Petnet 'Smart' Feeder Customers Are Stuck In 'Internet Of Broken Things' Purgatory

from the dumb-tech-is-smarter-tech dept

Back in February, $130 "smart" pet feeders from a company named Petnet simply stopped working. When customers reached out to the company to complain, they hit a complete and total brick wall in terms of functioning customer service. Emails and phone calls weren't returned (or wound up undeliverable), and the company simply refused to answer annoyed customer inquiries on Twitter or Facebook.

These problems extended into March and April, with customers consistently complaining to outlets like Ars Technica that their "smart" feeders still didn't work, and support was nowhere to be found. By late April, the company announced it had at least partially shut down, furloughed employees, and closed its offices. The outfit attempted to largely blame COVID-19 for its misfortunes, despite the fact its problems started well before the pandemic, and the company's office had been empty and available to lease since last October.

Claiming they had no other option, Petnet also began trying to charge customers a new $4 monthly fee to keep the company's lights on and customers' not-so-smart pet feeders semi-operational. Many users begrudgingly decided to pay the fee, and for some reason were shocked to discover that it hasn't really improved things in the slightest. For many, their $130 smart pet feeder sometimes works, but it can't connect to the internet or Petnet systems (the whole point). And throughout all of this, Petnet has proven incapable of providing even baseline customer support:

"Another Ars reader reached out last week saying that he had paid $30 for a year of service, but as of July 2, although his feeder still functioned and fed his cat every day, "I cannot connect to the device or control it using the app," which could not connect even though Petnet said it would be available after June 30. "Several times over the last two days I have tried to contact them via phone, email, and Facebook with no luck," he added.

Several users on Twitter also approached the @petnetiosupport account with similar complaints. "I still can't even set up an account," one wrote. Another user experienced the same problem, while a third said they could not log in to their existing account. And the problems seem to go beyond just the app, as one user said their second-generation SmartFeeder had once again stopped working completely."

Journalists who try to contact the company apparently don't warrant a response. It's yet another example of how in the internet of broken things era, dumb technology (like a $2 metal bowl for Fido) is often the smarter option.

Filed Under: iot, ownership, pet feeders, smart pet feeder, smart technology
Companies: petnet

After Months Of Incompetence, 'Smart' Pet Feeder Company PetNet Falls Apart, Blames COVID-19

from the dumb-tech-is-smart-tech dept

Back in February, $130 "smart" pet feeders from a company named PetNet simply stopped working. When customers reached out to the company to complain, they hit a complete and total brick wall in terms of functioning customer service. Customers say emails and phone calls weren't returned (or wound up undeliverable), and the company simply refused to answer annoyed customer inquiries on Twitter or Facebook.

Fast forward to late March and April and PetNet customers once again complained to outlets like Ars Technica that the company's products didn't work and its customer support was still nowhere to be found. Customers who complained were now being shoveled to a third party contractor with 16 followers on Twitter which, like the company that employed it, didn't appear capable of offering any help:

"Users looking for support received messages directing them to a third-party site called Tier One Success. Tier One bills itself as "simplified customer support to help meet your Smart Home needs," but it appears to have almost no online presence outside of the link sent to Petnet device owners. Its only external communication is a Twitter account with 16 followers. The last time any message was posted to that account, in July 2019, Tier One indicated that it exclusively supported Petnet products and had not yet expanded to customer support for any other smart home device."

Cool. Once the pandemic hit, Petnet apparently saw its exit, and is now informing its customers that the end is nigh. In one email, it lauds the fact that the company shuttered its brick and mortar offices as a result of COVID-19:

We have furloughed 100% of our remaining staff

We have ceased all future product development, including bug fixes

We have turned off all non-infrastructure related expenses

We have terminated our office lease and are working remotely

We have applied for all available CARES stimulus funding

But some readers noted that the company's office had been empty and available to lease since at least last October.

Meanwhile, none of the "smart" features of the company's pet feeders appear to be working on either version of the company's top models, and getting anything resembling customer support is still impossible for many. Given 20 seconds of effort and a $1 metal bowl would work just as well as Petnet's current offerings, it's yet another example of how in the "smart" device era the smarter choice is quite often dumber, older technology.

Filed Under: blame, covid-19, failures, iot, smart appliances, smart pet feeder
Companies: petnet

PetNet 'Smart' Pet Feeders Go Offline For A Week, Customer Service Completely Breaks Down

from the smart-tech-is-often-dumb dept

The "smart" internet of things era was supposed to usher forth a new era of convenience. Instead, it somehow keeps managing to advertise how dumber technology is often the smarter option, and you're not being particularly innovative if your product actually makes life harder. From "smart" door locks that are easily hackable to hackable "smart" TVs that are so smart they spy on you, there's near daily examples showing how connecting old tech to the internet and calling it innovation--is itself not particularly innovative.

Smart pet feeders are apparently no exception.

PetNet, whose products promise to intelligently feed your pets the right amount of food at the right time, didn't have much fun this month. Starting on February 14, the company announced that it was investigating a system outage affecting its second-generation SmartFeeders that made the feeders appear to be offline. In a series of Tweets, the company insisted that the feeders would still dispense food on a schedule, even though users couldn't change settings or use the app. The company also couldn't really specify why the system was having problems:

Many consumers found that the feeders weren't working at all, and the problems continued for almost a week before the company was able to provide any clearer answers. Adding insult to injury, when customers reached out to the company to complain, they hit a complete and total brick wall in terms of functioning customer service. Emails and phone calls weren't returned, and the company simply refused to answer annoyed customer inquiries on Twitter or Facebook. Even emails to company execs wound up being undeliverable:

"During that time, customers voiced frustration at the company’s lack of responses to their questions on Twitter and Facebook. Messages to the company’s support email and CEO Carlos Herrera were undeliverable.

TechCrunch tried contacting their emails and got delivery failure notices. A message sent to their Twitter account was also not replied to. We have contacted the company again for comment.

Petnet customers were not amused to discover that neither PetNet the company, nor its products, were particularly "smart":

This is not the future the Jetsons promised. And once again, dumb tech is often the smarter option.

Filed Under: iot, ownership, pet feeders, pets, smart devices
Companies: petnet