Officeworks Printing Services

Officeworks Printing Services

rated 3/10: go somewhere else

Need some printing done? Just a few pages? Officeworks provides a simple print service.

Correction: Officeworks does not provide a simple print service.

Officeworks used to provide a simple print service.

Walk in, speak to the helpful people at the print services counter. Get the printing done. Pay. Then there was the new self-service option: Print it yourself, then pay. Simple. Convenient. Easy.

Sure, the printers sometimes failed. There was often a queue at the counter.

Not to worry. These minor irritations are nothing. Nothing, that is, compared to the incredible difficulty of Officeworks current print non-services.

There's a sign at the counter: Hand in a print job over the counter and there will be a 24 wait for the printing to be done.

What?! A guaranteed 24 hour wait?!? Forget it!

Officeworks could increase staff numbers to cope with demand. Rather than that, they have acted to reduce demand.

But wait, there's always the self-service printing... Very convenient... When it works.

Also: Officeworks self-service printing is now set up to benefit Officeworks... at an increased cost to the customer.

First, the controlling software is fiddly. Especially when I have 20 small PDFs to print. Each one has to be printed separately. I have to remember where I'm at in the list of PDFs. There's no option to print all files.

Then there's the payment rip-off...

No more, print-then-pay. You have to buy a "payment card". That is -- you need to give money to Officeworks in the expectation that you will, some day, want to print a few pages. Officeworks holds your cash. Tough luck, customer.

So today I bought a cash card. I gave $10 to Officeworks so that I could print about $9 worth of pages. At best, Officeworks have made a clear profit of $1.

The self-service printer works for a few documents. Then stops printing. Claims to have printed -- but has not.

An Officeworks employee looks at the printer. No, can't see anything wrong, he says. Well, I could see that much. Was I charged for the failed printing? I could count all the pages that I did get, multiply by the cost per page, subtract from $10, start the print process to get a view of how much is still on the pre-pay card... Forget it.

I try another printer. (That's the employee's best... only... suggestion.) I print one page. Next print attempt -- nothing comes out. No message. Just, no print.

What the hell ?!?

I walk out. No, it didn't work, I tell the employee. No, I don't give a stuff. No, I won't be back. Yes, I will get my printing done by a company which understands customer service.

Of course, really, I lose all round: No print, no convenience, I need to find a print service company.

And Officeworks has about $8 of my money. Which I will never get to use.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"Talk low, talk slow and don't say too much." … John Wayne