Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

[fixthecopier]

We all have those customers who trust us. They know nothing about thier equipment, because they have us. My best customers trust me. I know this because of them telling me to "fix it" and never asking how much it will be. Just last week when I saw John, he said "you did a great job on Chief's printer, but you didn't leave me a bill". "That's because the adjustment I made is something I should have done when I put the door on. you don't owe me anything." I could have made up a part name and given him a bill for 2 or 3 hundred dollars and he would have paid it. I did another one today for a regular. The printer would not print. Reason? Paper drawer guides not set properly. Again I could have made up anything, but told her, "Paper drawer not adjusted, I am not going to charge you for that". She would have paid whatever I said. There are so many times I could jack up the bill, and I do get paid by what I bring in, but to me people trusting me with their {taxpayer} money is like a badge of honor. I am sure there are many who can't resist the temptation. Have any of you known these techs? I was always of the opinion that if you do not lie, you do not have to remember what you said.

[nmfaxman]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

I have a standing rule that I won't charge if I don't turn a screw or fix the machine. I know that eventually they will call me back and it will need parts.
One of my competitors turns meters back on copiers, offers 5 year warranty (or 20K what ever comes first in fine print). Sell generic toner @ 5 times what I would sell OEM for and put used drums in color machines. They have changed their company name 4 times in 6 years so they are no longer liable for warranty work.

I get more repeat business because of my honesty and fair billing practices.

Karma is for real.

[Rob Sandberg]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

My boss and I listed all the tech we have met that would and have cheated a customer.
this took about 45 mins. Most of these type of techs have been run out of town.

Most of my customer are not brain dead and know BS when they hear it.
If not it is my job to provide a good bs meter (patend pending).


Rob S

[KenB]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

That's one reason I'm really glad that my company has never paid commissions on parts sold or work performed - it removes the temptation.

If spiffs were paid, we do have two techs who would probably see it as a way to fund their retirement accounts.

We do pay on qualified (and sold) leads for new MFPs, printers, network services, etc..., but those are things that the customer actually benefits from.

[NeoMatrix]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

I have a normal one-to-one relationship with my customers.

The costing of my customers is by means directly proportional to their attitude. In the positive I charge no more, in the negative I charge no less. I'm nearly certain I speak for a large percentage of business practice when I say that.

It's a good thing in that I don't have too many bad customers....

[mojorolla]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

I am a firm believer in Karma. I think this sums it up nicely:

cheap.jpg

[mrwho]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

There are basically two kinds of people reading this thread: the honest ones, and the dishonest ones.

The honest ones don't need any advise. For the dishonest ones, think about this: if you keep lying, overcharging and scamming your customers, they'll find out eventually and you'll lose them. It's hard to win a customer, it's 1000x harder to win a customer you've lost before.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

I have a "first time is free" rule for most avoidable situations. If those cassette guides are not broken, yet out of position a second time, it's a half hour labor. If I have to install toner a second time 1/2 hour. If the same part is busted off a second time, it's parts cost plus 1/2 hour labor. Everybody get a chance to learn. I have very little patience for damage. =^..^=

[ddude]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

We all have those customers who trust us. They know nothing about thier equipment, because they have us. My best customers trust me. I know this because of them telling me to "fix it" and never asking how much it will be. Just last week when I saw John, he said "you did a great job on Chief's printer, but you didn't leave me a bill". "That's because the adjustment I made is something I should have done when I put the door on. you don't owe me anything." I could have made up a part name and given him a bill for 2 or 3 hundred dollars and he would have paid it. I did another one today for a regular. The printer would not print. Reason? Paper drawer guides not set properly. Again I could have made up anything, but told her, "Paper drawer not adjusted, I am not going to charge you for that". She would have paid whatever I said. There are so many times I could jack up the bill, and I do get paid by what I bring in, but to me people trusting me with their {taxpayer} money is like a badge of honor. I am sure there are many who can't resist the temptation. Have any of you known these techs? I was always of the opinion that if you do not lie, you do not have to remember what you said.

