I am blessed to say most of the people I work with are not idiots. Most of them have common sense. However; it is inevitable that I will someday return to the real world…
For instance, today. I had to create simple cards with simple trim lines on simple paper for very detailed meetings tonight. You’d think that would be easy enough, right? I made 60 sheets of these yesterday with NO PROBLEM. So today I need to make, oh, about 3 or 4 more sheets. Not a big deal, right? WRONG! I show up this morning looking for more of this paper and was told to return later. Okay, how hard is it to keep inventory of “literally the heaviest paper you have that YOU, yes YOU, short lady, rung me up for yesterday.” And I KNOW you remember me, how hard is it to remember one cardstock from the other?
Now I can say this, being a former employee of a printing establishment. I know a kid who used to “smell” the paper that was between 80 lb and 110 lb, because he swore he could smell the difference. Now THAT is dedication. I would just try my best to just remember which stack I got it from. I know what it’s like to approach a person the SECOND they come in that door, and drop whatever important gig you’re working on for Texas A&M University to serve up these trims under a knife blade that could take off your arm; or up to 500 sheets of the heaviest cardstock you got. I can say this, knowing that if I don’t immediately hop on that person and satisfy their every wish; odds are I’ll get griped at by management. That and, come on, you work at a damn print shop. How hard can your job be? My print shop gig was sometimes pressed for time, but was by no means hard.
Now, that being said, I visited my local print shop four times today. The first time I went, they could not find said paper, and I had to come back, because the only guy there who knows where this “magical” “off white cardstock” is out on his daily coffee break from 9 to 9:30. Yes, I ran into this problem yesterday; God forbid we actually try to drum up some business anywhere between 9 and 10 a.m. They should get an award for their customer service!
I then returned at 1 p.m. to pick up another twenty sheets of this paper, to print yet more cards at my office, because at 89 cents an impression, I can deal with it. I reported back to the print shop at 2 p.m. to drop off my neatly printed sheets of cardstock, which only needed the boneheaded job of being trimmed: once down the middle and then into thirds. REAL CHALLENGE OF THE DAY, I KNOW! Anyway, they’re always like super busy; so what would usually take 30 seconds at Officemax is now drawn out into a 45 minute ordeal, plus gas and travel time.
I came back 2 hours later, at 3 p.m. (mind you these people close at 4:30) after receiving a voicemail that my “little cards were READY.” Yes, I received a courtesy call that my order was READY.
I drove up. I come into the store. They then proceed to show me how 1/3 of my cards now have the logo cut off of the top of the card and blame it on the trim guide I brought; out of the goodness of my heart that MAYBE I make their FUN FILLED DAY SLIGHTLY EASIER. I sit there, and immediately channel my father’s most enraged face I can, while they SMILE and then joke about how I NEED TO BUY MORE PAPER. I am completely FUMING at this point. They are making fun of their own fuck up and now I have to deal with it, because this meeting needs these cards. They are an integral part of the public relations gig I have been working on all week (Almost 12 hours, just on Tuesday!) and they are making light of the fact that I have had to travel to their location FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES. I say that I GUESS I’LL COME BACK AFTER I PRINT SOME MORE and storm out of the store. They closed at 4:30 and never called me to see if I needed any more help or if they needed to wait on me.
Here’s the kicker: I came back to compare to myself, JUST HOW DID THIS BAD TRIM JOB HAPPEN. I then notice that all cards that have our logo chopped off are at the top of the page.
THE TOP OF THE PAGE.
THE TOP OF THE PAGE THAT NEEDS NO TRIMMING.
HOW IN THE HELL COULD YOU POSSIBLY FUCK THAT UP.
Why did they not warn me in my voicemail that there was a problem with a few of my cards and that they would work with me to get it corrected?
Why did they trim these cards when they did not need to be trimmed?
Why did I not recieve an apology?
Why does that guy get a mandatory coffee break for hours in which he gets to go fuck off half the morning?
YOU PRINT STORE IDIOTS!
I am posting a condensed version of this on every rating system google will show me.
