I noticed this report for the Best Manufacturer Support is from 2014. I saw there was also the worst report from 2014 as well. I think another report should be done but this time actually do testing in some manner for different types of support whether that be from email, phone, text, etc. I noticed on the worst report from integrators, Digital Watchdog wasn't mentioned. I don't buy much from them because I don't find them innovative and I don't think of them as a manufacturer since they seem to OEM much of their products from companies such as Network Optix.
They do have the DW Spot monitor which is basically a stripped down DVR without a hard drive. It has worked fairly well, except for today when I got a call that the monitor wasn't working. This install was April of 2016. The unit is supposed to come with a 5 year warranty. It boots up, provides a splash screen logo, and then goes dark and the unit can't be pinged. Devices aren't perfect and I get that so I called their customer support number and listened to a long list of options. I clicked for tech support and waited 13 minutes until I finally decided to leave a message. That was at 2:00 p.m. EST and it's now 9:00 p.m. EST without a call back. I don't care for their email support since they use a stupid contact form. They don't even have a support ticket system (at least they didn't) that was even close to what Network Optix has. I don't have time to fill out a contact form for support. I want to email support@exampleaddress.com and receive acknowledgement of a ticket being created. Even Axis at least has a login with ticket support.
So I had to laugh about this because I just got an RC car from Traxxas for my daughters to have fun with. I got the Lipo battery and called their tech support because after reading the manual I wanted clarification on the charging break-in period. The phone only asked if I was calling about electric products or nitro products. The total time on the phone with them answering my questions was only 6 minutes. When I call SnapAV, they have great support with a call back option and all I need to do is leave my number. I tested this the other day and I got a call back within about 10-15 minutes. I recently had to call Atlona and their support has been very responsive and ongoing as I am now speaking with their escalation team and Tier 3 support. They at least want to solve my issue.
I don't need support very often, but when I do I expect a decent response time. Nuvico at one time had decent phone support. They would also screen phone calls to try and limit calls to integrators only. This isn't the first time I have had issues with DW, but they have some of the worst customer service in my opinion. I always get decent support from Network Optix and they try to send me to DW telling me they are better. Every time I find the opposite is true. If it weren't for Spectrum, I have no reason for them to exist.
Has anyone else had similar issues with DW or am I just unlucky? If you don't expect phone support, don't offer it and don't list your phone number. I had good luck with Axis recently. They sent me revised firmware that fixed the issue thus far. That issue was solved within a day.