Last night I went out to run a few errands. I needed to return a video, pick up some bread, and make some copies for the upcoming Reformation Day Ball.

First stop: OfficeMax. Now, maybe I should have learned from Chris’s experience and not to go there. But they’re theonly place in Lynchburg that can do what I need done. Well, usually.

So I made (actually Megan did) the flyer in Microsoft Publisher, and I put on a cd the file, and also a copy of the file ‘packed for commercial printing’. That’s an option within Publisher.
So I take my cd, they pop it in and open the file. They don’t have the fonts used in the file. They’re clueless. I tell them they need to unpack the other file on the disc. The girl tries to open one of the data files… it doesn’t open, of course. The computer tells her that she doesn’t have the program to open it. I explain to her what to do, and what will happen. She says she can’t do it, her computer doesn’t have what I need. I tell her it does. She then says that she isn’t allowed to unpack the file. After a brief discussion about other people doing it in the past, I ask her if there’s a manager around that can authorize it. She calls Greg. Greg comes over, and basically just says no. He’s totally clueless.. has no idea about the computer, and what needs to be done. He just says its against their policy. Whatever worked to get me out of there, methinks.

I say that I don’t believe it for a minute. I explain that it’s built into the program that they have on their computer. I tell him that their computer doesn’t have the fonts that I need, and the self-contained file needs to be unpacked. He says they aren’t allowed to do that. I ask him if he can make an exception, so I can print my things. He says he could only do that if the regional manager of CopyMax said he could. And then, from that point on, he didn’t look at me. He only looked at his feet and the computer screen. And after everything I said, he’d just go “Mm hm”. Idiot! I swear, OfficeMax hires trained monkeys for their managment.

I worked at OfficeMax for a while when I lived in San Antonio with my brother. The managers there were the same way. Clueless about most things tha twent on in the store, and told customers whatever was necessary to get them out of their hair.

So anyhow. I’m going to call the general manager today. He gets in at noon. Gordon is his name.