Minimum calls per day?

[Navy]

I interviewed with a dealer recently and everything sounded good to me except they have a minimum calls per day policy for the techs. I thought is was a little strange that the amount of calls was more important then the quality of the call. There is always a pressure to get the most done for the least time but it is still strange that they were so hit-and-run

does anyone else work like this, I never have and it seems really strange.

[CMB]

what was he asking for min calls? 4 to 6 is what i feel comfrontable in doing and do a good job. now if all you work on is konica c-500, thats a different story. 4 hours to do a pm-right.

[Hallmark]

Working for Toshiba, we are expected to average 4.5 call per day each month. The benchmarks we have do have a weighted value when considered for pay increases, but they are not shoved down our throats. Management is aware of certain machines and situations which skew the numbers, and they take those things into consideration. Like connectivity calls and PM's on color machines; which generally take several hours.

[CMB]

same here. what about response times? we have a 4 hour response time on in town calls. 8 on out of town.
most are done much quicker than that . most months i'll have a 2 hour average, others i'll have a 5 hour average. it all depends if it is a busy month or not.

[Hallmark]

We have a 4 hour response time as well on most calls. If it is a PM call the response time is 72 hours and certain other situations will bump up the response time. However, each customer is expected to receive a call ahead within two hours of the tech receiving the call. This has several benefits. Like being able to correct the problem over the phone, scheduling the best time for the customer (which stops the response time), and getting an idea of how long the call will take.

Unfortunately, it has not been easy to hold these response times lately. In my own case I have had about 8 calls left each day after doing 5 or 6. We have 14 techs in this area and we are all swamped. In the last few months we have put out a lot of product, and some of us techs have had to work out of town to work with a couple of new companies we have acquired. Hopefully things will slow down a bit soon in service.

[Techlady]

Same as Hallmark - field has a benchmark of 4.5 calls per day. Meeting this number plays a small role in annual evaluations. We do have weights and balances in place for small machines vs large machines. The industry standard seems to be 4.5 (CDA, BTA, Johnson model, etc.) and most of our techs get there, even if it involves high segment machines and color PMs. Our numbers are based on monthly statistics.

[Project Warder]

I dont have any minimum calls per day. Some days i can get one job done, other days i can knock off 6 or more. Seeing as i'm the only tech with this company in this area and have had minimal training, i do what i can. Sometimes i have another tech in teaching/helping me and we can do up to and over 10 jobs in the day, and we can clear our board of all jobs. This is also a regional area and probably have only a % of the customers you guys have.

Our call times can be immediate (some of our customers bring in enough money for us to prioritise, though the general customer doesnt know this) up to a few weeks. Depending on location and importance. Some of our customers are close on 10 hours away, and it costs us too much to send somebody out there for a single job. Some of the customers are willing/able to wait until we have another job or two out that way, or even fewer are willing to cover the costs of hiring a second vehicle (usually 4WD), accomodation, hourly rate of the trip, etc, etc. Comes to a few thousand for some. We just take each job as it comes and prioritise as needed. Once i get more training i can get more jobs done. Fun fun.

[choicecopyguy]

Our avarage is about 5 a day, sometimes more sometimes less, depends on the situation for that day. We are a small company, 4 techs and myself (serv mang), So I know what everyone is doing. We have coustomers up to 3 hrs away, so a tech going there with no other calls in that area may only get the one call done, but may turn around and get 10 done in town the next.

[CMB]

We have a 4 hour response time as well on most calls. If it is a PM call the response time is 72 hours and certain other situations will bump up the response time. However, each customer is expected to receive a call ahead within two hours of the tech receiving the call. This has several benefits. Like being able to correct the problem over the phone, scheduling the best time for the customer (which stops the response time), and getting an idea of how long the call will take.

Unfortunately, it has not been easy to hold these response times lately. In my own case I have had about 8 calls left each day after doing 5 or 6. We have 14 techs in this area and we are all swamped. In the last few months we have put out a lot of product, and some of us techs have had to work out of town to work with a couple of new companies we have acquired. Hopefully things will slow down a bit soon in service.

thats what it sounds like when i used to work for another company. where i'm at now, we don't carry pagers, and the dispatcher is responsible for everything. all we do is call her and get the next call. we don't communicate with our customers too much except when we are at thier office.

