Kinkos: miserable attention to detail 27 Jan 2006
115 comments Latest by whatthehell
We always have badges printed up for our Getting Real Workshop. We usually go to Kinkos. Not anymore.
The assignment was to print out the badges, individually laminate them, and trim them neatly. Here’s a sample of what they delivered. The red outlines are mine — they show the edges of the lamination for each badge. This was delivered by an assistant manager who considered this of acceptable quality. How anyone can think this is of acceptable quality is completely baffling. Unbelievable.
For the record, this happened at the Kinkos at 1800 W North Ave, Chicago IL 60622.
115 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Tony 27 Jan 06
That’s just terrible.
So, what will you do instead? (Or have you not decided yet?) SirSpeedy?
Rob Poitras 27 Jan 06
Thats really bad if they looked at them and won’t even think of printing new ones.
Adam James 27 Jan 06
Yowza. That makes me want to use the googly eyed emoticon that’s become popular now on online forums. I expect to see a DIY badge kit from Coudal Partners coming out real soon.
Heh heh.
Michael Simmons 27 Jan 06
I’ve had bad experiences at my local Kinkos as well (6829 N Lincoln Ave. Lincolnwood, IL).
Last week, I had a girl who works there say “We suck at shipping packages. We rock at drop-off’s when the customer already prints the label.” This came up while we were chatting while she was on hold with Fedex customer service. Yep, that’s right, there is no magic red phone at Kinkos like there is at the Apple Store.
I’ve stood there for 10-15mins before with nobody in front of me waiting for assistance. There is a total lack of devotion in their demeanor. They will yell things across the store to customers asking for help with never making a motion to go help them.
I’ve completely stopped using Airbill’s and transfered over completely to using the Ship Manager, which is also horrible.
peroty 27 Jan 06
Disclaimer: I work for AlphaGraphics.
I never would have let anything out of my store looking like that. It’s totally unacceptable! How can anyone laminate that badly to begin with? Especially to a DESIGN FIRM!
We get ex-Kinkos customers all the time in my shop. I’ve heard similar horror stories to this as reason enough to stop going to Kinkos.
My (biased) advice, find your nearest AlphaGraphics and let them do you right.
Mercurio 27 Jan 06
That’s horrible! peroty your right, stick with AG
Boris 27 Jan 06
Wait guys, what do you expect. This is a stgore where people are not well paid, work sometimes the nightshift and get minimal training.
It’s like going to CompUSA and expect to talk to someone that actualy knows what they are talking about and not just ramble down some numbers of GHZ and MB.
This is what keeps the small shops alive, QUALITY……
AND AFTER ALL THE SMALL SHOPS ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS……………WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT KINKOS?
What about “small teams’ etc etc… follow your own lead and you will find “badges of quality”
Best,
B.
JF 27 Jan 06
Wait guys, what do you expect. This is a stgore where people are not well paid, work sometimes the nightshift and get minimal training.
I expect straight cuts. 5 year olds can cut straight. A Kinkos employee should be able to as well — night shift or not.
GS 27 Jan 06
Ah the sweet irony.
Do you also shop at Walmart?
R. 27 Jan 06
I concur. I’ve never had a positive experience at Kinko’s, *unless* I’m doing it all myself. And, then, _I pay them_?
Jeremy 27 Jan 06
You might as well have gone to Popcopy. Oh, I think you did?
Theo Honohan 27 Jan 06
If the laminated part around the black badge is transparent, then frankly who cares what shape it is, within reasonable bounds? For a nametag, clarity is important, neatness is not. You guys have been corrupted by working in a medium (the web) which allows gratuitous graphic precision and accuracy. Communication has nothing to do with cutting straight lines.
JF 27 Jan 06
Theo, the web is NOT about precision. Print is.
And who cares? I care. I’m not paying them for something “close” (which isn’t even close in this case), I’m paying them for the job done right.
If we forget what a job done right means we’re all doomed.
RB 27 Jan 06
JF says, “If we forget what a job done right means we�re all doomed.”
√ Check that one off.
Lou 27 Jan 06
That’s awful. Not only is the laminate not cut straight, but it’s cut on a funny angle that actually chops off the corner of one of the badges. And the black isn’t even on some of them.
And I agree, as someone who would be receiving such an item, I would expect it to be precise and accurate (I was recently given a badge that misspelled my position and company). I’ll trade precision for accuracy, but not too much, and not if the offerer is in the precision business.
DT 27 Jan 06
Speaking of attention to detail, you may want to proof read your three paragraphs before posting:
“The red outlines are mine � the show the edges of the lamination”
I’m guessing that you mean: they show.
william doyle 27 Jan 06
why don’t you have some lapel stickers custom printed with your logo and whatever else you want on there and then, once you have your list of names for the conference, throw a couple of sheets of the labels into the laser printer and voila, you have your name badges with custom printing and you never had to deal with kinko’s
stefan hartwig 27 Jan 06
I have to say, the cropped image that showed up in NetNewsWire actually looked pretty cool, but the actual result (once I clicked through) was far less stimulating.
That’s just plain bad.
Nothing against printers who know what they’re doing, but nothing drives me more crazy than an incompetent printer. I’m a web geek and I know more than most of the ones I have to deal with…
Joel 27 Jan 06
That’s so funny. I live right next to that Kinkos and just had the same problem. I run a gaming site for gamers over 25 years old and recently had a large event in Nov. We went to that Kinko’s to get laminated badges for each of the staff members attending. What we got back was a mirror image of what you posted. I actually told them I wasn’t going to pay and then ended up doing the laminating myself. They had a machine there and it took a only minutes to complete. Makes me wonder how they could even screw it up in the first place. Since its on North Ave, I actually thought I was going to get a better service. I guess even the trendy Kinkos doesn’t matter.
Joel 27 Jan 06
That’s so funny. I live right next to that Kinkos and just had the same problem. I run a gaming site for gamers over 25 years old and recently had a large event in Nov. We went to that Kinko’s to get laminated badges for each of the staff members attending. What we got back was a mirror image of what you posted. I actually told them I wasn’t going to pay and then ended up doing the laminating myself. They had a machine there and it took a only minutes to complete. Makes me wonder how they could even screw it up in the first place. Since its on North Ave, I actually thought I was going to get a better service. I guess even the trendy Kinkos doesn’t matter.
Bryan Veloso 27 Jan 06
I have never trusted Kinkos with anything. They’ve messed up presentation after business card after poster. Their service is lousy (at least in the Providence area) and their quality meets up to their service level. Such a horrible price to value service, even if you wanted something velobound you had to pay 1.50 more than the next expensive place.
Damn, I could have done better with my eyes closed.
RyanA 27 Jan 06
Kinkos are just as ridiculous in Australia, too. The service is comparable to that of a McDonalds. A bunch of angsty teenagers and some 20 somethings bitter, wondering why they’re still there out of high school.
The first and last experience I had in Kinkos was where I was printing invitations for a birthday party. At first I got there and I find out that they’re using a version of Illustrator that is 3 versions out of date. I had to go back home and save my Illustrator file as the old format.
When I got back there and was ready to print. I said that I wanted to purchase some better stock. I told them that I needed a hand loading the paper as I didn’t know how to do it (what type of company lets people off the street meddle with a $20,000 printer, anyway?).
