A new recommended motto for SMECO: "our lights are on to remind you that we are the only game in town and will do whatever we want on your property."
Recently, SMECO came out with their latest "big brother" entry called the "Cool Sentry" program and, btw, there is nothing cool about it.
Our family (including a severely handicapped son), in writing to SMECO, opted out of the "Not so Cool Sentry" program.
Yesterday (27 September), our son calls and tells us he can hear drilling on the foundation of our home. Our obvious first thought was that somebody was breaking into our home, however, discretion being the better part of valor and both my wife and I being approximately 45 minutes from home, I immediately headed for our home. By the time I got home, our son had called again and said the drilling had stopped.
When I arrived at our home, there was a door tag on our front door stating that the "Cool Sentry" device had been installed and was functioning properly.
Needless to say, my wife and I were both extremely angry and got on a conference call with SMECO (by the way, our first attempt for a conference call was with "Ron," who promptly hung up on us). The second representative stated that SMECO had, in fact, received our "opt out" and the installation order had been cancelled (guess somebody blew that out their butt). We requested a supervisor and got a gent by the name of *&*&*&* (name with held and, btw, this guy has a real future in the fast food industry, because he has no clue regarding customer service). During his conversation, he repeatedly contradicted himself, the most notable instance was when he said, "if the installation was going to be done today, you would have received a phone call from us and since you didn't get a phone call, it must not have been installed." As stated, a real solid candidate for the fast food industry or possibly a Great Mills Road traffic cone (now, there's job security).
SMECO stated that they would immediately send someboy out to remove the device. Well says I...not so fast and the next SMECO employee that steps foot on our property without our expressed and written permission, will be treated as a trespasser and the police will be called. So, that is where it now stands. "Big Brother," once again has arbitrarily imposed his will.
Oh, and just a couple of details on the installation. First of all, they do not have to enter your home, however they do enter your outside heating/cooling unit along with putting a large, ugly box on your home. Our heating and cooling system had been replaced only three years ago and now, I strongly suspect that SMECO's stupidity has voided our warranty. And, as an oh, by the way, SMECO admits that not all of the "Cool Sentry" devices work as advertised, so I guess if the installation causes a fire, SMECO, as they did in Mechanicsville, will claim no fault.
So be forewarned that, even with notification in writing that you want to opt out of the "Cool Sentry" program, SMECO may impose their will for your well being.
Oh, and for those of you who have been around southern Maryland, some of you might remember another SMECO fiasco in Mechanicsville, involving a sign on a real estate company that SMECO screwed up, resulting in a fire in the building. The sign used to be a St. Mary's county landmark....."No, SMECO has not settled, yet."
And, no, my wife and I are not done with SMECO yet, but our course of action will remain known only to us. To SMECO, we would say, civally of course, if you haven't learned to "sweat bullets," you should be taking a class. And, that, by being "the only game in town" also includes some heavy duty responsibilities that we are about to acquaint you with.
Recently, SMECO came out with their latest "big brother" entry called the "Cool Sentry" program and, btw, there is nothing cool about it.
Our family (including a severely handicapped son), in writing to SMECO, opted out of the "Not so Cool Sentry" program.
Yesterday (27 September), our son calls and tells us he can hear drilling on the foundation of our home. Our obvious first thought was that somebody was breaking into our home, however, discretion being the better part of valor and both my wife and I being approximately 45 minutes from home, I immediately headed for our home. By the time I got home, our son had called again and said the drilling had stopped.
When I arrived at our home, there was a door tag on our front door stating that the "Cool Sentry" device had been installed and was functioning properly.
Needless to say, my wife and I were both extremely angry and got on a conference call with SMECO (by the way, our first attempt for a conference call was with "Ron," who promptly hung up on us). The second representative stated that SMECO had, in fact, received our "opt out" and the installation order had been cancelled (guess somebody blew that out their butt). We requested a supervisor and got a gent by the name of *&*&*&* (name with held and, btw, this guy has a real future in the fast food industry, because he has no clue regarding customer service). During his conversation, he repeatedly contradicted himself, the most notable instance was when he said, "if the installation was going to be done today, you would have received a phone call from us and since you didn't get a phone call, it must not have been installed." As stated, a real solid candidate for the fast food industry or possibly a Great Mills Road traffic cone (now, there's job security).
SMECO stated that they would immediately send someboy out to remove the device. Well says I...not so fast and the next SMECO employee that steps foot on our property without our expressed and written permission, will be treated as a trespasser and the police will be called. So, that is where it now stands. "Big Brother," once again has arbitrarily imposed his will.
Oh, and just a couple of details on the installation. First of all, they do not have to enter your home, however they do enter your outside heating/cooling unit along with putting a large, ugly box on your home. Our heating and cooling system had been replaced only three years ago and now, I strongly suspect that SMECO's stupidity has voided our warranty. And, as an oh, by the way, SMECO admits that not all of the "Cool Sentry" devices work as advertised, so I guess if the installation causes a fire, SMECO, as they did in Mechanicsville, will claim no fault.
So be forewarned that, even with notification in writing that you want to opt out of the "Cool Sentry" program, SMECO may impose their will for your well being.
Oh, and for those of you who have been around southern Maryland, some of you might remember another SMECO fiasco in Mechanicsville, involving a sign on a real estate company that SMECO screwed up, resulting in a fire in the building. The sign used to be a St. Mary's county landmark....."No, SMECO has not settled, yet."
And, no, my wife and I are not done with SMECO yet, but our course of action will remain known only to us. To SMECO, we would say, civally of course, if you haven't learned to "sweat bullets," you should be taking a class. And, that, by being "the only game in town" also includes some heavy duty responsibilities that we are about to acquaint you with.
