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IT'S ONLY A MACHINE

We make our living from machines; copiers, faxes, printers, whatever. They are not heart lung machines or kidney dialysis machines. Nobody dies if they don’t work. We don’t have to fight off saber tooth tigers. We don’t perform life threatening surgery. We don’t leap over the Grand Canyon on a motorcycle. We don’t drive a taxicab and wonder if we are about to be shot in the back of the head. We don’t even count ballots in Florida! Wow! Our business is really easy.

The people who use our machines don’t have to bother us or pressure us about any of the above, at least not in their business day. And even if they did, the performance of the machine is not going to change any of those situations.

So, what's the big deal? Many of us run around like chickens with our heads cut off, because there is some kind of copier crisis; as if it was really important. Sure, it's a little important. It is how we feed our families and these machines are an integral part of everyday life. So are traffic lights, doorknobs, zippers, and paper clips, all of which are machines, in the strictest definition of the word.

We need to go about our work properly and carefully. That is no reason to lose sleep or get bent out of shape when something goes wrong. Problems go with the territory. If it was easy, everyone would do it. There would be office machine magazines, and on Sunday morning people would go to parking lots and open the front doors to show off their developer units and chrome plated feed rollers.

There are times when things go wrong; callbacks, bad checks, aggravating people, car trouble, more aggravating people, back orders, the same person aggravating you again. At the end of such a day, take a look around. Is your family OK? If so, great; the other stuff hardly matters. If not, then worry about your family because the other stuff matters even less.

Your life and your business will not be affected by these things, unless you let them. There is only so much you can do. Chances are you are already working too hard. In a service business, you will never be completely caught up, and you will never, never make everyone happy. Reverse positions. If your car's air conditioner, your TV or your stove conked out, you would want it fixed. But would you really expect the repair person to WORRY about it? It sounds pretty silly when you think about it. If it was your car, and you couldn’t get to work, would you expect the mechanic to get up at 4 AM so that you could have it by 7? Of course not. Would you call every 2 hours to ask if it is ready yet? No, you would make other arrangements, or live without and suffer the consequences. Life is like that. So, now reverse positions again. Do you really think that these machines are worth worrying about?

ARE YOU AWARE OF OUR LAMP CROSS REFERENCE? IT ALLOWS YOU TO FIND A REPLACEMENT FOR JUST ABOUT ANY COPIER LAMP MANUFACTURED IN THE LAST 20 YEARS! Go to our order page to order one, or ask our office for a sample page if you wish.

Of course there are other things. You have to decide on yellow pages advertising, pay bills, decide on insurance, order parts, etc. You have to make decisions. Big Deal! What is the worst that can happen? You make every decision wrong and eventually you lose your business or your job. That would be pretty serious, but just how serious? Do they take your children away? Do they yank your children off the soccer field? Do they hang you in effigy in the town square? Do they chop off your head, or any other valuable part? No. Life goes on.

If you make every decision perfectly, or to the best of your ability, what happens. Are your children guaranteed a multi-million $ inheritance? Are they guaranteed a perfect life. Do you become immune from disease? Do they build a monument to you in the town square? Do all your customers call you up and tell you how much they appreciate you? No. Life goes on.

Hollywood. Platoon A guy is about to go back to the world (leave Viet Nam for home) and someone is worried about his finding a job or something. His reply "Man, after this, everything is easy."

Hollywood. Kelly's Heroes Donald Sutherland is a hippie-like tank commander (WWII). In the middle of a battle, he is sitting in a lawn chair, glass in hand, sunbathing, next to his tank. When Telly Savalas and Clint Eastwood get upset, he says "The tank's broke. I just drive it. when it's fixed, I'll drive it again. So, I'm having some wine and soaking up some rays." One of those situations was very real, one was not, but both illustrate my point. Our job is light stuff when you think about it. Even the toughest days are really only minor headaches.

Let's say you are driving to a "emergency" service call and you see a mother with small children broke down on the road. Some other time, you would have stopped, but damn, there is a copy machine waiting. Someone wants to make copies this morning at 10, not at 11, so you had better be there at 9, not 9:30. Feeling a little guilty about that poor mother now, aren't you? You had better be. Get your priorities straight. As for you young single guys who pull over anytime it’s a pretty young girl, that is another issue.

If you are an employee and you do your job as if it was the end of the world, it is up to you to rearrange it. You might be solving your bosses and customer's problems, but not for long. You will burn out. You would be a more valuable employee if you can pace yourself and treat things objectively. Otherwise, you wind up looking for another line of work, and your boss has to hire and train someone else. I once rode with a service manager who drove at 85 mph all day long so that he could do the 8-10 calls a day that was expected of him. I only rode once. He was not getting my help again unless he calmed down.

COMING SOON. OUR BRAND NEW SERVICE GUIDE TO CANON PC700 SERIES AND NP6012 SERIES OF MACHINES. Go back to our catalog for an explanation.

Don't let it get to you. Don’t be one of those who winds up with a nervous disorder or under doctor's orders. Those orders might be to change your line of work. Don’t let it get that far. Change the way you handle "pressure." As I hope I've made clear, there is no pressure here. You should never worry about a machine or other people's problems. How many times have you knocked yourself out to solve a problem, only to have the customer complain anyway? How many times have those customers really fully appreciated how hard you worked on their behalf? Very few.

An old friend of mine once summed up how he handles things. He has no worries. He says he is on "Cruise control." Good idea.

So, you have a bad day, a bad experience with a machine or customer. Big deal. Over, done, finito, gone, good by, sayonara, adios, good riddance, hasta la vista baby.

Jim Intravia

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