Cheapest TECH ever ?

[rapidocument]

We've talked in the past about customer "cheapness" but seeing a fellow tech from a rival company yesterday makes me think about techs too...

This guy carries his cleaning fluid or whatever it is in a used cocacola bottle with cap, and for cleaning the laser he uses
toilet paper....and oh yeah, the roll is left on top of the copier visible to everybody...disgusting to say the least.

The other day I saw another one riding on his motorcycle (I knew it was a tech because of the 3m vacumm and toner boxes tied behind),
well he was wearing a soccer team t shirt, bermudas and flip flops...Unbelievable.

Ah, I almost forgot the one (he worked for Ricoh OEM) who didn't like to use a test pattern to test the copier, (I used mine -a Katun lexan test sheet- to test a refurbished machine I was about to purchase from their local office) when he said "the machine is OK I already made the tests"... and showed me the copies of HIS urine lab results...I think maybe he uses that because of the different shadows of the lab logo and graphics it contains...jeez

[emujo2]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I would not be too hard on a tech that isn't wearing the standard clothing or making due with what he has to get the job done. Not all companies pay well, and not all companies do business with customers that would be offended by someone dressed this way. If the tech can do his job and make a profit for himself or his company than I would judge based on this. Imagine trying to be a traveling tech on +/- $10-12 per hour. Emujo

[Phil B.]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I would not be too hard on a tech that isn't wearing the standard clothing or making due with what he has to get the job done. Not all companies pay well, and not all companies do business with customers that would be offended by someone dressed this way. If the tech can do his job and make a profit for himself or his company than I would judge based on this. Imagine trying to be a traveling tech on +/- $10-12 per hour. Emujo

I am a traveling tech.. yes I had a co car and shirts w/ logo .. but for 13$/hr it really is hard to pay my bills. No insurance 5 vaca days a year ( most times used for caring for sick family ( single dad ) I have over 2500 certs under my belt. Not only do I have to do tech stuff... am in house IT.. also deliver and pickup empty printer toners... and am expected every friday to help clean up the office areas. ( windows .. floors ... trash
.. bathrooms ect) we are a small co ( 7 people) but it is a family business and a couple of the family members feel it is below them to have to do clean up.

[Ratchet2501]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I read something a while back talking about a guy who witnessed an overweight jogger. Now many folks were criticizing him for his weight etc etc etc. Take it for what it's worth since as a US citizen we are generally frowned upon for that one. In either case the guy writing the article I read stated that he had more respect for the fat guy running because he had that much more to gain from exercise. If it were myself, I would have more of a rivalistic mentality for those techs than the ones who dress nice etc etc etc. A. they demonstrate exactly what you don't want to be like. and b. they have to try twice as hard (assuming they have work ethic) to pull off what you do easily. Take this for what it's worth since I agree with you whole heartily that some "techs" shouldn't be allowed to pick up a screwdriver.

[Scottb]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I once went behind a tech, that had turned the feed tires inside out on a Canon NP 6025. The sad this is we had these tires at the shop, and he should have had them in his car stock...so either it was him being cheap(possible so called service manager) or lazy...or both. As a gap stop until he could drive back to the shop to pick up a set I could understand, but I arrived on this call was weeks after the previous service call.

[TheBlueOrleans]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

We all know that guy who sprays WD-40 all over the bushings on the registration assembly of a Bizhub 3-series.

Probably some of us ARE that guy...

I'm the dismantle-the-assembly-and-use-alcohol-and-cotton-swabs-all-over-everything-that-needs-cleaning guy. If my fingers aren't black by the time I get home, I'm not doing my job. WD-40 guy and I do not get along well.

Sure it's faster to spray WD on it and walk away, but that's not a repair. And it makes the job of actually cleaning the assembly quite a bit harder for guys like me.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I once went behind a tech, that had turned the feed tires inside out on a Canon NP 6025. The sad this is we had these tires at the shop, and he should have had them in his car stock...so either it was him being cheap(possible so called service manager) or lazy...or both. As a gap stop until he could drive back to the shop to pick up a set I could understand, but I arrived on this call was weeks after the previous service call.

One of our competitors would remove the feed tire, add 3 or 4 wraps of black tape to the hub, then slip it back on. I never met the gentleman, but got plenty of opportunities to see the jamming feed rollers.
=^..^=

[FrohnB]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I know of tech that I'm constantly cleaning up behind due to the fact that instead of rebuilding most units, or replacing necessary parts (inexpensive parts), he comes back to the shop (leaving the customer down and waiting most of the time) to grab a unit or part out of one of our "retired" machines and takes that over to them. Well, as fate would have it, a couple days later, customer will call back and say that they're down again. I'll run out to their location and find that instead of just putting a fusing sleeve or something on for the original issue, there's a USED unit in the machine. Now I have to rebuild THAT unit. Happens WAAAYYY more than I'd like it to. Don't know if this is a matter of "Cheapness", Laziness, or Stupidity. Either way, it makes for some busy days to juggle his call-backs and my own calls. Point is, just spend the money on the part that will fix the problem, instead of wasting money on multiple trips/techs spent on one machine, or thinking that this "slightly used" part will save money or time (because you can swap and not have to rebuild). Take pride in what you do, and don't let "Costs" scare you, most machines pay for themselves if placed in the right setting, and if maintained with integrity, should continue to outpace the costs involved in replacing parts. Thanks for letting me Rant.

