[Annoying] End Users and freebee info

[Morlock49]

What do you all think about end users (who dont want to pay for service call out) trying to fix their machines, and when they cock it up, they want free advice on how to fix it?

The company I work for spends thousands every year on training, keeping our techs up to date on all the machines we service. Why should someone who is not associated with any copier/printer service dept, get free tech support.

I will help any other service tech to my best ability, but I will be dammed if I give out tech passwords and manuals to the un-initiated public.

This is my rant to the end user. You messed it up, now its going to cost you.

Wether you agree with me or not, what are your views?

[MR Bill]

If it's in the owners manual then I might help them a little. If under service contract you bet. Billable customers , Heck no.?

I will never give simulation codes or any thing that needs a screw driver to fix.

I'm not taking money out of my pocket.

[jonezy999]

I don't really mind helping anyone out. There is plenty of end users who have passed through this site and scored loads of info.
I do get ya point though, if it happened all day long then there would be no money in it for us. Ya could always tell them the machine has had it and sell em a new one

[fixthecopier]

I started this last week, what about when the end user is told by the warranty company to work on it...http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/ra...vice-ever.html

[TonerMunkeh]

You're always going to get end users posting on here begging for help with a copier they own and don't want to pay for it to get repaired. How do I reset such and such a code, where can I get the service manual, blah blah. As much as it irritates the shit out of me there's nothing that can be done about it, unless the end users are banned as soon as they are identified as end users. Classic example - aab1. He should have been shot at birth.

[pjdbm]

I have to know who I am dealing with before I do anything,I despise the endusers and beggars and do not like to be pushed.

I nip this shit in the "bud"

[WOETC]

I understand the point, but also understand where some of the end users are coming from. I limit the information I'm prepared to provide for other than techs. I'm aware that I go onto other forums to look for information in areas where I want to learn. I'm doing up an old house, and fixing up a caravan for my retirement. I'm an independant bastard, and try to find out how to do things without calling up a tradesman. I know that I've done stuff that could have been done by carpenters, electricians, plumbers or builders, and I'm not ashamed to go on the net and find out a bit more.

[prntrfxr]

I try to help them to a point but I'm not going to sit here and try to explain how to dot all the i's and cross all the t's. I figure if they can't figure it out and they mess up their machine they'll have to call a tech eventually. If they fix it, they may learn to love the feeling techs get when we fix something, (that feeling that you can't explain to anyone else, the one that keeps us doing this job day in day out) and become a tech sometime in the future themselves.

[gneebore]

I've been in the situation where an employee watched while I worked on Mita analog copiers. Then the moron went into service mode when I was gone and changed settings. He was very attentive and saw numbers pop up in the display while I was entering them. Not too hard since it is only a four digit code repeated. Then he would reset all the exsposure settings. Finally had to tell the owner of the company on the third call out to re-set the exposure defaults to keep the moron away from the copier. I actually wrote on the service ticket,"any changes in service mode by other than our service personel will result in voiding of the service agreement and hourly labor charges"

Then the dim wit was caught getting into service mode by the supervisor and fired. Too bad he went on to other customers and did the same thing at their offices too. I followed that jerk into five other companies before he got the bright idea to not touch any of our equipment.