I've been a member of Control.com's Automation Discussion List since 16 of us started it way back along in the Permian Era of the Internet, and for well over a decade I've been having the same problem with people who post to the list a problem with a specific vendor's specific product...it is often clear that they've not been in communication with the vendor themselves.
This bugs me a lot. First, it bothers me because it says that the end user and the vendor aren't communicating. This is not only bad for sales, but also really bad for the end user when something goes wrong, breaks, or otherwise goes south. Second, it bothers me because it has been going on long enough, and often enough so that it is clearly a systemic problem, and not an isolated case. Third, it bugs me because often the poster to the A-List isn't at all clear about what his problem is, and therefore doesn't get the help, even from his or her peers-- so how can they get help from the vendor, either?
There was another example of the breed this morning on the A-List. Here's the answer one of the regular posters gave: "If you are as oblique with your supplier as you are with us, then I doubt you will get anywhere. You have told us nothing other than that you are unhappy about something. I think the first thing you need to do is to learn to describe your problem fully and clearly. If you want to try stating your problem again, someone here may be able to make a suggestion which can help you."
Does this mean a lack of the ability to state the conditions of a problem well enough to be able to find a solution? If that's the case, no wonder alarm cascades lead to catastrophes.
