Does anyone work FOR Konica?

[JR2ALTA]

I'd love to one day service only one brand, not really possible with most private dealers. The only options in my area are Konica and Ricoh corporate. I like Konicas better.

Do they have built in raises, decent benefits, good mileage reimbursement? Any other pros and cons would be great.

PM me if you'd prefer.

Thanks

[blackcat4866]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

As long as we're dreaming, how about being an in-house tech in a single building. Say 200 machines in the same building or adjoining buildings. All the same brand, say 6 models?

[JR2ALTA]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

Bingo. I think some colleges/ hospitals are set up like that.

[KenB]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

Bingo. I think some colleges/ hospitals are set up like that.

[rrrohan]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

Id hate to do one site.

Best bit of being a tech is being on road imo

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[srvctec]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

I'd love to one day service only one brand, not really possible with most private dealers. The only options in my area are Konica and Ricoh corporate. I like Konicas better.

Do they have built in raises, decent benefits, good mileage reimbursement? Any other pros and cons would be great.

PM me if you'd prefer.

Thanks

I don't but from what I've heard over the last 30 years of going to factory training on KM, it would seem that those that do work directly for KM, have to be factory trained on every single model they will be servicing. That seems ridiculous to me since there are so many similarities between machines. So, be prepared to go to lots of school, unless they've changed their ways.

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

I work directly for KM.

The pay isn't bad, it's salary with a small yearly raise. Mileage reimbursement varies every month depending on local gas prices and where you live. Some months its 19c a mile others its 25+, and you can just claim the remaining on your taxes every year. Benefits are just ok, they seem to get worse every year (pay more for less).

A lot of the stuff a tech has to do was absorbed from Danka Imaging when we took over them - filling out daily mileage logs, the weekly time sheets that need to be accurate (to the minutes), the scanning of barcodes on the machines when you get on site, etc. Things used to be simpler.

When I got hired there was a lot more hands-on training, they'd fly us out to one of our corporate locations for a week or two to get formally trained on a specific series of machine, some of the ones I did were the biz 200/250/300, 600-751, C451-C652 series, all of the 3/4/4e models, Fiery, Emperon, etc. It was a great way to get out of the field for a week and do something different. These days 90% of training is done on your laptop through our corporate learning portal. Like someone else mentioned the MFP nowadays are so similar that they just release similarities/differences training courses that you can do during work hours. Completing these gets you the certification for that range of model, i.e. 8/8e differences training. You don't learn much from the actual courses, field experience is where it's at.

The good I guess would be the freedom of being on the road, seeing your boss maybe twice a month. Everyone has their own territory, their own customers, etc. If a fellow tech gets busy and you are light, you just take a call or two from them to help out.

[907tec]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

We're just a lowly dealer, located far enough away from KM that they essentially ignore us. Sometimes, however, they decide to place a machine in our area (National acct, or similar). Whenever they do this, I am somehow obligated to fly down to California for training on whatever they sold. On our own dime. I agree with the KM person above...training classes are a joke. I would be less salty about spending thousands of dollars on training if I actually felt they were beneficial. Hands down, field experience is the real teacher.

Going to these classes has made me extremely thankful for my current employer. I never realized how short of a leash manufacturer techs are on. I've been an outside-cat long enough, I can't even imagine being kept "inside".

They make techs double-bunk in a single "KM approved" hotel. They get herded onto a van in the morning together for class. Herded on the van at lunch to graze at a mall foodcourt. Driven back to the hotel at the end of the day. Trapped in an industrial park wasteland for the night, with only an Applebee's or something in a 3 mile radius. I can't imagine my employer even considering asking me to bunk with some rando for a week or two of classes.

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

I can't imagine my employer even considering asking me to bunk with some rando for a week or two of classes.

I remember having to bunk with one dude for a week, my very first training course back in '06. Thankfully they did away with that a few years later! Everything else is accurate, I usually rent a car after my flight. If you go to CT for training they have their own chef that will make you whatever you like. Definitely the cleanest training facility out of all of them. Food wise all the other locations are junk (except for maybe Portillo's in Illinois).

[907tec]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

To be fair, its been 2 or 3 years since I had to do training, iirc. Despite being 3000 miles away, Huntington is the closest training facility by far. It's still the only KM facility I've been to in 10+ years.

[JR2ALTA]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

Going to class is a vacation for me. The hotel for Konica training in Illinois treat you very well. Shuttles to class, pizza lunch, donuts, after class happy hour. Konica keeps them booked so they show their gratitude.

That mileage reimbursement mentioned above is very low.

Is there a bonus program?

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

That mileage reimbursement mentioned above is very low.

That's just the per mile reimbursement, we also get $310 lump sum biweekly to cover for depreciation, wear and tear, etc.

The government pays out 55~ cents a mile nowadays? So I just have my accountant get the remaining amount that KM didn't cover. It all comes out to the same amount to me... in the end I make more than what it costs to keep my vehicle running.

[rrrohan]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

That's just the per mile reimbursement, we also get $310 lump sum biweekly to cover for depreciation, wear and tear, etc.

The government pays out 55~ cents a mile nowadays? So I just have my accountant get the remaining amount that KM didn't cover. It all comes out to the same amount to me... in the end I make more than what it costs to keep my vehicle running.

Don't you guys get company cars and fuel cards? That's half the perk for me, free car and fuel

[Max]

[dave w]

Re: Does anyone work FOR Konica?

Back in the 80's through to the early 00's the corporate company I worked for had a svs contract with one of the largest UK Banks.

Part of this contract was looking after the branches in Jersey and Guernsey, we had one Engineer who lived in Jersey doing the job.
On average 6 calls a week and on a 24hr server standby which he was rarely called out.

He was never replaced when he left and Engineers were sent across from the mainland when required, This was always a bun fight as we all wanted to do it.