After the paper was loaded we had a lot of issues printing from the computer. We had to try 3 different machines to get it to print. In the mean time, someone else had printed out a document all over my stock. When we found out, that this had happened (by printing out on normal stock, which I was charged for), they tell me that I will not only have to purchase more stock (the moron clerk put my stock in the ‘default’ tray), but I’ll have to also purchase more stock and pay again for the printing…
I now use local small businesses for my printing needs.
Chris Palmieri 28 Jan 06
OK, so now that we all agree that Kinko’s can’t do anything right, let’s try to explain why they have locations all over the world, and are presumably doing enough business to keep the doors open.
They aren’t exactly cheap or reliable (so no McDonalds-type arguments). Do non-SvN readers just not give a shit about the quality of what they pay for?
What sucks about these small local printers that is allowing Kinko’s to thrive?
Anon Coward 28 Jan 06
Kinko’s just got bought by a large company, some little-known co. called, umm, FedEx.
I used to work at Kinko’s when it was independent and got automatic Monday calls from the Kinko’s founder, Kinky-hair (that’s how the Kinko’s name came about — I forgot his real name). It was quirky but nice to hear his exhortations to do good work, serve the customer, etc. Anyways, I know I busted my ass to get things right, whether it was fixing the computer equipment, helping out the customers who didn’t know their mouse from a hole in the ground, or to desktop publish some ice-skating rink’s posters/coupons.
Nowadays, when I go into a Kinko’s I’m appalled by the kind of service I get, exactly as described in the comments above - slow, unattentive, etc. I’m loath to blame the staff, and more inclined to wonder about what kind of bean-counting measures were taken that caused incentives to be taken away, lower-quality folks to be hired, fewer people to be available to work, etc. etc. etc.
Kinko’s is good if you know what you’re doing and can do it yourself. It’s too bad about the other services they purport to have.
Ken B. 28 Jan 06
Just a quick tip, in Seattle I’ve had really good luck using the Kinko’s at the convention center. I tried them after a number of ones closer by screwed up orders or were late thinking that because they handled more volume and critical prints they would have a better staff. I don’t know if this will carry over into other cities but not all Kinkos are equal.
Chris Schlarb 28 Jan 06
Anon, I used to work at Kinko’s too. In Long Beach, CA. circa 1996, pre-Clayton, Dubilier, Rice buy out, which was pre-FedEx co-op.
Having been on both sides of their ownership I can attest too that back when there were independant owners of stores not only was it more fun but the quality of work was substantially higher. I’ve had to actually use their “computer center” on occasion and I’ve found myself hooking up THEIR credit card machine to take MY $.75 per minute…
Once they were bought out the owner of the store I worked at cashed out. Everyone else did so mentally. Now only the zombies remain.
Stephen 28 Jan 06
I called the Towson, Maryland FedEx Kinkos about printing business cards and they couldn’t tell me what file formats they accepted. The worker’s response was for me “email them the file and they’ll tell me if it’s ok.” She refused to transfer me to someone who would know what their store could process.
theCreator 28 Jan 06
That just plain sucks.
Justin Perkins 28 Jan 06
Kinkos. Minimum Wage. Students. 24 Hour service.
I’m siding with Boris and GS on this one.
So what exactly was the negative effect of the hand-cut laminate name labels at your event? Did somebody not take 37s seriously? And I thought it was the top-notch web apps that gave you success.
I’d be more insulted if I paid $500 and all I got was some late night mission name tags from Kinkos.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the 37s mentality when relating to app development, but this is just recockulous.
Brandon 28 Jan 06
I disagree w/ Justin. If the quality of the print was mediocre, the so be it. It’s a 24-hour print service. However, print *IS* about precision. I worked in print for several years before moving to the web and it is an industry built around accuracy, precision and constants.
I wouldn’t expect absolute perfect alignment from a Kinkos print job; not as I would from a commercial printer. However, I would expect someone to be able to trim some laminate. It would have only taken a few more seconds to trim these cards to be uniform.
When you go to McDonalds do you expect the mustard and ketchup to be all over the buns? No. There are even limits to the quality standards *there*.
Alex Griffioen 28 Jan 06
To all you naysayers; since when is it Jason’s responsibility to find a capable print company, and not the print company’s responsibility to deliver decent quality? I’d go back and pistol whip the mutha who laminated your badges.
Bradley 28 Jan 06
Thanks for the plug about AlphaGraphics. I have one 2mi from me, but I’ve never gone there. I will definitely check them out. I always thought the logo out front looked kinda 80’s, so I figured they sucked. :( Ass-u-me.
Got lotsa good Kinko’s stories.
The best are when they can’t figure out their computers, and you have to go behind the counter and show them how to do their job. I love troubleshooting the Windows print dialog so that it doesn’t scale by 377%.
It’s like every single employee needs a course in “Adobe Acrobat 4, 101”.
Every time that has happened in the past, I got my prints for free. Rightfully so. But I never go to Kinko’s anymore. I’ve lived in a couple different states and I’ve had this same crappy quality at every location. (What was FedEx thinking?)
Raymond Angel 28 Jan 06
Should have went to Staples Copy and Print Center.
Mike Swimm 28 Jan 06
What is more amazing is that you ever had good work done at Kinkos in the past. My old design firm was on the corner of North and Honore, about 40ft from the Kinkos you mentioned. We would never dream about doing anything there! Kinkos is where you make copies of lost kitten posters, not where you print materials to represent your business.
I would be furious too, the quality is laughable. But you need to pick the right company for the job.
Patrick Crowley 28 Jan 06
Buyout or not, in ten years of using Kinko’s, I can’t say I ever had a truly decent experience.
In fact, I eventually coined a term for the frustration, resentment, and pure loathing I came to possess for Kinko’s… Kinko’s Rage.
Nowadays, I do whatever I can to avoid that place altogether. I even bought a color laser printer so I don’t have to use their computer center to print important documents.
IMHO, quality printing just isn’t going to happen with minimum wage employees. Anyone who is smart enough to do a decent job is smart enough to get a job somewhere else.
Tom 28 Jan 06
You should never go to Kinkos for anything, unless you literally have no choice. As a corporation, they have the worst trained staff across the board of any company I can think of. I used to work in the publishing field so it makes it all the more annoying for me when I used to have to go there to get stuff done.
I have had problem after problem with them and it has been at all different Kinkos. It’s always the same things. Poor customer service, unknowledgable staff, bad product, slow service.
The only way they stay in business is that they have customers who don’t know better for one, and have few options for two. It’s really quite amazing.
Tommy 28 Jan 06
I am a little baffled by some of these comments. I am the VP of marketing for an online software company. In another life I was an account sup at an ad agency where I worked on EDS, HP, Lucent, Oracle, and such.
When I was agency side I would have been bitch slapped if the word Kinkos ever came out of my mouth. And rightfully so. But then again, my clients had million dollar budgets. I also had a print production department.
Well I don’t have a million dollar budget now and I don’t have a print production department, but there are still many times I need names badges, or 30 4-color inserts on nice stock, or a few Jewelcasing CDs printed for a conference.
