📅 Posted: March 14, 2003  |  📁 Printers, Tips & Tricks, Why We Charge So Much  |  💬 47 Comments

TOP 10 REESONS YOUR PRINTER WONT WORK
(And How We Can Charge You For Each One!!)

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By: Dwayne Krupczak, Senior IT Technician & Blog Manager
MCSE* | CompTIA A+ (in progress) | Webmaster | Coffee Enthusiast
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Hello and welcome back to the Official Suck IT Consulting Blog!! My name is Dwayne and I am the Senior IT Technician here at Suck IT Consulting located in Paramus NJ (above Gary's Dry Cleaning, parking is genuinely terrible). This is my FOURTH BLOG POST and I think I am really getting the hang of this whole "internet writing" thing!!

Today I want to talk about printers. PRINTERS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTANCE. (I know that's misspelled, Dave pointed it out, Dave is wrong and also no longer our CTO.) We get more calls about printers than anything else except for maybe the virus popups which are real by the way and if you see one you should call us immediately day or night.

💡 PRO TIP FROM DWAYNE: Before reading this list please make sure you are using Internet Explorer. We are not responsible for this blog looking weird in Netscape Navigator or that Firefox thing everyone keeps mentioning.

🖨️ THE DEFINITIVE LIST 🖨️

1.
It is not plugged in.
This is our #1 call. We drive out, plug it in, and invoice you $275 for a "hardware diagnostic." The invoice itemizes it as "peripheral power pathway assessment." We don't make the rules.
2.
It is not turned on.
See #1. Different invoice though. "Power Management Assessment" — $275. Sometimes we do both in one visit and charge separately. It is called itemized billing and it is perfectly legal.
3.
Paper jam.
We will spend 45 minutes looking at it and then remove one crumpled corner of paper from Tray 2. We call this "Mechanical Intervention Services" and charge $350. We also strongly recommend a full printer tune-up for $800 while we are there. You will decline. We will do it anyway.
4.
Wrong printer selected.
You are printing to "Microsoft XPS Document Writer" which is not a real printer. We will click the dropdown, select the correct printer, and issue an invoice for "Driver Configuration and Output Pathway Remediation" — $225. The click takes 3 seconds. The invoice takes 2 weeks.
5.
Out of ink.
We will sell you ink cartridges at 340% markup under our "Consumables Lifecycle Management" program. The cartridge costs $6 at Staples. We charge $47 plus a $150 installation fee. The installation is us opening the lid and clicking it in. Cha-ching.
⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE: Numbers 6 through 10 are locked behind our PREMIUM BLOG MEMBERSHIP — only $19.99/month or $199.99/year!! Click here to subscribe!! Or call us at 1-800-SUCK-IT. Dwayne will answer if he is not at lunch. Lunch is from 11:30 AM to 3 PM.

I hope this list helps you understand why your printer does not work and also why you should call us instead of trying to fix it yourself. Every time you try to fix it yourself you make it worse and then we charge more. It is a good system for everyone involved (mostly us).

Please leave a comment below!! We read every comment and sometimes respond within 4 to 6 weeks. DO NOT leave your credit card number in the comments. Dave says it would save time. Dave is wrong. Dave is also no longer here.

🏷️ TAGS:
printerwhyIT supporthelpdeskParamus NJDwayneink cartridgeplease call usprinters are evilwindows XP
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👤 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Dwayne Krupczak is the Senior IT Technician, Head Blogger, and Webmaster at Suck IT Consulting. He has been in "the IT game" since 1998 when he fixed his cousin's computer and realized he could charge for it. He holds an MCSE certification* and is currently enrolled in a CompTIA A+ course at Paramus County Community Center (Tuesdays 7 PM, bring your own laptop).

*Certification pending. He passed 6 of 7 modules. The 7th one is "hard."
💬 47 COMMENTS
🧑 xXxPrinterKillerxXx March 14, 2003 at 11:47 AM
FIRST!!!! also my printer works fine but i still call you guys because dwayne is funny lol
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🙍 LindasFromAccounting March 14, 2003 at 1:22 PM
The printer in our office has been saying "offline" for 3 months. I read your whole article and I did not see my problem listed. Please advise. Also Dave said my laptop has 847 viruses, is that bad?
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🧔 Dwayne K. AUTHOR March 17, 2003 at 9:05 AM
Hi Linda!! Yes 847 viruses is very bad please call us IMMEDIATELY. We have a Monday special — only $499 for a complete digital health assessment. Re: printer — have you tried turning it off and on again? That'll be $150. Please have a check ready when we arrive.
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🧑 TechGuru2003 March 15, 2003 at 8:44 PM
you guys charged me $275 to plug in my printer and when i called to complain you said it was the "after-hours line" and charged me another $150 for the call. i want to speak to a manager.
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🧔 Dwayne K. AUTHOR March 20, 2003 at 11:30 AM
I am the manager. Thank you for your feedback!! We have noted your concern in our system. Your ticket number is #4,891. Current estimated response time is Q3 2004. We appreciate your patience and your business.
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🧑 ViagRa4U_BestPrices_2003 March 16, 2003 at 3:18 AM
CLICK HERE FOR GREAT DEALS ON CERTIFIED MEDICATION ONLINE!!! LOWEST PRICES GURANTEED!!! www.definitely-not-a-scam.biz
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🧓 Carol_from_Dental March 21, 2003 at 2:07 PM
Dwayne fixed our printer last month and it now prints everything in magenta for some reason. He said this is "a feature." Is it a feature?
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🧔 Dwayne K. AUTHOR April 2, 2003 at 10:18 AM
Yes Carol, everything printing in magenta is a feature. It is called "Chromatic Output Optimization." To remove this feature there is a $350 deactivation fee. Please let us know if you'd like to schedule a visit.
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