The Employee: David Olliff

Location: Tyler

The Fans: American State Bank

 

David Olliff came into this business in 1985, at the time out of desperation.
After a promised full-time gig in the marble installation business fell through, David needed a job. And fast.

“I was getting married the next week,” David recalls.

After seeing an ad for a copier technician job, he got on with Copy Products in East Texas, got married on a Friday, cut his Honeymoon short and entered the office equipment industry on a Monday. He hasn’t really looked back since.

“What I love is the consistency of the job. I like helping people, and that’s most beneficial of all. Helping people and being able to help them gain productivity – get them back up and running again.”

One recent client he helped, American State Bank in Tyler, had some very nice feedback about David in their post-service survey. It speaks loudly to the service experience he looks to create on every call.

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The Fan's Need

The bank uses a slick type of paper that was causing paper jams and the sheets to come out crinkled.

David quickly assessed and determined that the temperature of the fuser unit needed to be reset given the type of paper being used. His calls start, though, with SnapShot. By looking at the history and seeing where it’s jamming, you can isolate the jamming area and further assess from there.

“You can look at the consumable parts and see if they need to be replaced. You isolate the jamming area and you go from there,” David said. “Inside the service mode, I was able to adjust the temperate setting for the paper specs.”

He let them know what he did, and then tried to get on his way so they can get back to business.

“I’ll answer any questions that they have, but I try to keep things simple and try not to interrupt their day any more than I have to,” David says.

The Team’s Approach

David Olliff carries a very simple philosophy with him on every service call.

“I consider that the customers are my bosses. They can either get me fired or keep me here tomorrow,” David says. “I’ve got to keep them on my side as much as possible.”

How does he do that? He listens to them. He absorbs everything they are telling him. And then, after he processes it, he disarms the customer a bit by empathizing with them. “You’re right, this is bad. It needs to be fixed.”

“I never want the customer to get the impression that I believe I’m smarter or that I know better. Rather, I want them to know that I’m listening to them, and I’m going to do the best that I can.”

What Made Them a Raving Fan?

The survey response read: “Great service! Great experience! Great recommendations! Perfect service! A+!”

David believes these comments arise from a more holistic experience that encompasses multiple departments.

“It starts with the people they communicate with when they place a service call. They must have a good experience there. You can also go back to the person that sold them the machine. It starts and continues with all the areas of our company that they have communication with … if you throw a wrench in any of those areas, they’re going to have a bad taste… I think at American State Bank, they appreciate us overall and the fact that we continue to help their business with a minimum amount of hiccups.”