BTW: Cutting corners I have found Printing for Less is a nice outfit. But what do I do for smaller print runs?
We qucikly found it was eaiser just to drop a few thousand and buy me the equipment in-house because Kinkos sucked.
But to me this isn’t the solution, althought it is what I am working with now. Neither I nor Jason should have to waste our time with this stuff. What he (I think at least) and I demand of a place like Kinkos is just basic service for a fair price.
In my experiences with Kinkos they can’t do anything right, and that means they are leaving a lot of money on the table. I mean Jason asked them to laminate name badges, not figure out pi.
I see people here mention the low wages and compare Kinkos to McDonalds. I wish everyone working an honest day made more then about five bucks an hour, but that isn’t an excuse. Ever order a hamburger and it wasn’t cooked? Of course not.
Those of us that work for small companies need help. It isn’t worth my time, nor Jason’s to have to do this stuff in-house. I ought to be able to set-up an account with Kinkos, submit jobs online, and just have them sent to me. Of course they “offer” this service, but I don’t think for a second they’ll ever do the job right.
Therefore, as a small business employee I have to do sh*t myself that I should be able to outsource. Instead of spending that hour here or that hour there doing something to grow my business, I become an admin person.
I agree with those that have said Kinkos stays in business because a lot of the population doesn’t know how bad their quality is. But how hard is it to give them a high-res PDF and ask for the thing to be printed on a 120 cover stock and cut along the crop marks?
Ok … my rant should end … just post and the responses just touched nerve.
Jeffrey 28 Jan 06
Jason. You’re my friend so I’ll just tell ya straight. What do you expect when you go to Kinko’s? My motto is “D.I.Y or D.I.R (do it right)”
Kinko’s is never the answer.
Fred 28 Jan 06
In the words of Nelson Mundt, “Ha Ha!” Going to Kinko’s is like going to the DMV, only less organized. That one on North is always filthy, packing peanuts and paper everwhere. You guys need to get an intern to do this kind of stuff.
Scott M. 28 Jan 06
So what exactly was the negative effect of the hand-cut laminate name labels at your event? Did somebody not take 37s seriously? And I thought it was the top-notch web apps that gave you success.
Don�t get me wrong, I love the 37s mentality when relating to app development, but this is just recockulous.
It’s all about maintaining a consistent brand experience. It may sound like a small thing to you guys, but the small things add up. While 37s’ brand has changed with its shift to application service provider, its roots in design and the type of design its members espouse is still part of their brand — and it shows in the design of their products. That experience pervades everything they do. It’s not so much about a “negative” effect — it’s about the positive reinforcement. 37s is about well-designed badges. When you pay for a 37s’ event, your paying for the whole experience.
Colin 28 Jan 06
Speaking of stupid Kinko’s tricks, did you know that their copy cards can only be used in the self-serve copy machines, even though the registers have card readers?
I needed one transparency made last year and didn’t have anything but a 20 in my hand, so I figured “Hey, I’ve got 15 bucks left on my copy card, I’ll pay with that.” After a false start of the clerk trying to ring me up using my student ID (which looks nothing like a Kinko’s copy card), she sticks the card in, discards it, and hands me a slip of paper.
“Sign here,” she states.
I cock an eyebrow and ask, “Why?”
“Because we can’t charge copy cards. We have to cash them out. And this says I paid you your balance.”
Which, actually, is exactly what she did: she paid me my full balance and then requested the cost of the transparency back from me.
It was the single most bizarre customer service experience I’ve ever had, and it’s pretty hard to top some of the past ones. With my copy card cast into the sands of time, I haven’t had any reason to go back to Kinko’s. Before the FedEx acquisition, that particular store was great.
Scott M. 28 Jan 06
Oops that 2nd paragraph above should be italicized as well.
paul 28 Jan 06
After several near disasters at the Wells Street location, we tried the North Ave shop to have the same problems (large presentations printed in B/W when they should be in color, wrong paper, three hole punched on the wrong side etc.
A rather large client insisted on Kinko’s because they had a corporate account, so the only solution was to go to the shop and do the print set-up myself. Real technical set-ups like checking the ‘color’ check box.
Late one night, sitting at a bar, complaining about a print job that went badly that day, the guy next to me introduced himself as a Kinko’s Executive. He made sure my jobs went smoothly from then on, but they were always done in skokie and evanston.
Dan Boland 28 Jan 06
Hey Jason, who did you use for the badges at the Building of Basecamp workshop last year in Chicago? Those were nice.
Drew Pickard 28 Jan 06
Come on, this isn’t even about “consistent brand experience” - this is about a company charging you for totally unacceptable work.
Andy Duncan 28 Jan 06
I worked at Kinko’s as a Key Op (person who runs The Big Copier) for two summers before and after my freshman year at college, seven or eight years ago. While we never would have let something that bad go out the door, several things contribute to the general crappy level of quality that Kinko’s and other “Quick Print” houses are known for. Here they are in software engineering terms:
Andy Duncan 28 Jan 06
Ugh, apparently the stylesheet just crapped itself, I didn’t make the UL bigger in font size, I swear.
BTW: I am in no way trying to apologize for Kinko’s, but I think the overall quality problems are inherrent to all Quick Print shops, and every single one of them should be avoided. Buy a bad-ass $40k printer/copier and hire off the Key Op from your local Kinko’s (it won’t take much).
Josh Williams 28 Jan 06
Or, buy your own laminator for a hundred bucks and keep it handy to DIY while you’re watching Lost. Works for me.
James Mathias 28 Jan 06
I had the “manager” of a Portland, OR Kinkos return business cards with a full edge bleed that were all cut randomly and crooked. Some even had white space around the bleed. Out of 500 cards, less than five were exceptable.
In order to get my money back, first I was required to listen to a 10 minute, rage fueled tirade from the “manager” about how he went to college and was a professional graphic artist and that what they produced was not only “…as close as humanly possible…” but also “…completely acceptable under graphic design industry standards…”
I laughed in his face, took the crap cards (and my money) as a reminder to never step foot in a kinkos again, went to 4x6 and never looked back.
Jaime Macias 28 Jan 06
As someone who paid for the workshop and attended I agree with your dissapointment. It was the one point of dissatisfaction with the overall presentation of the day. After finding out the culprits I in no way think it reflects on 37signals as I have dealt repeatedly with the lack of quality at Kinko’s. It is almost a superhuman level of dissapointment. If you can’t do it yourself it isn’t worth it. What it comes down to is a lack of respect from Kinko’s (excuse me FedEx Kinko’s) for it’s customers. They rely on the number of locations and ease of access and could care less about satisfaction. At this point I’m stating the obvious. Better luck next time
Lance Carlson 28 Jan 06
Perhaps it was a stylistic decision:). I think it’s actually kind of funny that they’re that incompetitent !
Justin 28 Jan 06
That’s what you get for going to the Kinko’s on North Ave. We knew better when we needed similar badges printed up for our Annual Chicago LAN event that we hold in Aug. We did them ourselves and we were happier for it.
You know the saying, so you may as well just start right off by doing it yourself.
JF 28 Jan 06
You know the saying, so you may as well just start right off by doing it yourself
Has it really come to that? I can’t rely on a business to make straight cuts?
becca 28 Jan 06
i have never been to kinkos without leaving in an absolute fury.
