Kinkos Sucks it!

As many of you know, I've been spreading cold/flu germs on many a blog this last few days. Apparently it has work, since the fiesty and ever so whitty Bucky Four Eyes can attest. Sorry B4E, I hope you feel better soon. And since Blogger will not co-operate and let me post a comment to your Willford Brimley comment...it's the walrus like mustache isn't it? You like the oversized flavor saver don't you?

Well, tonight was the last night of Technical Writing class and I have to say that my group cleaned up pretty good. There were only three work groups so the presentation went quickly and after seeing what the other two did, I really have to say that ours was the most original and the one with the most personality. Not to say that theirs wasn't useful, just dull.

The one thing that I lament and have stuck in my craw is the printing process. I give unto you, the evil empire that is KINKOS. I had no previous experience with this dominion of money grubbers and so went in uninformed. Let me tell you, I came out of that one a lot wiser. Just take a guess at what the charged me to punch a hole in the document (8pgs. laminated)? Any guess's...Bucky? Susie? Anyone? $5!!!

Here's how it went down:

Ring, Ring....oh wait, my cell doesn't ring.....vrrrrrrb! vrrrrrrb!
Me: Hello!?
EE(evil empire): HI Mr. Greenthumb! Just wanted to let you know we were finished with your print job.
Me: Okay thanks. Can you tell me what the total was?
EE: $99.58
Me: Excuse me!!! What did you say?
EE: $99.58
Me: How is that possible?
At this point she starts going down the list of itemized charges to which I'm partially agreeing with thinking it sounds reasonable, that is until she got to the last one...
EE: $5 to drill thru the left corner of the laminated copy.
Me: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
EE: no, sorry, but that's what we charge.
Me: That's rediculous, I'll be right down.
EE: Okay.

Now this is the part that really cracked me up...well, later. I walk in and tell them I'm there to pick up the Greenthumb packet. I could tell that it was the same person I spoke to on the phone.

EE: Your total is $99.58
Me: $5 dollars to put a hole in 8 cards??? You really expect me to see the legitamacy of that?
EE: Well, it's like this...It's a set up...I mean...oh that's not how I meant to say it.
Me: Your damn straight its a setup. This is crap.
EE: No, no...we have this press over there, and it's a setup fee for the press that drills thru the cards. That way they are all the same size and in the same place on each sheet.
Me: Well, that makes perfect sense, as opposed to it going towards the man power required to do the work themselves, but a machine, well here then, take my $5 and don't think another thing about it.

It's one thing to charge for high quality paper, color printing or lamination...but $5 to punch holes in 8 pieces of paper? I'm clearly not in the right business.



All that aside, the project turned out very professional looking and very sharp. I'm quite proud of the final product. Now if I can just figure out how to minimize production costs, I could turn around a sell it, it's that good, but at the current cost, I would have to charge $27.00 a copy just to make expenses. It's cool, but not that cool.