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True story
Me:
Boss why did you throw me at this customer's call? I never worked on that brand, neither we have docs, parts, support. Doesn't sounds/looks professional.
Boss:
I don't minded actually, I know you can fix everything.
Does this sounds familiar?
Thank you/hate you CTN
A tree is known by its fruit, a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost, he who sows courtesy, reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
I don't reply to private messages from end users.
It's worse if your company tracks performance metrics. You're considered a valuable tech who can work on anything but it kills your numbers.
I've come to think of this as my job description:
"Fixes machines/issues he knows little about." =^..^=
If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.
blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=
I’ve been thrown into the same scenario before. My manager has been in the biz for almost 50 years, and with that longevity, he has worked on literally Everything! He’s thrown me into the mix with repairing OLD typewriters (50’s Adler and above), timeclocks, cash registers, shredders, laminators, and then all of the “off brand” stuff that comes our way (HP/ Brother/ Canon/ Samsung/ etc.). I’m primarily Ricoh trained, and early on when he would throw these “curve balls” at me, I would be slightly irritated and nervous. Now I take it as a challenge. I’ve learned over the years that being able to find support documentation can be key (but not always essential) whether it be from google or having some of those OLD manuals on hand. Nothing worse than not having at least a parts diagram!
Overall though it seems to be that we’re viewed as problem solvers no matter what we’re working on or haven’t worked on, that’s what gives us that “Technician status”! For most of us, diagnostics and troubleshooting can be applied to ANYTHING, or at least that’s what the boss thinks!
We are technicians, not magicians.....
Aye! Cut the crap
The ironic part is that I've actually learned here at CTN more than any manuals, trainings, etc. and I did/do a lot of these
A tree is known by its fruit, a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost, he who sows courtesy, reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
I don't reply to private messages from end users.
It’s not just in our industry.
My first job during and after college was at a Radio Shack knock off. Something like 83 stores in all.
This was back in the mid and late 70’s, when some devices were actually serviceable, not like now.
The repair center covered all the house brand stuff without issue, as expected.
The problem was that they would take in almost any brand of entertainment electronics: mostly TVs, receivers and tape decks, none of which were they a warranty station for.
They were expected to work without manuals or schematics. Not sure how they were ever able to buy parts.
Just glad that I worked in Sales back then.
“I think you should treat good friends like a fine wine. That’s why I keep mine locked up in the basement.” - Tim Hawkins
I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer...Originally Posted by keithxxiii
Star Trek classic:
Kirk: How much refit time before we can take her out again?
Scotty: Eight weeks, sir. But ye don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for ye in two.
Kirk: Mr. Scott. Have you always multiplied your repair estimates by a factor of four?
Scotty: Certainly, sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?
Kirk: [over the intercom] Your reputation is secure, Scotty.
It is very annoying to go and repair something that you don't know. Sometimes its are stupid problems that take several days to resolve because you don't know the MFP.
But Thanks to CTN it was a stimulus to solve many problems
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