PDHoss 28 Jan 06
becca: Most decafs have almost all of the flavor of the regular variety.
Folks: We’re talking about a knucklehead who couldn’t do his job. They’re everywhere, in case you hadn’t noticed. Take your business elsewhere, but perhaps we are getting a bit wound up.
Fine James 28 Jan 06
That is absolutely terrible. I am going to hold my breath until they fix this, or pass out.
Boris 28 Jan 06
Ok, here is another one.
I have made great experiences with interns.
You guys are a famous “brand” and the kids should be knocking on your doors all the time. They are motivated and they can get good work done.
I have 4 interns right now in my small design shop and they are awesome. After I see how reliable they are and what their skill profile is and I integrate them a.s.a.p. in the daily work flow.
Spending a small amount on a laminator and having a good intern should solved that issue.
And you find truly nice/good people that way as well.
Maybe you should register at the local design school as a employer and let them handle tasks like that?
Boris
Jason A 29 Jan 06
My last visit to the 1800 N. Ave Kinko’s was actually pretty funny. I urgently needed some papers shipped overnight a couple states over. When I told the clerk this he asked, “Do you want ground or air?” Shocked, I aked if that was even possible, you know, to have overnight by ground. He assured me it was alright. I told him I wanted ‘air’ but he kept insisting I would save money by ground until finally another clerk or manager or someone came over and informed him that for overnight I needed air. Thought the whole circumstance was irritating but I laughed it off when I left, thinking the clerk not only missed an opportunity to up-sell (customer insisting on the higher price, clerk insisting on the low value) but he just shouldn’t have been working the FedEx counter.
Anyhow, my old xerox is finally making it’s way up to Chicago soon. Just need to fingure out how to fit it into my spare bedroom/studio. But no more kinko runs!
shane 29 Jan 06
Jason, I totally agree! This is horrid. In fact I am amazed at people’s responses here, lol. It’s real simple, kinkos prints like 6up b&w on 8.5x11 bright white card stock then run it through a laminate feeder, cut with a table fixed straight edge slide cutter, then charge $30 for the job. “Yeah Jason, what do you expect from kinkos”??? haha.
The quality of this job would be hard to replicate on purpose.
BTW I challenge you to post something that can’t be argued with (like this) and we’ll still see the tools come out to disgree I’m sure.
David M. 29 Jan 06
I, too, have never — not even once — used Kinkos for a print job and had a decent result. Even the “print shop” (deliberate quotes) in my local Officeworks (think Staples) can run a print job better than Kinkos.
Dramatic 29 Jan 06
I used to work at Kinko’s in New York. I was terminated mostly because of the politics at the time.
I designed and produced the Blaine on Ice badges for the even in New York, I think in 2001
First off I wanted to answer some of the comments.
Peroty:
I have been impressed with the level of customer service at Alpha Graphics. They always call back promptly with a quote. If they don’t know something, they will get back to you promptly. I have never had the pleasure of using them myself but have referred people to them and never heard a complaint.
Boris:
Your observation is correct, but it’s no excuse.
Jeremy:
Popcopy, really is Kinko’s. I worked across the street from Comedy Central and used to print out their flip books.
Theo Honohan:
The badges are still a representation of 37 Signals. What would you think if someone handed you a badge that was that f’d up. Keep in mind those weren’t even cut down yet.
Anon Coward:
His name was Paul Orfalla(may be spelled wrong). He tried to buy the company back before it went public, but realized he couldn’t fix what they broke.
I was a Senior Project Coordinator. The details mattered. To my superiors, it mattered too much to me. I was taking too much time with individual projects. I was told prioritize. Those projects weren’t making money, concentrate on the ones that were… This meant straight color printing.
Since the details mattered and I was the only trained person on my shift. This means I was doing all the jobs on my shift. I stopped caring about the job and focused on the individual customers. The nightmares were kicking my ass. I found that the customers started coming to see me. I wonder how many remember and miss me.
Not all Kinko’s are bad. You just have to find one’s with people you can trust.
jeff 29 Jan 06
I love that if you search for kinkos on Google, this is the 6th entry and the first one that ins’t actually a FedexKinkos corporate link.
I stopped using Kinkos in Halifax a looooong time ago. I now use small print shops who do occasionally get it wrong, but who happily reprint it for you until you’re happy.
Theo Honohan 29 Jan 06
I’m not too surprised that everyone disagrees with me! My point is that things that come for free (“gratuitously”) on the web, like crisp graphics, straight lines and precise positioning, aren’t free in the real world. Precision isn’t the point of the web, it’s an artefact of the technology.
Prophetess 29 Jan 06
I’ve been noticing the increasing lack of anything like real customer service or attention to detail in chain establishments like this for at least 10 years. Kinko’s is just an unfortunate example of a trend that requires human attention to reverse — attention on the part of the poorly-paid copier jockey, attention on the part of the company’s management, and attention on the part of the customer.
Unfortunately, the customer has next to no control over the quality of service any more — between large-chain “policy” and the endless supply of customers supplied by ubiquitous franchise placement, even voting with your feet and going to places like AlphaGraphics or 4by6 doesn’t solve anything but the immediate problem.
The management are interested in getting the most work for the least amount of money, so they’re going to continue to hire pimply-faced cretins for cheap to staff their shops. And the employees themselves, well, they’re poorly paid, all-but-untrained, and abused by customers on a regular basis.
So who solves the overarching problem? And how?
schwa 29 Jan 06
i’ve come to believe that all kinkos live in their own time zone, where everything takes 2x as long. if you budget 30 minutes to go in and print out something basic on large format, plan on an hour. and who has the luxury of time to manage incompetence?
JF 29 Jan 06
Yup, Schwa. In fact, my job was due at 6, but they didn’t get it done until 9.
Alan 29 Jan 06
As a participant in the workshop, I didn’t understand what the big deal was at first. My nametag was trimmed neatly and fairly square. However, after reviewing your “sample” I see what you mean. Some were so bad you’d be ashamed to have your name on it! Should we mail them back to Kinko’s, “ATTENTION Store Manager”, with a nice note?
better printing 30 Jan 06
How about Mimeo, http://www.mimeo.com/ ?
Ken Walker 30 Jan 06
Yeah, Kinko’s is not always staffed with the sharpest knives in the drawer. I went in there to print some resumes—talk about a document that you don’t want screwed up. It took them twice as long as the hour they initially projected and they still messed it up: printing the wrong versions (I had two) on the wrong paper stock.
If it’s a matter of quality control, they should get the customer’s request down in writing and have a manager QA the work and sign off on the customer instructions. A simple double-check of my request would have saved us all some time.
Also: once I got a job, I went to Kinko’s (different location) to fax in a copy of my passport to my new employer. I needed to do this the morning before showing up. Kinko’s was supposed to open a good 90 minutes before I needed to come to work, but no one ever came. I even called into the corporate office to double-check the hours (and register the complaint). I ended up using the concierge desk at a nearby hotel. At least those people are trained to maintain a high level of service.
Sammy 30 Jan 06
Odd. My wife and I had our wedding invites printed at Kinkos. They came out fine.
No, seriously. We did.
