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Warranties de-mystified!

July 25, 2011 in Customer Service by Pam Morin  |  No Comments

Sometimes printers die.  It can be a sad day when the old HP LaserJet 5-plus spews out its last page.  Sometimes a need is born – a company decides to bring marketing in house and needs a good quality color printer, or decides to ditch several old single function machines and consolidate to a new multifunction device.

When someone contacts Reliable looking for a new or refurbished HP machine they are very likely to talk to me.  Some people know exactly what they are looking for – these people did their research and are usually well versed in the printer industry.

Sometimes I have to recommend a printer.  This is easier with the more information I get – how many pages per month, what printer(s) or machines is it replacing or working with, budget constraints, number of users and other variable information.  With so many things to choose from the biggest determinant is usually the budget and page needs.

With nearly every printer quote and comparison I put out there people have questions about how the warranty works.  We have had a lot of experiences here with the whole gamut of warranties.  Care Packs, factory one year warranties, extended warranties, refurbished printer warranties, and out of warranty special claims.

Well, I can’t answer all these questions in a blog post – it would go on for ever and be very, very boring… so I created a PDF for you to download and learn more -  HP and Reliable Warranty.

I’m sure that won’t answer all the questions, but it’s a start.  My other piece of advice is to register your printer – Julian had some great information about how and why here.

Got a question we didn’t answer?  Please ask it here!

Our Space – life in the mills of Manchester NH

July 5, 2011 in Uncategorized by Pam Morin  |  No Comments

Red Arrow Diner

Artist: Erwan LeBott

I love our space in the Langer Mill in Manchester along the Merrimack River.  Reliable has inhabited the Langer Place mill in various locations since 1996.  When I started in 2007 there were three locations, customer service and sales were on the 2nd floor east, and shipping/receiving and manufacturing were on the third floor northwest and southwest.  I got lost trying to find the offices for my interview, and Wayne found me wandering the hallway!  Since then I’ve helped several confused and lost people in the building.

The customer service area where I spend my days is in front of expansive windows facing west.   I might work indoors all day, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the nature so close by.  With our windows open we can hear the Merrimack river lapping the tree-lined shore below.  The trees sway in the breeze and filter the sun through our ceiling high windows.  Hawks hang out on the tree branches – occasionally we hear one screech, or witness a young hawk get bullied by a flock of blue jays.  Swallows swoop over the river for their dinner.  Robins nest in every nook and cranny they can find – including the building entry awning!  We hear quacking from mallard ducks on the river bank below, a sound that always makes me smile and open my window.  A couple summers ago I walked the River Walk path behind the Fishercats Stadium on my lunch breaks and found a dozen Monarch butterfly caterpillar eggs.  I took them home and raised them with my kids.  It’s the time of year to start looking for those again!

I often joke with my family that I’m going to move into Reliable’s office.   The spacious mill suite has high ceilings, a kitchen, huge windows and a couple comfy sitting areas that I like to take breaks in.  The space is still a work in progress, but it’s shaping up beautifully.  We have various types of art on the walls, beautiful wooden doors on the office and conference room and a comfortable open concept that is wonderful for claustrophobics like me!

There are several art galleries and photographers in the building – and just walking through the halls to get to our suite can be relaxing.  The Hatfield Gallery has beautifully appointed the 3rd floor hallway walls with framed art of the city and other New Hampshire locations.  Our many neighbors have architecturally interesting entry ways.  I love seeing the original wood floor and old rolling doors that were part of the original building design.  I visit Be Day Spa on the 2nd floor on occasion.  I’ve gotten a variety of services there and loved every single one of them.

There is a great Mexican restaurant and bar – Pochito’s at the other end of South Commercial Street.  Super yummy and authentic Mexican is one of my many favorite kinds of food!  The only thing I think is missing from Langer Place is a café – we don’t have a place that we can walk to just get a quick soda or sandwich when we forget to bring things in.  Although, Market Basket is moving in just up the street and I hear they have a “café” on site.  It’s so nice to be a part of downtown Manchester’s development and evolution.  Can’t wait to see what comes next!

Little known online ordering features

June 8, 2011 in Customer Service by Pam Morin  |  No Comments

I like to tell customers that our online ordering system has all the features of the big boxes, with none of the distractions.  It’s a simplified white-lie, however, because it actually has a lot more features than you will find on most other online ordering websites.  I’ll outline just a few of the features you may or may not have heard about.

Admins and Users

Everyone who logs into the system is either an “Admin” or a “User”.  If you are the only person in your organization who logs in to place orders, you are probably an admin.  Admins can change passwords, view all order histories and billing information.  Some organizations have admins approve user orders before the order comes through to fulfillment – this assures PO’s are assigned correctly and that there are less mistakes in ordering.

Purchase Orders, budgets and cost centers

PO’s can be set up as blanket PO’s with a budget amount, or a single new PO number can be entered for each order.  You can also have a budget for a set period of time so that users don’t go over the budgeted amount.  Cost centers give you a way to departmentalize the expense.  These features are all set up by a Reliable employee on the back end only take a few moments to activate.

Order Tracking

Earlier this year we activated tracking order e-mails.  This is an e-mail that notifies you that a tracking number is available and the item(s) are on their way.  If you don’t want this e-mail you can opt out of it in your account settings.

If you would like to learn more about these features or add and of them to your account please give me a call in customer service a call at 800-346-7890 x106.

The customer service roller coaster

May 19, 2011 in Customer Service by Patti Bemis  |  No Comments

Roller CoasterWe love all our referrals!  What business doesn’t?  However, no business can thrive on referrals alone…

Recently we were contacted by a new employee from a business we’ve had the pleasure of working with for many years.  She told us that our regular contact was gone, but that she was given specific instructions by them to order from us.  Wow – that blew my mind!

