Sharp COVID-19 Christmas update
On 2nd December the government brought in the tier system, where different restrictions apply in different parts of the country. The government will continue to impose restrictions to slow the infection rate of the pandemic and minimise social contact in areas where the virus is most prevalent.
Business Continuity Plans
Sharp Business Systems UK has a COVID-19 Business Continuity Plan to ensure we can maintain operations, service and support functions. Having been executed earlier in the year, this plan will continue over the festive period.
Throughout the pandemic SBSUK have followed UK guidelines and we are continuing to ask all employees to work from home wherever possible. This is not possible for everyone, and those employees are still working from our offices and service centres to support our customers.
Helpdesk Support
Remote support has worked well this year and shall remain in place to ensure we can offer support for all of our customers no matter their circumstances. Our Helpdesk, which manages all incoming customer hardware and software issues has increased the number of remote fixes from 15% to a substantial 21% compared to the same period last year.
This increase of over one third not only signifies a more efficient service for our customers – one that gets them back up and running more quickly, but also helps to protect both our engineers and our clients by reducing the number of onsite visits. This also cuts the amount of travel required, thereby lowering our impact on the environment.
To achieve this, we have invested in our Helpdesk Team, which has grown in personnel and is continually adapting to be able to service our full suite of solutions, from MFPs to Visual Solutions, Software to Laptops, and more. Our Helpdesk now has a dedicated Visual Solutions Support Team to resolve issues and we’ve conducted training sessions on dynabook, enabling additional support for laptops. Furthermore, we have been able to deliver more VNC training – where we can view and access MFP screens remotely - to meet the surge in demand for remote support.
Toner Deliveries and Requests
After pausing our OneStop automated toner delivery service due to lockdown at the start of the year, we took the decision to switch this service back on in May. This will continue over the Christmas period and into the new year. To remove the potential risk of putting our customers and our delivery drivers in harm’s way, we ask that manual requests for ink or toner be made when absolutely necessary. Please ensure you are using up any stock you hold on site before submitting a new request.
If you have a business-critical toner request, for example a machine has stopped working and it is required, please make that request (preferably by email) to service.sbsuk@sharp.eu or if it's not possible to email, please telephone 0800 243 183 (quoting your machine reference or serial number). In addition to this, we will also need a contact telephone number that will be answered, along with details of your office opening times. These requests will normally be limited to a single cartridge.
Christmas Opening Hours
The Service Department will be available as usual over the festive period, excluding Bank Holidays, where we’ll be looking forward to spending some time relaxing with our families.
Next Steps
We will continue to review our plans in line with government advice and remain committed to supporting you with the highest levels of service.
We ask that you continue to contact our service team via the usual channels of telephone, website and email. Your request will be triaged as normal and we will continue to support you to the best of our abilities.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager.
For more detail about Coronavirus, please visit the World Health Organisation website here: www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
We wish you and your families a peaceful and happy Christmas, and a prosperous New Year.
Thank you,
Trevor Northfield
Operations Director
Sharp Business Systems UK