Sota Reps,
(I suggest you don't, but if you are inclined to skim this, then the most important thing to take away from this is: If your dentist who has purchased the camera complains that the camera doesn't work, has stopped working, or has to call in too much to reload drivers, most likely, the problem is RARELY with the Claris, and is most likely some error with Windows or their computer, these issues are not specific to Claris but would happen to any camera, please please please utilize your maximum capacity for subtlety and grace when communicating how lucky they are to not have to spend 30 minutes on hold trying to get a hold of a tech support department from a competing company.
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I recently got a call from a panicking doctor, who shall remain nameless, regarding his capture button not working. In his panic, he was very quick to blame the camera and was even fearful that he may have "gotten a lemon."
That's right, he said Lemon, a word that brings up imagery of a certain Yugoslavian car, or Tweed Plaid yellow Jacket wearing, fast-talking, used car salesmen. But that's not what Sota is and it's certainly not how we can allow our doctors to perceive our camera, not even for an instant. After explaining to him the proper steps (when to activate and when to deactivate) when using an intraoral camera, we were able to change his tune in about 2 minutes.
90% of the time, the reason the camera isn't working anymore IS NOT because of the camera, but because the computer is losing the drivers. I realize that of course dentists would rather blame the camera than direct any of that blame toward their own faulty computers, but that's because they're scared. They are world-class dentists and admitting that they know nothing about the digital technology that runs their practice is a thought that scares them.
This is why CE courses entitled: "The Dentistry of Tomorrow: Digitizing the digital and Optimizing your Search Engine Rank for the Future of Cloud-Based Online Marketing for Web-based 2.0 applications" are packed with eager note-takers. Dentists recognize that if they master the use of digital technology, social-networking, marketing, practice management & imaging integration, one can effectively maximize their efficiency, profits and patient care. But for most health-care professionals, ignoring their family or social life in favor of learning the intricacies of utilizing the web is something they'd rather pay someone else to do, that way if the computer, a component, a camera or a sensor stop working, they can hold somebody else accountable.
So being that Sota is a company that is proud of their level of support and customer-care, we cater to the fact that no doctor should spend any amount of time servicing what is essentially an issue that arises from having a digital practice, and we resolve many issues that are unrelated to a camera, simply because if the camera isn't working then you can bet my ass that it's Sota's duty to get it working, and as we've shown time and time again, we WILL get it to work.
But let's try to get the dentists to understand that in most cases, any camera that stops working, whether the video stops working or the capture button stops working is most likely an issue with a port on the computer going bad, a cable going bad, a windows update that has knocked out our drivers. These are issues that would cause ANY camera to stop working and THESE ISSUES ARE NOT SPECIFIC TO THE CLARIS and that we CAN RESOLVE THESE ISSUES PROMPTLY WITH SPEED AND EFFICIENCY that has made numerous dealers happy to work with our company and favor our camera.
In light of Dustine's outstanding performance in her territory (Southern California, Las Vegas, Arizona) selling 18 cameras in May with the CDA and 15 cameras in June, we've shown that the Claris brand can have a strong resonance with our dealers and make them work for you. With the price point and marketing efforts, we've effectively been able to convince that selling the Claris will yield happy customers who like our service and it will not provide additional work for our dealers' equipment and technology reps after demoing the camera.
Our goal is to allow the dealers to confidently sell our camera knowing that they will not have to be called post-sale from unhappy customers. And that's why if our dentists complain that their camera has suddenly stopped working, we need to tell them with ease and confidence that these things happen with the age of computers, cables and USB ports, and that our support department will be very prompt in getting the issue resolved for them.
I appreciate your hard work and I absolutely LOVE it when I get a call at 6:00am because you may need my help. Yes--my voice at that time may sound hoarse and I may be a little incoherent from lack of sleep, but when I come to my senses I'll be elated to support you no matter what the time. For my peeps on the east coast, this especially applies to you, just remember that any improprieties or obscenities I mutter at this stage in my day should be taken with a grain of salt, just pretend we're at a party and I've had two-too-many shots of tequila :p
The Proper Steps: MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THESE STEPS, ESPECIALLY WITH KODAK DENTAL IMAGING
1) Always have the camera ACTIVATED before opening up an imaging window. There are no "ifs, ands or buts" about this. To make sure the camera is ACTIVATED, make sure it is plugged in with the lights on, to ensure that the camera is being recognized by the computer before you try to go to live video.
2) It is also equally important to follow the proper procedure before DEACTIVATING the camera. Make sure to close out of any imaging window before you unplug the camera or hang it up in its cradle.
*In many cases, following these steps will help to avoid an incidence where the imaging software tries to open a device that is not being recognized in the computer, causes the computer to bug out and lose the driver. Sometimes you can just reboot the computer to make it work again, and sometimes, I have to wipe out and reinstall the drivers.
Port has gone bad: The camera still has a light on, but the dentist is receiving an "error open_cam" message or is simply not getting an image
1) Often times, USB ports on the back typically are more consistent than ports on the front. Resolving this issue will usually require a log-in from us so we can install the drivers into a proper port. But this is a common occurence.
2) A dentist may say "Well my sensor/mouse/usbdrive still works there, but my camera doesn't work"
- "Touche, well played good sir" but this may be beyond my scope of knowledge, but the theory is this. Each USB 2.0 port has a maximum output of 400 milliamps of power while each of the Claris's 8 white LED's use 50 milliamps, though we've toned them down to use 40 milliamps each. Because the LED's by themselves require near maximum output from the USB port, any variance in the consistency of the port can cause it to stop sharing the bandwidth and the power necessary to operate the camera.
3) To put it short, call Sota Support, switch the USB port and do a clean install.
Cable has gone bad: The camera still has a light on, but the dentist is receiving an "error open_cam" message or is simply not getting an image
1) Try another cable, they have a printer, that printer uses the same cable, ask if you can try it.
2) Maybe another operatory has a cable, let them try using the camera in another operatory.
Loose Connection on the Camera: Error Message pops up, image freezes while doctor is moving the camera.
Really, the only issue that pops up that is truly a fault of the Camera is the loose connection that causes the computer and camera to lose connection with each other momentarily and can cause a variation of bugs.
1) Ask the doctor to move the camera around, even shake it lightly to see if the cable feels loose. A little bit of wiggle room is normal, but it should not feel as if it could fall out on its own at any time.
2) If it is a loose connection, have the dentist call the office for an RMA. We'll take down some information and if they are within the 2 year warranty, they will be covered at no charge.
3) We have a new connector that literally hooks the USB connection to the inside, it's not only tighter, but it's custom fit for the camera. This is an option, but it does require work and extra cables do cost money. At the current time, we only have 6ft cables and if they require extra length, they may want to consider a 3, 4, or 6 ft extender. the shorter the better. Also recommend getting the extenders from somewhere that has a good return policy, in the event that there are connection issues with the extender.
Thanks for listening,
Austin