Judi Sohn 30 Jan 06
Kinkos is hit or miss. I would never use a local Kinkos for a local job. There are always better options that you learn about as you live in the community.
However, because there are so many Kinkos I use them when I have to produce small, easy materials for use in another state.
Case in point, I needed mounted signs and certificates for a training we did last week in San Francisco. I’m in New Jersey. I could have had the signs done locally a week in advance, then have them shipped to my hotel in San Francisco (or I could have brought them on the plane, which for 20” x 30” blowups was not an ideal option). I could have researched printing options in San Francisco.
Instead, two days before I had to get on the plane, I found the Kinkos closest to my hotel (about .5 miles away) and emailed in the file. Once I got to San Francisco, I went down the street to the store and picked them up. No shipping charges, no problems. I realized when I picked up the certificates that I had forgotten one name. I was able to call the Kinkos from my hotel room, email the file change and they messengered the corrected document to my hotel since I was too busy to make it down the street. Wasn’t cheap, but it got done which was my priority at that moment.
What’s that saying…you can have it good, you can have it cheap, you can have it easy/fast. Pick two.
Some Kinkos have produced work that rivaled any local printer, some have been worse than what I can do out of my inkjet. Every shop is different. There doesn’t appear to be the quality control there used to be.
john derosa 30 Jan 06
Jason, I work for Mimeo.com, the leader in online, on demand printing. We print laminated projects for our customers all the time - name badges, cards, full size sheets, posters, etc…along with traditional documents as well. Our quality and accuracy is 2nd to none and most orders can be delivered as early as the next day. If you’re interested, contact me and i’d be happy to guide you through your first mimeo order free - up to $100 of print. I can be reached at…
john derosa
mimeo.com
[email protected]
o. 212.847.3663
thx!
john
Greg Hoy 30 Jan 06
My badge came out okay, but now I see what you mean by posting the samples. Miserable. Has anyone working there caught wind of this conversation and offered an apology/refund?
Dan Diemer 30 Jan 06
It’d seem Jason Cross is cross….hehehee…shoot me.
Ben Whitehouse 30 Jan 06
I would also warn you from ever using Staples! We had them on a few occasions change our artwork to suit their printing process.
“Um, we set this in Meta, converted it to outlines, and saved it as a PDF… You printed it in Arial?”
“Yeah, what’s the difference?”
“Having our business and not having our business.”
Lynn Marie Moriarty 30 Jan 06
Holly Shi_ _!!!!!! I hope you didn’t pay for that!!!!!!!!!!! My 5 year old kid could’ve done better than that!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lynn Marie Moriarty 30 Jan 06
Holy Shi_ _!!!!!! I hope you didn’t pay for that!!!!!!!!!!! My 5 year old kid could’ve done better than that!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr.Negative 30 Jan 06
Good, Fast, Cheap.
You can only have 2 out of 3.
By choosing Kinko’s you made fast and cheap your priorities and you should have known that going in. Where’s the surprise that fuels your indignation?
Schmelding 30 Jan 06
Kinko’s has a 100% failure rate with me.
Every time I’ve gone to them in the past 10 years they’ve botched the job somehow. Every. Time. It was a mistake for FedEx to buy them — it has done nothing but drag FedEx down with them.
Alternatives to Kinko’s?
- AlphaGraphics
- Copy Club (http://www.copyclub.com)
- CopyMax (inside of select OfficeMax stores)
- Copy Craft (http://www.copycraft.com — not necessarily cheaper, but the print quality is awesome on short run, full color jobs)
- Your local printer (believe it or not, for job larger than 500 pieces your local printer might be able to get it done cheaper on 1 or 2 color jobs)
All-in-all my conclusion is that if you are such an inept moron than NO ONE will hire you, Kinko’s will.
Anonymous Coward 30 Jan 06
It seems that the blogger at workingsmarter had the same opinion…
workingsmarter
clifyt 30 Jan 06
The badges kinda suck — but considering I’ve gotten the same thing and I know how much Kinkos Badges vs Real Company Badges cost, I wouldn’t complain too much.
A few years back, I was acting as production director for a national touring act that had just been nominated for a Grammy. To eliminate fraud (bandmembers friends and family included), we have everyones name, photo and positions listed. These were intended to be a keepsake as well.
The decision was to not deal with the folks that did all the tour graphics (which the label paid for) and I was elected to do the badges…Kinkos was far less than half the price of the company that made it their business to do this stuff right. ANYONE with experience in print knows this…anyone with experience with print knows Kinko is pretty crappy — but well worth the money.
So I got about a quarter of these were cut to close to the print. I had them redo those. And I recut the rest and used a slot punch for the hole. I think we STILL saved a few hundred over the big guys. And it was worth it because this was all out of our pocket at the time (the tour didn’t start paying until a month in — after which time I was already out…took a few months to get reimbursed).
All in all, for someone ‘getting real’, there are unreal expectations. You get what you pay for — and you *KNOW* you go to a company like this in hopes of getting more than you paid for. Is it excusable…not really, but at the same time, companies like Kinkos serve the customers that need inexpensive service even if sometimes it just plain sucks.
tristan 30 Jan 06
heh. that’s pretty sad. you should totally find something better to do with your life than complain about badges…
Matt 31 Jan 06
It’s been years since I’ve used Kinkos regularly. Honestly, from Los Angeles to Eugene, OR I’ve had poor results. I go to the smaller guys - they more invested in making sure they do you well.
kidcorporeal 01 Feb 06
Haha, you used Kinko’s. I used to work for Kinko’s. Oh, they suck even on the other side of the counter.
Jon Sims 01 Feb 06
Hey, Kinko’s FedEx is the biggest retail establishment scam I have ever seen! Aparently, with a search on the Internet and on this site, people are saying the same thing all over the country. — Champaign, Illinois
freecia 01 Feb 06
I think this state of affairs is pretty sad:
1) They didn’t do the job right
2) When management was alerted that the customer had a problem, they didn’t think there was anything wrong.
3) For those who believe that the cost, time, and quality trade-off which exists at Kinkos- it was not free, on time, or of decent quality. Exactly where did the savings occur? In fact, they lost business by doing such a poor job.
It is a business, albeit a badly run business, and it is a shame that you can’t expect more from a standard job involving copy, laminate, and cut. Perhaps some believe the quality is what you paid for, but if the assistant manager was a semi-intelligent human being with a degree of customer service, you didn’t get the service you paid for.
Theory aside, in my experience, I’ve found that “corporate Kinko’s”- locations that do a lot of printing for businesses instead of individuals seem to do a better job during business hours. I’ve had plenty of items printed at the Homestead Rd Kinko’s in Cupertino, CA, which does a lot of corporate business (a friend worked there and told me so) and the quality was always higher during business hours while the manager was there. Also of note- a lot of people get very angry at the staff and cuss them out. I don’t know why either party thinks it is acceptable except that maybe Kinko’s doesn’t demand better of their customers because they can’t do the job adequately. That really doesn’t make for good employee morale but I think it also has to do with the time deadlines and lack of proofs.
Adrian 07 Feb 06
Getting the badges right matters to you. I can see that. Sorry it didn’t work out.
