How to Choose the Best Printer Repair Service
You have finally had enough; the printer repair service you’ve been using is slow, gives you poor customer service and doesn’t value your business anymore. You’re ready to move on and get the service you deserve. Congratulations on taking this first step! Whether you are here in the Midwest or somewhere beyond our service area, we are committed to helping you find the best printer repair service.
Choosing a new printer repair service can be daunting, especially if you have been burned by poor service in the past. To make things easier, we’ve put together a list of criteria you can use to find the best printer repair service near you.
Service Response Time Guarantee
It almost seems like a no-brainer, but we are always surprised by how many of our new customers come from a printer repair service that doesn’t offer a service response time guarantee. Ask potential vendors about their service response time and what happens if they fail to live up to any promise. If they don’t have a service guarantee or aren’t willing to back up their talk, you are better off looking elsewhere. At Metro Sales, we commit to a three-hour service response time guarantee during business hours for our Twin Cities locations. The best printer repair services will always commit to four hours or less.
Technician Experience and Training
Next, you should inquire about the printer repair service technicians on staff. Ask for statistics about technician training and experience. The more experienced the staff, the quicker they will likely be in diagnosing and fixing any problems you may have. Additionally, look at what network environments, device types or software packages they are certified for. Too often, we get customers who come from a printer repair service that did not have a technician certified in their network environment or trained on their specific device. Having an experienced technician one call away is a great way to ensure your office is always running at peak efficiency.
How will you place a service call?
Another aspect to consider is how you will be required to place your service calls. Ideally, you will want to find a vendor with some flexibility in how you can place service calls. While most companies allow you to place service calls over the phone, many still haven’t caught up to the internet era. Working with one of these companies means you won’t be able to place a service call via the internet or over email. Look for a company with a dedicated internet user portal for service calls. This simplifies the process by saving important device information and allowing you to place a service call at any time.
Locations
You should also look at where the printer repair service has its nearest branch office. While companies will often claim that they cover entire states or regions, the reality is that they usually only have one location in a major metropolitan area. If you choose a company that exaggerates its service area and you live somewhere outstate, you could end up waiting a long time for service. Try to find a vendor with a branch near your location. Or, if you have more than one location, look at where the company’s printer repair service locations are in your state. Even if they cover your current area needs, consider your long-term expansion goals and whether this printer repair service can realistically provide service to any new expansion locations.
Parts Inventory
“I’ll have to order that part since we don’t currently have it in stock.” Unfortunately, you have probably heard those dreaded words a few times already. Suddenly, how long your printer is out of service depends on the shipping time of a part sitting in a warehouse halfway across the country. We get it; nothing is more frustrating than a service call which ends with you being told that you will have to make time for another service call.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Many vendors have taken the proactive step of stocking parts in-house and constantly updating their inventory to ensure the needed parts are always in stock. For example, we carry over $4 million worth of parts in our local Minnesota warehouse. This means that the right part to fix your device is almost always on-hand. When looking for the best printer repair service, ask potential vendors about their warehouse inventory and parts on-hand.
Google Reviews
A company’s Google reviews can be a wealth of information. While service awards are always impressive, Google reviews provide unbiased insight into how current customers perceive the company. From these reviews, you will learn about how well the company lives up to their service guarantee, their level of professionalism and the expertise of their service staff. In addition, look at how the company engages with their online reviews. If you see a company that is responding to reviews and taking steps to address negative customer feedback, then treat this as a positive sign that they will take your business seriously. Here is a good example of how a printer repair service can actively engage with customer reviews.
However, if the company ignores negative reviews, or even worse, doesn’t have any, then you should be skeptical about some of their claims. While printer repair services will usually provide customer testimonials upon request, these customers are usually handpicked by the company to provide you with the most favorable impression.
Looking for the best printer repair service in the Minnesota and Wisconsin? Fill out our contact form and learn how our award-winning service staff can help you get more out of your office equipment. Alternatively, call (612) 861-4000 to talk to a local service expert right now!