Had a customer in Phoenix who insisted on hiding a motion sensor behind a curtain

This was about three months ago, a residential job in a nice suburb. The guy wanted a motion sensor in his living room, but he didn't want to see it. He pointed to this heavy velvet curtain and said, 'Just put it behind there, it'll be fine.' I explained, slowly, that the fabric would block the infrared and the sensor would be useless. He got this look on his face and said, 'But it's a smart sensor, right? It should just work.' I had to pull out my test unit and show him how it wouldn't trigger with the curtain in the way. He finally agreed to let me mount it on the corner of the wall, but he was grumpy about it the whole time. Ever have a client who just will not accept how the basic tech works?

3 comments

3 Comments

wyatt_mitchell268d agoTop Commenter

Keep a cheap spare sensor in your truck for demos. Pull it out, let them try to hide it behind their curtain or painting. When it doesn't work, the proof is right there. Saved me a twenty minute argument with a guy who wanted his behind a potted fern. He saw the demo, pointed to the ceiling corner, and said "fine, put it there.

dakota4158d ago

Reminds me of a client who tried to hide a whole router in a cookie jar, @wyatt_mitchell26.

betty_kelly98d ago

Smart sensor" like it has little eyes that can see through solid objects. Sure thing, boss. Next you'll want the doorbell camera to work from inside the mailbox. The demo unit idea is solid though. Some people just need to see the failure happen right in front of them.