[RE-wrenches] Monitoring - The Dilemma

[Jason Szumlanski]

Most reasonable people don't expect you to work for free, so charge for the
service at your normal and reasonable rate. If the customer desires to fix
the issue themselves, most manufacturers have excellent support staff that
will patiently help an end-user with getting their monitoring system going.
I've found Enphase to be superb at their willingness to communicate
directly with end users.

Another key is to set the expectation at the time of installation. Leave
all manuals and manufacturer contact information with the customer. Make it
clear that this is a consumer electronic Internet connected device, and it
is dependent on both communication with the inverter(s) and the Internet
and that loss of communication is not covered under warranty, just like a
computer that loses connection to the Internet. Sometimes just showing them
how it works will avoid confusion and save an unnecessary call.

You are right - most are clueless about Internet and networking issues.
What do they do when their router, computer, Apple TV, or other Internet
connected device goes down? They call their [insert family computer guru
here] or call the Geek Squad. At least that covers half of the issue, which
is the most common issue in my experience. Communication issues with the
inverter(s) are common problems, but there is no reason to feel bad about
charging for legitimate service issues.

Jason Szumlanski



On Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 11:30 AM, August Goers <august at luminalt.com> wrote:

> Hi Wrenches,
>
> As we're building up a larger and larger grid tied PV installation
> portfolio we're also building up hundreds of monitoring systems. We have
> monitoring systems from SunPower, SMA, Enphase, Power-one, Locus Energy,
> SunRun, and several others. We also have monitored SHW systems.
>
> I'm finding that except for the occasional inverter failure, our systems
> are running well but we have frequent monitoring issues. Most often the
> monitoring system has become disconnected from the internet for some
> reason. Other times the monitoring system has lost signal strength which
> is common with Enphase (it may have been weak to begin with). Other times
> the monitoring systems have failed. And occasionally there is actually a
> production problem which really needs to be addressed.
>
> I'm a firm believer that monitoring empowers our clients and us to better
> understand how their systems are operating. However, the burden of keeping
> all these systems running is starting to have a significant cost on our
> business. It is easiest to solve problems when we have a motivated client
> who can help troubleshoot remotely on the phone. But other clients really
> just don't seem to care. For example, I spent a couple hours a while back
> troubleshooting a system and it turned out that our client's grandson had
> disconnected the data logger to plug in his X Box. Many people are totally
> clueless about internet issues. Internet service providers and routers are
> also likely to change throughout the years causing even more connection
> issues.
>
> SunRun's system is good because it uses cell technology to completely
> bypass the client's internet system. However, these don't always run
> smoothly either and cell reception can be a problem.
>
> How are other Wrenches dealing with ongoing customer service and
> expectations for their monitoring systems? Any ideas out there on how to
> put more responsibility on the client while still keeping them happy?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> August
>
>
> August Goers
> Luminalt Energy Corporation
> o: 415.641.4000
> m: 415.559.1525
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