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Setting up a Repair Program

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Now it is time to choose a standard system already in place by the service provider or to design a customized maintenance program tailored for your business needs.

Service Provider Options

Understand the variety of service offerings that are available to you. The kinds of service offerings that you will need to consider include:

• Annual Maintenance - A fixed price per unit with no extra charges regardless of number of repairs in a given month.
• Advance Replacement - You return the faulty unit for repair and a replacement unit is shipped to you.
• Coupon Service - Purchase vouchers in advance; use them as needed. No need for a purchase order for each repair.
• Flat Rate Repair - Negotiate with the service vendor a standard fixed rate for all repairs.
• Time and Materials - Pay for service only as you need it. Pay for the time it takes and materials it takes to repair your equipment.
• On-Site Repairs - A technician comes onsite to perform repairs immediately, or within a few hours, ideal for mission critical equipment.
• Customized Service Solutions - Some service vendors will tailor service offerings to create a unique solution for a customer. If your needs are unique or you have other special circumstances, this might be something you would want available from your POS /ADC service vendor.

Note: Consumables (labels, tags, et al) and deliberate abuse of hardware are addressed separately from standard service offerings.

Business Relationship

The last item to consider, which is quite difficult to evaluate until you’ve started working with them, is how easy is the service vendor to do business with? It’s difficult to quantify what is often a subjective impression. One company’s key indicator of someone who’s ‘easy to work with’ could easily be a non-issue for another company. Some items to consider:

• How available is the account representative who handles your relationship?
• Who calls you if there is a problem that needs to be resolved?
• What kind of credit terms are you able to receive?
• Is a credit card number required for every repair?
• How willing is the vendor to work with your unique requirements?
• Does the service vendor support all the equipment vendors that you need?
• Can you get consistent pricing across all products?
• Does the vendor give you suggestions on how to keep your POS / ADC equipment working?(i.e. thinking of your needs, not just his)
• How happy are the employees of this service vendor?
• Will the service provider allow you to talk to other customers using the service you require to find out how happy they are with the service they have received?

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