Component level repair

When I worked at IBM, doing tech support for their EPOS kit, we would go through phases of swapping out entire units (say, receipt printers). Then, when the parts budget was getting ridiculous, there would be a big push on to send engineers out with repair parts for it (usually either a print head or the little one-way clutch for the cutter, which would jam). Then, when that was looking shaky, there would be a drive to do as much PD with the customer as possible to work out what was wrong, before sending the CE with *exactly* the right single part to fix it. This, of course, dreamed up by someone who has never attempted to talk a harrassed supermarket customer service person through unjamming a receipt cutter at lunchtime on the Saturday before Christmas. No grasp of reality at all. Yes, I know you read this list and you know where to get in touch with me if you dare disagree ;-) Gordon