"The machine is guilty until proven innocent."

It's a phrase Tony Foust, Datamax ConnectTeam Manager, uses often, originally coined by Director of Service Chris Williams.

A customer calls and says the copier won't print. A scan-to-email workflow suddenly stops working. A document doesn't come out the way it should.

The customer says: "The copier is broken."

The ConnectTeam says: "Maybe. Let's find out."

In today's on-demand world, customers expect technology to work instantly. When they press Print, they expect a document. When they scan to email, they expect it to arrive. What many don't see is the growing number of systems working behind the scenes to make that happen.

Today's multifunction devices are connected to everything from email platforms to network infrastructure. When one piece changes, it can impact everything else.

"We're in a grey area," says Foust. "They see it black and white. Some of these things are anything but."

Be Proactive Before Day One.

One of the ways the ConnectTeam helps meet customer expectations is by getting ahead of potential issues before a device is ever installed.

For large deployments, that can mean pre-programming settings, coordinating with IT teams, and understanding unique workflow requirements long before users touch the machine.

The goal isn't simply to install equipment. It's to create a smoother experience from day one by reducing troubleshooting and helping users become productive faster.

Solve It Before We Send a Tech.

When customers experience a problem, their first instinct is often to request service. But according to Foust, many issues can be resolved much faster through troubleshooting and remote support.

"Our dispatchers try to triage those machine calls," he says. "Does this look like a machine issue? A networking issue? Let's try to help the customer first."

A driver installation, network setting, or authentication issue can often be resolved over the phone. In many cases, identifying the source of the problem is half the battle.

In an on-demand environment, customers want answers quickly. Sometimes the fastest service call is the one that never happens.

Technology Doesn't Always Play Nice.

ConnectTeam members are masters of many miscellaneous applications. 

One of the biggest challenges facing modern office technology is that devices are expected to work seamlessly with an ever-growing list of applications and platforms. Customers create documents in Canva, Publisher, Adobe, Microsoft Office, and countless other programs. Security settings change, internet providers change, and Microsoft 365 introduces new requirements. Meanwhile, expectations remain exactly the same.

"When you tell it to print, it should print," says Foust.

The challenge is that a printing issue isn't always a printing issue. A scan-to-email failure may have nothing to do with the copier itself. A security update or antivirus setting may be the real culprit.

"There are so many variables in the background," Foust says.

Meet Customers Where They Are.

For Foust, one of the most important parts of the job is remembering who is on the other end of the phone.

"These people are accountants. They're teachers. They're nurses," he says. "It's not their job to know the ins and outs of these machines."

That's why patience matters.

While the ConnectTeam may be working through technical variables, the customer simply wants to get back to work. Helping them understand what's happening is often just as important as finding the solution.

Rather than stopping at "that's an IT issue," the team helps customers navigate the next step and connect the right people to the solution.

As customer expectations continue to rise, so does the complexity behind the technology they use every day. For Foust, urgency isn't just about responding quickly. It's about getting ahead of problems before they become bigger ones.

"Sometimes it may be 3:45 in the afternoon and somebody says, 'That sounds like a tomorrow problem,'" he says. "Even if I can't completely solve it today, I'd at least like to start the process of elimination. I have this attitude of: ‘if I don’t’ do it, no one else will."

In an on-demand world, that's often the difference between a disruption and a solution.