3 deafeningly loud beeps rang out through my house. It’s 4am-ish. I spring from my bed, right out of my slumber, thinking the world is ending. This wasn’t any annoying little “our batteries need replacing” chirp. It wasn’t one of those ‘it’s up to you to figure out which of us needs your attention if you ever want to sleep again’ alerts that keeps notifying you. No, this was aggressive, urgent and new-to-me. It’s the middle of the night and this was a pants-shittingly loud alarm. In a second, I rip open my bedroom door on the second floor of our home just to see my son also coming out of his room with a “”what the heck was that?” It had only happened once.
Scarily, my wife stayed asleep. either she was in the deepest state of REM imaginable or she was just playing asleep and figured “he’s got this.” But this alarm was different. My youngest son also just stayed sleeping in his respective room. My oldest and I stood there, looking for a clue as to what the problem was. There we were. Silent. Waiting to either see fire, smell smoke, be approached by a ghost of Christmas past, or at least give any indication what caused it. Why wasn’t it happening again? What was wrong? Where do we go from here? At least with chirping for low batteries, you can stand underneath them all individually until you can deduce who needed a fresh 9 volt. Not this time.
Typically, on those yearly nights where a smoke alarm chirp begins, my dog starts shaking like it’s time to poop out a peach pit, but not this time. She was alert but not freaking out, which made me worry more. “Is my dog smart enough to tell me something’s wrong? Is she smart like Lassie or just a loving lap dog that won’t save us from mortal danger when the opportunity arises?” II looked downstairs briefly and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
No other announcement of our impending demise happened after quite some time so I returned to bed. If it was a false alarm. It scared the crap out of my son and I. Everything that is important to me is in this house and it’s my job to protect them, but I’m not a fireman so I had no other recourse than to go back to sleep. Easier said then do when you feel lives are at stake. My mind starts wandering at the possible causes and what I should do. Should I walk from room to room and look for fire? What if I open a door and am engulfed in flames from a backdraft? Have I watched too many movies? I think men think one of two ways: they either chalk stuff up to nothing quickly and trivialize things or they let their imagination run wild, immediately going to the worst possible outcome. And this is where mine went as I’m in bed typing this now on the Notes App on my phone. I Google what three deathly urgent loud beeps from a smoke alarm means and, much like typing symptoms into WebMD, the answers are that I should be swallowed up by flames any second. Always the worst scenario – thanks Internet.
And I ask myself, is this dread of not knowing what problem awaits me similar to what some people feel when their check engine light comes on? I’m steeped in the automotive industry enough to know when a noise, vibration, or dashboard light is something that is a major concern or just a tripped sensor, but unsure if others do. Either way, it needs addressing. Thankfully for many, OEM apps may send you an alert when there is an issue with your vehicle, but not always. And here is where, as an industry, we need to connect technology to peace of mind. I didn’t know what caused those 3 beeps from my smoke alarm. Or why it hasn’t happened since. Again, a quick Google search says 3 beeps means you’re on fire. Get out of the house. The call is coming from inside the house. (Again, I may have watched too many movies). I realize now I may also just be writing here on my phone as it is soothing and cathartic for me to get my thoughts out. (Will anyone see this if I don’t publish it and carbon monoxide takes me out?)
How do customers feel driving in cars when a giant warning tells them it may not be safe inside them? This is what we need to do a better job of. People are scared. Media tells us everything is destined to kill us and books are dangerous. Meanwhile, OEM and dealers alike dedicate dollars to conquest fresh customers when people’s relationships with their cars and trucks is what we need to dedicate our technology to advancing.
So while others in the industry are writing all of their “Predictions for 2025” blogs about marketing trends, this is my blog dedicated to a Hope for Automotive. All of the tech (AI, data mining, and more) we’re investing in needs to be meant to bring customers into a comfortable space with, not just their purchase, but their ownership lifecycle. Technology that is proactive in positive ways. Dashboard lights that trigger notifications with explanations and videos into your phone while simultaneously tying to customer and dealership calendars to schedule maintenance appointments. Problems that are sorted out through integrated technology and not requiring the human element to deduce what that next step should be. Much of this happens at the OEM level, and not that at the dealership, but any way dealers can employ policies, procedures, and personnel to provide peace of mind and a more pleasurable ownership experience is far more valuable that more paid search spend.
Here is hoping tech is being used to keep people safe, and not just keeping them sold. Delivering an incredible experience for your clients and dedicating yourself to retention will always prevail long-term over conquest marketing initiatives with short-term ploys for profit. Our ideologies need to shift, and only advanced tech at the highest level can get us there. Good tech identifies the problem and presents the solution to people. It shouldn’t just provide the data expecting the person to know how to act upon it. In 2025, I hope the tech we invest in improves how safe you feel in your home, in your vehicle, or in your relationship with businesses and people. In this madcap, crazy world growing more scary by the news segment, we all need to know smart technology is looking out for us, because we can’t always rely on people to do it for us. And now I’ll sleep. If I make it to the morning without 3rd degree burns, I’ll publish.
Great article Joe! Funny and interesting! Glad it wasn’t something serious.