[Techcec]

That is true dont know if all Photocopier company is like that It was my first job after graduating from QBI THE TRAINING INSTITUTE,Study Electronic Office Machine Repair.
I was not trained on Color copiers but you have to fix them
they gave one hour at each site. I would like any tech to responed to this how long it should take you to clean a copier.Ricoh 3800c you recieved a error code transport belt.I dont quite remember the number by doing a visual inspection.You realize Cyan had leak all over the copier all the draws.Feed rollers seperation pad every where.

[Cipher]

4 to 5 calls a day is good day.

But if you are primarily working on small machines you are more likely to clear alot more service calls than someone that is primarily given larger more complex machines to service.

My boss understands that and does not really care about the call rate ratio between techs.
As long as we are on top of the work load and our return call rate is low he is happy.

[Techcec]

I realize that your employer is one in a million which all were like your employer.The job I refered to was pure hell I am not good on telling lyies.
Techs at the company that I was working would go to a job site to fix one machine and end up fixing two or three.I could not do it I just stay and make sure my work is done very good.Some of the sevice calls I did were already done by more experience techs.It was a learning experience for me know I know what to expect.I even went to other tech job site and help them out.This is what a good team plyaer supose to do it all back fire on me.At the end of the week there calls per day was OK mine was nopthing but crap.One of the tech that I help did not did not know a copier from a printer.One thing I gained allot of knowledge working on Ricohs.Thanks for the reply hope to fined a employer like yours.
This type of employer would be the ideal employer for a entry teck lot of grouth opportunity.I am well mechanically inclined studing to become A+ certified after that Network+ certification.

[Mr Spock]

The new company I work for has a "unique" policy. Keep the customer and the Service manager happy. Call customer within 30-45 minutes of recieving page, 4-8 hours response (usually 3-5), and as many calls a day as is possible ( 1-6 depending on driving distance and machine type). Just this past Friday, we (I am still riding with tech for training) did 3 calls and hit 200+ miles of driving. Left only one machine down and one live call at the end of the day and waiting on parts for three others from Thursday.

[Wild Bill]

Quality before quantity!

My advice for those new techs in the business. I would always start with a thorough cleaning. Always do quality work. Dont work slow but as quickly and comfortably as you can. Things have to get done, but a new tech if you rush you might forget something critical or break something. It happens to me still when I rush a job for someone. If you have a problem that you can't figure out here is the way I would handle it. This is the same way I do it now after 20 years.

Note:Unless boss says hit and run.
Start by serviceing the machine. Wherever you start. I start with Vacuuming and cleaning the inside dv/drum/paper path/ wires/inspect fuser, then clean the optics/ADF/feed rollers. Clean the covers good where the customer can access. Inside front door/outside/glass ect..

I would say 90% of wierd problems will be resolved. A lot of techs because they are under so much pressure can't do some of the real important stuff like this. Keep this practice up and you wil get faster and faster and work less rushed than now trust me.

If the problem is not resolved then #1. The boss or another techs will say to himself and others"man this guy did a good cleaning," Not.."This guy is worthless he left this thing a pig." #2. The customers will also notice. Most understand that it is a electrical mechanical piece of equipment and things happen, But that tech did clean our copier good. Heck with the others, getting respect from your fellow techs is most important. You are also very wise to come to this board and other boards for tech info, you can't have enough technical support! Good luck and God Bless!

Something else, we have been doing more and more HP Printers. I average 4-5 copiers per day, but when I am on printers that goes up to 10-15 calls, I love laser printers!

[Ikoner]

Hit and run service never works out in the long run. You end up with machines full of little BS problems. Fix what they call about and then give everything a quick clean and check. Run an adequate amount of test copies because 20 single sided copies off the glass may be good for a segment 1 machine but isn't even a start on a 60 page per minute machine. look at CQ, Listen to the machine run, ask the user if they have had any other problems and then make your exit. Hopefully you wont be back for a while.