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  1. #1
    Technician
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    Anyone actually like being a tech?

    I hate my job, I get physically ill in the mornings knowing what's in store for the day. I've been at it for 7 years, and make a good wage. The only happy techs I've ever met were the ones who didn't give a shit about fixing anything. I think maybe I just care too much about doing a good job, which doesn't seem to be paying off as I haven't gotten a raise in two years. Any advice? What frame of mind do you get yourself in to deal with the daily barrage of shitty machines, shitty salespeople, and shitty customers? Should I just give up like some of these older techs I've met?

  2. #2
    How'd ya manage that? 1,000+ Posts
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    Not sure what to say...

    I think there are two types of tech, the ones who like what they do and the ones who don't. I can say I'm not real enamoured with the 'profession' but I'm compensated well and generally do it well. I wish I would wake up looking forward to a day on the job but I don't feel sick thinking about it either.

    Just my opinion, but if you actually have a physical reaction to it then it likely ain't healthy...

  3. #3
    Master Of The Obvious 10,000+ Posts
    Anyone actually like being a tech?

    blackcat4866's Avatar
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    For me, there is certainly an element if tension/expectation to start every day. And yes, sometimes I do feel ill knowing I'll be expected to pull a rabbit out of my hat (not having a clue where that rabbit will come from). More often than not, I do manage to pull that rabbit out of my hat, often to my own surprise, and that's where my real job satisfaction comes from. It couldn't just be luck (could it?), because I can manage to do it at will. I think there is a certain personality type that can't be satisfied with the normal daily grind, and has to have a new and different challenge every day. Does this sound like you?

    If it was easy, everyone could do it. =-^..^=
    If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
    1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
    2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
    3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
    4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
    5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.

    blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=

  4. #4
    ALIEN OVERLORD 2,500+ Posts fixthecopier's Avatar
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    I have shoveled chemicals by hand with a shovel, loaded tractor trailers manually worked in a factory machine shop, forged steel auto parts and a brief trip into hell {sales}. This is what I like to do the best. Lets be real, I love what I do. Best job I have had. Pay is OK. I enjoy fixing things, the instant sense of accomplishment., and it is the only job I have ever had where people cheer when I show up. I like the company I work for also. In all the other jobs, I was a number and replaceable no matter how good I did my job. Here, I have value based on my performance and nothing else. It is also a job that can not be farmed out to India. You have to be here to fix the copier, cost too much to ship it. Most of the auto parts plant I worked at is in Mexico now!
    The greatest enemy of knowledge isn't ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. Stephen Hawking

  5. #5
    OMD-227
    Guest
    I absolutely love this job. Its all I have ever done, and would never consider changing. We are paid great, have awesome company cars, great management and staff, incredible incentives/staff discounts and a great lifestyle to go with it.
    Please show me another job that you have freedom of driving around, visiting several different locations each day, chat with gorgeous receptionists, be given coffee/food everywhere you go and get to run your personal errands along the way, like banking or pickup/drop off stuff that anyone else would have to take time off for.

    Sure, some places and clients are real pricks, but the job satisfaction that I get from working my way up from workshop lacky to working only on color/production machines, with 99.9% of clients happy that I am onsite for them is a great feeling. I wouldnt trade this for anything. I'm with the other guys..... I enjoy the sense of achievement, walking away from a machine with it working in great condition. Sometimes it hurts being a perfectionist, but if you work right, with the right attitude, there is no reason that you wouldnt enjoy this job.

  6. #6
    Geek Extraordinaire 2,500+ Posts KenB's Avatar
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    As for me, it's the only real job I've ever had, and I've been at it for 31 years.

    Where else can you have a crummy couple of hours on an ugly call, but then move on to something totally different just a few miles down the road? If you were stuck in an office, factory, or whatever, that wouldn't be an option.

    I've had several offers from customers (one just last Summer) to come work for or run their IT departments, but have respectfully declined. What's really cool about this job is that it mixes so many different technologies into one profession, and you get to see how they relate to each other every day.

    Although no one will ever get rich at it, it truly is a very rewarding profession.

    Maybe you're just working for the wrong dealer?
    “I think you should treat good friends like a fine wine. That’s why I keep mine locked up in the basement.” - Tim Hawkins

  7. #7
    Service Manager 1,000+ Posts
    Anyone actually like being a tech?

