Danka’s Incompetence
March 11th, 2008Here it is another egregious example of corporate incompetence. Almost 3 years ago I bought our latest color digital printer from Danka in Rochester NY. From the day it was installed, we had billing problems. We received bills for service time and supplies when we have a “per click” contract. Bills with wrong meter readings. Bills for machines we did not have. Now, two new things have occurred: one which reeks of complete incompetence, the other plain stupidity on their end. I received a bill and phone call that I was past due on a bill I had paid. You see Danka billing sent me an incorrect bill that I paid for about $2000. It should have been around $6000. I can tell you I would be embarrassed to find I have missed an amount of that much money, let alone that it had taken me over a year to discover my mistake. If I had made a mistake like this with any customer of mine, I would have let it go and taken the loss for my incompetence. Not Danka - they not only wanted the money - they wanted it NOW. In fact, they threatened to cut off my service and supplies because I was over a year LATE paying the bill, I had just got the new bill the week before! I was not happy, but paid them and moved on, what else was I to do? They have you over a barrel when they can cut off your service and supplies unilaterally over an unpaid bill.
This, I thought, was the height of unprofessionalism, until last week. Danka it seems is not doing well locally or nationwide, so cuts needed to be made. They decided to terminate my main local service person, not in person or by phone, but via email. With over 20 years with the company the person was let go by email… Now I have only one person who can work on a unit that I am still paying for. He is not local but in Rochester, almost 2 hours away. He also has 5 weeks’ of vacation. - I guess I better not break down during one of his five weeks off. They, of course, tell me they will train some others. The lucky part for me was that this happened before I was about to spend another $100,000 + with them on new equipment. Why you may ask would I ever buy from Danka after their billing incompetence? Because my local service person was outstanding and took care of me. Now that she is gone, so is my relationship with Danka.
Here is the note of concern I sent them and the spin I got back from Danka:
Email to Danka Representative:
I was just informed that our service rep, Penny E, was let go from your company. With you now having only Gary and Mike (who is not color trained), I have serious concerns about the ability of Danka to service our printer needs. As you know, we are looking at purchasing within the next 6 months both a new black and white and new color digital box, which purchase could exceed $100,000. The number one decision on which group we go with is how well we feel we will be serviced. Danka was our first call as we began investigating new machines. That is no longer the case. When Penny was with your organization, the service was beyond prompt and professional and we never were left hanging. While we like very much Gary and Mike, I know they will be spread extremely thin to cover their plus Penny’s territory. In making such a large investment, I cannot trust promises and am looking for guaranteed response times, with financial penalties imposed if they are not met. As you know, we have had nothing but problems with billing issues from Danka Corporate for the past three years, and had it not been for Penny’s exceptional service, we would have never considered Danka for another machine.
We were very excited when Danka took on the Konica line and the new Canon image presses. In fact, I have just spent several days at the On Demand conference in Boston looking at these machines, and I am ready to make a decision. I talked with Konica national and they recommended to me that I go with a service company who has specifically trained reps in an adequate number, as in the print for pay market, it is critical to have excellent response times. At this time we are in discussions with both Ikon and Eastern and Zerox. Please let me know your thoughts on how you wish to proceed. I would also ask that you pass this along to those above who made this poor decision. Our only understanding of the rationale behind this decision would be Danka no longer wants to be in the print for pay market, and we cannot commit to a company that does not have my company’s interest at heart.
John M. Henry
Mitchell Printing & Mailing Company Danka’s responseDear Mr. Henry,
The email that you sent to Kathy was forwarded to me yesterday. Thank you for bringing to our attention your concerns. Yes, it is true that Penny E is no longer with Danka. I can understand your immediate concern about service. Let me assure you that you will not see any changes in the response time or quality of service you receive. As you are aware, Danka is industry renown for the level of service we provide. Our commitment to our customers to provide first class service has not changed. I currently have Mike L scheduled for color training (note not on my machine) and have several technicians besides Gary S that are able to provide service to your account. Please do not rush to judgment due to the unfortunate exiting of Penny. If you have any concerns, please contact me directly at 585-486-2192 Sincerely Shawn Curran - A+, Network+, MCSA, CDIA+District Service ManagerDanka Office Imaging
370 Summit Point Drive, 1BHenrietta, NY 14467
My unanswered response to the clearly face-saving spin from Danka above:
Shawn, I am sure you thought out your response, I expected this party line. The only thing that matters to me is the results. It is disturbing to see how many people have left Danka at all levels. When I see firms with high turnover, it sets off warning bells. We all know how much drive time Gary and your other reps have to get to me, 2+ hours. I do not see how just training more reps in Western New York will help this. Then add in vacations for Mike and Gary and my coverage will be difficult and spotty. This not a “Penny” issue, the issue is who am I going to trust enough to spend in excess of $100,000 with and partner my firm to for the next 3 + years. At this time I am contacting other organizations for proposals and looking into other options and will not be purchasing until the fall. Danka has a long haul to regain my trust. With your current manpower and coverage I will require that any proposals from Danka must now include a guaranteed response time, performance standards and financial penalties if not met. I am about to complete a merger that will triple my current volumes and size. I cannot risk my business with just PR and non-contractual promises. I am sure you understand. There are certain ways to do business, and I can understand you are under pressure to do more with less. That said, the only way some firms understand the customer needs is when the customer buys from others.
John M. Henry
Workers would stay and train in for 3-9 months as they are processed through and learn skills.