Keep in mind, however, that if you 'give away' a service that is to be chargeable, you are now cheating (or stealing from)your company. There are times when 'this one is on me' is good customer relations, but you need to be fair- to both parties-

[Lagonda]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

Most of our guys don't charge when they should because they can't be bothered doing the paper work, how ever the last service manager was fired when he was caught selling parts out the back door.

[mrwho]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

Keep in mind, however, that if you 'give away' a service that is to be chargeable, you are now cheating (or stealing from)your company.

Not only that, but the customer will get used to have his machine fixed for free (at least on relatively simple situations).

[fixthecopier]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

Keep in mind, however, that if you 'give away' a service that is to be chargeable, you are now cheating (or stealing from)your company. There are times when 'this one is on me' is good customer relations, but you need to be fair- to both parties-

No cheating my company. I am the only one who would not charge a customer and have the highest amount of paid work coming in. A lot of my no charge decisions come from them having paid me for service in the last 90 days. Sometimes I find myself breaking down charges for quick fixes. Calling for the same stupid thing will get you charged every second or third time. My biggest adversary is the government. One part of the base is supposed to print everything on my competitors Ricoh MFP's @ 4 cents a page for b/w. Lots of them defies the rules and pay me to keep the old HP's running to save money. Another section has an IT contract that says they will take care of the printers. They won't actually, they just put that in the contract to get the contract awarded. They then refuse to put anything on the network that is not under warranty. This forces the user to buy new stuff that is under someone else's warranty and will most likely not need service. They also have in the contract that all product must be HP, which makes it easier on the IT guy for simple problems by having the same product everywhere. HP does not keep a tech out here and besides it cost money to send one out so they seem to prefer you to mail the printer to them. So now we have government locations that have brand new printers and will pay me for service rather than use the warranty. I just went to a call on a shredder that was new and they didn't buy it from me. The only problem was the oil tank was low. I poured oil in. I was not going to charge but they told me too so I would put my label on it so they could call me.

In my town I have not encountered any crooked techs, but when I get to see the waste on these contracts and people being forced to turn in perfectly good equipment by the rules they are supposed to follow, I think that is massive waste on a huge scale, but because it is government, it is just big business. How about that. The most crooked one in my area is my biggest customer, the government. Did I mention the HP 4250 that was getting turned in because parts were not available? The part it needed was a toner cartridge. Need I say more?



As far as the question about weather paying a tech extra for paid work is good or bad, I will take the position that ist is great for the company. I feel the reason I get a lot of work in my competitors territory is because I ask for it. I will walk into a room uninvited and hand my card to someone I see struggling with a printer. I am guessing the techs for the other side do not, based on me never seeing their label on anything. I would not pick up half the calls I do if it did not benefit me with pay. Before anyone comments, I already have more work than i can do. A tech with plenty of work usually does not ask for more, at least the ones I know don't. Having worked in industry for years and been screwed out of many bonuses I like this system of profit sharing. If I make a profit, I get a share. That does motivate me.

[prntrfxr]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

There is a happy balance. If you do too much for free, 1. you will get taken advantage of, 2. you won't be respected and they will cry about every tiny thing, 3. when you finally charge them, and they get mad about the price in an effort to get more for free. If you charge for everything, including them not loading paper correctly, you will lose the client to a competitor.

How I've handled this in the past:

1. Charge for estimate. After fixing it, cut the charge in half.
2. Educate your customer. If there is something that is a dumb fix, like plugging their printer in, loading paper correctly, or changing cartridge. Explain it the first time it happens. Tell them you won't charge them for the first time, but any future instances will incur a charge.
3. Charge them when it is a repeat mistake. If it is really dumb, like turning the machine on (note this is after checking with them on the phone before you go out), charge them, especially if they're a repeat offender.
4. If you make a mistake. Own up to it and make it right. Clients will remember this and trust you. Lying to them will only come back to bite you on the behind. If they find out you lied or made something up, they will never trust you again.
5. If you make a promise, keep it. Even if it was a mistake and you end up losing money. You will never make the mistake again and once again, clients remember that.

I gave a client a free estimate once for something easy to fix, and they went online, bought it cheaper and installed it themselves. I learned after that to always make sure to charge for the estimate. At least, you get paid for your time and effort.

[Ollie1981]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

I think a the crux of this comes down to the ethos of the company you work for and the kind of technician you are. Are your customers just a number on a spreadsheet? Or a cash cow to be milked?