    Lagonda's Avatar
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    Hang in there BigBob,
    You'll find after 20 years industrial deafness sets in and you stop hearing the customers whinging! You also get used to living on starvation wages, it stops you getting middle-aged spread. As for salesmen, try taking your frustrations out on them, it stops you going home and beating the wife.
    At least 50% of IT is a solution looking for a problem.

  8. #8
    Service Manager 1,000+ Posts
    Anyone actually like being a tech?

    Shadow1's Avatar
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    About 6 years ago I got pretty down on my job for a while (new boss - 4 ft tall and ex-military. Big Napoleon complex. He was going to make an example out of somebody, and decided I was it... for 3 months until he rode with me... Life got better in a hurry) and I had a big customer that was never happy. But then I discovered the secret.

    I'd had enough of their constant bitching and whining and walked in fully prepared to tell them exactly what I thought of them. They had made it abundantly clear they were never going to be happy, so I was going to go fix their machine, and do it right, but I really didn't give a f*** what they had to say about it. And quite honestly if they did have anything to say about it, I could go fix somebody else's machine, and another tech could come down to fix theirs. I was also ready to tell them any tech who was smart enough to fix the worn out pieces of junk they refuse to let go of, was also smart enough not to walk in to the place unless they had the shit stupid luck to be assigned to the account.

    As soon as I realized I could actually do that, I didn't need to. I went in, walked past dopey and sneezy, and started working - never said a word - actively ignored them, and walked out when I was done.

    'Course I got a call from the boss, and decided I wasn't taking any crap off him that day either. Told him "Of course they called you - I wouldn't take their BS today, so they had to give it to somebody. I'd suggest you not take it either."

    Yeah, I was pretty frazzled at that point, but I quit getting so much flak from both of them very soon after that.

    The boss turned out to be a decent guy after he realized all the techs knew what we were doing, and let us do our job. The customer still has the same old machines, but now they have some other poor company losing money trying to keep them together.
    73 DE W5SSJ

  9. #9
    Senior Tech 100+ Posts Ducttape n Glue's Avatar
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    You either like it or you don't............I guess you can be somewhere in the middle also.....on any given day. Sorry to hear you hate your job. Now, is it the job and its requirements that you hate, to fix things and most of the time make people happy or is it something else...like say the corporate culture you work within. I have been doing this for 36 years and have loved all but 1.5 of those years. And those 1.5 years were not the job per se but the company I worked for. Granted I don't hit the field as much anymore, I can't see small details or in dark recesses and I'm not all up to date on the latest greatest , but I still get a kick out of fixing things and making people happy. I highly recommend you re-evaluate your current situation, whether it is to change occupations, change industry, change companies or change your mindset but life really is too short to let your job make you ill every morning........thats gotta suck.....best of luck to ya.

  10. #10
    Self Employed 1,000+ Posts D_L_P's Avatar
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    I can totally relate!!! I have done this for 15 years now and LOVE being a tech but DESPISE all the crap that comes with it. Some days I get up and just can't face another sour-puss customer. The job has its ups and downs is all I can say. For a while you get a decent boss then some jerk takes his place and then back again. Some customers just give you crap every time you see them, then new people come in and it's your best account.

    One piece of advice I can give, make a resume and look for another job as a copier tech or otherwise. Just sending out your resume and going on interviews can give you a new outlook. You don't even have to take the job if you don't want to but like Shadow said, it help just knowing you can just tell your boss and bad customers STFU.

    As far as caring too much about doing a good job I know what you mean. I've been working on Canon's since I started and in 15 years have only ever had 1 copier that got swapped out by service, and that was a Ricoh B296. These POS machines, specifically Savin 8045/8025 and Ricoh 2550/4000, are kicking my a$$ and I really can't stand working on them or explaining to irate customers why their BRAND NEW copier has had soo many problems. It's like trying to make a Yugo perform like a Ford truck. In the past when I run into trouble accounts I take a moment to make a list of every part I think needs replacing (whole feed assemblies, covers, developer assy, etc...) and basically just shotgunned' that copier. I know they drill it into us to be a surgeon and just replace the "bad" part, but for my own sanity I have done this 4 or 5 times. I went from seeing that problem customer every couple weeks to 7 or 8 months without a service call. It might have been one expensive service call but I can't tell you how nice it was not having to deal with them for that long! Now if I can just figure out how to do that with my Ricoh's, most of them have less than 50k and have been problems from day one. Like a new feed assembly will feed any better than one with 15k.

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