Why play Roulette with the Company’s Printer Operations?
Ricoh and Canon Oce have announced the End of Service on some 75
to 100 ppm pin feed mono lasers. Once the announced “end of service” date is
passed, the vendor
has no obligation to you!
Consider the Stark Differences from the old expired Ricoh or Oce Service Plan.
REPAIR PARTS - no obligation to ...
...have an inventory of replacement parts or have any source
of used parts. Ricoh and Oce have been planning to shut down the service coverage
for at least five years. They likely made plans to scrap the defunct
and fully depreciated inventory. Their service techs may search for used market
parts, but maybe not very hard, as it is now not a top priority. The search
time involved is likely billable as well. According to Ricoh service personnel, they
will not even come out for repair until they find the likely needed part.
...charge a set price for parts. Ricoh and Oce can
charge whatever they choose. There was a reason that the service contract was
thousands of dollars annually. Some components could be the total cost of the old
annual service bill – before labor charges. Some installed customers may choose to gather a spare
printer or two just to have service spare parts ready and sitting on site.
...continue selling supplies like toners. Customers may
buy a stockpile of toner, but without a critical repair part such as a drum, developer
unit, or fuser unit, however much toner is in the stock room will not allow the printer to run correctly.
SERVICE TECHNICIANS - no obligation to…
...answer a call in a timely response time. T&M
customers are the second priority. Any previous “SLA” or service level agreement on those printers is now a thing
of the past. Service techs go first to service contract customers. They can leave
your site to go take a higher priority service call.
...concern themselves that your printing is “mission-critical.” Your
print jobs may wait on the repairs for days or maybe weeks. Printing your current labels
or reports should not be a crucial part of your operation if you plan to rely on Ricoh
and Oce T&M repair. They cared so much in the past because you paid for a top priority service contract.
...complete the service call repair. A call from a
customer with a service contract takes top priority, and the Ricoh and Oce service
tech can leave before the repair is completed. Emergency dispatch repair calls take top
priority over time and materials work.
...fix the printer. Any Ricoh or Oce service call will
be on a “best efforts basis.” They are not under contract to get it fixed.
...continue to offer T&M for any length of time.
They may initially agree to help you for a while but may withdraw the offer at
any time. Management can reassign coverage and willingness to do time and
materials work.
...keep within a price for labor or parts. If they search
for parts, expect that the search time not on your site can be billed as well.
...provide any “second-level” technical support for drivers
and controller code issues. Here is a quote from Ricoh: “Once maintenance
service and support are withdrawn, Ricoh no longer provides any support, such
as assistance for installation, usage (how-to) or code defect-related questions
for that version and release level.”
DESIRE TO HELP: - no obligation to…
...care if you are in a bind or
not. If Ricoh still sells a printer in the range of the withdrawn unit, they hoped
to sell you the new one. If they do not sell a replacement printer, their
motivation to worry for you had ended when you did not buy an alternative
replacement. They may offer help only as a short-term accommodation to you.
Now, what is YOUR own Obligation for your Company?
Those printers from Ricoh and Oce were suitable, and the vendor did offer good, complete, supportive service. Now that offering is no longer the same wise decision the company once selected. It is now much different, with more risk and uncertainty for a reliable future.
There is a saying in the Distribution Industry. “If trucks don’t roll, then HEADS DO.” Where does your business turn for support on those old Ricoh and Oce printers, now that your printer vendor has turned away from their install base?
What is the answer to Top Management when the printer goes down for good, no repair is possible, and they ask, “Could you not find an alternative to keep our business running?”
The intelligent action is to plan, test, evaluate - then act. Do you have EOS printers? Mission-Critical tractor-feed labels or printout needs, running on InfoPrint 75 or Oce Variostream 7120 units, and have no printer
alternative tested and ready to adopt? It’s like playing Roulette in Vegas,
betting RED or BLACK, or 1/3 the board. You may hope you will be fine, but what if the little
ball falls into GREEN 0 or 00? When the market has excellent replacement printers available, is the avoidance of budget approval and the associated
risk really worth it? With Ricoh and Oce printers
at end-of-service, why risk the company’s operations on “we will probably be
ok?”
We can help. For more information, contact Warren Neeley with Printer Connection at wneeley@pciprinters.com or 866-430-6202.