However, when you’re doing an important job, it’s your own responsibility to ensure that work that’s delegated is going to someone you’re really confident is going to deliver what you want. If Kinko’s work isn’t meeting basic minimum standards, that’s their responsibility and their problem. They let you down, so you won’t be going back and you’re making it a public matter.
But if you’re not working with trusted suppliers on important jobs, that’s your responsibility and your problem. Slack, incompetent, indifferent and inconsistent suppliers are pretty much the rule rather than the exception. I’d be annoyed by this standard of work and service too, but on calm reflection I’d have to admit that it’d be my own fault for taking an important job to someone I didn’t have enough of a track record with to really trust when it mattered.
Which brings me to the other point that some have raised: how on earth can businesses that routinely deliver poor-quality work and service not just survive but apparently thrive? It could be that they start off good, but as they grow they cut corners, trade off their past reputation and use economies of scale to make it viable. But it’s at least as likely that most customers really don’t care or can’t tell the difference and they’re quite content to do business with - and work for - organisations that do an indifferent job. The bulk of the money is in the mass market, by definition, and I don’t see much evidence that the mass market customer has quality as their primary criterion when making buying decisions. If they’re happy, fine. If you’re not, go elsewhere as you will.
The real surprise here seems to be that there isn’t a consensus on what constitutes a basic minimum standard. Given that there isn’t a consensus on what’s a high standard, why should there be one for a low one?
Jen Smith 08 Feb 06
Actually, I tried this new, cool online printing service Mimeo (www.mimeo.com). Check it out, it’s super easy and their quality and service was excellent. I did the job from my desktop and wa la — so good. It was fed-ex’ed to my client the next day. I just could not fathom going in to Kinkos.. I hate them!
Emily 10 Feb 06
Last night was my first time using kinkos (in PA)… and probably my last. I had taken in a school project to get printed, thinking that it would only take me ten minutes to get it done, thus avoiding the two day wait at the school’s lab that would cost me more. The guy that waited on me was an idiot. He tried telling me that I was saving my files wrong and that my profs were teaching me the wrong way to do things. Some of my profs graduated from my school, were out in graphic design field for years, and have come back to teach; some still having their own freelance company. Now mr. idiot was saying how he went to school for gd, yet he is not getting too far in his life. So who do you think knows more of what they are doing? I would say my profs, as they are more successful in the graphic design field. This guy was really rude… having no manners what so ever… and probably overcharged me too.
David Ginter 20 Feb 06
Kinko’s is total monopoly in my town (Naples, Fl.). As a result, those of us in small business have to fend for ourselves. After buying binded booklets and color copies, assembling them myself, and paying with my credit card, I was told to get in line ( behind 10 or so others ) to obtain a receipt. I went to Office Max and explained my predicament. They have been doing my assemblage ever since at a better price and more professional, no smears or copy overlaps. Forget Kinkos, with capital F emphasized!
Kat 22 Feb 06
I think your too anal. If you were concerned about the specificities of it, you should do it yourself. That way you get it to the specifities that you are looking for. I am not a representative of Kinkos, but I a am aware of the pressures of customer service and time constraints. Perhaps there was more going on behind the scenes than you were aware of. In any case, I hope you brought your complaint to Kinkos. That way they could correct it and give you what you deserve.
Brian 01 Mar 06
Hello,
My name is Brian and I use to work for Kinko’s in Michigan for many years. The stories I could tell you! I could write a book (or make a sit-com!)
Kinko’s is really no different than McDonald’s because it is nothing more than a fast food type copying service. I kept asking when they were going to bring in the deep fryers when I worked there.
People treat Kinko’s as though they were a printing company and as if they were experts. They are not. The type of service you get depends on so many different things and that is why it varies from store to store and from day to day even with in the same store.
Some people who work there have had no experience what so ever with the graphics/desktop publishing world. The pay is very poor and everything is expected to be done quickly. It is very difficult to expect great prices, great quality, and fast service from people who are understaffed and sometimes not qualified because they have not been trained properly.
I worked shifts during the day at a very busy store where there was only one person and myself working. One day the manager called up screaming at me because word got back to him that things were not going smoothly at his store. Neither he nor I work there anymore. That is another thing. The turn around of employees is just as bad as a fastfood place. They use to give good raises but that stopped sometime ago.
Take Kinko’s for what they are worth. A last resort.
From the big apple 15 Mar 06
Hi, I am currently a manager at a FedEx Kinko’s, who has been working for this company for many years. I have seen all the buy outs and have coped with it all. I love my job and I know for sure that I hire staff that is knowledgabel and is willing to learn. I believe all the stories and I can tell you a few myself, but the customer service that all of you have received in past stems from the mananger. The manager has the control over hiring decent staff and training them. Without a manager who is knowledgable then you might as well say FU to that particular store. Also another thing, it is hard to find decent people. I am glad that this is an avenue where people can feel that they can vent about something so ridiculous as toner on paper. 95% of the time the people who complain are the people who waited to the last minute to do something. That is when things go wrong. Whether it is our coworkers or the clients who wait to the last minute who knows. All I know is that my store is run by knowledgable and caring people who would bend over backwards to make an experience outstanding. Maybe a few of you should come to a FedEx Kinko’s in the big apple where we can show you great customer service.
thomas 17 Mar 06
I dislike most corporations, however since Kinkos open up here in S. Pasadena our printing business actually got more customers since they have started. Most customers would come in and say how much they love that we’re here & how much they dispise kinkos. So, i guess for that…I thank them.ahahha
dale tan 30 Mar 06
i learned not to like kinkos about 5 years ago. a bunch of them that work there are just incompetent fools that were just looking for a job and have no experience with print whatsoever. kinda like Dave Chappelle’s skit about the copy center.
Wanda 30 Mar 06
I produce inspirational bookmarks but not enough quantity to order them in mass numbers of thousands to get a decent price from anywhere. I found my costs for doing it through any other print shop would be so high that no one would want to buy them. I decided to make them myself. By using Kinkos, I can make them available at a reasonable cost HOWEVER, I have to do the cutting myself - first off of the printed page. Originally I tried letting them do this cutting and of course, they were so mismatched and sloppy that I could not accept their work. I was color printing myself and that alone was a costly loss. After the tedious cutting, I give them to Kinkos in pieces and let them laminate in a long sheet. The pieces are always so scattered around the sheet, regardless of how nicely I request that they be in somewhat straight lines, that it is extremely difficult to cut each piece from the lamination. At least I have been able to get them to place the pieces all in the same direction on the page but I have to ask every time and even have a sheet I give them illustrating how to do it. (DUH) I did try letting them do the laminate cutting as well and every piece had various borders of lamination past the original printed piece. There was no continuity and sometimes they cut into the actual print. What they charged to do this terrible yet acceptable to them work was outrageous at best. If I counted my labor to do this job, my bookmarks would still be overpriced - but I can understand why the other printing companies charge so much to do it now. It is a job where perfection is a difficult thing to achieve doing it via this method. Surely there is a way to order such things - at least in a mass quantity - where a machine does the cut? Anyway - I do not depend on Kinkos for anything that really requires precision outside of the standard print jobs. I WISH I COULD THOUGH!!!!!!!
