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the discussions with Collman from Clare
controls started nearly a year before systems
started being installed as a standard in the
Houston M/I Homes. McManus and the
builder team wanted to ensure that this product
offering, and the manufacturer supporting it,
was going to “do right by the customer,” which is
a core value of M/I Homes in which all
decisions are made. Every six months they
evaluate every aspect of their builder product
offering and determine if it “adds value” to the
homeowner. If not, then they make changes to
ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction.
For the evaluation process, M/I Homes made
a significant investment to have systems
installed in the model homes as well as the
homes of several team members so they could
live with the product for a bit, including
McManus and his family. McManus and his wife
both really enjoyed being able to control their
Honeywell thermostats to ensure that someone
hadn’t overrode the settings and made an area of
the house either too hot or cold. They found
themselves using the lighting control
capabilities and noted that it was convenient to
be able to ensure that all of the lights were off at
night and liked returning to a well-lit home in
38 Residential Tech Today | July/August 2019
the evening for greater security. They also found
greater peace of mind using the security
cameras.
Not everyone who had a system for evaluation
just lived with it. Some wanted to truly test the
level of service that Clare was going to provide
their customers. Collman recalled a time in
which he received a call from his tech-support
team regarding one of the homes where a
system was installed. They had received six calls
regarding problems with the system falling offline
and other random issues. Collman reached
out to the M/I Home employee and apologized
for the problems. He wanted to dig deeper and
come out with IES to further evaluate the glitch
and make sure they got it resolved, as this was
not a normal occurrence. It turns out that this
was all being done intentionally by the M/I
Homes employee so he could see how Clare’s
Customer Service would handle repetitive
issues. As with any business, sometimes you get
a customer that experiences more problems
than normal, and M/I Homes wanted to see
how Clare would support even the most
challenging customers.
Speaking of service, one of the biggest benefits
of Clare Controls is how they service and
support not just their dealers, but also the enduser.
Unlike most smart home systems on the
market which require advanced programming
from the company that installed it, or often
times needs someone to be on-site to
troubleshoot a problem, Clare’s customer
support team can fix about 90 percent of their
calls from their office in Sarasota, FL.
The majority of their calls come from
homeowners who are looking to add something
new like a smart thermostat they bought, or
maybe they need to get their new door lock to
work with their system. These simple additions
take only minutes for a Clare specialist to
complete remotely. Clare also has built out a
robust database of support for third-party
products, which allows for many items such as
Sonos and various IP cameras to be discovered
automatically, requiring no need to even remote
into the system. The customer can simply install
the product and the Clare System sees the
device online and automatically integrates it
into the user interface. For larger additions to
the system, or for problems that can’t be fixed
over the phone, Clare will reach out to the
dealer partner that installed the system and have
them go on-site to assist.
With the increase in popularity of DIY
products, it’s no surprise that research has
shown that homeowners want to make their
own changes and don’t want to have to rely on
an installer for simple updates or additions.
Unfortunately, many of the larger DIY
manufacturers outsource their support team to
call centers around the globe. Clare, on the
other hand, tackles all of its support in-house
(for free), so the tech-support person that a
homeowner speaks with is very familiar with the
product and has the experience to handle their
concern in an efficient manner.
After about a year of testing and working
together on a launch strategy, M/I Homes was
ready for Brunner and his team from IES to start
integrating Clare technology into their homes.
Collectively, the three companies worked
together to create marketing materials that make
it easier for the homeowner to understand the
technology and what upgrade packages are
available. Every home comes with a standard
package that includes the Clare smart home