Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

[Ricohlovers]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

I was one of the Ricoh techs that was cut after the merger. After being at a Kyocera Dealer since, I can honestly say that the daily stresses at Ricoh aged me. When I look back over my 28 years in the industry, I can think of any great memories of the 5 years I was at Ricoh. If you look back through time, Ricoh always tries to buy there way out by replacing all of their management every few years...eg Savin, Lanier.....MARK MY WORDS>>>In 5 years Ricoh will purchase another competitor and roll management again and notice that techs will always pay the price

Hi Venom,

I am fully agree with you. But I have some good memories from that experience which includes meeting a true gentleman. **Hint Hint... You***

[Venom]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

Hi Venom,

I am fully agree with you. But I have some good memories from that experience which includes meeting a true gentleman. **Hint Hint... You***

Thanks, I must say that I made a lot of friends there and enjoyed working with you. We didn't play their game so we didn't fit in. I can hold my head high that my job was done properly without cheating the numbers.
The Ricoh environment discourages teamwork and puts techs against techs. It is all about numbers...calls per day, response times, call interrupts, first call effectiveness, parts management....etc etc
Some techs play the game well, they close calls and revisit with a tech visit once they get part in so they don't have interrupt call and they get credit for 2 calls instead of 1, some guys would create tech visits while doing EM's and close calls on fax machines and printers, pretending like they serviced them. They know how to "time shift" their calls so it looks like they are always busy. They install whole units instead of using PM kits. When they would do a PM on a high end, they would split PM into 2 calls, fuser and drum/dev a couple of weeks later. I could never understand how the management was oblivious and always seems so busy making excel charts showing numbers...I guess that is how they made bonuses....making the numbers favorable for them.

[Wishbone]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

I was one of the Ricoh techs that was cut after the merger. After being at a Kyocera Dealer since, I can honestly say that the daily stresses at Ricoh aged me. When I look back over my 28 years in the industry, I can think of any great memories of the 5 years I was at Ricoh. If you look back through time, Ricoh always tries to buy there way out by replacing all of their management every few years...eg Savin, Lanier.....MARK MY WORDS>>>In 5 years Ricoh will purchase another competitor and roll management again and notice that techs will always pay the price

220 people let go this week!

[charm5496]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

220 people let go this week!

all were upper management and not technicians from what I read in the articles

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

There's probably a lot of reduncy from the merger.

[excanonguy]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

Thanks, I must say that I made a lot of friends there and enjoyed working with you. We didn't play their game so we didn't fit in. I can hold my head high that my job was done properly without cheating the numbers.
The Ricoh environment discourages teamwork and puts techs against techs. It is all about numbers...calls per day, response times, call interrupts, first call effectiveness, parts management....etc etc
Some techs play the game well, they close calls and revisit with a tech visit once they get part in so they don't have interrupt call and they get credit for 2 calls instead of 1, some guys would create tech visits while doing EM's and close calls on fax machines and printers, pretending like they serviced them. They know how to "time shift" their calls so it looks like they are always busy. They install whole units instead of using PM kits. When they would do a PM on a high end, they would split PM into 2 calls, fuser and drum/dev a couple of weeks later. I could never understand how the management was oblivious and always seems so busy making excel charts showing numbers...I guess that is how they made bonuses....making the numbers favorable for them.

This is a verbatim description of life at Canon Direct in Ottawa ,( or any other branch for that matter) one big numbers game to keep the mid and upper level management employed generating and endless stream of stats .....I dont miss all that BS .....watched lots of good tech guys loose their jobs for no good reasons over the 18 yrs I was there till it was finally my turn......funny though the not so good techs who were good at the numbers game are all still there lol !

[charm5496]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

There's probably a lot of reduncy from the merger.

I have to agree. Both companies were large to begin with and the numbers game is in full affect. They are losing money and have to turn things around one way or another.

[cccjjn]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

I've always worked for the dealer side. I honestly don't know how anyone could work on the corporate side.....at least with Ricoh. It has been a revolving door of people from Ricoh over the past 5 years in particular. Things were so much better for us as dealers back in the Gestetner days.

[Martinv]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

I used to enjoy my job, not anymore. As time goes by it is apparent that IKON is now in charge of Ricoh. I heared that IKON was purchased to MANAGE Ricoh. It must be true because alot of Ricoh management have disapearred and IKON management have showed up in their place. I feel like a red headed step child because i am a Ricoh tech. TOO many self-serving back stabbers and that is just in service.

I work at a University with 250+ Ricoh/Lanier copiers. As an ex-field Tech (now key-op), that seems like a full-time job to me. When Ikon took over, they gave our regular Tech another 100 machines in a surrounding territory within a 30 mile radius. On Campus, 250 copiers should be OK to handle for a guy, but when you also get a territory, driving time kills you.
Service and response time at our University suffered. We also have many Xerox machines, their service is not what it used to be either, but still much better then IKON. Another funny thing. We had an Ikon/Canon Tech out here late in the afternoon. After he was done, he was hanging out until AFTER 4:30PM, so that he could scan the machine label and close the call AFTER 4:30. Thank God I got out of the Copier Repair business before all these electronic gadgets started to control my sanity.
Does IKON realize how few Techs actually take a full hour lunch from 12-1 ? Who actually sits in a hamburger joint for 1 whole hour ? Give-and-take. The tiny company cars look like they belong in Cirque de Soleil. When I was a Tech, I used to drive a Ford Taurus or Dodge Intrepid, without any advertising. It showed the class and pride of the Company I represented when I parked my car in front of their door. Currently, my manager respects my 40 yr copier experience. I will recommend Xerox when it becomes time to replace the Ricohs and Laniers.
It is not about price, it is about response/down-time when it comes to SERVICE.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

.....funny though the not so good techs who were good at the numbers game are all still there lol !

There's the crux of it. Ikon wanted average-at-best techs that were great at the numbers game. There were two or three in my branch that always got the awards/incentives and didn't really fix very much.

That's why I didn't fit in. I couldn't care less about how the statistics looked if my machines were getting fixed, usually the first time. and (god forbid!) using parts.

When I started with the Canon dealer it was 5 years before the Ikon buyout. The word from above was that nothing would change. Our statistics looked good. The beginning of the end was the cost cutting contests, remember? How many ways can we trim our branch down to nothing? Shortly after I left they even closed the local branch and ran the techs out of their own garages. If it was some little local dealer I'd say sure, but this is one of the biggest copier companies in the world. =^..^=

[TonerMunkeh]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

This is one for the Europe guys. What sort of cars are you given as company vehicles?

[Ricoh_Warrior]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

We drive those horrible Vauxhall Zafira's in the UK

30 mpg at best on mine

Anyone else here work for Ricoh UK?

I just heard we had another pay freeze - wasnt sure how true that was

[CanonSco]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

This is one for the Europe guys. What sort of cars are you given as company vehicles?

Golf estate bluemotion SE's

[Jules Winfield]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

You poor bastards... Thank God I got out of the field tech game before it got so ridiculously unbearable. It's so much easier working on printers when it's all in-house. I especially prefer the whole customer experience. It's amazing how people will treat you like Danny Cooksey when they don't see you every day, but give you total respect when they actually have to work with you every day.

[roybee]

Re: Ricoh/Ikon Any other Ricoh techs feel abused?????

We drive those horrible Vauxhall Zafira's in the UK

30 mpg at best on mine

Anyone else here work for Ricoh UK?

I just heard we had another pay freeze - wasnt sure how true that was

beleive it ,its true,at least we have a job,for know!