SAVANT horror story: need help

Two options I see.

1. Stay with Savant, using an integrator from another area, who programs/troubleshoots remotely. Don't know how feasible this is with Savant. I know it's done with Crestron commonly, and I would guess it would be an option with Savant. You'll pay another local installation company for any additional legwork.

2. Find an outstanding local integration company, and replace Savant with what he recommends. Don't shop by brand - the install is only as good as the integrator. All of the iPads, iPhones, and iTouches can prob be re-used easily, for most systems. And, most systems will use the same cables you already have pulled.

Your original installer made the mistake of handing you an itemized bill. Discuss total costs up front. Check references. Find an integration company you're comfortable with.

Ahhh... contractors. They say lawyers are the evil incarnate but I say contractors are.

I have the same situation with an élan system. An integrator from the vas forums sent me a pm and they will remote support the system. Keep looking you will find someone. I have an HAI system in my house and it's very solid.

I have PM'd you with some questions

Savant is a newer control system so it is not surprising at all to hear your first installer had not done an install before. What is surprising is that I thought Savant offered direct help to make sure the first install goes well.

If you have a ton of Savant equipment, I would stay with it. Call Savant and asked who they recommend outside of your immediate area. Call them and find out how many installs they have done, do some reference checks and then have them come and finish the thing. It will cost a ton of money to replace the HDMI switcher with other brands and such.

I feel bad for you in this situation that you had to go through the process.

But in the end it sounds like you are completely unhappy with both the gear and Savant as a company, so my suggestion would be to give them a call, say you are 100% not happy with the service and support of the product and you would like to return the gear and get your money back. I know it's a stretch, but if you get the right person (and the right tone level) it could happen.

The good thing is if you were to switch to a Crestron system, they are tried and true, and have thousands of installers and programmers across the country who are fighting tooth and nail for work.

We are not a Savant dealer or I would offer to help . We have been looking at the system seriously though as of late to see if we should offer it. One of our best reps is now in charge of the line. Would you like me to ask him to see if he can get this situation in front of the right people at Savant? I can't predict what they can do but lack of resolution of your problem is an issue for me personally signing up to carry their product.

I am pretty sure they won't take the equipment back as they sold it to the dealer for less money than the charged you and used gear has even less value. And it is the dealer who screwed it up, not that the equipment was broken.

My thought was that they would find a way to make the system work through their own resources or force the other dealers locally to do it. If you want to go that path, I can give them a nudge. I am less hopeful now that I hear you have gone up as far as VP of sales but it may not hurt.

I am very sorry to hear this sorrow story. Would you like to ask for some consumer protection?

Where are you located in Michigan? I am a Savant dealer, I am willing to help if I can in some way (whatever that may be) and I have a 10 year reputation here, plus references.

I am very, very sorry to hear this absurd story; no customer should ever be treated this way- period. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help.


Dan

No, Pecar is not my rep ( Momentum Group ). Honestly, since signing up as a dealer I haven't spoken to the rep. I deal with Savant directly.

I will PM you later in the day and we can discuss particulars.

Dan

Good evening. So sorry to hear of your predicament. If you have not yet found a solution to your installation gone bad, let me know.

Corey

I would find a reputable Savant dealer (or two) and have them come out and assess the situation. Not a 30 minute walk thru. 2 guys for a week who are documenting EVERYTHING in the system. These documents should allow them to create a plan that will get your system finished.

If you are told "The system is designed properly, the wiring looks good and the installation is okay" then you should stick with Savant. It will cost you to fly people in and have them finish the system but at least it will be done. Hopefully you can find someone local. Make sure that a plan is created for tackling the completion of the project. Don't just bring another guy in and wait to see what happens.

Create short deadlines for the completion of specific tasks in a logical order. Like "all devices and wall plates in rooms terminated and labeled". Make sure this is done before proceeding to the next task. Second task is complete installation of all hardware at the control room and various cabinets around the house. At this point all hardware should be installed. Third task will be product configuration & programming. If you want you can break those sections up on a room or floor basis depending on the size/scope of your project.

If you have a Savant dealer come in and he tells you "this whole thing is wrong. i have to start over".

Second list everything on ebay @ a huge discount to move it.

