David, glad for you to include it but that's the fob off. I hope to be proven wrong very soon. This issue has been on the Hasselblad forum for a few days now with not much action. In frustration, I asked how to raise an issue with support.
I hope someone comes along soon and answers the original question. I would really like to hear from some Phase users.
I will say that while I worked for Phase One the most impressive thing to me was the technical support infrastructure. Due to this infrastructure, it allows for a very direct collaboration between dealers, end users, and the manufacturer technical support team.
There's maybe 2 issues here though, technical support versus bugs, or longer term software issues. From a technical support standpoint, take this case from yesterday. I had one of our customers contact me with an issue related to their digital back battery. I opened a support case and initiated a written, direct record of this case with Phase One technical support.
Today Phase One technical support has issued an RMA with instructions to the customer and I have access to all of that communication. Generally I have found over the years that technical support is outstanding on medium format digital products, but this is a level that I never had experience with. I found being able to directly be part of the communication process with Phase One technical support to be a huge benefit.
Regarding software bugs, issues, etc. I do feel it is a good idea to work with a dealer. I think the manufacturer's have difficulty solving bugs in a timely manner (in general). It can be very difficult to quantify a software issue such as the one you're describing Jeff. I feel a dealer is sometimes better equipped to help point out and describe the issue to a manufacturer. Naturally we can also sometimes solve some of the issues ourselves (and sometimes there actually isn't an issue...).
As much as I hate to say this, part of this can also stem from the fact that a good dealer has a deep (and usually long term) relationship with a manufacturer whose products they sell. This existing relationship helps a dealer to specify with credibility exactly what the problem is - especially when a manufacturer can't seem to agree with a client, or understand exactly what a client is referring to. Many issues brought to the attention of technical support can be subtle.
Several years ago when I sold Hasselblad, a customer bought an H3D and needed to perform custom white untethered. This had been requested for years. I contacted some of my contacts at Hasselblad and explained the importance of this, I explained how important this customer was, etc, etc. Yes, I did some selling, which perhaps shouldn't have to be done, but sometimes, to change priorities, that's what it takes. And, within 3 weeks, after years of requests, the change was implemented.
I would say generally, a good dealer that has communicated well with an end user can be more effective at getting an issue resolved with a manufacturer. Having been on the end of many such conversations with end users, I will say that many times the issue doesn't actually exist (user error), many times the issue is not communicated clearly (at first), and many times the issue is just not something that is going to get priority (though it should still be remedied).
Jeff, I'm sure your issue is real. And my experience is just one side of things and also maybe has some truths that shouldn't be…but that is my experience. In terms of the end user getting what they want accomplished, I have found this approach - working through the (good) dealer to be the most effective and efficient.
