cracked hopes
So, sometimes, good deeds go sour when it’s out of your control. Transcontinental printers, our people in Canada are good to us. No doubt. Issue 50 comes out they actually made us the above award, featuring the first issue and the 50th, framed. But somedays are just not waking up for (no, I don’t really believe this). The mail comes, I see the package. I wonder what it is, so I open it and it’s a framed something. Neat, but the glass has chips, tiny ones, and I cut my thumb. To not risk injury to others much less myself, I decided the safest thing to do is to throw it away. All the packaging had to go too. I could have kept it, and replaced the glass with all of the free time that I have, maybe in 2010, but that also means housing this piece, broken glass with tiny shards around somewhere. It wasn’t going to happen. I felt like an ass breaking the news to the print shop that the item they carefully made and sent came broken and that I had to throw it away for safety’s sake. A few of you might be thinking that I should have just dealt with it better, but fuck it, right? I like it, I don’t love it, it’s broken, and I’ll never get to fixing it. What would you do with a broken trophy that caused a cut in your finger?
The printer dude felt bad. He called his peoples who packed this and got this done. Their response which he relayed to me was that it’s never happened before, and it’s impossible that it happened.
1) They made me a special issue 33 – ten years type of award. It also showed up with broken glass. I sort of didn’t remember too clear, but Martin confirmed it. The frame is bent too. This one was much smaller, we eventually took it to get replaced. But the point is, the “never happened before” is a crock of shit. They are 2/2 in sending shit broken. Why is it that printers are so self righteous? It’s been a common theme since day one of doing GR. Printers screw up like everyone else, they just hate to admit it since it costs them money or credibility.
2) The employee who said, “no way it could happen.” That’s just stupid. What makes you think you can pack something that a delivery person won’t drop, kick, or even dropkick during transit? I told Mike to tell her to “Fuck Off”. He said he would, but I doubt it. Maybe the strong Canadian dollar is making the Canadians feel impenetrable or something, but logic still has to prevail. Delivery people will break shit.
Next, our issue 51 that we need to have for the shops, etc, sat in a warehouse since last week. No note, no call, no nothing to tell us that they were ready to be delivered. Basically, they were supposed to come by and drop them off. We were around the whole time, but nothing. We found this out yesterday, and today, this company, Yellow, refused to deliver them. So my printer, trying to make something work right calls a different freighter to come and pick it up to bring to us today between 5-8pm. Martin waits and waits, and at 8:05 he has to leave. A pregnant wife, and a trip to Hawaii tomorrow morning is pretty important. The delivery people never show up. Cut finger, shitty framed object, a complacent packing person, and a shitty delivery company are the hazards of the day. The magazines which we pay hefty amounts for, just sit picking up dust, when they should be for sale. When you look from above and think about it from at least our point of view. Here’s what’s going on.
The magazine needs to be for sale. Each day it’s not a chain of events happen.
a) we lose the sale, we may lose the customer who may buy the mag elsewhere and become a customer there instead.
b) we lose any associated sale from the person. maybe they would have gone home, or showed the mag to someone who in turn would have bought a copy, a subscription, an artwork, etc.
c) the advertisers will think we suck. Even though other places have the mag, it looks bad when we’re out at the store. Advertisers mad? Maybe they won’t give us the next ad. It’s damage that we can’t afford.
d) customers will think we suck. Who’s subscribe to a mag that can’t get on the stands?
e) now we’re faced with a late holiday issue in store. That’s bad. While the world tunes out, we need to try and build hype for the issue. (keep in mind it’s in store, the rest of the spots should have them) Aside from first copies, this is our store copies.
Have any bets as to when this secondary company will deliver it tomorrow? Will I be in at that time whenever it is? Should the printer just had the regular delivery company bring it tomorrow since whoever was to bring it in the “expedited” method failed?
The only good thing is that “Transcon” sent us a bag of Canadian candy. We got sugared up, and that made us feel better.