What is an Acceptable Turnaround Time for Copier Service?
November 27th, 2022 by Kevin Box
Last week, during a conversation with a potential new customer with Function4, the customer asked me what is our turnaround time for service calls. My answer was four hours depending on the time of the day the call was placed. She seemed shocked, so in my follow-up question I asked her to tell me what her experience has been for service calls with her current provider, who by-the-way is a major manufacturer. She told me that her current provider’s turnaround time is typically 48 to 72 hours.
In a post COVID world, it’s reasonable to expect some delays on service, after all service techs are being asked to do more with less. However, 48 to 72 hours is simply unacceptable for any technical problem, especially if the machine is completely out of service. In this article, we will touch on what is an acceptable service call turnaround time and give you some insight into what to expect.
What is an acceptable service call turnaround time?
In the copier marketplace, an acceptable turnaround time is typically four hours. This has been the standard since I began in the industry in 2009. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule that can make it acceptable to be longer.
- The time of day you place the service call is a crucial factor - If you call your service provider after 3:00 PM for example, it will more than likely be the next day when the service tech arrives on site.
- The nature of the service request should also be considered - If the device is making a noise for example and is not completely down, then Next Day Service may be acceptable. In contrast however, if the device is completely down, then a quicker turnaround time is needed.
- The location of the device does matter - If the device is in a remote location and is more than one hundred miles (rural driving) or fifty miles (city driving) from the service provider, then Next Day Service would be acceptable.
- Remote Service Calls can speed up the process - Service times can be much faster if the device is networked and can be accessed remotely by the service provider’s helpdesk. A great deal of service calls can be fixed without “boots-on-the-ground” because the technician can simply remote into the device, diagnose the problem and often resolve the issue without the drive time.
In the end, getting your device back up and running is often essential to the productivity of your organization. If your copier stays down for more than four plus hours, it will hurt your workflow which can have a cascading effect on the entire organization. For more information on service parameters or if you have questions, feel free to reach out to me by email at: kbox@function-4.com.
Posted in: General, Managed Print Services