Worst Customer Support Ever

[NotAnArloFan]

Looking at a lot of different review sites and forums, I have found many titled “worst customer support ever”, and I’m writing another one.

First of all, I bought 2 new cameras and was surprised with this forced upgrade of the app that is utterly terrible.  It takes away useful features that used to be available like custom modes, which I very much need for the amount of cameras I have.   And since I’ve had to say this to multiple customer service reps already, let me shout it here: 3 MODES ARE NOT ENOUGH.  PERIOD.  I spent hours on the phone and messaging back and forth about this with reps repeatedly explaining how there’s an away mode, and a home mode, and a standby mode, blah blah blah.  Yes I know what the 3 modes are, I know how they work, and they are not enough.

They also took away the ability to temporarily filter the feed.  If you filter, you have to remember to remove the filters now or else it just stays that way.  Because why not add steps to make the app experience even more annoying.  Does anyone there think before “upgrading” the app? Because it seems like the people who worked on it either don’t know what they are doing, or they get enjoyment out making customers angry.

All those hours I spent talking to customer service only for them to finally admit there is no solution and I just have to accept the degraded new app.  So then I said, why am I expected to pay the same price for the subscription when the app works at least half as well as it used to?  Arlo charges more than most streaming services just to view your own recordings using expensive equipment that you paid for?!  I said I should get a discount until the app is fixed, if it ever is.   They offered me a month free.  Wooo.  They said they’ve received a lot of complaints about the app changes so they are going to fix it, so they will only give me 1 free month.  (Surprise, a month later, the app is not fixed).

For the free month, I was given a code and told I had to cancel my subscription and resubscribe in order to use it.  I have read plenty of horror stories about people who have done this and had trouble getting/viewing their recordings ever since.  So I said no, I would not be doing that.  After being put on hold, the person came back and told me I could just enter the code without cancelling my subscription.   Well either they were lying or stupid, because lo and behold, I can’t enter the code without cancelling my subscription.  

What kind of crap business ruins their own products and then not only gives the most small and petty appeasement possible, but also makes the customer go through more trouble to try and get it?  Arlo can’t just give a discounted subscription or a free month, they make you jump through hoops, probably hoping you’ll give up.  Other companies don’t make you cancel your own subscription in order to accept a discount code.  What is that?  

This is Arlo’s last chance for me.  If they won’t just discount me like a normal business and want to make me go through an obstacle course just to get a free month, which is the least I and everyone else who has had to deal with their nonsense deserve, then I just purchased my final Arlo product.  Next step will be to get rid of all of it and get a completely different and better system.

[MichaelT90]

Unfortunately, your customer service issues are very common. I've had a ticket open since June, all the issues caused by their new app, which I was forced onto.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to find a new CCTV solution and cancel Arlo.

P.s. I got 25% off for 1 month... Except like you I would have had to cancel my subscription, I read the horror stories, and asked them what happens to my support ticket... That gets closed too from what I was told.... 

Any suggestions from ex Arlo customers after welcome

[BrookeN]

@NotAnArloFan I have reached out to support regarding your concerns that you had listed. Someone from support will be in touch with you as soon as possible. 

@MichaelT90 can you explain more the behavior you are seeing? I would be more than happy to look into it and assist. 

[MichaelT90]

Thank you BrookeN

You may or may not remember you raised a ticket for me with support? It's still open, every week, the same "can you set up the schedules and geofencing?" And every week it doesn't work, so I delete them, and tell them it's still broken, so they respond asking the same question... Every.... Single... Week! For 3 months!! 

If everyone else is trying the very same run around, no wonder we see posts like this on the forums 😞

My latest question was "have the Devs fixed the bugs?" That wasn't acknowledged, they just asked me to set up geofencing and schedules again... We're genuinely getting more support from you, the mods than we are from support.

Maybe you can confirm if the Devs have reported any update on the geofencing and scheduling issues? Please?

[BrookeN]

@MichaelT90 the development team is currently investigating this. I understand the frustration of not having a resolution right away. However, it is being looked into. I will update you and the community with any updates I receive. 

[MichaelT90]

Thank you @BrookeN , I'll keep an eye on the various posts.

It's a shame that support can't be as helpful as you.

[NotAnArloFan]

Another ticket was opened.  I was told that I will be given my next month free without having to cancel and resubscribe. (I don’t understand why that is the go to solution to begin with).  With the problems I’ve experienced and the problems I’ve read about from other customers, I am not comfortable saying this one issue is resolved until I see it happen.  

As far as my other issues, the problem is ongoing.  During my 4th call with customer support the state of the new app was discussed again, and yet again I had another person trying to explain the new app to me and how it works and how it’s so great with the 3 modes available and I can make rules and such!  I don’t want to keep having this discussion over and over.  I don’t know how many times I can explain that 3 modes are not enough for what I need.  On the old app I had 7 modes I think, 4 of which I created.  I set up automation to switch between 4 of the modes every day, and then the other 3 modes were for certain situations that I didn’t need every day or would occur at random times.  That is what I need.  

The new app is not special and different.  It works exactly the same ans the old app with its modes, automation and rules.  Except there’s only 3 modes.  So the new app is the same, it just looks slightly different and had useful features removed.  It is not an upgrade, it is a downgrade.

I am paying $12.99 for the BASIC plan, so I‘m paying that much just to be able to view MY non-live recordings coming from cameras I spent $100s on.  I may even be over $1000 at this point.  Basic streaming plans (Netflix, Disney, Peacock, Paramount) cost $8 or less.  I don‘t get to watch shows and movies with my Arlo plan.  Just viewing recordings from expensive devices that I paid for.  And now, the app I use to view those recordings has been downgraded in a way that makes the experience much more difficult and annoying.   I have to turn cameras on and off manually, and turn audio on and off manually because the app no longer automates it for me the way I need it to.  I have to remember to turn things back on or off, and of course I forget sometimes.  The same with feed filtering.  If I filter the feed to view recordings from only 1 device for example, I have to remember to unfilter, or else I come back later and it looks like only 1 camera has been on.  This was also not an issue with the old app.  This sounds like cutting corners but still overcharging customers.

The only valid solution here is would involve Arlo admitting they messed up the app, and either add back custom modes immediately, or cut the price of the subscription until or if they are added back.  

I will not accept anymore calls with support reps wanting to explain to me how the new app works.  I ALREADY KNOW.

[MichaelT90]

You forgot about the fact that they also heavily restricted their "fair use" terms at the same time, so not only do I have to have all my cameras picking up everything, but during a busy month, their new fair use policy means they will just stop recording without warning near the end of the month... Why they rolled out such a policy without a way to monitor it I'll never know, but then again just like everything else, it was half baked...