CE Pro April 2023 - 26

CE PROFILE
Total Home Technologies
their existing system.
" When a customer buys a $100,000
" I thought,
'This is crazy.
I'm not going
to get paid for
the service call,
my technician
is walking
into a hostile
environment, and
the customer is
unhappy with us.
How do I fix this?' "
-Keith Harrison,
Total Home
Technologies
Because Total Home
Technologies' clients
have their equipment on
ongoing leases, it means
the integration company
is automatically engaged
with new homeowners
when the home is sold.
system from an integrator, the dealer says, 'If
you ever have a problem, give me a call. We'll
be there.' Well, statistically the integrator
is lying because the No. 1 complaint from
customers in our industry is that integrators
don't get back to them, " says Harrison, who
doesn't hold anything back when he speaks
and is not afraid to ruffle some feathers in
the industry.
Harrison says the main reason dealers
don't get back to their clients' calls is
because integrators are " too honest. " He
explains that if an integrator has just finished
a project and has collected the final check
from a client, then gets an email or phone
call from that customer the next week asking
for some additional lighting scenes, the integrator
only has three choices:
Option #1. Do the programming and send
the client a bill because the additional programming
was not part of the original proposal.
Thus, alienating that client and, in essence,
training them to not contact you again.
Option #2. Do the programming for free
" once " but by doing that, you're sending a
message to the client that the labor entailed
has no value, which is especially dangerous
since programming is one of the most
specialized services an integration company
can provide.
Option #3. Delete the email or not respond
to the client's call.
" I contend that Option #3 is really the
most honest option for both the integrator
and the client. And since I believe most
integrators are honest individuals, that is
why most of them simply do not respond to
the client's request for additional service, "
explains straight-talking Harrison.
He believes that integrators in the habit
of personally responding to every client's call
or giving their personal cell number to every
customer will eventually be " strangled by
their own success " as they establish a larger
bank of past clients.
Emulating the Car
Leasing Business Model
" Most integrators believe their job is done
when they complete the install, " says Harrison.
" For my business, my job starts when
the installation is finished. Lots of integrators
can install a system exactly how the customer
wants it, but the customization, maintenance
and updating of the system is the
most important part... and unfortunately it is
the part of the business that most integrators
are afraid of. "
Harrison believes a smart home needs
to constantly adapt to how the client lives,
so that means it is vital for Total Home
Technologies to continually customize the
systems it installs.
" We live in a world of software updates
and reboots. If you accept that truth, then
the problem with our industry is with the integrators,
not the technology, " he concludes.
Initially, the company offered traditional
tiered service plans, but found out they
were cumbersome to manage with various
permutations for discounted labor, discounted
gear, free service calls, etc. After thinking
about it for quite a long time, Harrison instituted
his leasing model about seven years
ago. Over that time, he has polished and
honed it into a well-oiled machine. Harrison
says he simply adopted the same business
model used for leasing automobiles.
" The equipment we install is the same price
as a Rolls-Royce. If you lease a Rolls-Royce
and have a problem with it, the people at
Rolls-Royce answer the phone. They handle
you with white-glove service, and they never
question the legitimacy of the call because
you're leasing the car. The customer pays a
26 | CE Pro April 2023
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ANDY DEAN/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro April 2023
