Why would a company market a long arm and not invest in dealer training or customer service? Never ceases to amaze me. A company can do more to damage their reputation than help it. People are willing to support a brand name, where is the loyalty back to the customer? It is a big piece of equipment and quilting is achieved in a whole new way. A really good manual would be a starting point and a dealer that knows more than the customer.
I had a bad experience with Tin Lizzie and had to beg and demand some customer service. I finally was lucky enough to sell the set-up I had (for a big loss) and purchased an Innova. The customer service is priceless and the the quality is so much better. I know not everybody can or wants to spend big $$$, but I personally would check out the used market with some of the established well known companies out there before I'd deal with all of the headaches of poor customer service. I would do what Watson did and try to find fb posts and customer reviews before purchasing a machine that has many problems, even sadly from brands we already know and love.