The Datamax Thinking Blog

Let’s take a look at two essential copier and printer tools today’s top copier partners use to deliver predictive, proactive, NOT reactive, service.

Keeping your office printers and copiers running shouldn’t feel like a full-time job. But if you’re constantly dealing with surprise breakdowns, toner emergencies, or service delays, you’re not alone.

These issues not only impact your day-to-day operations but also strain your working relationship with your vendor. 

It’s pretty simple. If it ain’t right, it ain’t right.

How can something standard and central to an ongoing copier partner relationship go terribly awry?Do you find sorting through invoices, with more questions than answers? Is your account manager fielding more issues with mystery charges than your actual fleet performance?  Inaccurate copier invoices are more than just a minor inconvenience: They cause headaches, waste time (YOUR time), and can disrupt budgets.

Here are five major hurdles that - if they haven't already - should be cleared with a copier and business technology partner to continue the race with sustainable results. 

There likely won’t be an obvious indicator that it’s time to replace your trusted copier or printer. However, there will be signs.

If your office had one essential worker, it would be your Multifunction Printer/copier.

It works diligently and consistently, without much of a break. It also multi-tasks in unique ways, printing, copying, scanning, faxing, and finishing to help you complete workflows and custom print jobs every single day. Of course, from its initial unboxing to its final resting place in the boneyard (the area of a copier dealer's warehouse where it is eventually stripped for parts), your copier has a  certain life span.

Here are 7 points to consider when evaluating whether to choose a copier dealer or a direct manufacturer.

Discovering the right blend of printers and copiers for your office, from brand to specific model to where these devices are strategically placed, comes with no shortage of options and decisions.  Signing on to a 60+ month lease is a big move, raising the stakes on choosing wisely.

The numbers detailed below will say a lot about the level of service you can expect (and subsequent downtime), capabilities in applying technology to your business needs, and frankly just how well they take care of their clients. 

It's always good to know your numbers.

When you lease or purchase your next copier or printer, you're likely entering into a long-term relationship with a provider; and not all copier companies are created equal.  Beneath conversations about speeds and feeds, lease details, onboarding logistics, and in some cases, gimmicks and slick advertising pitches, there are some hard numbers that cut through the fat and help you make the right decision.

Resolution should be the target metric for service providers because it reveals a technician’s know-how and the resources available to him or her to get you back up and running as quickly as possible.

Let’s face it, your copier, printer, or Multifunction Printer WILL need service.

Even at the efficiency at which today’s MFPs operate, the need for drum, feed tire, or fuser replacement is essentially inevitable. Anyone who’s purchased appliances, TV/Phone/ Internet Services, or a vehicle knows that the quality of service tied to that product can make (or break) your experience long-term.

The imaging industry is not immune to the flurry of all-too-often heard clichés from technicians, from administrative staff, and remote support teams.

They’ve become an unfortunate, painful ear sore in today’s customer service experience: The tired, frustrating service cliché.

• “Sorry, but it’s our policy.”
• “Let me transfer you to another department.”
• “Our technician’s having issues on another call. We’ll need to reschedule for another day.”

Thought-leading communication is shared. Key decisions are made. Innovations change the game entirely. But to borrow a tired, old advertising cliché, the customer must still come first.

We can learn a lot from our own history, as well as those around us. It’s true in politics, in pop culture, and certainly in business.

Reputable technology partners don’t just talk a big game. They measure their performance constantly. And then they prove it on the course by sharing a variety of valuable, game-changing metrics with you, the client.

Tiger Woods’ emotional victory at the Master’s Sunday was a seminal moment in American sports history.

The emotional moments following his final putt – from the family embraces to the chants of “Tiger!” from the crowd - swept the sports world with a comeback story for the ages. Perhaps lost in this dramatic vignette over the weekend were the tireless hours that went into fine-tuning his mechanics day by day, shot by shot. And using technology to his advantage.