Anonymous Coward 02 May 06
I am a former fedex kinkos team member and I am glad as hell a ran away as fast as I could. I was there for six years and the company as drastically changed since the merging of fedex. I was a project coordinater and was constantly hounded on about msn and basically every wrong doing that went on in the branch was my fault. I couldnt possibly do my job and do production, front counter, cashier, express, answer the nagging phones with dumb ass questions from idiot customers and do fedex from time to time. Working there was so stressful that I used to run away from the customers by hiding in the breakroom or bathroom. I can honestly say that the reason why employees there act the way they do (not giving a fuck) is because all day long you run around like a loose chicken because cooperate wants to meet there budget and only have three employees working per shift in busy ass stores in New York City (example my old branch 21 Astor Pl.) Not to mention when OTP came I really lost it. I went on an absence and did not think about coming back. The higher jack asses in the company don’t give a fuck about the workers, just there extra profit. I wish the worst for the company and wish all my friends would get the fuck away soon before breakdowns happen
Anonymous Coward 02 May 06
I am a former fedex kinkos team member and I am glad as hell a ran away as fast as I could. I was there for six years and the company as drastically changed since the merging of fedex. I was a project coordinater and was constantly hounded on about msn and basically every wrong doing that went on in the branch was my fault. I couldnt possibly do my job and do production, front counter, cashier, express, answer the nagging phones with dumb ass questions from idiot customers and do fedex from time to time. Working there was so stressful that I used to run away from the customers by hiding in the breakroom or bathroom. I can honestly say that the reason why employees there act the way they do (not giving a fuck) is because all day long you run around like a loose chicken because cooperate wants to meet there budget and only have three employees working per shift in busy ass stores in New York City (example my old branch 21 Astor Pl.) Not to mention when OTP came I really lost it. I went on an absence and did not think about coming back. The higher jack asses in the company don’t give a fuck about the workers, just there extra profit. I wish the worst for the company and wish all my friends would get the fuck away soon before breakdowns happen
ANGEL TURNED DEVIL 06 May 06
Anonymous Coward …. YOU ARE RIGHT. every words, every sentence you said….I TOTALLY AGREE! Lucky for you you are no longer connected to this miserable company. I’m working with kinkos for almost 5 years…for those 5 years…nothing change…full of crap….I worked with 4 different managers….all totally ass hole, selfish and money profit care only! Specially the the last 3 district manager!
I’m gonna surprise them by quiting nextweek…hell break loose in my branch ‘coz all the big job which I took….will not be done on time! HELL WITH THEM! I got a new job!!!!
ANGEL TURNED DEVIL 06 May 06
From the big apple ….sure you are not a contolled manipulated corporate selfish “I care for my position” manager? I DON’T THINK SO!!!! I BET YOU LICKED YOUR DM TO BE IN THE POSITION>>>> OH REALLY… you love your job..’coz you got all the pies in the profit? THREATENING YOUR TEAM MEMBER WITH A WRITE UP… REASON NOT TO GET THEM A RAISE>>>>YOU KNOW WHAT>>>IT DOESN’T MATTER….”COZ EVERYTHING I SAID IT”S TRUE!!
ANGEL TURNED DEVIL 06 May 06
DALE TAN….INCOMPETENT FOOLS….WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE…WELL….IT SHOULD BE IDIOTIC FOOLS!!!
kinkoid FOR 6 YEARS 06 May 06
I ALSO THINK THOSE ID BADGES REALLY STINK. I PERSONALLY WOULDVE DONE A LOT BETTER OF A JOB.
THATS NOT BECAUSE I GET BETTER RAISES THEN THE ONES WHO DONT CARE .ITS BECAUSE I HAVE GOOD WORK ETHICS. UNFORTUNATELY SERVICE WILL VARY FROM KINKO TO KINKO. (I REFUSE TO CALL IT FED EX KINKOS) THEY ARE EVEN CHEAPER WITH PAY INCREASES THAN KINKOS EVER WAS.NOT EVEN A BETTER MEDICAL PLAN . 20 TO 30 CENT RAISES PER YEAR. GOOD EMPLOYEES LEAVE AND THE IDIOTS STAY.YES IM A IDIOT FOR STAYING BUT I GOT MY REASONS AND I ALWAYS DO A GOOD JOB WITH A SMILE.
SO WHEN YOU GET BAD ID BADGES DONT BE A BITCH AND HAVE A FIT. WE GET ABOUT 8 BUCKS AN HOUR AND HAVE LOTS OF DIFFRENT SERVICES. WE WILL RE DO IT UNTIL ITS RIGHT . NO ONE WILL EVER GET FIRED SO SAVE YOUR BITCHING FOR YOUR SPOUSE. IF YOU REALLY WANT IT FOR FREE JUST COMPLAIN LOUD ENOUGH AND DEMAND THE MANAGER.OH YEAH WHEN A CUSTOMER CALLS THE HOTLINE OR GIVES A BAD SURVEY THAT CUTS OUT THE BONUS THAT WE WOULD GET IF SALES WERE GOOD WHICH ARENT REALLY GOOD ANYWAYS. IF YOU WERE REALLY SMART YOU WOULD GO TO A LAMINATION PLACE AFTER GETTING IT PRINTED , YOU WOULD GET A BETTER PRODUCT AND PROBABLY CHEAPER. SO LAY OFF THE KINKO PEOPLE ,JUST FEEL BAD FOR US THAT WE ARE LOSERS WHO WILL NEVER MAKE A DECENT WAGE EVEN THE ONES WHO CARE. OH YEAH IF YOU DO FIND A KINKOID WHO CARES KEEP GOING BACK TO HIM/HER . I HAVE A LOT OF CUSTOMERS WHO KEEP COMING BACK TO ONLY ME . ALSO IF YOU THINK THERE ARE 8 DOLLAR AN HOUR COMPUTER EXPERTS THEN YOUR CRAZY SO PREPARE IT,SIZE IT UP, AND SAVE IT AS A PDF SO US IDIOTS AT KINKOS JUST HAVE TO OPEN AND PRINT. YOUR THE ONE WITH THE REAL CAREER YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO SAVE SOMETHING . OH YEAH, WOULD YOU RENT A CAR IF YOU DIDNT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? THEN DONT RENT A COMPUTER IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO USE ONE. WHY WOULD WE HELP YOU SCAN SOMETHING IF WE CHARGE FOR THE SERVICE FOR 9.99 .FOR 40 CENTS A MINUTE YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO DO IT.BUT YOU GO AHEAD AND COMPLAIN WHEN NO ONE WILL HELP YOU BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO DO A GOOD JOB ON THE BADGES. I HAVE NO SOLUTION BUT DEGRADING AND INSULTING A KINKOID HAS NEVER HELPED ANYONE,SO TAKE IT EASY … ONE LAST THING THING FOR DUDE WITH THE BADGES I OUTSOURCE ALL MY ID BADGE LAMS FOR 25 PERCENT OF WHAT WE CHARGE . SO YOU CAN DEFINETLY FIND A LAMINATION CO. THERE YOU GO YOUR PROBLEM IS SOLVED AND YOU WILL GET GREAT ID BADGES…
Jeremy 13 May 06
I work at Kinkos.
Currently these are the machines I know how to operate.
