alisoncooks Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I'm so ticked off right now and want to vent (and get some opinions)... Until now, I have had nothing but positive experiences having Office Max remove bindings and spiral-binding my homeschool materials. Well....today they not only messed up 1 item...but 3. :confused1: :crying: :cursing: My (*sniff*sniff*) AAR1 manual and 2 ETC workbooks. Has anyone had this experience and what did you do? What is my recourse? Lucky me :glare:, they "won't charge" me for 2 of THEIR mistakes (they cut my ETC spines too far and then proceeded to bind them, when I didn't ask for them bound...I wanted them loose). And my AAR manual isn't beyond use...but I'm not happy with what they did (I had the spine removed/spiral bound and the covers laminated....but they laminated a stupid Post-it note onto the front of my cover). I'll admit to being pretty particular...but AAR was a very expensive purchase for me! So, I plan on going back and talking to the manager. DH picked these items up for me and he paid for the job. For one, I'm asking for that refunded; I don't think I should pay for any of their mistakes. I also think I should be getting compensation for the ruined items so I can purchase replacements...but I doubt the local store can do that. Probably have to contact corporate... Thoughts? Am I overreacting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heritagelearningacademy Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I would also bring in an invoice of what you paid for the product (from the supplier) and asked for that amount to be given to you as well to replace your product. They could give that to you in a store credit, but if you are like me, throughout the year we go to the office store for supplies, especially printer cartridges. Sorry they did that! You are right in not paying for ANY of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsavoie11 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 You aren't overreacting. Officemax messed up one of my AAS books too. :( I had them cut off the spine and spiral bind it and they missed a section of about 20 pages When they hole punched it. :confused: They caught the bottom half of the pages though and it looked awful. I just knew they would end up being ripped out the rest of the way. So, I spent about an hour in there while someone else tried to fix the mistake. First he tried copying the pages to punch and bind again. That didn't work because the copies were dark and what was I supposed to do with 20 loose pages of a TM? So I had him cut off the punched part and rebind it. Now my book has 20 pages that are more narrow than the rest but at least it wasn't ruined. Best part of all of it? I still had to pay...yep. I won't be returning for any other "help" that's for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 You aren't overreacting. Officemax messed up one of my AAS books too. :( I had them cut off the spine and spiral bind it and they missed a section of about 20 pages When they hole punched it. :confused: They caught the bottom half of the pages though and it looked awful. I just knew they would end up being ripped out the rest of the way. So, I spent about an hour in there while someone else tried to fix the mistake. First he tried copying the pages to punch and bind again. That didn't work because the copies were dark and what was I supposed to do with 20 loose pages of a TM? So I had him cut off the punched part and rebind it. Now my book has 20 pages that are more narrow than the rest but at least it wasn't ruined. Best part of all of it? I still had to pay...yep. I won't be returning for any other "help" that's for sure! Well, that's terrible! I guess I should be grateful that my manual mistake is purely aesthetic, but still....! Why should we accept shoddy, substandard work? I'm sorry they did that to your manual. Unacceptable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorisuewho Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Happened to me with lamination. I took them all these bird posters to be laminated and they were all wrinkly. Why not just stop with ruining one poster when you see the lamination is going badly? Why keep going until you have ruined an entire set of posters??? They said, "We won't charge you for the lamination." Oh, thanks. How about a refund on the products you ruined??? No, no recourse on that. I hope you make out better than I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Yup. I don't go back to Office Max. They ruined my Living Memory book. Didn't cut the binding off evenly and the center pages have text missing, they cut so far in. They didn't make me pay, but otherwise it was sorry, out of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Unfortunately, they are not responsible for replacing materials they destroy or alter. They will only refund for the cost of having the lamination, binding, cutting spines....they are not responsible to replace your books. It is in fine print on their signs. Office Depot here no longer does binding removal here b/c of this issue. They have a table with the old school paper cutters with the big arm razor. You have to cut your own spines and punch the holes into the paper and they will sell you the binding. I prefer to do this over Office Max (they narrowed one of my student books for LLATL one time). At least if a mistake is made, it is my mistake. I think the most you can do is take the shoddy work and get a refund for what you paid them to mess up your materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threedogfarm Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Thanks for reporting this. I have heard of a lot of people going to office stores to have spines of books removed and spiral bound. I never thought of what might happen if something goes wrong! We live in a small college town and I just noticed that our local printer will print and bind theses (is that the right plural form?). Even if they are a little more, I will definitely go to them for any work. Again, thank you for the warning. And yes, you do have a right to be upset. I am always shocked at how people can do things so mechanically and not actually look and evaluate how they are doing the particular job at hand. I mean, laminating a post-it onto a front cover????? Cutting the spine too close? If you do that, stop and call the customer and ask them how they want you to proceed. Geeez. . . Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmomma Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Sorry your books were messed up but yes the small print does exclude them from covering the cost of your books but they can return the money you paid for the poor job. The explained that to me when I took my stuff in. I have also took my stuff to a small independent printer that we work with and she was really nervous about doing it but did a great job but it makes me wonder if it is tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmomjacquie Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I would be upset but I guess it's a risk taking it in to some store to do. I like the idea of doing it yourself. Sorry that happened to your stuff! I'd ask for refused for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmomjacquie Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 TI would be upset but I guess it's a risk taking it in to some store to do. I like the idea of doing it yourself. Sorry that happened to your stuff! I'd ask for refused for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 What were you having them do with the ETC workbooks? I'm trying to picture it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 So, I plan on going back and talking to the manager. DH picked these items up for me and he paid for the job. For one, I'm asking for that refunded; I don't think I should pay for any of their mistakes. I also think I should be getting compensation for the ruined items so I can purchase replacements...but I doubt the local store can do that. Probably have to contact corporate... Thoughts? Am I overreacting? :cursing: You are not overreacting. Yes, they should pay for the cost of replacing the materials they ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 What were you having them do with the ETC workbooks? I'm trying to picture it... I was just having the spine removed (making them loose pages). It was only $1 so I figured I'd let them do it and save my time. :glare: But they cut the pages almost into the work area...and then they spiral-bound them (which we didn't request.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Yeah, but that's like saying "that's the risk one takes" after a car repair shop screws up your repair job. They have special equipment to do that job. They should do the job advertised, not hand you back a ruined book. Amen, sister! Honestly - it is *not* that difficult to run a paper cutter and laminating machine, if you take your time and pay attention to what you are doing! I can't tell you the number of times I have been shopping lately and had to wait on my "customer service" person to text on their phone, or discuss their lunch date with co-worker or what have you. It is crazy how little people regard doing a job and doing it well these days. I would ask for a replacement book or the equivalent in gift cards and stock up on my printer ink and paper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene' Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I went to Staples to have FLL spiral bound and the employee cut off too much of the spine so that the binding holes were just cutting into the words. At first I was like, well, we all make mistakes, but the more I tried using it the more it bothered me. I called the manager and he had me order another book, then paid for the replacement. Now I have all my binding done at Kinko's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rbsmrter Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Do you have a Kinko's near you? I've had several things bound over the last few months and I've always recieved excellent service. One of my tricks is to go late at night. We live in a busy area so the Kinko's is open 24 hours a day. Usually when I go in late I'm the only one there and the employees are more than happy to take the time to understand exactly what I'm asking for. The last time I went in with a workbook that had an especially close binding. The employee marked each end with a Sharpie and said that's really helpful to see when they're running the machine and it helps both parties see exactly where it should be cut. Since it's usually slow around that time, they'll stop after every step and check with me to make sure it looks ok. I did have to leave a few books overnight one time and when I signed the paper to drop them off I did notice that there was fine print about not charging for the service if it wasn't acceptable, but that they would not be held accountable for the cost of the materials. In that situation, I wouldn't leave an important or expensive book. I'd wait until I could be annoying and look over their shoulder :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatashainDFW Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 The one issue I had was at Staples when they punched the spiral binding holes into the cover of WWE to close to the edge. She ended up making a high quality copy of the cover and then laminating it ultra thick before putting holes in it which worked perfectly. She also gave me a discount on that portion of the job because it was her mistake albeit a fixable one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Oooh you all are making me paranoid. I was going to have the student books for America The Beautiful spiral bound, (we have some loose pages,) but maybe I'll just 3 hole punch them and put it in a binder. