The Photo Copy Nazi

Today I was going to run in to Fed Ex Kinko’s to make some real estate flyers.
Sellers like to have fresh color flyers attached to the For Sale sign in their yard describing the wonderful things about their home. They know that those buyers will see the lovely pictures, fall in love and purchase their home at full price.
Buyers like to take them out, check the details they are interested in, and eliminate that home from their wish list. A lot of Buyers that I have worked with love them and think you are more professional if you have them.

A lot of REALTOR’S say don’t put the flyers out in the boxes. Their theory is that a buyer will look at the details on the paper and if it is not what they have in mind they will toss it aside; wasting paper, effort and a potential lead. They believe a buyer will drive by and say, “Honey call that number and see how much it is.” Then if it is out of their range the helpful realtor can say “I have one over in YourPriceVilla that I can show you in just 30 minutes.” Thus you have captured the lead. You have a phone number and a potential buyer. Poor seller, He is just out of luck. But he was anyway. They couldn’t buy his house.




So if his house won’t sell, well, you are still getting paid.
So I was at Kinko’s pleasing my seller by making flyers. Now this is a very simple procedure. You put your discount card in the slot. It is ejected. Then you put your credit card in that same slot. Not hard. Then you feed your paper in at the top. You push 25 (if that is how many you want) and then start. Now I am sure most 5th graders could do it. I have done it almost every week for two years. And like magic, the copier prints one, you push start again and out come the other 24 copies.
Not today.
I put in the discount card. Then I put in my credit card. I laid the photo paper in the feeder and all of a sudden disturbing my little world, a clerk walking quickly to the machine said, “Are you finished?”
“No, I just started but I won’t be long.”
I pushed the 25 copies, then the start button and got an error message.
I turned to her and said. “I am getting an error message.”
“Did you put the card in. It has to have a card.”
“Yes” I pushed the button to release the card to prove to her accusing eye that I had in fact done the deed.
“Now put it back in.”
“I will as soon as I run my discount card first.”



She stood there like it was taking 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds.
She grabbed the paper off the top feeder and frantically said, “Oh you aren’t supposed to put it in there. That is card stock and you never put that in at the top. You are supposed to open it up and lay it here.”
I kept it to myself that it was not card stock. I don’t know what training she had but it was clear she must have earned a PHD in photocopy science. But somehow they missed telling her about Photo paper.
She tried a couple of times her perfect way while assuring me that the machine was fine and it was totally my fault, and indicated that on the hundred previous occasions of my successful copying, in this way, that I had “just gotten away with it.”
Having had enough, I calmly told her that I would come back when she was less grumpy.
That got her attention. She gave me that professional smile, that so I don’t lose it smile and said.”I'm not being grumpy".
I calmly said, “Yes, you are”.
"I will just go the Memorial store".
So I drove to the Memorial store. I had to go that way to get to my listing anyway.




Guess what? I went in. I put my discount card in the slot. Then I put my credit card in the slot. I placed the paper(that exact same photo paper) in the feeder. I pushed the 25 and start. Guess what?
It made the one copy. I pushed start again and it made the other 24. Just like other every other time.
So if you are ever in Kinko’s and you’ve just begun to make copies and some one with a badge wants to know if you’re finished; just say yes, release your card and let them deal with what ever is wrong with the machine.
When they are all finished, if there is a problem, they should have it all ready for you.