The problem I have is that I cover such a large area containing so many major account customers (I could spend two days fixing machines one after the other on the same site and not speak with the same person each time) that it's difficult to strike up a rapport with a customer.

From an earlier life repairing domestic appliances (including stuff out on rental, warranty repairs, or parts and labour repairs) I remember having a rapport with a few customers. Some customers stayed renting their appliances from us for years when they could easily afford to buy because they liked the service. Customers who knew me would come to the in-store service desk and ask me what I recommended they buy/rent next because they trusted my opinion over the salesman. The store manager was never happy about this as all the sales guys worked on commission and obviously wanted to point the customer towards the biggest ticket items they could but this, IMHO neglects the bigger picture for short term profit.

If you sell a customer a product that they are completely happy with (this includes any service/warranty) then they are more likely to become a repeat customer. They may not have purchased the biggest ticket item in the shop netting the biggest profit at point of sale, but if they keep coming back year on year then the total amount of money they spend with your business is going to be much higher. Also if you look after the customer, they are more likely to tell their friends, family and business associates about their experience bringing in new business.

I always tread carefully when charging a customer, especially customers who are on service contracts (time and materials calls get charged for everything regardless, but I make sure they understand that with a phone call prior to coming out to them). It depends greatly on the attitude of the person I'm dealing with, sometimes things get broken or don't work properly because people don't know what they are doing, sometimes they are having a bad day/week etc and the copier takes the brunt of that. I often find if I explain to somebody who's interested what exactly the problem was and am careful not to use an accusatory or patronising tone, then take a little time to effectively train them. I oftentimes don't have to attend for that issue again. If the person I try and explain to has a "Oh! So you're saying it's my fault!" or a "It's not my job to deal with the copier" attitude then I often find I'm back out within a couple of days for the same damn thing, then IMO I have to charge, because if me taking the time out to explain and train somebody isn't enough to solve the problem, then a bill gives them something to think about.

Breakages, especially on parts I know to not be especially fragile are always chargeable. For instance unless a customer can explain exactly the circumstances under which a machine managed to smash all of it's inverter gates and PTR bracket completely from it's side door itself, without a large red faced man helping it to do so with physical violence and swearing, then they have to pay. They have no excuses, the machine is leased so it doesn't belong to them and it is under a maintenance contract... any problems they can't solve they can call us out to deal with it all included in what they already pay. You try hiring/leasing a car, then one day find it won't start so instead of calling the company to bring out a breakdown truck go get a hammer and start beating on the engine and bodywork and when they bill you for the damage say, by way of explanation, "The stupid thing wouldn't start, it pissed me off so I taught it a lesson, I don't see why I should have to pay" and just see how far that gets you.

However if something is a known fragile part (i.e the green hopper handle on a Ricoh 1027 type machine) and is relatively cheap, provided they don't break it on a super-regular basis then I think just let it go. Also if a customer calls you out and it turns out to be something quick and simple (that you could strictly charge for) also let that go. The value of the goodwill or rapport you might have with that customer far outweighs anything you'll manage to charge them in those circumstances.

[fixthecopier]

Re: Anybody know of "crooked techs"?

I try to use a 25 to 30 dollar range for stuff broken off of contract machines. I let that go if it is a good customer. Sometimes I let the customer make the call if he damaged it and it will be costly. About 2 or 3 years ago I got a call when I was having a bad day with a Di450. Customer calls and says they only needed a few overhead transparencies and one of the students suggested using page protectors out of a binder, and well, they melted in the machine. As stated I was having a bad day and the only thing I could think to say was "I am going to come fix it, but before I do I am going home to get my gun and I am going to shoot your stupid ass when I get out there". Well that inspired him to dig out all the melted plastic before I got there, leaving a scratch on the ufr. I told him if the scratch showed up as a mark on the print they would buy the whole fuser. Or they could live with the mark, your call. To this day I have not had one complaint about a mark on the prints. The customer seemed a little offended that I kept using the word stupid and I told him, "You don't understand, this isn't even the dumbest thing that has been done in this building to a copier". Then I told him a story about pouring liquids in a machine.