Where to go from here?

[Ricoh-ono]

I would first like to state that I have been in the copier business for 20 years. Like many of you, I have seen changes in our industry, some good and some bad. We've been told that the need for copiers and printers are in decline for some time now. The competition for sales and services are won or lost over fractions of a cent. Companies are picking up services for equipment outside of their "wheel house" in order to stay profitable because their technicians are highly skilled and can fix almost anything. While this can be exciting to some it can be concerning to others.

Technicians in our business are talented in many ways. The amount of knowledge and training needed to do this job effectively is extensive. Companies demand IT certifications from their service teams. It takes people with a unique skill set to be able to support the mechanical, electronic, and technical aspect of the job. Customer service, communication, and conflict resolution are just some of the other tools we carry in with us. Time management, inventory management, accurate documentation, and just being self reliant at times are other skills we posses.

I say all of this to point out how undervalued and underpaid technicians in our industry are. There seems to be a challenge for companies to find new talent that wants to work for the amount offered, not to mention an industry that is in supposed decline. So I'm at a decisive crossroad to continue to hold on as as long as I can adapting to the changes or to search for a growing industry that will value and compensate these skills. Asking myself "Where to go from here?"

[Bix]

Re: Where to go from here?

Computer technical assistance
It could be an idea?

[allan]

Re: Where to go from here?

This will be self regulating in a way. Sooner or later the owners will realize the need for these skills and aptitudes and would simply need to pay more to keep a good team. Just takes a real bad taste in a costumers mouth to make the pay then fraction of a cent more for a functional service.

Some more on this.

Ever thought of ... different work?

[ddude]

Re: Where to go from here?

I find field service work a nice opportunity- you do not have to be in the same office every day, all day, day after day. In the field, you control your destiny-you can choose your path, you pick your lunch hour, you have a freedom that you cannot get in an office or warehouse environment. The flexibility of being able to choose where your next call will be, and how you choose to travel to that next customer, is a nice change of pace, and you can do this on most days. The pay is good (not great for most), but the opportunity and the ability to choose your future is so great. For those that like freedom without the burden of owning a business, field service is very nice. If you are with a company that is micro-managing the techs, or that is pushing bad policy to the field employees, you may just be in the wrong company, not in the wrong line of work.

Good pay is important, but enjoying what you do for that pay is essential.

[allan]

Re: Where to go from here?

I find field service work a nice opportunity- you do not have to be in the same office every day, all day, day after day. In the field, you control your destiny-you can choose your path, you pick your lunch hour, you have a freedom that you cannot get in an office or warehouse environment. The flexibility of being able to choose where your next call will be, and how you choose to travel to that next customer, is a nice change of pace, and you can do this on most days. The pay is good (not great for most), but the opportunity and the ability to choose your future is so great. For those that like freedom without the burden of owning a business, field service is very nice. If you are with a company that is micro-managing the techs, or that is pushing bad policy to the field employees, you may just be in the wrong company, not in the wrong line of work.

Good pay is important, but enjoying what you do for that pay is essential.

That "freedom" is not every bodies cup of tee. After many years the novelty has worn off. Would much rather stay in on place.
Loath the idea of traveling these days. Would almost choose a workshop job over being a field tech.

[copyman]

Re: Where to go from here?

I like the freedom of being out of an office everyday. Over the years I have been offered big money for management positions but turned it down because it meant I would be sitting in one office all day!

Like I have posted on this forum the "old style" technician is a dying breed. Copier techs now a days are IT people that they hand a screwdriver to. Unfortunately "most" of these IT people don't want to get their hands dirty and are unhappy doing copier repairs. The best model I've seen for a big company is having an IT dept separate. Then you have happy people instead of IT people that really don't want that screwdriver in their hand!

[copiertec]

Re: Where to go from here?

That "freedom" is not every bodies cup of tee. After many years the novelty has worn off. Would much rather stay in on place.
Loath the idea of traveling these days. Would almost choose a workshop job over being a field tech.

I am with you to an extent. Maybe it is because I am getting older but, most drivers seems super pissed off, in a rush to get to a mindless job so they can pay for that new car and pay off that credit card to keep up with the people next door... just an observation on my part, so I do not like the express way. But, I do not mind a two hour ride out to the country to repair office machines, put on a classical music station and just enjoy the ride, I still find the workshop to restricting. Re: Where to go from here?
I too have run into the new "paperless" offices. I still do not get it... but it exists. I went to an office that had a broken brother printer and the lady said that they just use it for scanning and the "occasional wet signature," and did not want to spend the money on repair work which was document feeder related. They just wanted to buy another $200 printer, they cringed when I gate them a price on a "real" office MFP. How about new technologies such as learning to work on 3-D printers? Somebody will need to repair them.

[Bix]

Re: Where to go from here?

3D printers have existed for a while but have not yet been successful.

[guitar9199]

Re: Where to go from here?

I like the freedom of being out of an office everyday. Over the years I have been offered big money for management positions but turned it down because it meant I would be sitting in one office all day!

Like I have posted on this forum the "old style" technician is a dying breed. Copier techs now a days are IT people that they hand a screwdriver to. Unfortunately "most" of these IT people don't want to get their hands dirty and are unhappy doing copier repairs. The best model I've seen for a big company is having an IT dept separate. Then you have happy people instead of IT people that really don't want that screwdriver in their hand!

Back when the earth was cooling off and dinosaurs still wandered about freely, copier techs wore suits and ties going into service calls, but we were looked upon as little more than a "Janitor with a meter"! We would often troubleshoot issues down to component level, rather than just doing a board-swap!

Most service calls involved just cleaning something (Sensors, Feed Rollers, etc.) in order to get the machine working again. There was no "I.T.' component to what we did. PM's were time/labor intensive. Once the drum and developer was replaced, you had to MANUALLY adjust bias voltage....which was a pain on some models. Some models ran with liquid toner in a tank that no matter HOW careful you were, you were going to ruin your nice white dress shirt. It wasn't a matter of "IF"....but when! Don't get me started on fuser oil!!

Until they actually create some method of digital document archival that's not susceptible to catastrophic failure and data loss from power spikes, surges or EMP, there's always going to be a need for the copier. Hell, the US Government STILL considers "Microfiche" as the go-to method of archiving paper. This may be true...but try finding a microfiche reader these days, let alone one with a printer on it!!

[ABrady]

Re: Where to go from here?

This is truly becoming an epidemic problem for the copier industry. Like you i have been in the industry for a 1/4 of a century and I am not sure that where it will head. Thank you for opening this thread it has been very interesting reading some different view points.

[allan]

Re: Where to go from here?

3D printers have existed for a while but have not yet been successful.

3D printing has its place my desktop machine does some real great work.
The quality of product relies on who operates it.
Its a simple machine that is super easy to repair.
A copier is 30 fold more complex than a 3D printer.

The stuff i produced on my cheap machine is superb.
New tech can manufacture in a 10th of the time of FDM processes, geometry not possible by any other means.
Would say it works pretty well.