Dell GX 270, 320, Macintosh PowerMac G4, Xerox 7700, 4525, Docucolor 12, Docucolor 250,
Docucolor 6060, Docutech 6115, 6135, IBM Infoprint 2000, Canon ImageRunner
5000, IR105, HP DesignJet 5500, Various auxiliary equipment (binders, folders,
cutters, shrinkwrapper, mounter, padder, laminator) Firey X-12, EXP6000 Server, Rimage Prot�g� II
CD/DVD Duplicator, X-Rite Densitometer
These are the sofware programs
Graphics – Adobe Suite (Photoshop 7-CS2, Image Ready, Illustrator 10-CS2,
Page Maker 7, Indesign 1.5-CS2, Acrobat 4-7, Distiller, Type Manager, Dimensions,
Streamline), Quark Xpress 4-6, Corel (Draw, Trace, Capture), Microsoft Publisher,
Autocad 2000, Extensis Font Suitcase, GF Print Pro,
Omnipage Pro, Profile Maker, Pit Stop 6.1, Quite Imposing Plus
Office – Microsoft Office Windows and Mac
(Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Outlook)
WordPerfect, Open Office, Netscape Messenger
And yes I can also ship packages even international ones.
At least once a week I teach someone how to use the slide cutter, or tell someone not to stick their social security card in the laminator without a pouch, or explain that yes we can print on both sides of the page. These are not stupid people. These are people who are not familiar with printing. Kinkos is lucky when we get good people who learn quickly.We are not Mcdonalds. It took me three years to get where I am today and I am not a manager.
I cannot attest for the quality of the work you recieved. But had I been you. I would have walked over to the slide cutter, trimmed them to bleed and walked out or perhaps had them do it.
Jan 18 May 06
Though I am not that old. Most people don’t care about their jobs anymore. It is sad. Work ethic these days is almost non existant. Except at Starbucks! Now they are doing something right.
I worked minimum wage for 5 years without a raise and I still cared about my customers. However I don’t think owners of companies were pulling in billions of dollars then. So I do understand feeling used and not caring.
In anycase, I also have had nightmares with Kinkos. But I like the do it yourself quality nowdays. Try laminating things yourself and cutting them out. You can get sheets at an art store.
If you want it done right, do it yourself or direct them through the process. Art direct them.
copy boy 11 Jun 06
Yah, I work at a kinkos, and that is ridiculous. I’ve let a couple things slide before, but that’s retarded. But something to think about is the amount of time you gave them to do that? If you were asking for a damn miracle turn around, you are gonna get sloppy work. It can take up to 2 hours to trim out about 100 cards by hand like that. Seriously though if there were like 20 or 30 and you have them a day that’s just crap.
I work at kinkos 11 Jun 06
You are all mostly right.
The fact of the matter is that I really stopped caring about customers a looooong time ago. I work overnights. A couple years ago after kinky sold the company my benefits were all but erradicated, they disbanded the training and human resources departments, and hired a bunch of bean counters that had no idea about how to run a business like this.
Where does that leave most kinko’s employees?
I work on my shift alone. That is right, people. I have absolutely no help. So I’m responsible for not only the Project Coordination, the production, working the counter, and trying to keep things moving, but now I have to run a goddamned fedex at the same time.
Now, I’ve been working here over 5 years, and about to leave myself, cause this place has been goin’ down hill the entire time.
But about the customers. The customers are absolutely ridiculous most of the time. This is one of the few industries where my customers come in not knowing what they want, and if they do, don’t know how to ask for it. Something that seems absolutely simple to people, often times is horribly complicated. They don’t understand what to expect to pay for said services half the time. On top of all this they come in on the way to work expecting a project to be done while they wait — thinking they are the only people in the whole city that needed copies. I’m not trying to give excuses for you got there, that is just wrong, but copy boy there has a point.
About the people I work with. The district manager is an absolute tool, I’ve probably seen him 5-10 times over the 5 years I’ve worked here. It seems like they are aggressively seeking out the most moronic people that they can find to fill emptying positions. Most of the people that had any experience and were competent left about a year ago, because of how bad things in the corporate infastructure have gotten.
2 years ago, when I got a new employee in the store, they already had 40 hours of training at a separate facility, and were hired by someone in person before that. Now that there is no Human Resources, and no training… I get some dipshit that was hired online, and isn’t even capable of running a cash register, let alone setting up digital documents to be ready to print, or using any of the auxilliary equipment.
So, yah. I’m by myself with 14 hours worth of work to do in a 12 hour shift, and I got customers and people wanting shipping done slowing me down with uninformed questions, and unrealistic expectations. As soon as people find out that the answers to their questions aren’t what they wanted to hear they become 200 lb 2-year-olds screaming and cursing. More often than not this is what happens, and over time my care for customers and the rest of humanity has dwindled to the point where I’m a damn hermit and can’t stand most people.
Freddy 21 Jun 06
You should try the Fedex Kinkos on Clybourn and Ashland They are really good on any thing that I Bring in. I normaly go in the afternoon.
Venus 04 Jul 06
I am sorry that happened to you and your organization and I don’t think you’re being anal about it as Kat stated.
On June 29th, I went to Kinko’s on 95th and Cicero in Oak Lawn, IL. I gave them an order to print some mortgage loan documents for a closing (time sensitive paperwork) that was to take place that same evening. Unbeknownst to me, the printing reputation for this company until now.
I requested 360 pages of docs, single sided, legal size. I presented them in several files saved to floppy. The store was empty except for me and 2 other people at 7:00 p.m. I believe it was the supervisor who started the print job. He walked and pretended to be busy until I got mad and went and got his ass from the back. He handed the job over to someone else who should have a recurring role in “Jackass 1, 2, and 3.” When he finally figured out the print function, he started printing in letter size. I told him again, legal, then found out his other job was with a title company. When I got the bill, it was for 466 copies. I balked but told them I would take the matter up with them later since I was pressed for time. I arrived at 7 p.m. and left at 8:30. p.m. One and 1/2 hrs for them to print those docs with ME as the only customer for copies.
July 3rd, I get a call from the notary company I subcontracted with saying 122 pages of the loan pkg was missing. How in the hell did Kinkos give me only 238 pgs of my requested amount for 360 and, yet, charge me for 466. The loan was now not going to fund and the borrower threatened to cancel their loan request altogether. This was going to cost the bank thousands $$$$ and the notary svc was looking at me.
I called the store and asked them to call the borrower and apologize and tell them we are working together to fix it. The management was rude and obstinate. They outright refused to apologize to my clients. They said they expected me to know that the docs were not in the pkg or have caught it during the closing. They were absorbed with giving me a refund for the overcharge ($10.90). What damned good was that going to do me! Besides, I expect to get it back in court because they are as good as sued. Just before posting, I sent them the letter of intent informing them of it.
I feel they were negligent - and caused my reputation to mirror theirs as being incompetent and unreliable. I personally feel that when a company cannot handle the scope of work being requested of them, they have a duty to inform the customer in order to mitigate any hardship the customer may suffer from their lack of knowledge and experience and anyone who doesn’t share my philosophy, can kiss my kitty “Kat”!!!!!!!
whatthehell 14 Jul 06
Venus,
Way to go…BITCH!!!