Well folks, here we are again with another machine from Ricoh. We leased the 1357 EX from Ricoh about 3 years ago and since then have put on it about 3.6 million clicks on it. The machine runs fairly well when it runs. Our first tech with the machine was decent. My only real complaint was that he was a bit slow, but if that meant the machine was running longer, so be it.
Then Ricoh went through restructuring and if anyone in Connecticut has a Ricoh machine with a service contract, they know what I mean. Our regular tech was taken off our account and a new one put in his place. We were assured by Ricoh that he was just as capable as our other tech. That is when our trouble started. For the past 6 months, our machine has been down more and more. Just in the past 2 weeks, we've been down to some extent or another, everyday. This is incredibly troubling. We had approximately 150000 clicks to run and have had extreme difficulty doing so. 2 of the jobs we needed to finish quickly and have not been able to. Multiple calls to 2 different levels of service manager has yielded us with nothing more then a headache. We have even requested that another tech, the one that found the leak, be made our regular tech. Nothing has happened with that. In fact, we were told by a service manager that all techs are basically equal.
The current issue with the machine has revolved around the coronoa wires. We found out that the developer assembly had a leak that was causing the coronoa wires to fail very quickly. This has been an ongoing problem that we were not made aware of until 2 days ago. Instead, we found out from another tech that we've had before that came in to cover our usual tech. Today the new developer unit has been installed, but at this point, the damage has been done.
Aside from those facts, we have had other issues as well. We purchased the TCRU Kit which allows us to service the machine to a point. We are supposed to be stocked up with feed tires, coronoa wires, cleaning units, fusing units, etc. I think the only time we've ever had a full stock of parts is when we opened the box for the TCRU 3 years ago. Since then, it's been a constant battle with our regular tech to stay supplied. It is very hard for us to keep the machine running if we don't have these parts. We have a Plockmatic Booklet Maker that connects to the 1357 that requires the staple heads to be replaced. That particular piece of equipment is vastly important to our current job run and it is down because one of the heads has worn out and we do not have any new ones in stock. Also, we have asked to be a drop point for parts so the techs don't even have to come down. We had that ability with our former color tech, but it has not been utilized for our B&W techs.
At this point, we are tired. Tired because we have been spending the last week staying late everyday to get this work out. Tired because being frustrated for so long takes everything out of you. Our color machine is almost at the end of its lease and Ricoh is at the very bottom of our considerations.
Thank you for reading my rant.
Then Ricoh went through restructuring and if anyone in Connecticut has a Ricoh machine with a service contract, they know what I mean. Our regular tech was taken off our account and a new one put in his place. We were assured by Ricoh that he was just as capable as our other tech. That is when our trouble started. For the past 6 months, our machine has been down more and more. Just in the past 2 weeks, we've been down to some extent or another, everyday. This is incredibly troubling. We had approximately 150000 clicks to run and have had extreme difficulty doing so. 2 of the jobs we needed to finish quickly and have not been able to. Multiple calls to 2 different levels of service manager has yielded us with nothing more then a headache. We have even requested that another tech, the one that found the leak, be made our regular tech. Nothing has happened with that. In fact, we were told by a service manager that all techs are basically equal.
The current issue with the machine has revolved around the coronoa wires. We found out that the developer assembly had a leak that was causing the coronoa wires to fail very quickly. This has been an ongoing problem that we were not made aware of until 2 days ago. Instead, we found out from another tech that we've had before that came in to cover our usual tech. Today the new developer unit has been installed, but at this point, the damage has been done.
Aside from those facts, we have had other issues as well. We purchased the TCRU Kit which allows us to service the machine to a point. We are supposed to be stocked up with feed tires, coronoa wires, cleaning units, fusing units, etc. I think the only time we've ever had a full stock of parts is when we opened the box for the TCRU 3 years ago. Since then, it's been a constant battle with our regular tech to stay supplied. It is very hard for us to keep the machine running if we don't have these parts. We have a Plockmatic Booklet Maker that connects to the 1357 that requires the staple heads to be replaced. That particular piece of equipment is vastly important to our current job run and it is down because one of the heads has worn out and we do not have any new ones in stock. Also, we have asked to be a drop point for parts so the techs don't even have to come down. We had that ability with our former color tech, but it has not been utilized for our B&W techs.
At this point, we are tired. Tired because we have been spending the last week staying late everyday to get this work out. Tired because being frustrated for so long takes everything out of you. Our color machine is almost at the end of its lease and Ricoh is at the very bottom of our considerations.
Thank you for reading my rant.
