Business & The Economy

[JustManuals]

So how is business going for everyone in this economy?
Personally I had a slow month in January but that is usual, but February is going great guns so far.

Paul@justmanuals.com

[Jimbo1]

So far as I can tell, unless they are lying to me, this company is stable.

They are a small privately owned company with little or no debt so they aren't running around trying to borrow on top of the debt.

Hope they stay good cause I was the last tech hired. Last one in first one out I always heard.

[cobiray]

New equipment sales are down, but we are getting a good number of rentals out. We've also expanded to do some print-for-pay jobs for some of our clients which, when priced properly, can be pretty lucrative. Billable service was down, but it's gauged on when we actually get paid so no surprise there. Our volume seems to be the same, no real big change in usage from what I've seen.

[ZeusGT]

So far, January was slow for me too, but I was able to make up for that in Febuary.

We are a small company as well with no debt and our used copiers are selling like hotcakes. Rentals are picking up as well, but new machine sales are far and few.

We have developed a pay as you use plan for our sevice contracts.. A lot of our customers think that it's a pretty fair deal as I tend to think so too. I agree, it does pay out better for us and the customer when done properly.

I expect March to pick up even better than Febuary, but we'll see. The recession doesn't bite this industry as hard as it does a lot of others... we are all blessed!

[rthonpm]

Things have been good for my company as well. A lot of our more stubborn customers have been open to upgrading since it seems like the sales weasels are almost giving the stuff away, but it brings in clicks and has gotten some real dogs (AF200, 1035 etc) off my territory.

[mjarbar]

Hello all,

Across the pond we are in the same boat, not much new equipment going out but we are rushed off our feet with refurb's.

The volume is down over all but we have an increased colour usage which is taking up some of the slack.

We - like a lot of companies I think - are just looking to ensure that spending is going where it's needed and not on the "that would be nice" items.

[fixthecopier]

So far so good. My area is contract copiers mostly and my contract is 1 year into a 5 year run. I get a lot of paid printer work, so as people try to save, they fix the old instead of buying new. This part of my state will do well despite what the national economy does. With base realignment bringing the command of the Army here, we are expecting around 30,000 new people moving to the area. Since most will have all have military paychecks, that should keep my community doing well for a while. With them will come all the companies that do most of their business with the military. They are starting construction of an industrial park next to base to put them in. This opens the door for lots of new clients, and we get a ton of rental business from units who come here to train. Must be a few hundred million dollars worth of construction going on now and the stimulus money has not started yet. I have sold two Bizhubs in the last two months to construction companies working the base.

[mjarbar]

Hello all,

Just learned that Ikon have gone onto a four day working week in the UK.

Does anyone know if this is becoming the norm in the industry or could us techs do with even more time? - Not that we would really want to work longer hours.

[fixthecopier]

Since my post 4 weeks ago, my company hired another tech, and then told us that because of the economy we had to watch our parts usage. I have seen no downturn in business. I believe that some companies use the state of the economy as an excuse to cut back and hold out on pay increases. You would think that people not buying new machines would cause an increase in business for repair of old equipment.