Confuse and Conquer! That's their mantra.

Confuse and Conquer!!  That’s their Mantra.
 
Being the onsite “contract expert”, one of my colleagues brought a pretty sizable stack of paperwork to my desk.  It consisted of Lease Contracts, Imaging Plans and Invoices.   I’ve seen organizations with twice the gear and half the stack…I mean seriously, this was a thick folder.  
 
He says the customer is extremely unhappy with their current vendor (go figure) and half the stuff that was sold to them doesn’t work or they don’t even have.  Their situation is out of control and they have no idea what they are paying for or worse; for how long.   I glanced at a few of the invoices, one for $500+, one for $700+, $1,000+ etc…oh and by the way; these were per month!
 
I’ve cold called this place and already knew their equipment and key contacts.  I’ve followed up on several occasions and never got anywhere.  It’s no wonder.  After looking at their invoices they’re probably deathly afraid of all copier people wearing ties!
 
Seeing as how the account is in my territory the first order of business was to call my colleague a poacher, weasel, “A”-hole and a couple other choice words that I won’t repeat in public.  Stay out of my patch!
 
Turns out he was referred in.  Kudos!
 
Second order of business: get to the bottom of this and see how we can help.  We followed the paper trail as far back as we could.  Let me try to explain this in a bullet point format because it’s the only way I can think to do it.
 
1. 2009 – Their Canon was replaced by a new Ricoh copier. If you’re in the business, that clue tells you the vendorJ  There is no lease on this transaction; just an “amendment” to the previous contract extending the terms by 38 months.  Keep in mind, this is not a 38 month lease, it’s an extension at the end of their current lease.  At this point we don’t have the original contract so there is technically no start date that we can refer to…still working on it.
2. 2010 - The vendor adds a piece of third-party scanning hardware from EFI that is supposed to revolutionize their document workflow.  Another “Amendment” was signed extending the term 22 months.  It did not work.  
3. 2011 – The vendor replaced formerly mentioned piece of crap with a new Scanner.  Yep, another amendment was signed for an additional 18 months.  I kid you not; this scanner is in a closet collecting dust!
4. The best part is that none of the invoices reflect the dollar amounts listed on these contracts.  Not by a long shot.  
 
– Rant Warning –
 
To all people responsible for purchasing decisions in the document output or input areas of your business:  
 
• You are signing a contract!  
• You are obligated to pay the term of the contract regardless if the “solution” works or sits in a closet!
• It would serve you well to have the vendor provide an onsite proof of concept before you sign anything!  Especially if it’s a “Solution”!!!
 
So with the information provided there is no way to tell when this contract actually matures.   I am the “contract expert” and finding what I listed was a challenge.  I can’t imagine how Jane Doe, the industry outsider, new to the Accounting department is supposed to unravel it all.  She certainly can’t call the current vendor. They’ll just write some new amendment that digs her deeper.  That, or they will stonewall her until the dust settles.
 
Confuse and Conquer!  That’s their Mantra.
 
-Adrian Leffler