(Vice President of Operations, Tyler Office)  At an early age, Stephen Hampton learned a very valuable life lesson from his dad, who worked as an automobile mechanic.

"Don't rush through jobs. Do them right the first time. And you'll save yourself money, effort, and time."

That lesson, being only one of many learned at home, made a lasting impression on Stephen, which he attributes to who he is today. It has seen him through many years of change in an ever-changing industry, which he entered in 1989. A few things haven't changed for Stephen in his life:

"God. Family. Work. In that order," he says.

From acquisitions to evolving technology, Hampton is a well-tested veteran of an industry that’s in his blood. His pursuit of excellence, his commitment to both clients and teammates? It’s in his veins. And at Datamax today, he feels the energy and potential pumping faster and stronger than ever before.

What led me to Datamax?

“Entering the industry, I was hired by a then-competitor of Datamax, Innovative Office Systems. Starting in the shop, I learned basic copier theory, and was trained on NP150s, 200s, 210s and 270s.

I had a strong desire to learn as much as I could about fixing machines, but soon learned that there was much more that needed to be accomplished. Customers had to feel good about the service you delivered, and this required not only repairing and cleaning their machine, but effectively communicating with the customer is key.

From there, I transferred to Office World (which had been acquired by Innovative) so that I could get back home in East Texas.

After a few years back in Tyler, I was given the responsibility of servicing two of our largest accounts, and was soon promoted to a supervisor role.

In July of 1999, I was recruited by East Texas Copy Systems and accepted the position of Service Manager, over a department of three technicians, which included myself. We grew from there.

In 2017, with a service team of 15, I was promoted to Director of Service."

My experiences at Datamax:

"The industry has changed so much. When I started, a copier was a copier – it made copies. I’ve seen them evolve from stand alone machines to devices intricately woven into the way customers run their businesses. It’s a much more vital piece of equipment than it was in 1989.

All that said, the difference has always been customer service. Without that, you don’t have anything. And it’s not just technicians in the field. It’s our delivery, admin, and sales teams working together, as a single unit to deliver great customer service. 

Being part of something bigger, Datamax has increased our depth of knowledge and our ability to deliver solutions and service on a broader scale. Our technicians continue to focus on delivering good customer service, fixing them right the first time. That hasn’t changed."

What makes me want to stay at Datamax?

"Being part of a larger organization allows for more growth and opportunity. The overall package has just been enhanced with Datamax.  The investments that are being made at our location speak tons. Not only in the facility, but through the ongoing training of our teams says: "Datamax Cares!"

Change is not bad. It’s how you adapt to the change. Especially when you see that the direction is the same."