A new twist on an old theme

[Batman]

I know there's a new parent rant every week, but this was a new one for me.
Woman comes into the office today asking for copies of old papers. Her son is a senior and she's doing a scrapbook. While we're looking through the Saturday editions, she asks if she can get a copy of our tab. I write down the date (August 30), and she points out that we ran the wrong mug with her son's name in a small players to watch feature.
I apologize say we'd do a correction if we had caught it sooner, and then she asks, with all seriousness, "Can you redo that?"
She wants us to reprint the tab with the right mug.
After explaining to her that we can't just recall thousands of copies of a paper that's two months old, she asks "I know, but can you do one just for me?"
I again explain to her that we never print just one copy of the paper, and she seemed to grasp that or at least give up. Either way, I win. But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

 

[wickedwritah]

She wants us to reprint the tab with the right mug.
After explaining to her that we can't just recall thousands of copies of a paper that's two months old, she asks "I know, but can you do one just for me?"
I again explain to her that we never print just one copy of the paper, and she seemed to grasp that or at least give up. Either way, I win. But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

Some places have newsprint-style printers in the newsroom, in order to get a look at the page before you send it off. If you had that, could you reprint the page on that?

 

[Batman]

She wants us to reprint the tab with the right mug.
After explaining to her that we can't just recall thousands of copies of a paper that's two months old, she asks "I know, but can you do one just for me?"
I again explain to her that we never print just one copy of the paper, and she seemed to grasp that or at least give up. Either way, I win. But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

Some places have newsprint-style printers in the newsroom, in order to get a look at the page before you send it off. If you had that, could you reprint the page on that?

Yeah, in theory. It would have been on copy paper instead of newsprint, but we could have done it. Except the page would have been from August. I doubt we still have it in the system. And I don't think that's what she was asking for.

 

[wickedwritah]

It was an out-there suggestion to placate a rabid parent.

And good point, the page probably wasn't in your system still.

 

[Batman]

Good call. If it had been a paper this week I probably would've offered to do just that.

 

[Platyrhynchos]

But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

I agree.
Once at a former shop I was called up front to answer to an old lady who wanted to know why we didn't have the AP NFL gamer in Tuesday's edition (no Monday paper). She was decked out in the home NFL team's regalia — top to bottom — and generally ripped me a new one. I told her it was an oversight and apologized. Then she told me she was at the game. My jaw dropped, I apologized again, and then walked away.

Not totally on topic, but it is with the statement I quoted.

 

[Some Guy]

We did something similar for a parent once. Of course, we screwed up really, really bad. It was nice to be able to print the dad out a full-size page, even if it was on plain white paper.

I actually don't blame the mother here for at least making the request.

 

[expendable]

She wants us to reprint the tab with the right mug.
After explaining to her that we can't just recall thousands of copies of a paper that's two months old, she asks "I know, but can you do one just for me?"
I again explain to her that we never print just one copy of the paper, and she seemed to grasp that or at least give up. Either way, I win. But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

Some places have newsprint-style printers in the newsroom, in order to get a look at the page before you send it off. If you had that, could you reprint the page on that?

Yeah, in theory. It would have been on copy paper instead of newsprint, but we could have done it. Except the page would have been from August. I doubt we still have it in the system. And I don't think that's what she was asking for.

I've done that before, after the parent said that she photocopied the articles she put in the scrapbook anyway to guard against yellowing. With the quality surely better, I'm just glad she doesn't want every article that way now.

 

[jlee]

I know there's a new parent rant every week, but this was a new one for me.
Woman comes into the office today asking for copies of old papers. Her son is a senior and she's doing a scrapbook. While we're looking through the Saturday editions, she asks if she can get a copy of our tab. I write down the date (August 30), and she points out that we ran the wrong mug with her son's name in a small players to watch feature.
I apologize say we'd do a correction if we had caught it sooner, and then she asks, with all seriousness, "Can you redo that?"
She wants us to reprint the tab with the right mug.
After explaining to her that we can't just recall thousands of copies of a paper that's two months old, she asks "I know, but can you do one just for me?"
I again explain to her that we never print just one copy of the paper, and she seemed to grasp that or at least give up. Either way, I win. But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

How's she supposed to know you can't just print one copy? It never hurts to ask.

 

[Ace]

If it had been a kid from Podunk Central, you'd have done it.

 

[Dan Rydell]

Well, she did have a good point.

Your paper ****ed up. And you can't make it right for her, and for her kid.

Sometimes maybe you should just say you ****ed it up badly, and there's no way to make it right. Apologize, then try to move on.

But I'd say she ate your nuts on this one. Your paper ****ed it up badly.

 

[Dan Rydell]

Either way, I win. But sheesh, some people are just...wow.

And I don't think you're the winner here. Sheesh yourself, maybe she thought you were the jerk here.

She has a valid position on that front. You screwed up her son's photo, right?

Never do that. Check and double-check. Otherwise, the backlash is brutal.

 

[Write-brained]

I feel for the woman in this instance, and I definitely don't blame her for wanting her own copy.

I once wrote what I felt was this great column about these upper-class high school kids who started their own metal band. Only problem was I misspelled the drummer's name - I couldn't hear anything in the bar we were in so I had him write his name down. Unfortunately, I misread it.

I felt bad enough about it but even worse when I talked to the guy's father. I told him I fixed it in the online version as soon as I found out about it but his answer, in sort of a depressed tone, was, "But it's still wrong in the paper."

That was some five years ago and it still bugs the **** out of me.

 

[Ace]

One problem with this biz is that if you do make a mistake, it's done.

If you sell someone a bad ipod, you can replace it. Overcook the steak and you can throw another on.

If you put the wrong photo or name in the paper, it's done. You can run a correction, but it doesn't really fix the original mistake.

Just something we live with.

 

[RedCanuck]

Most of the time, I will do a page element on copy paper for someone if I happen to make a mistake. It doesn't help the product, but it takes five minutes and it usually satisfies whomever wants them.

 

[Some Guy]

Well, she did have a good point.

Your paper ****ed up. And you can't make it right for her, and for her kid.

Sometimes maybe you should just say you ****ed it up badly, and there's no way to make it right. Apologize, then try to move on.

But I'd say she ate your nuts on this one. Your paper ****ed it up badly.

Could be worse. The incident I was referring to earlier in this thread involved a female athlete who missed an entire season with a bulging disc in her back. Except our writer mistyped the word "disc," if you get my drift.

That, my friends, is what's called ****ing it up badly.

 

[wickedwritah]

We know where his mind was.

 

[Some Guy]

We know where his mind was.

Best part of the story is that her father was, like full-blooded German. So he calls our desk the next day, and in the thickest accent you've ever heard tells the poor desk guy who answered: "My daughter ... she no have ****."

The whole incident was highly embarrassing for the paper, but that didn't mean I couldn't laugh my ass off.

 

[The Last Boy Scout]

Solid gold, Some Guy.

Anway, what was the Media News guy in the other thread saying about not needing copy editors?