Let’s face it, we have all had a product that we rely on fail, whether temporarily or permanently. Sometimes it’s user-error, other times it’s product error, but the bottom line is when a product does fail there should always be an easy path to the solution. Well that’s what you would hope as a loyal customer, right?

Often times, businesses aren’t thinking about the complete customer journey. More often than not, they are focused heavily on the pre-sale and once the sale is closed, poof! The manufacturer and its friendly sales staff are gone!

Postage meters are one of those discreet products that you don’t often think about until you have an issue. But once the issue arises, it can cause major delays because invoices and other important business documents can no longer go out the door to keep money coming back in. Because of this, it’s important to find a postage meter provider that is prepared for when things go wrong.

When looking at the various postage meter providers, there are 5 qualities you should ensure your provider has:

Is this company and their customer support staff headquartered in the U.S? If you go with a provider that has offices in the U.S. but their call center is based outside of the country, you’re going to have bigger problems than just your postage meter errors. You could be facing longer wait times, language barriers, and uneducated staff. Most call centers that are outsourced outside of the country do not have company representatives at those locations, which means you are waiting on hold for upwards of 30-60 minutes to speak to someone who has never touched a postage meter before and doesn’t have easy access to someone that has. Call centers that are not locally based don’t have the expertise in the products, nor do they have the product readily available to re-create the issue you could be facing.

You should also look for a provider that has a large Dealer network spread across major cities nationwide. If there is a larger issue at hand, having a local Dealer representative that is certified by the manufacturer can come in handy. These Dealers can send out their trained support staff to help you with your postage meter needs.

Most consumers don’t know to look for a company with the ISO9001 certification and seal, because they don’t know what it means. Businesses with this certification are focused on meeting customer expectations and delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction through their formalized quality processes. Not only is it important to choose an ISO compliant company, but you should also find a provider that’s been in businesses a long time. This means that they will likely back their products and they’re not going to close their doors anytime soon. You also want to find a manufacturer that is proud to announce how many businesses their products are in. If they aren’t sharing their numbers, chances are they’re low and getting lower.

You would think any business that manufacturers equipment would be experts in the product they create, but the reality is a lot of times they’re not. Mailing is evolving and transforming with the implementation of new technology. Businesses that were once true postage meter manufacturers have lost focus. They now have their sights on the newest software and ecommerce solutions making your postage meter problem a small fish in their new large pond. This also means that those providers are not planning to make any investments needed to ensure your problems won’t happen again in the future.

By responsive, we don’t mean that they have an automated bot that promptly responds after you’ve placed an inquiry via the web. This means when you call you get an actual, live person on the phone. It also means that if you have an issue that needs to be escalated higher within the company, you will get through to that person almost immediately. Large corporations don’t have the ability to provide one on one, individualized support like a small-to-mid size business does. Smaller providers have the ability to transfer a call or walk down the hall to get your problems solved.

You’ve heard it time and again, go with the company you trust. Well, with Postage meter manufacturers it’s incredibly important to go with a reputable and honest company. What most consumers don’t know is that because U.S. currency is passed through postage machines, the United States Postal Service requires consumers to be under a contract through the length of their postage meter rental, lease or ownership. What you’ll find when speaking to some postage meter sales reps is that they won’t tell you this information upfront. It’s only when you’re so fed up with that company due to poor service that they’ll surprise you by telling you you’re locked into a contract for another 3 years or longer. Find a provider that walks you through this process and one that ensures you that even if an issue arises, they will ensure you get the highest level of service and support.

We are locally based in the Chicagoland area and have prominent Dealer networks nationwide. To find one of our local dealers please visit our Dealer Locator.

We are plugged into over 230,000 mailrooms worldwide and have over 95 years of secure mailing experience. We are also ISO9001 certified and continue to pass our ISO certifications year after year.

FP has never veered away from our core product offering: mailing. We are the only secure mailing solutions manufacturer that is still investing in mailing products. In fact, we recently launched our latest line of PostBase^® Mailing Machines, the PostBase pro and PostBase ONE.

Our customers are our number one focus, which is why we have a dedicated Customer Experience Team located in the U.S. that fields over 120,000 calls annually. Backed by an 89% customer satisfaction rating that continues to climb, you’re sure to get the highest level of support this industry can provide.

We strive to be the first brand worldwide that customers think of and trust when it comes to secure mailing business and digital communications. Over the last 40 years our German Engineers have registered over 2,500 individual patents so that you can not only trust in our products but our commitment.

To learn more about postage meters and the different features and benefits, see our Ultimate Guide to Postage Meters.