[Phil B.]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

We all know that guy who sprays WD-40 all over the bushings on the registration assembly of a Bizhub 3-series.

Probably some of us ARE that guy...

I'm the dismantle-the-assembly-and-use-alcohol-and-cotton-swabs-all-over-everything-that-needs-cleaning guy. If my fingers aren't black by the time I get home, I'm not doing my job. WD-40 guy and I do not get along well.

Sure it's faster to spray WD on it and walk away, but that's not a repair. And it makes the job of actually cleaning the assembly quite a bit harder for guys like me.

not to mention that WD40 will actually dry out a "brass bushing" .. I prefer TriFlow oil which has teflon particles suspended in the light oil.

[Phil B.]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

I know of tech that I'm constantly cleaning up behind due to the fact that instead of rebuilding most units, or replacing necessary parts (inexpensive parts), he comes back to the shop (leaving the customer down and waiting most of the time) to grab a unit or part out of one of our "retired" machines and takes that over to them. Well, as fate would have it, a couple days later, customer will call back and say that they're down again. I'll run out to their location and find that instead of just putting a fusing sleeve or something on for the original issue, there's a USED unit in the machine. Now I have to rebuild THAT unit. Happens WAAAYYY more than I'd like it to. Don't know if this is a matter of "Cheapness", Laziness, or Stupidity. Either way, it makes for some busy days to juggle his call-backs and my own calls. Point is, just spend the money on the part that will fix the problem, instead of wasting money on multiple trips/techs spent on one machine, or thinking that this "slightly used" part will save money or time (because you can swap and not have to rebuild). Take pride in what you do, and don't let "Costs" scare you, most machines pay for themselves if placed in the right setting, and if maintained with integrity, should continue to outpace the costs involved in replacing parts. Thanks for letting me Rant.

yup had to go behind those types also.. it's not stupidity..or cheapness.. it's pure T lazy. I would rather spend the time PROPERLY rebuilding an assembly than take a chance that it 1) won't work 2) fail in a week or two. And then you have the guys that leaves screws out of a machine because " the engineer didn't need to have all those screws" L A Z Y

[907tec]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

Hoodie and Jeans tech, checking in.

[Phil B.]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

Hoodie and Jeans tech, checking in.

company policy?

[theengel]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

yup had to go behind those types also.. it's not stupidity..or cheapness.. it's pure T lazy. I would rather spend the time PROPERLY rebuilding an assembly than take a chance that it 1) won't work 2) fail in a week or two. And then you have the guys that leaves screws out of a machine because " the engineer didn't need to have all those screws" L A Z Y

Disagree there--some machines are just overscrewed. Especially when a single screw hides under a layer of 3 covers... just to make things take 3 times as long. Engineers aren't gods... but that's just my opinion. Hell, if they were that good at their jobs, we wouldn't have so many recalls & updates.

Anyway, the cheapest tech I knew was my dad. He really didn't grasp the idea of professionalism, God Bless him. He didn't short change customers, but I'll never forget how embarrassed I got when I first started working with him. I was only 17. He's showing me how to clean the optics in a machine, and he pulls a 'rag' out of his toolbox. You can imagine how red I got as he handed me a pair of my old underwear. When I refused to touch it, he said, "Ok, use this," and handed me a pair of girl's underwear.

[Lagonda]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

One of our techs just used his soldering iron to weld the broken plastic parts back together and then leave it that way rather then go back with the new part. Like plus 10 for getting the customers machine back up and running ASAP but minus several hundred for leaving it that way. In the end I had to confiscate his soldering iron.

[Ratchet2501]

Re: Cheapest TECH ever ?

Disagree there--some machines are just overscrewed. Especially when a single screw hides under a layer of 3 covers... just to make things take 3 times as long. Engineers aren't gods... but that's just my opinion. Hell, if they were that good at their jobs, we wouldn't have so many recalls & updates.

Anyway, the cheapest tech I knew was my dad. He really didn't grasp the idea of professionalism, God Bless him. He didn't short change customers, but I'll never forget how embarrassed I got when I first started working with him. I was only 17. He's showing me how to clean the optics in a machine, and he pulls a 'rag' out of his toolbox. You can imagine how red I got as he handed me a pair of my old underwear. When I refused to touch it, he said, "Ok, use this," and handed me a pair of girl's underwear.

Goin for the gusto here. That underwear deal is pretty screwed up. XD