Murphy's Law on Copiers

[mrwho]

This is one most (if not all) of you will relate with. Some rules we all learn when repairing the machines and dealing with customers.

- When a loose screw falls to the ground, it will always be half-an-inch farther that what you can reach with your magnetized screwdriver tip

This one ocurred to me yesterday when I was on my knees fishing screws from under a machine I was servicing.

What's with you, guys? Let's write a collective book!

[vincent64]

Here is 3 for the list.

If you say a cust's name while at the shop, they will call in.

If a cust tries out the machine you just got finished working on while your still in the copier room, it will break, again.

A 30 min service call will take 3 hours.

[pepper38_cnd]

The copier fits perfectly in the spot the customer has made, not more than 2 inches clearance on all sides, and the shelf above it lets you almost open the DF.

[mascan42]

If the customer brings up another problem as you're on the way out the door, it will take 3 times as long as the problem they actually called for.

[prntrfxr]

The copier fits perfectly in the spot the customer has made, not more than 2 inches clearance on all sides, and the shelf above it lets you almost open the DF.

Try fixing one in a closet in the middle of a main walkway in a bail bond office of a major city, oh and I didn't mention the fact that there was no light in the closet. Not enough room to work in the closet either. I had to pull the machine into the walkway to turn it around. I had to do a PM and no place to put all the parts except in the walkway. Most of the people in there needed to be in jail. Not the kind of room you want to bend over to pick up anything up in(whether you're a guy or a girl).

[mjarbar]

How about the fact that if you lose a screw down the back of a machine it will require you to take off all the main boards and power supply to retrieve it.

Actually how about copier roulette, just like Russian roulette but will the copier work if you switch it on with the screw still down the back or will it be sparks and smoke!!!

[mrwho]

If a cust tries out the machine you just got finished working on while your still in the copier room, it will break, again.

That's why when I finish servicing a copier and the operator asks "Can I try it?", I answer most of the times "Sure, just give me a 5 minute head start!"

Actually how about copier roulette, just like Russian roulette but will the copier work if you switch it on with the screw still down the back or will it be sparks and smoke!!!

I usually check if there's any horizontal board nearby where it might be resting. If there isn't, I just give the machine a good shake (in case it's sitting on a vertical-mounted board) to make the screw fall down and then, if I can't still pick it up, I just cross my fingers and turn it on!

[fixthecopier]

The further you have to drive, the more likely you forgot something.

The more the boss raves about the new hire, the bigger a loser he will be.


If the customer says he does not like the copier, you will never be done fixing it.

Assholes get the problem machines.

Really nice people, make you feel bad you could not fix it.

And remember, that piece of crap machine you worked on once when someone was out, will break every time you do not have any thing else to do now.

[TheOwl]

When ever you tell the customer that the problem is an easy fix and just an operator setting.

You go to show the customer how to fix the problem and it ends up with the machine in a thousand pieces.

[Shadow1]

The chance a customer will want a full technical explanation of what you did is inversely proportional to the chance the customer is capable of understanding it.

[mrwho]

The chance a customer will want a full technical explanation of what you did is inversely proportional to the chance the customer is capable of understanding it.

Well, that one doesn't sound so bad - you just fill it with jargon and tech-speak and the customer will just nod dumbly.

I used that one on a customer's kid when I was off-time looking at a computer problem - graphics driver update.

Kid: "What are you doing?"
Me: "I'm just updating the graphics driver."
Kid: "You're what the what?!?"

Sadly, grown ups usually don't go this far, they just turn dumb-mode ON and keep nodding away!

[ToshibaTech]

If you see a unique problem today. You will see it 2 or 3 more times within a week.

If you think about taking your vacuum in and don't you will have to go back and get it along with a manual and several parts.

If you didn't double check the thing you just thought about going down the road then you either left it out or didn't put it back together right. Trying to convince your self otherwise only makes the customer call back sooner.

The most complex problem you imagine on your way to a call will inevitably be what is actually wrong with the machine.

[davidj7]

If one machine needs a spare, rest of the machines in the same area needs it too.

[donaldtex]

If you choose not to take with you the bulky manual next time, you will NEED it with the next machine,

EVERYONE will be staring at you while you are trying to find how to clear a jam/install toner in the new machine you're not yet familiar with.

[KenB]

The likelihood of being forced to pay for parking soars astronomically when you have moths in your wallet.