What was your biggest oopsy on a call??

[fixthecopier]

OUCH! That hurt.

We had a guy at the shop working on a cheap Wal-Mart shredder and had it plugged in. We found out that the cheap ones will grind off a thumb as easy as the more expensive ones. Sad part was he played bass guitar.

I pull the plug when I work shredders in the field...except for, right before Christmas I was working on 2 giant Intimus security shredders, and I and the head tech at the factory were unable to determine what was wrong. He was having me test some of the switches by unplugging them and making a jumper with a paper clip to check the circuit. If you have never seen the inside of a big box like this, this beast has giant capacitors that are almost as big as a copier drum. In other words, it takes a lot of juice to start it. the PWB 'A" is in a confined space, and as I was tring to hit the spot with my home made jumper, I missed and slid my paper clip onto a hot post, which tried to start the machine, which caused the capacitors to open up, which caused the tech to get blown back about 5 feet. About the second I made contact with the hot post, time stood still for a second, and as I could feel the electricity start to run up my arm, I managed to utter the words "OH SHIT", before getting kicked out of it. Those are the words that when yelled loud enough, will bring everyone in the office to stand around you, and since they all knew me they did not hesitate to laugh and make fun. For about a week later I still had a burn mark on my hand that iched. On the plus side, I fixed both of them.

[Eric1968]

I once put a 110V Power Supply in an 220V machine. Fireworks!!!

[hammer]

Whoops!!

I was explaining to a customer that the machine shouldn't be so tight to the wall. When she asked why, i asked her, "How well would you work if your were being banged up against the wall?" Only after i had finished saying it did i realise how it sounded. (i know this site is viewed globally, so in case the language divide causes difficulty, "being banged" is a very rude way of saying "roughly making love to"!!!!!

[Lea@ABM]

Was servicing a Sharp SF8500 on a balcolny above a Porsche car showroom in Nottingham 1992ish.

Took out the full waste toner bottle which is tall and thin making it an unstable object even if it was empty and as I put it down the side of the machine next to the cabinet, it fell forward and emptied its contents over the cars below to my horror!

Everyone was running around shouting and screaming as the black cloud settled. I was so embarraced as I was only about 20 and kept saying "I am sooo sorry!" whilst so redfaced I felt the sweat running down my face.

Luckily though, the car that got the most toner over it was a red hardtop 911 where as up the other end of the showroom was a white cabriolet with cream leather seats! Ouch, that could have been bad.

I no longer work for that company and have my own business but its a good reminder why you should always have sufficient liability insurance in place for events like this one.

[Copier Whisperer]

I was installing a sorter on a copier in a classroom at a special needs school when one of the students lost control of his bowels and messed himself. The other students started gagging as the stench filled the room. One of the kids yelled "Billy crapped himself again". A few minutes later, the bell rang and the class was dismissed. Then, the students for the next class started to enter the room. You should have seen the dirty looks I got. My explaination that "Billy did it" really did not help.

[copymon]

Early 80s when I was a newbe tech, used to have to wear neck ties. Working on a Sharp 810, good ole chain drive machine it was, yep my tie went right in to one while it was running, tie went through a sprocket an popped back out while the customer was watching.

[vincent64]

Why would anyone put a machine in a place like a machine like that old sharp up on a balcolny like that, they did not have some closet to put it in.

[vincent64]

Early 80s when I was a newbe tech, used to have to wear neck ties. Working on a Sharp 810, good ole chain drive machine it was, yep my tie went right in to one while it was running, tie went through a sprocket an popped back out while the customer was watching.

We gave up on ties, went with uniform shirts and pants from a service, only pain is getting them in to the shop once a week, or wash them myself, least when I do it, its a bit softer, they like the starch in them

[Lea@ABM]

Why would anyone put a machine in a place like a machine like that old sharp up on a balcolny like that, they did not have some closet to put it in.

Duh! In 1992 the SF8500 was a brand new machine!

[vincent64]

Duh! In 1992 the SF8500 was a brand new machine!

Oh I know it was new back then, just surprised to find it out in the open up on a balcolny as you descrbe, most dealerships want them hidden, least the ones I have been in to service copiers.

[mascan42]

My first solo call ever, I was changing the fuser roll on a Xerox 5034, and the bearings wouldn't come off. I pulled so hard to get it loose, that when it finally did, I lost hold of the roller, which fell over right onto the fuser lamp, shattering it. I thought my first day on the job would be my last.

[robscopyr]

Biggest oops

Stopped for breakfast at a Truck Stop, 75 miles to my first call, had corned beef hash and eggs. My stomach began to rumble as I pulled into the driveway for a new high end housing community. I got two screws out of the machine and realize I had about 20 seconds to find the toilet! 15 minutes later I was asking for a plunger and a mop. Worst part about it, the customer was an extreeeeeeeeemly pretty woman, and new my service manager, I never lived it down.

[hammer]

Biggest oops

The toilet one's are always the funniest. I was in this customer's once, and they had a small Ricoh, clam shell machine. The machine was in the small canteen/kitchen with the toilet just off the room. I had the stomach rumbles for a while, so decided to relieve myself in this toilet. The smell was not pretty! I'm not proud of it, but these things happen!! I got back to fixing the copier and a guy walked into the kitchen, and toward the toilet. Behind me I could hear as he approached the door, and opened it. The next thing I heard was, " Oh Jesus!". To be fair to him, he carried on in and did his business!

[blackcat4866]

This was my first solo service call. Not exactly solo. The two greenhorns were sent out to rebuild a fuser on a Mita DC-313Z.

Well, we got the heater lamp out and set it on a shelf across the room. Like every other 313Z the fuser bearings were seized onto the heat roller. So we removed the outer rings from the bearings to remove the roller/bearing assembly. He's got a 10" flat blade screwdriver & so do I, and together we're prying on these bearings.

The bearing on the gear end popped off, and (I remember seeing this in slow motion) flipped end-for-end through the air and landed right in the middle of the heater lamp 16 feet away on the shelf! There is no way that we could repeat that shot!

=^..^=

[copytechman]

Blast those heater lamps! Heh! Here's my version! Working on a Lanier 5245 (Aficio 450 Yay!!) doin' the fuser in a very confined space.. pretty new as well.. put the lamps down and off to the side where I THOUGHT they'd be safe... not! No sooner than I put them down than about 2 mins later someone steps over me (yeah thats right) and right onto the lamps (@#&!) didn't even say sorry! Glad I had spares @ my shop like 5 mins way! Those lamps make an awful crunching noise!!!

Regards!
A.