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I had the bindings cut off of three TOPScience books, and they cut them too far. I took it up with the manager (this was Office Max). He had me order new books and bring him the receipt so he could reimburse me for the new books. You may not get as good of an outcome. I think the fact that the manager's sister homeschools definitely helped my case. I usually have short conversations with him every time I go in now. He's a really nice guy. I hope you get new books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Office Depot here no longer does binding removal here b/c of this issue. This is the case where I live as well. I take mine to Kinko's (FedEx-Kinkos). They are really particular about making sure they did the job correctly, but since I usually leave them, they try to go over stuff a few times to make sure they understand everything. It costs more at Kinkos, but not a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatashainDFW Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 It costs more at Kinkos, but not a lot more. I don't know about that. The last time I got quotes to have spines cut off and hole punched it was about $6 at Staples and over $25 at Kinkos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I just pull them out of the bindings myself. It takes a while, you can only do so many pages at once. Then I can bind them or hole punch them depending on what it is. For me the investment in a Proclick and a laminator have been well worth the expense. I'm sorry your things were ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmama Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Office Depot here no longer does binding removal here b/c of this issue. They have a table with the old school paper cutters with the big arm razor. You have to cut your own spines and punch the holes into the paper and they will sell you the binding. I prefer to do this over Office Max (they narrowed one of my student books for LLATL one time). At least if a mistake is made, it is my mistake. My Office Depot won't do spiral binding on previously bound books anymore. Something about if there's any residual glue from the original binding, it can ruin their binding machines. And the binding machine at my Office Max was broken and they weren't expecting it to get replaced ever because it's so expensive. So I went to Staples, where they estimated it would cost me $7/book, so I only gave them the two most important books... and then they went and charged less than $5 each. :tongue_smilie: The worst work I had done was when I asked the girl at Office Depot to cut a stack of pages in half for my Cuisenaire Rod Discovery Book... and there was an inch difference between the two "halves" she cut. I kept scratching my head after that... would it have been so hard for her to measure before she cut? (She didn't charge me for it, but I'm not sure she would have anyway.) The comb binding I got done at Office Max was pretty lame, too... I think my book needed a larger comb binding, because the pages wouldn't turn anymore after five minutes of use. But I guess that could have been the kind of paper I was using? Anyway, it pretty solidly turned me off of comb binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 I just pull them out of the bindings myself. It takes a while, you can only do so many pages at once. Then I can bind them or hole punch them depending on what it is. For me the investment in a Proclick and a laminator have been well worth the expense. I'm sorry your things were ruined. Yeah, at this point I'm looking into getting my own Proclick. I already have a laminator.... might as well go all the way and do it all myself. So at this point, I am less mad and just perplexed at the incompetence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I don't know about that. The last time I got quotes to have spines cut off and hole punched it was about $6 at Staples and over $25 at Kinkos. I pulled some receipts (from 2011): Office Max was $4-$5 to coil bind some stuff that was already de-spined (depending on how thick they were). Kinkos was $6.50 to cut the spine ($1.49) & coil bind ($4.99). I think that included a vinyl back cover & clear front cover. They were very comparable - with Kinkos generally running a few dollars higher. I think coil binding with cover is now running more in the $5.50-$6 range at Kinkos depending on the thickness. I don't know what they are charging for cutting spines as I haven't had one done recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemy4kids Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 :grouphug: That's a bummer. They don't have to replace your books because the signs tell you in tiny little print that they are not responsible for damaged items. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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