge level before offering ST. I have found Nest, Xfinity Home, IFTTT, and WeMo to be other good alternatives to ST.
