The Scoop on Time Clock Dealers
The majority of time clock dealers that date back 7+ years are traditionally smaller companies who survive on the sale of consumables (yes – paper time punch cards and ribbons) during slow times.
What's even scarier is when an outfit calls itself a time clock dealer and they sell more than just time clocks. If they are selling/repairing copiers, printers, PCs and the like, please be aware that they may not be highly versed in time clocks.
There are also dealers out there who sell a variety of time clock brands. This often proves the adage 'a master of all and an expert at none'. It is difficult to offer a variety of time clock brands and keep up with all of the feature updates, firmware revisions, new reports being offered on all of them. These outfits benefit by pushing the brand that has the sale going on that month. That said, I cannot see these folks keeping your best interest in mind.
There are some reputable establishments who are versed on a few solid brands and they make sure that the customers get what they need. The only way to determine if a dealer is right for you is to ask the hard questions like:
How long have they been in business?
How many service techs do they have?
How many time clock brands do they carry?
Do they only handle time and attendance?
How long and how many time clock brands have they been carrying/supporting?
What are some of the latest time system features every company needs to protect itself?
Does the time clock vendor answer the phone every time you call?
Is the time clock sales guy the technician?
Does the owner do the installs?
Who is responsible for the time clock system planning vs. install vs. training?
Is the company large enough to support your needs?
What is the time clock vendor's on-call policy?
What are their hourly rates?
Do they insist on time clock hardware or time clock software maintenance contracts?
Can they explain the time clock manufacturer's warranty?
If you read the section on questions for time clock vendors you can review more items that matter in choosing the right time clock system for your company.
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