And that’s not all – several of our customers who moved on to new jobs call us shortly after they start at their new job.  There’s also been several new accounts we started working with recently that are strictly referrals from our current customer base.

There is no greater compliment to a business and its employees than repeat business and referrals!  Knowing the hard work you do plays an important role in your company’s success makes it a joy to go to work every day.  I know it sounds corny, but it really does make you want to whistle while you work!

Now for loop two of the roller coaster.  As many successful companies do, we have continuously evolved and added new solutions to meet customers’ needs.  Smart, right?  You bet, but if we don’t let everyone know what we are up to, we might get off the tracks!  Keeping existing customers informed about all the new products & services we offer isn’t an easy task.

So, what is the best way to keep our customers informed about our ever changing and evolving products and services? The answer was right under our noses.  The  changing technology is what keeps us evolving, so we needed to look at changing how we communicate to fit the times!

We recently implemented a customer outreach program by assigning a dedicated customer service rep to each account. We updated the way we communicate to include not only phone and e-mail, but have added social media like blogging, Facebook and twitter to help keep our precious customers up to date.

I think there is a lot that we can learn about each others business.  As we move towards global content management and the less-paper office our services will continue to evolve and adapt.  Everyone has different ideas and we would  love to hear yours.  Let us know if you have any unique ways to communicate your services, or any ways we can serve you better….

Online ordering Tips and Tricks

May 18, 2011 in Customer Service by Pam Morin  |  No Comments

Our online ordering is different from most others, but once our customers learn how to use it they find it much faster and easier than others. Here are a few things you can do to make it super easy and fast to place your online orders and set up your account.

HP Supplies Finder

HP Supplies Finder Icon
Have trouble finding the right ink or toner cartridge for your machine? Click on the HP Supplies Finder icon in the upper right corner. Either type in your machine model number, or click the printer type and look on the list.

Search for Products

Search
Less is more in the search products field. Do you know you need a “HP 263A” but want the compatible brand?  Type in simply “263A” and both the HP and compatible will come up.  Or, if you are searching for the old part number “Q2612R” skip the R and type just Q2612.  Many of our part numbers have changed, so if you drop the R the product will come up.

Personal Items

Personal itemsItems you order on a regular can be added to a special list for easier finding. Click the “Add to Personal Items” link on the item. Be aware that you have to confirm this an additional click by deciding if you want to create groups or just add the item with no group.

Contract Items

Contract itemsItems listed here are ones you have ordered in the past.  Many times they also have the price locked in for a period of time.  You can decide how many items to show on the screen if you have several pages of them.   If there is an item you know you order on a regular basis that is not in your contracted items, please call customer service to have it added.

Site Tutorials and Suggestion Box

Site TutorialWant to learn more? Click the Site Tutorial in the upper-most right corner of your screen.  If it’s not there call customer service to have this feature activated.  You can also contact customer service via the Suggestion Box.

Check back for more – next I will explain how to use the account and administration features!  Please leave a comment below if you have any other tops you want to see covered!

Hello from Julian

April 10, 2011 in Uncategorized by Julian  |  No Comments

Many know me already – I’m Julian Reynolds, the Service Manager for Reliable Technologies. I have been in the technology field for 15 years, and started with Reliable in 2005.

I am responsible for many different aspects of customer fulfillment. Of all my responsibilities there are many things I really enjoy. The best is getting to interact with customers – when I go out and do service calls or when assisting with sales, or just everyday customer interaction. I also like negotiating and crunching numbers. Customer satisfaction is always the goal – please call or e-mail me anytime, the customer always come first!

I’ll be blogging mostly about laser printer service, feel free to ask support questions, comment on my posts and make suggestions.

I underwent shoulder surgery on April sixth. It was supposed to be a quick 45-minute surgery. We expected me to be out a couple of days and on light-duty work for three to 12 weeks. Unfortunately it wasn’t as simple as the doctors thought, and I have been confined to a sling for three weeks. A tendon was found completely off the bone, and the labrum was severely torn. I am still available during my rehab for customer service issues. I have confidence in my team at Reliable, there won’t be a beat skipped!

Welcome from Pam in Customer Service

March 31, 2011 in Uncategorized by Pam Morin  |  3 Comments

Welcome to our blog!

My name is Pam Morin.  I’ve been with Reliable Technologies since April of 2007.  Through I have less experience with the print industry than most of my colleagues I make up for it with enthusiasm!  My main function is customer service, but I am also responsible for web site upkeep, marketing, sales assisting and Reliable’s social media presence.   (I never could have guessed that my Facebook habit would turn into a job function?)  I’ve been known to fix a printer or two here in the office, dabble in html, and make process and training manuals (can you say Type A?).

Thank you for visiting our blog!  Reliable Technologies is excited to be one of the first in the industry to take on social media and blogging (well, most of us are excited, some still have their reservations…).  We have enjoyed learning lots from other local businesses and our corporate partners SM efforts!  This blog is taking the place of our monthly newsletter that we produced last year, so please subscribe and check in once in a while.  As always, we love feedback.  If there are any topics you would like to see us post about we are currently taking requests!

Please take a look around our new web site and tell us what you think.  It is designed to help our customers quickly access the tools they need.  As business needs have changed in the past decade we have too – we are way more than just re-manufactured toner and printer service.  Check out some of our newest services, such as security risk mitigation and global content management.

With this blog we are going to share money saving tips, ways to get closer to a paperless office, industry news, current events, product reviews, random thoughts of inspiration, customer stories and personal thoughts from our team.  All of us will post a blog, so be sure to come back and see who’s up-at-bat.

“Do or do not.  There is no try.”  Yoda

Do or do no

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