I find it extremely irritating, that as a dealer, who purchases, sells and installs a lot of Victron equipment, that the best tech-support I can get is from person who works for my distributor. The fact that an installer cannot speak to somebody directly at Victron and get issues resolved in a timely manner when there’s an issue with the product or software, has made me decide to not to sell Victron equipment anymore.
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That is because their is training given to distributors to provide tech support. (And the reason why they are called distributors.) This is how the network works.
Distributors in turn are suposed to train those who purchase from them as installers. (Who are also expected to be self teachers/learners).
Victron have kept their core team small (if you see the company profile) and not chosen to be like the fortune 500s who have 10k+ techsupoort people who also take forever to respond - from my experience as an installer for other brands. I have a several warranty requests (not even passed step 1) with a well known brand and one 4 with battery manufacturers one case over 2 years old.
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More or less the same applies to end users: For technical questions, Victron recommends contacting one of their preferred dealers. They should have all the technical knowledge of Victron to assist every customer.
In my case, I bought Victron equipment from a store without proper technical support I then needed. So I contacted two well known Victron dealers by e-mail, with a polite request for support.
The first dealer responded and helped me out a bit, but never replied to an additional e-mail from me.
The second dealer never responded at all.
I then sent Victron an email directly, with my questions. It was answered promptly, but they also told me that for future technical questions, I should contact their preferred dealers.
I told them about my experience with two of their preferred dealers, and I also told them that it was a bit akward for me, to ask a dealer for support, even when I did not buy any Victron hardware there. That this might be the reason dealers not alway respond.
On their advice, I called another Victron preferred dealer, and they were certainly very nice but couldn’t help me with my specific technical questions. They advised me to contact Victron directly.
When I told them that this is not Victron’s vision, and that I should approach the dealers, they couldn’t do anything with it either.
Some years later I don’t know if this is still the way to go. Maybe Victron is busy setting up their own in-house and international tech support.
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What is really annoying (well annoying to me) is the products on various platforms such as amazon will actually be purchased from a distributor.
I do know that being box movers is not the aim. And those that are there just for that also grind my gears.
Then there is the community. There are many knowledgeable people here. I know i have tapped in many times.
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These so called “tech support” from the distributors do not have the knowledge to troubleshoot above the level we already troubleshoot. Especially when it is an issue introduced by new software. I have been installing marine electronics and electrical for 21 years and have never dealt with a manufacturer that seems to not care about their dealers. And to rely on a user group to find answers is a joke!
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If the distributor doesn’t have a solution than he should be able to contact Victron and ask for help.
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Dealer or distributor?
If he is a distributor he would be able to contact Victron himself.
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I would suggest, then, that you have chosen your distributor poorly. Perhaps you chose the best possible discount from a distributor whose only goal is to move product and not provide much pre-sale or post-sale support. Alternatively, you could shop around and find a distributor that can supply the value you want or need.
I have talked with quite a few marine installers over the years to try and win their business. They usually tell me something like the following: “I get 40% discount from CWR and it costs me $20 to ship anything I buy no matter the order size. If you can’t beat that price then I don’t think we can do business.” Already knowing the answers, I usually then ask “How much training do you receive from CWR? Can they provide sophisticated advice or deep technical consulting? How about answering level 3 technical questions?” The answers are “None; no; and no”. So I’ll describe the technical training we offer to our dealer and installer network, the fact that we have actual engineers on staff (electrical and mechanical), we’re a Victron repair facility, and a Victron training partner. We have a demo trailer that we can take to dealers or installers who can’t take the time to travel to our facility.
I have no beef with CWR or any other distributor. But, you can’t expect a 40% discount, nearly free shipping, AND a bench of deep technical talent. If you do, you’re just fooling yourself. And instead of coming to a public forum to bitch about the lack of support your chosen distributor is providing, then I would humbly suggest that you haven’t done your homework and found a distributor that can provide the value you’re looking for.
Peace out
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In short terms: pay a bit more and get the extra support. I totally aggree.
But still, Victron hardware is also sold by “box pushers” like Amazon, giving no technical support.
What if customers did not think about the aftersales part in the first case, but choose for the shop they often use for anything. According to Victron, they should then contact another shop to get free technical support. And for me that’s a bit akward…
Not the cheapest shop, not pushing boxes, but investing in trainings and giving support, should be a preferred supplier. Victron could choose to only supply the preferred dealers, but as more often, it’s money that counts. Running a a well-maintained and read support forum, as compensation maybe.
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As mentioned these have distributors that supply them. Where do the boxes come from?
I agree. So wanting a paid service for free is unfair to the people who have invested the time to learn the skils and knowledge.
Under the DIY banner unfortunately that means the person who takes on the project should also take the time to learn.
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We see a few unhappy members like this, often with little actual experience. They don’t need support, they need installation and configuration assistance - that is not support.
Support is not a bypass for an installer, any other shop should happily help you, for a price.
