Above: Dale Scheuerman and Frank Paulich
Service pros from All Copy Products and EO Johnson discuss how data from NEXERA enhances their service operations.
Recently, we had an opportunity to interview two dealer service executives to discuss the copier service solution offering from NEXERA, a BEI Services Company. Dale Scheuerman is director of service with All Copy Products in Denver, Colorado, and Frank Paulich is vice president, service for EO Johnson Business Technologies in Wausau, Wisconsin. It was a true learning experience speaking to Dale and Frank. Our thanks to them for their willingness to be so candid about a resource that has helped them through the most difficult of times.
Editor’s note: NEXERA provides what it describes as the “most accurate, results-producing comparative copier/printer device data and benchmarks available in the industry, allowing [dealers] to achieve world-class performance in service operations.” The data is captured from each device in the field and compared against benchmarks from NEXERA’s Worldstats database to determine if a device is a problem device and if it is, why.
CR: What caused you to decide to utilize NEXERA’s data services?
Scheuerman: I have been with All Copy for 19 years, and when I joined, they already had a relationship with NEXERA. I wished I had their tools at the dealer I worked for prior to joining All Copy. That would have made me a better tech and more able to take care of the customers. I learned when I joined All Copy that NEXERA provided us with an ability to tell us just how well a service tech is doing.
One of the many things that NEXERA provides is stats on every tech. We look at overall performance, and I single out those that are the best with those that are not doing as well. We pair them up and ask the one not working as well to work with the best techs we have. I emphasize that they learn from them, watch how they service the equipment and ask questions.
Paulich: We installed NEXERA 15 years ago. We review NEXERA every few years and always come away with the same opinion. We took them on because metric evaluations make it easier to get data. We use that data to evaluate the techs and create bonus programs and incentives. We need that kind of help because we handle four lines, and our techs must be able to deal with the different operating standards of each of those manufacturers. Each tech’s performance has a different setting. Each territory has a different mixture of Canon, Ricoh, HP, and Toshiba machines. NEXERA also provides immediate access to business data that help us perform at a higher level.
CR: Was there anything about NEXERA that not only met but exceeded your expectations?
Scheuerman: A big part of what the stats provides is how we are doing compared to 200 other dealerships servicing the same equipment as well as other manufacturers. Good practices are there to be seen. Nobody else provides that kind of information. I want All Copy to be #1 because I hate being second.
Paulich: How easy they are to work with is how I would answer that question. Not only do they take all the time necessary to meet with us, but they demonstrate a willingness to help. They help us set goals [for the techs] and provide incentives and evaluations. We want to set our goals for what each tech should be capable of doing. That is not easy when you have four lines to take care of, plus the differences between the field techs and install techs, particularly with products such as booklet makers to deliver. The techs must be able to handle all lines in their geography. When we make comparisons with other dealers, that is something we must consider, and NEXERA helps us do that. They have a program, Acuity, [a performance measurement and coaching solution] that helps us consider a wider variety of techs because of the different machines and accessories we must install and service.
CR: Regarding NEXERA’s other services, what is your overall opinion about what they provide?
Scheuerman: It represents an opportunity to receive tools that makes us all better managers and enable us to develop the best possible field techs. What comes to mind is Acuity. These are programs that come about because they reach out and seek our input and then come up with an answer that gets us the information we are looking for. That is just one of many. We can give them a model number and ask questions such as the uptime, volumes over a certain period, and ask for multiple machine placements to be included in the search. We get a very good understanding of how well the other machines are performing compared to ours. It also enables us to determine whether we should swap out machines that are not performing well.
Paulich: We understood what they were supposed to provide for us but we were happy with how quickly they responded to providing arrival time and effective time [doing the repairs]. This helped us reshape our territories and increased our awareness of those that needed retraining. The Acuity program, which produces a tech assessment, gives me a lot of information that we use when meeting with the techs every month. That program helps us keep four lines up to industry standards. They gave us the ability to monitor equipment performance and provide other data to our manufacturers when our findings are different from theirs.
CR: Was NEXERA able to provide you with any assistance in dealing with the challenges you faced during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Scheuerman: Yes! They have a territory management map by manufacturer and how many techs are servicing a piece of geography. We draw a circle and can make it smaller or larger. It gives us the means to determine if the tech territories require a larger or smaller territory. It also tells us exactly how well they are doing with certain models. We can match up a tech with a territory that they can handle. It also tells us how much volumes and clicks are dropping. That helped us when the pandemic hit. We had to decide which techs we could furlough and which we should retain. In the beginning of the pandemic, it was tough with decreasing clicks and machines not being used because the people who utilized those machines were either furloughed or working at home.
Paulich: What NEXERA did for us during the pandemic was allow us to monitor our overall performance down to each individual machine. We followed the decline of the clicks and the CPC. We learned which machines worked the best and where our machines were not coming up with the same yields stated in the manufacturers’ specifications. We used the NEXERA information to show the manufacturers that their specs were not correct. It also gave us the ability to change the techs’ territories to get better coverage with fewer employees. We also had the regular running report called Snapshot, which provides a reasonably accurate monthly recap almost as it was happening. Because of this program you can make much quicker decisions.
CR: How would you rate your overall experience with NEXERA?
Scheuerman: I have been with NEXERA for 19 years and have managed fleets of Konica Minolta, Sharp, and Canon. Over the 19 years, we have handled everything but Xerox. We have been able to better manage all those different machines because of NEXERA. That ability to compare performances with 200 other dealers is what makes them so good.
Paulich: Good because of some of the things I previously mentioned, like effective times to repair and arrival times that help us reshape territories. It also gives us stats that are a world’s view of what everyone is doing. They also are willing to work with us to develop a customized solution. For example, we are getting more service calls on connectivity rather than machines having a problem that requires service. They also provide us with immediate access to business data that allows us to perform at a higher level.
CR: We know All Copy is a member of CDA, and I would like to ask you specifically about the service managers’ meetings that are held regularly. I know Brad Knepper (All Copy owner) is a long-time member and would like to know how you feel about the value of that group?
Scheuerman: At CDA, I always recommend NEXERA to other service managers. We share a great deal of information with each other as we are not competitors. NEXERA challenges us with other dealers’ performances and not only what we are doing. Other [companies] are doing something like NEXERA, but they don’t provide the same service. NEXERA helps us take care of the customer and the ability to compare with what we are doing with many other dealers. We share that information with the other dealers in the CDA service group.
CR: We are aware that BPCA is the dealer group that EO Johnson belongs to and that Dave Green (president of EOJ) is a member of their Board of Directors. How do you feel about the value of being a member of that organization?
Paulich: BPCA helps us to get new ideas from other non-competitive dealers. It is an enormous resource for finding solutions at our annual meeting, usually held in the fall. We also keep in touch with each other when difficult situations come up. We believe at least one of the other members is dealing with the same thing. We also talk about NEXERA and compare notes from a competitive group. We recommend NEXERA when we think it will help a dealer solve some of his problems.
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