Every relationship needs a good hard look every once in a while—and that includes the one you have with your copier provider. Is the equipment meeting your needs? Is the company living up to its end of the deal? Are you being nickel-and-dimed to death? Here are three telltale signs that you may need to break things off with your current copier service provider.
- You’re paying too much. Look at the fine print of your contract and you may find that as the equipment you’re leasing gets older, the price per-page goes up. You may also find that you’re being charged for supplies, such as toner. Or your copier provider is slipping parts charges onto your invoices to service older machines. Costs do go up, but you should be formally notified, with a valid reason.
- You’re being asked to do the tech’s job. When parts show up on your desk because your copier provider expects you to do copier repairs yourself, alarm bells should go off. A good service provider should send a technician out to investigate issues that don’t have a very simple fix. Their job is the copier or printer. Your job is something completely unrelated and much more important.
- Nothing is automated. This last point really only applies to medium- and large-sized organizations. Are you being hassled to do meter readings? Do you have to order toner yourself? Is no one monitoring your equipment for preventive maintenance? These are signs that your relationship is a little one-sided. A managed print services contract is a way to put the responsibility back on your service provider—and it can save you up to 30% on your printing and copying costs. You can learn about managed print services in another blog post.
Whether your contract expires soon or years in the future, if you’re experiencing any of these warning signs, it’s time to start looking for a new provider. (A good new provider will often assume the remaining contract term for you.)
