Brandon Jackson is a pretty smart guy, and he lives in a smart house.
You know those houses, right?
The ones that are all connected to devices that control the lights, air conditioning, and whatnot of your home.
Even when no one is home, Jackson, a Microsoft expert can remotely monitor and operate various devices throughout his Baltimore home, including the lights, temperature, and security cameras.
They are touted as the wave of the future, but sometimes the future doesn’t mean better but can be a nightmare.
“My primary means of interfacing with all the devices and automation is through Amazon Echo devices via Alexa,” he said in a post on Medium.
But on May 25, Jackson’s smart surroundings abruptly went dark.
“I found that my Echo Show had signed out, and I was unable to interact with my smart home devices,” he said.
He first thought there had been a data breach, but after checking, he decided against it.
“This incident left me with a house full of unresponsive devices, a silent Alexa, and a lot of questions,” Jackson said.
“Puzzled, I followed the advice of the Amazon app and dialed the customer service number it provided. That’s when things began to take a surreal turn.”
He was advised by a customer service agent to check his mailbox for an email.
Jackson discovered one with a call recommendation from an Amazon official.
He was unsure if it was a fraud, so he paused before dialing the phone number provided in the email.
When Jackson got in touch with the executive, they inquired about the reason why his account had been restricted.
“Their tone became rather accusatory when I replied that I wasn’t sure.
“I was informed that my Ring doorbell had made racist remarks, according to the delivery driver who had picked up my package.”
Evidently, the company’s abrupt account freeze was the result of the driver’s complaint.
“Here’s where things got even more baffling,” Jackson related.
“First, I have multiple cameras recording everything that happens on my property. If the driver’s claims were accurate, I could easily verify them with video footage.
“Second, most delivery drivers in my area share the same race as me and my family,” said Jackson, who is black. “It seemed highly unlikely that we would make such remarks.
“Finally, when I asked what time the alleged incident occurred, I realized it was practically impossible for anyone in my house to have made those comments, as nobody was home around that time (approximately 6:05 PM).”
Jackson reviewed the footage from the Amazon delivery and confirmed that “no such comments had been made.”
Rather, he said, his doorbell — a Eufy, not a Ring device — had issued an automated response: “Excuse me, can I help you?”
“The driver, who was walking away and wearing headphones, must have misinterpreted the message,” Jackson said. “Nevertheless, by the following day, my Amazon account was locked, and all my Echo devices were logged out.”
Even though he sent the business the video proof of what had really happened that Thursday right away, it took over a week to get his gadgets back online.
There was no email informing him that the account had been unlocked, no phone call apologizing, or even an apology.
Jackson had electronic solutions, so the situation wasn’t entirely hopeless.
“I was not truly in the dark for a week,” he clarified later. “My smart home runs mostly locally and Alexa really is just a polymorphic interface. I was just able to use Siri. Though out of habit I’d sometimes say ‘Alexa,’ only for her to remind me how stupid I was.”
“It’s time for Amazon to take a more customer-focused approach to problem-solving and conflict resolution,” he added.
Jackson’s tale has gained some notoriety; the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom has written about it. Repair guru Louis Rossmann shared the story on his 1.8 million-subscriber YouTube channel, where it received more than 827,000 views in only two days.
“This incident stands as a stark reminder of the need for better customer service and a more nuanced approach to incident management,” he said, adding that he’s even considered ditching his 10-year relationship with Amazon.
Some viewers argued that if there had actually been a racist statement, it would have been acceptable for Amazon to act so forcefully. Jackson objected.
“If someone bought and paid for a device they should be able to use it, at least on their own property,” he said, “if it doesn’t hurt anyone else.
“I’m only pushing this story so that this WONT happen to any one else.
“Regardless of their race, religion, beliefs, if you paid for it you should OWN it.”
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11.
Interesting number.
Will probably be even less than that in the future when these merge even further.
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Watch this:
