Proof That Xerox Values Small Business Clients

In December of 2003, I decided to invest in a “decent” laser printer. My business was about 1.5 years old and I wasn’t generating much revenue, but given the nature of my work I felt strongly I needed a machine that produced high-resolution proofs. I had positive experiences with Xerox equipment in the past so that’s where my search began.

With help from a computer specialist I arranged to visit a showroom and see several models in action. “Now this machine is a workhorse,” he informed me as I watched dozens of colorful sheets spit out at rapid speed from what appeared to be an ordinary piece of equipment. “You’ll generate more than 100,000 pages in its lifetime.”

The price tag: $2,459. The high capacity toner cartridges added $612.50 to the bill. Tax was an additional $248.66.

On January 8, 2004, I welcomed a new Xerox Phaser 6250DP color printer into my world.

My Phaser has outlasted a bunch of PCs. It’s produced handouts for seminars, name badges, sales sheets, shipping labels, even 8.5 x 5.5 postcards. It’s been moved to new offices four times. And as of the writing of this post it’s printed 137,743 pages. (Yes, I’m talking about a printer – not a copier.)

Over the years I’ve taken good care of her. I’ve replaced toner cartridges with only Xerox OEM toner. When her display indicated it was time to replace the transfer roller, fuser or imaging units, I did so promptly. The quality of the output has always been top-notch. It never even needed to be serviced.

A few weeks ago, my beloved workhorse started making a horrible squeak every time it printed a sheet. The technician I hired to service the Phaser discovered a problem with the imaging unit. He told me to replace it before it does more damage to the machine.

“But it’s only 11 months old,” I pointed out. “And, according to the Supplies Usage page, it has 87% of its life remaining.”

In my view the imaging unit was defective. I decided to call Xerox to see if they would help.

I explained the situation to the “Shop Xerox” employee. He looked up the warranty on the imaging unit and said it was only for 90 days. I then asked if I could speak to someone in customer relations.

When Bren, the customer relations representative, came on the line, she had already been briefed about my problem. She understood why I was upset, but said, “Your machine is obsolete. We stopped servicing it a few years ago.”

I was stunned. “Then I don’t understand why your fulfillment house allowed me to purchase toner cartridges as recently as a month ago.”

“They shouldn’t have done that,” she said, “but let me see what I can do. If I can find an imaging unit somewhere, we’ll send it to you at our expense. I’m going to work on this and I will get back to you tomorrow.”

I was hopeful but, in truth, skeptical. Xerox, a Fortune 500 company with customers around the world – big, important customers -- was going to try to solve my little problem? Hard to imagine.

The next day was a Friday. No call. But she gave me her name and contact information, I thought to myself. I really thought she was going to try to help me.  

Now I was downright glum. Clearly, my case had been “filed” in the trash on Friday. And a not-so-decent replacement printer was in my future. I planned to start reading reviews on laser printers over the weekend.  

Monday morning I decided to give it one more shot. When I called Bren and heard her voice mail greeting my jaw dropped: “Hello, this is Bren… and I will be on vacation until…”

I left a friendly message (ever so hopeful) asking her to please let me know if she would be able to search for a new imaging unit after she returned from vacation. Then I went back to work.

A few hours later, a FedEx driver knocked on our door. She held a large box. The side was emblazoned with the red Xerox logo, an image that is instantly recognizable to me after 12+ years of seeing it daily. Then I noticed the words “Imaging Unit.”

Bren hadn’t forgotten about my case – about me – at all. She found and shipped a $300 replacement part to me. Gratis. In my experience this is hardly what the typical behemoth company does for a tiny customer.

I knew it would be a week before Bren was back in the office, but before I even opened the box I left her another voice mail. I expressed my gratitude – and amazement – at length. Bren’s commitment to solving my problem speaks volumes about her and Xerox.

Bren called me after she heard my messages. She wanted to thank me for making her day.