Support is more frequently associated with broken or malfunctioning products and any reseller or distie can assist with the testing and replacement process.
Where it gets messy are inexperienced, and too often, DIY installers who can’t differentiate between a faulty device and a misconfigured one.
Again, this is something that typically sits in the installers realm, and if you choose to self-install, you need to have sufficient background experience and have committed to skill up.
And no, ChatGPT and youtube does not count.
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The ecosystem fully enables this with the opensource components, Victron will however not support a system that is modified. It is up to you to demonstrate the problem exists with the core GA software, pretty standard stuff for any industry.
Unfortunately many users do not understand this.
Victron’s model is distributed support, they are not the only ones who use this model, effectively delegating some of this responsibility to qualified distributors in the regions.
The challenge is the software stack keeps getting bigger, much of which enables customisations and integrations but is not covered by conventional support.
I guess quite a lot of DIY users – like you? – buy Victron gear from the cheapest supplier (who has little or no expertise and can’t provide anything other than very basic support), and then find they can’t fix a problem but can’t get any useful help/advice except maybe from this forum.
Sorry but that’s not Victron’s fault or problem, it’s yours – buying cheap from Amazon works fine for TVs, but not for relatively complex electrical components/systems/installations. There’s lots of Victron information out there (including on here) to help DIY users, much more than from many other brands, but the clue is in the initials Do It Yourself… 
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Really interesting read, and I appreciate all the support for the support model 
There were a few points where I can add some more insight;
Perhaps what they meant by this was contact Victron via our support form - Need support? - Victron Energy
This is the channel to find the right person to help you. If the person the support form connects you with doesn’t provide a level of service you’re happy with, then there is the opportunity to mark the enquiry as ‘Unhappy’.
Those ‘Happy’ / ‘Unhappy’ statistics are used by the Victron sales managers to keep an eye on their distributor network and get in touch with those that might need more training, or other support from Victron to improve their customer service.
It has been the case for some who were unable to provide the level of service expected from a Victron distributor, and then are migrated to being a dealer supported by a Victron distributor who is providing a better level of service to them (and their end-users).
The opposite is also true, dealers who are providing a good level of service can apply to become distributors if they can show they have the resources.
While this system is not perfect, it is working constantly to improve the level of service provided.
In the worst cases where a customer is really stuck, Victron does ultimately back our products and can resolve it directly, but this is an extremely limited resource, so all efforts are made first to follow the normal channels.
I don’t believe that it’s anywhere said that Victron dealers or distributors are providing free technical support. If you do see that somewhere, then please let me know and I’ll fix it.
The distributors are expected to provide warranty RMA service, but even then they are entitled to charge for their time if it’s required to assess the validity of the warranty claim and prepare the paperwork.
The supplier that you purchased from will almost always do this for free, and many others will as well depending on the situation, but at the extreme, e.g a troublesome 15k Quattro deep in the bow of a boat on the other side of the world, there might be some time required from a technician to assess, and safely service it back to operation. It can’t be expected that will always be done for free.
It is very reassuring to hear from some of the technical distributors that have embraced the Victron support model in the replies.
It is extremely important to Victron that those who do put their own business on the line by hiring expensive technicians, attend training, maintain service workshops, answer their emails and phone calls promptly, take on the harder cases, and so on really feel like Victron has their backs and is the first to promote them as the preferred place to buy our products.
I believe the model can work, and for the most part does work, as we continue to grow around the world. This can happen far more efficiently with a distributor network model than if Victron was trying to centrally manage it all ourselves.
There is so much regional complexity to power electronics, especially in all the different markets we service, that it really requires a local distributor, on the local timezone, who is living their local conditions to be able to provide the best service and advice.
Where Victron has the responsibility is to make sure that our distributors and sales managers have fast access to the best tools and training that we can offer. I’m proud of that, and enjoy making it better as the gaps and cracks continue to reveal themselves.
Personally this year I will be spending a lot of time bringing our training video content back up to date with all the changes since the last revision. These will be publicly available via Victron Professional, but it’s the distributors who will be expected to watch and learn from the dozens of hours of material there, and then use that to support their customers.
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Part of the natural growth of a business within the Victron model is that dealers who put the time into learning, and growing their business selling Victron products will eventually outgrow their current distributor and then potentially move to a new distributor, or even become a distributor themselves.
Distributors have direct access to Victron’s technical support via the Victron sales manager, and it’s expected that they use it to continue to expand their knowledge, and use that to support their customers.
Victron sales managers are contactable via Contact - Victron Energy for enquires about becoming a distributor or finding a more suitable one. It’s not an easy process, but it is a good sign that it might be time for a change if you are learning and dealing with issues that are beyond your current distributor’s capacity.
But by the sound of it, a local dealer who can’t give you the support you need – presumably you use them because of convenience and/or cost?
Noone in the world could have given me the support I needed so I made my own support @iand
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So what are you complaining about then?
I’m not complaining.
My local dealer is a legend!
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