"GET THEM TO SIGN ON THE LINE WHICH IS DOTTED!!!!"I have proposed and had signed 1,000's of agreements: purchase agreements, uniform rental agreements, equipment lease, computer hardware service, copier service, printers service software support agreements.
But today, I had the unfortunate experience to witness one of my prospect's (and hopefully new client) pain over a HUGE buyout figure on one of his machines. This machine is a Konica Minolta BizHub C500. My client prints large( 400-500 page) monthly reports. Each report has some colored text sprinkled about. There are no hi-res pictures and no detailed, color schematics - just text and maybe a pie chart. Oh, and these reports are customer facing, revenue generating documents.
The lease has 26 months left on a 60 month agreement.
The service payment is combined into the monthly lease payment.
For the past 11 months, copy quality has dropped immensely, at last report, each page had a "pinkish hue", which I guess technically is a color.
The front of the lease clearly states, "...your payment obligations are absolute and unconditional and are not subject to cancellation, reduction or set off for any reason whatsoever. Both parties waive their rights to a jury trial..."
I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.
I can go one - and I will - but for now, check these posts out and if you are selling equipment on a lease, do WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR CLIENT.
Here is the press release for this unit's roll out and from that release, " ...Pricing and Availability. The bizhub 500 and bizhub 420 are available through Konica Minolta's North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the bizhub 500 is $12,300..."
This blog post is pretty close to a normal "pre-sale" experience with leasing from the stand point of a School no less - oh but wait there is more. Check this post out - from a church!
***The information included in this post is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.
I suppose I don't hear this often enough b/c the company I work for would replace at their cost or fix at their cost... There is not enough integrity in the world in my estimation. That is not a leasing issue it is a servicing issue, in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteYes. This really isn't a leasing issue as much as it is a Customer Service issue between the hardware provider and the customer. The leasing company really isn't set up to "care" about copiers or the quality of print.
ReplyDeleteAnd if a dealer wants to replace the unit, how does that work with the lease company? When the dealer "carries the paper" then there is little concern. But the lease company provides no guarantee for hardware performance.
For the dealer to replace - an arrangement must be worked out with the lease company - translating into a "buy out to keep" figure. The equipment is the only "security" the lease company has in the loan. To make arrangements means to swap in a unit that is of "more or equal" value. If the cost of the machine is $2,000.00 then there are no worries. If the cost of the unit is closer to 18k or even higher difficult questions arise for the dealer.
Essentially, the dealer would be taking a 18k "hit". Now because most dealers don't want that, they start to play games with "like for like" garuantees. Of course the "like for like" is defined by the dealer.
This illustrates the importance of matching client requirements with equipment function. And this means getting a clear vision of the "real" requirements and solution agreed upon by both provider and customer. A "Partnership" based on High Intent.
--it ain't brain surgery, it's rocket science...