I don’t think the $2.52 I spent at Copy Cop in Boston on a recent Friday morning is going to weigh too heavily on the company’s bottom line. But I am glad I spent it there.
Here’s why.
I was scheduled to give a presentation on business writing at the New England Press Association’s annual conference. It’s held each year at the Park Plaza.
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I jumped at the chance to give the presentation. After all, it’s always nice to talk to colleagues. Share information. Get feedback.
Everything was in order. My notes all neatly typed. I knew which commuter rail to catch in Attleboro. I would get to Boston with time to spare.
I just needed to make 30 copies of a single sheet of paper that I planned to hand out during my talk. After consulting the “T” schedule, I determined there would be ample time to make the copies in Boston and still get to the hotel in time for my talk.
In fact, that bit of unfinished business seemed a minor detail after I ascended from the commuter rail stop at Back Bay and noticed a Kinko’s just across the street. This couldn’t possibly get any more convenient, I thought.
So in I went. There was only one other customer in the store. I stepped to the counter.
The clerk approached with a smile. I said I needed the 30 copies.
“Oh,” she said.
And then there was this sort of extended pause and I knew my plans were about to unravel.
“That’s going to take 15 minutes,” she continued.
I wanted copies, not a pizza, I thought. In 15 minutes I could have hand-written the 30 copies – twice.
I looked over the clerk’s shoulder. There was an army of copy machines. There were big copy machines. And medium copy machines. And small copy machines. Apparently, however, there weren’t any fast copy machines.
It didn’t seem possible that one of them wouldn’t get the job done a bit quicker than 15 minutes.
Seeing the disappointment in my face, the clerk offered an alternative.
“Or you could use one of those self-service machines over there … they take either a credit or debit card,” she said. “I can show you how to do it.”
There were two immediate reasons why I did not jump at that idea.
First, I had given the clerk that “If I Did Decide To Use One Of Those Self-Serve Machines, I Certainly Wouldn’t Need Any Assistance Operating It” looks. In truth, had I tried to use one of them I most certainly would have messed up. The one time I used the self-checkout at the supermarket I think I paid about $8 for three bananas. Even vending machines make me uncomfortable, especially if they require exact change.
Secondly, my wife and I have this sort of unwritten rule that we don’t break out credit cards to purchase anything $2.52 or less. Maybe we’re odd, but it just seems like unnecessary paperwork to us. What’s next? Buy a paper, break out the debit card?
So I politely thanked the clerk and exited the store into a quickly developing snowstorm. The “minor detail” of making the copies before my speech was now becoming more of a serious concern.
I glanced up Stuart Street. It didn’t look promising.
So I ventured over to Boylston Street, figuring there were lots of storefronts there and perhaps I would find one that housed a copy machine that could run off 30 copies of a single sheet of paper in less than 15 minutes.
And there it was. Copy Cop. I had never heard of the company before, but the slogan on the door said, “When you need it right and you need it now.”
That’s when I needed it.
The clerk approached. I sheepishly extended my single sheet of paper.
“Could I get 30 copies of this,” I asked?
“Sure,” he said.
He took the sheet of paper and walked over to a machine. At first I thought I was all set, but then something dawned on me. What if it does take 15 minutes to make 30 copies? Maybe that’s the norm. I don’t really know copies.
If it does, I’m going to feel pretty stupid. And not only that, I just might be late for my presentation.
But it didn’t. It took exactly one minute and 20 seconds.
I timed it.
He even put the copies in a paper bag and told me to have a good day.
So off I went. Out into a snowstorm, but with my copies in hand and with time to spare before my presentation.
With simple customer service, Copy Cop earned themselves a loyal customer.
And while it may not put them over the top, I’m good for about $2.52 per year.
