"Since when are we using posh paper?" I ask Maudie.
"Since we found out that we have to use expensive paper because the cheap paper's too expensive," she replies.
It turns out that the cheap paper we are required to buy by corporate dictate is only available at the permissible price if bought in quantities that exceed the maximum permissible order. Procurement won't allow us to buy this product at the higher price for smaller amounts so we can't order it. But we can order smaller quantities of the expensive paper at nearly twice the price of the cheap stuff without any discount.
This council is having a budgetary crisis. I really can't imagine why.
4 comments:
Kevin, this just cracks me up! A secretary at the northern Uni with which I was connected printed out the Agenda and Minutes of a staff meeting on recycled paper - the minutes of a much earlier meeting. She then got the pagination and stapling wrong....it was 20 minutes into the meeting before our Chair (ghastly word - but descriptive) discovered we were discussing a meeting of six month's previous. And another ten for 12 academics to reshuffle everything. Still, we had saved 15p on paper! The same secretary once saved money by sending out student acceptance letters on plain, not headed, paper. The students were obviously excited to know they had been offered a place, but didn't know at which BUSINESS (yes, really) School!!
I used to be the one charged with procurement for a depatrment of a regional health service, in the good old days when the director was a totalitarian dictator answerable to nobody - it pains me report to you that the whole procument process worked very well!
Hilarious!
As for "After" can imagine that happening here...ha!
Affer: That's a treat and a half, and all too easy to imagine (unfortunately!)
Gadjo: as soon as you build accountability into the process it all gets screwed up!
Welcome back Ms Cow!
Post a Comment