Third contact a dealer for Crestron or Control4 or whatever is the right choice for your project.

This time around do this...

Before you do anything else... Get a set of blueprints that documents every wire in the house. Get the wires labeled at both ends. One that documents every pair of speakers, TV, Access Point etc in the house. You need these documents so you that you know exactly what you have in the house. Hire a company to do this for you. The documents will pay for themselves 10 fold.

Next you will need to create a complete wish list for everything you expect. At this point you should have an idea of where you want tv's speakers etc so this should go pretty quickly. For the most part you are just documenting what you have and adding anything that you thought of after you lived with the system for a while.

Now you are prepared to begin interviewing new dealers/installers. They have plans and a wishlist so the dealers should be able to give you a real proposal for completing the system.

Ask to see their website, marketing material if they have any and a tour of a recently completed project. If you get to a house that has 10 year old remotes and TV's then you know its not recent. You want to make sure that this company has been doing what they tell you they have been doing. The recent project tour is the most important. No one can "photoshop" a customers home. Test drive the remote controls. Check behind TV's and in cabinets to see if wiring is labeled and neat. If it isn't ask "why is this like this" and pray they don't say "thats just temporary". "Just temporary" really means "it will be this way for 10 years and then we will charge you to fix it when you notice it".

"Clean up" projects are always very difficult. Budget has been exhausted and now the client has to spend more money. Family members are tired of having installers around and dealing with partially working electronics. Clients are skeptical of everything we tell them because the last guy had the same confidence when leading them the wrong direction. It's a nightmare all around.

Contact CEPro about this and have them run the story in the magazine. This might help pressure the manufacturer into getting the support you expected/paid for and deserve. Good Luck.

100% True and really the 2nd Dealer (if good) will most likely get the short end of the stick... The rewards from being good as the 2nd installer are never really reep'd until a referral is dropped or 5-10 years when the client want's to update their system.

Clean up work is the hardest work in the industry BY FAR. Hopefully anyone who comes here looking for help because of "the last guy" will see this and take that into consideration.

It really is the biggest issue with the industry. How many times have we heard of a bad system install. The client way overpaid and was left with a poorly implemented system. This leaves the client frustrated at the experience and with very little to show from their system. They now must hire a second firm to get everything going but have already blown their budget and are completely skeptical to unload more money into the project since they've been burned once.

It all comes down to quality control from the hardware providers (Crestron, Savant, Control4) but it is a herculean task and unlikely to ever get to the required levels of quality control.

I speak from experience. I now DIY my home Crestron system and while my skills are elementary to say the least, I can support my system, add to it as I see fit and ensure that I get what I want for the cost (time invested) I feel appropriate.

There is some degree of QC as these (or most of them) don't make their deveopment software available to the public. Non of them have control over how a person or firm conduct themselves. I like you do my own and have for many years now. In all those years, I have never provided one line of code to someone else for a fee or for free for that matter. I was entrusted with the software to do the right thing with it and I keep my word. I hope you do the same.

I would never give away the software I got. I wasn't supposed to get it but was accidentally included with my source code. I was able to Live Update to the latest versions but once Crestron switched over to Master Installer I couldn't update it again. It still seems new enough to support me for many years to come. I can't install any new equipment that was made after around 6/2010.

The thing that is too bad is that there isn't a good solution for people who do want to do this themselves or to have somebody set up their system but then support it themselves moving forward. You either have to go full professional or something incredibly basic like Harmony.

SAVANT
Can you give an update ? Is there a qualified savant home security/smart home installer in south east Michigan or southern Ontario? In windsor & Essex County they're all over this kind of technology I've heard.
If I decide to install myself, what security systems are compatable?

You generally can't DIY pro HA systems. For DIY, CQC is the most advanced option.

I would use instead Creston automated system Its 100% compatible with Apple, their hardware is better and they have been in business for a long time

pretty silly to say it's 100% compatible with apple.. especially to insinuate that it's better with apple then Savant which is COMPLETELY apple based. Crestron even ripped off their iPad UI design because they couldn't figure out the orientation issue. I like crestron as much as the next guy but lets be honest... Crestron's iPad UI has been horrible for quite a long time and it only recently made some strides.