Thursday, September 21, 2006

Riddle me this...

So three days ago I went to make a copy. The copier was so out of toner that it actually wouldn't make a copy. "Lazy bastards" I grumbled to myself as I pull down the extra toner box. "Hmmmm, this feels mysteriously light." And lo, it was empty.
Now on the top and front of the box, and on the shelf upon which it sits is a neon pink sign that says: "When you remove the last toner, please order 3 more. Thanks." I should mention that all you do is leave a voicemail on a 1800 number and they mail you more.
So I turned to a coworker and said, "I can't believe we're out of toner." Then she responded, "Oh yea, we've been running out for like three days."
So, for three days, the toner warning message came on before every single copy was made and not one person thought, "maybe I should put a new toner in."
So, of course, I actually ordered toner and sent out a friendly and polite email along the lines of:

Hi everyone,
Please remember to order or to ask your support person to order more toner, staples, or paper if the supply looks low. A good time to reorder is when you put the last full toner cartridge in the copier. Currently there is no toner for the copy machine and there will be no toner for 3-5 days. You will need to send all copy jobs to the print shop in the mean time.
To order staples or toner, or to report a problem with the machine, the phone number for the company is blah blah blah. The machine is a blah blah and its identification number is blah blah blah.
Additionally, if the copy machine is jammed, please remove the jam, or ask someone for help removing the jam.
Thanks for helping the department run smoothly,
Quiana

Then today, some crazy woman with whom I work, comes into my cubical and says that I have to go out and find toner (toner trees? toner mario bros. surprise boxes: if I punch them three times it just pops out? toner leprechauns?) and that this is unacceptable and that people like myself who are in charge of the copier need to do their jobs and if they need to check it all the time then so be it.
I VERY politely told her that I don't have any copier related responsibilities and furthermore that the only reason I am ALWAYS doing copier maintenance is because I am the only one who will actually get off of my duff and do it.
"I have very important copies to make and what am I supposed to do now" she screeched. I told her to send it to the Print Shop. Then she said , "I sent something there two days ago and I told them to do it by yesterday and it didn't come." "Uhm. Did you go and get it?" I asked incredulously. "No" she announced with finality, "but this is totally unacceptable."

Now here is the riddle bit:
Today the toner cartridges arrived, should I:
A. Put the toner in the copier and send out an email?
OR
B. Put the toner in the trunk of my car till Monday?




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