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If it wasn't in the order when it arrived and you knew you were going to run out (the printer and/or copier warns you when it's getting low), why didn't someone take a walk to one of the many office supply stores and buy a cartridge?? Or call another supplier and order a few???
Boggles my mind that no one can take care of something so simple.
Purchase with what??? The company credit card? The company accounts? Is the OP on the account? Is he authorized to use the credit card? Is there a company account or a credit card?
Was he supposed to pay out of pocket? We aren't talking about a desktop printer here - those things are expensive.
For accounting purposes, it's not as simple as running down to Office Max and it may not be as simple as it seems.
i dont even understand how in a business environment you "run out of toner"
your printer malfunctioning/breaking is one thing becuase it's out of your control
but ink/toner is always supposed to be ordered way in advance and on deck and ready to be used, you dont wait till your on the last one before you order more, if one is in the printer, there should be 2 on deck or at least one w/ one on order
One of my managers informs me there's something wrong with the copier (she hadn't read the e-mail I sent out). I inform her that we are out of toner and that she can use the copier literally twenty steps further away or she can use the one upstairs if needed. In return, she says nothing but gives me the look. You know that look. It was like she was disgusted and frustrated at the same time.
...
Am I weird for thinking she's rude? I haven't been treated this way in a long time, and it makes coming in to work everyday misery.
Sorry to hear about your manager's look of disgust and frustration making coming to work every day a misery. Know the feeling. Hope things settle down soon.
Couldn't help but recalling my previous managers. One would have written a note in the personnel file of the person responsible for keeping a supply of toner on hand. It would have been mentioned at the staff meeting, likely a memo gone out about the matter, and definitely would have been a topic in the person's annual performance review.
She once sent out a two page memo on "What I as a supervisor expect from you" and several of the items referred to keeping her informed of things that were likely to happen. She not only wanted to know if the toner was depleted, but notified two weeks prior taht the company did not send the black toner and so we were likely to have a problem down the road.
Of course, we all responded by keeping her informed endlessly about what might or might not happen. Low pens? Paper clips in short supply? Garbage bin getting full? We notified her.
Between this and applying for other jobs on company time, most of us got little done. It's a wonder we weren't all fired.
we ran out of toner once. it was a mess but luckily they rushed our order and we received it the next day. lol. since that happened, whenever we have to use a new toner, i go ahead and place an order for another one and we always keep an extra one on hand.
This morning, we ran out of toner. Over a week ago, another employee ordered toner and we received everything but black toner. So of course we ran out of black toner today.
I sent an e-mail to everyone in the suite letting them know we were out, but they had the option of using the color printer the floor above us in case they needed color copies. I didn't think it was a huge deal considering there are so many copiers/printers on the two floors.
One of my managers informs me there's something wrong with the copier (she hadn't read the e-mail I sent out). I inform her that we are out of toner and that she can use the copier literally twenty steps further away or she can use the one upstairs if needed. In return, she says nothing but gives me the look. You know that look. It was like she was disgusted and frustrated at the same time.
Okay.
A few minutes later, I get an e-mail from her, and she copied my co-worker letting us know that toner is a staple in our suite, and we need to make sure we get orders in on time.
Okay.
Since working here over a year ago, this is what I experience on an almost daily basis. The toner was ordered about two weeks ago, and we couldn't control that what we needed was on back order. Of course, I should have had another toner waiting in the supply room, and that's something I'm more than willing to own up to.
Am I weird for thinking she's rude? I haven't been treated this way in a long time, and it makes coming in to work everyday misery.
A modern office running out of toner?!
You screwed up at your job - the bolded sentence is why, so stop worrying about her and do your job properly. How about that?
"I'm sorry you want burgers, we ran out and they are on back order until next week. Can I get your fries or perhaps a shake instead?"
If that happened to me twice in a row you'd be fired.
When you get toner next time, be sure to lock a set of them away, and pretend that you don't have it (think of it as a secure backup supply). When your normal supply gets low, order again, then when the new order arrives, rotate your secure backup supply into normal use and save a fresh set as backup.
Also, when toners appear to be low, remove them from the printer, take them outside and shake them, being sure not to get any on yourself. You'd be amazed at how much toner remains in an "empty" one.
Get to know other support people in your building and help each other out. Believe it or not, it's these unofficial support structures that really run the world and have the power. The boss may have authority, but their administrators and assistants have a LOT of power.
Networking, folks. Networking.
And to add: you have a good attitude. Most people who come here for advice want to ignore it and argue. I hire for attitude and train for skill.
When you get toner next time, be sure to lock a set of them away, and pretend that you don't have it (think of it as a secure backup supply). When your normal supply gets low, order again, then when the new order arrives, rotate your secure backup supply into normal use and save a fresh set as backup.
Also, when toners appear to be low, remove them from the printer, take them outside and shake them, being sure not to get any on yourself. You'd be amazed at how much toner remains in an "empty" one.
Get to know other support people in your building and help each other out. Believe it or not, it's these unofficial support structures that really run the world and have the power. The boss may have authority, but their administrators and assistants have a LOT of power.
Networking, folks. Networking.
And to add: you have a good attitude. Most people who come here for advice want to ignore it and argue. I hire for attitude and train for skill.
It's always easy to be defensive, but I think it benefits someone to look at a situation outside of their own perspective. And a lot of the responses are amusing but most are definitely helpful. I think part of being a great employee is not just recognizing mistakes but correcting them, learning from them and finding solutions so they don't happen in the future. I'm not perfect, and I definitely make mistakes. But I learn from them and find ways to be better and solve issues with ease the next time I experience them. This, of course, was easily avoidable. I owned up to it, corrected it and moved on.
It's always easy to be defensive, but I think it benefits someone to look at a situation outside of their own perspective. And a lot of the responses are amusing but most are definitely helpful. I think part of being a great employee is not just recognizing mistakes but correcting them, learning from them and finding solutions so they don't happen in the future. I'm not perfect, and I definitely make mistakes. But I learn from them and find ways to be better and solve issues with ease the next time I experience them. This, of course, was easily avoidable. I owned up to it, corrected it and moved on.
Very mature and I agree with the previous poster saying you have a good attitude. You sound like the type of employee most of us would love to have on our team. We all make mistakes, the important thing is that we learn from them.
I keep back-ups of everything I need in my own home office. You never know when you're going to use more of something than you usually do as special projects arise. For something that could be used as commonly as toner or ink-jet supplies (or printer paper, tablets, file folders, pens, markers, etc.) I'd assume I was "out" if there weren't TWO back-up packages in my supply closet. If your budget is so restricted you can't afford that, then the lack of toner is the boss's fault and she needs to increase the budget. But if the company can afford to keep a deep supply, I have to admit I'd be giving you a dirty look, too.
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