At one point today, one of my Copy Controllers popped over to my desk to ask permission to replace or alter an advertisement that had been previously approved, but now required some form of change.
An advertisement for a magazine that goes to press next week... and which I have not even begun to work on.
When I expressed some incredulity that she felt the need to ask permission, she pointed out - quite rightly, as it happens - that she'd previously been given a bollocking by our boss for doing just that without first seeking permission.
So here's the thing: logically, there is no problem here. The job that needed post-approval work was so far ahead of where I am in the schedule that I could not possibly have reason to object. However, in my absence, both Designers and Copy Controllers are wont to use my name as an excuse for utterly stupid behaviour. For example, come press day, a client needs some last minute changes to their artwork - after having approved it - so the Copy Controller makes it happen (trying to be helpful) and, next thing you know, the client is refusing to pay because "the last amendments weren't done".
Only they were.
After the ad had already gone to the Printers.
Here's the process in brief:
1: Client books ad.
2: Client (eventually) sends copy for ad to be made, or complete ad ready for press.
3: Artwork/Complete Ad goes into system.
4A: Artwork is set by Designers, proofed to client, client sends changes. Repeat till client approves.
4B: Complete Ad is checked by the system.
5: Complete, approved Ad is flagged as Done, and can be pulled into Flatplan.
6: As pages are completed, they are PDF'd and sent to Printers.
7: The Magazine Happens.
So the problem is that some clients will request changes at or after step 6. At this point changes to the artwork are a nightmare because, come next month, there is no immediately obvious reason why we have the correct artwork in the system, but not in the magazine. It's only when we compare the time of the last amendments to the ad to the time of output for the page it's on that we discover the source of the problem and, at this point, the Copy Controller is justly admonished.
When changes come in anywhere between steps 3 and 4, this is all normal. Even at step 5, as long as other ads on the page are incomplete, it's not necessarily a problem to make further changes to an ad that was thought to be 'Done'.
And when you factor in that we're not talking about the magazine I'm working on now, but the one I'll be working on next week, you wouldn't think anyone would have any doubts, because the process for that entire magazine is stalled at step 5 until my current magazine is complete.
But, gentle reader, that is the problem in a nutshell.
Do you see?
Come on, it's quite obvious. Read that last sentence again.
Yes, that's right. I used the T word.
These morons are not Thinking. Their 'mental' process, such as it is, goes "I do this... I get a bollocking... I do not listen to the explanation of my mistake... I do not consider why I have been repremanded... I do not consider the workflow... And, to forestall any future bollockings, I shall not consider whether or not the current situation is the same as the last, I shall simply consider all situations to be identical and waste everybody's time"
Really, it's not difficult. If only they would consider that they are not the be-all and end-all of the process, if only they would realise that what they consider 'finished' is, at best, halfway done... if only they'd bloody realise that, while they may not be on press, another of the Copy Controllers is, because we're still producing 10 magazines a month...
...In short, if only they'd bloody learn from their mistakes.
Honestly, how much better will they be in their next job if only they'd learn to connect cause and effect? But instead they all act like bratty 5 year olds, pouting whenever someone points out their mistake, and never bothering pay any attention to the chain of events set off by their mistake.
If they understood the chain of events, they'd understand why they must not do what they did, and what is acceptable in situations which might, at first glance, appear similar.
Seriously, people, no-one ever has a problem with people making a mistake as long as they don't make the same mistake again and again... These vacant wasters only ever find new ways to creatively fuck up. Even if you make one big mistake that costs you your job, you can learn from it, and not lose your next job. Don't just back away from something that should be within your remit because your boss indicates that you have erred. Analyse the mistake and the situation in which you made the mistake and determine for yourself the better course of action. Discuss it with your boss to show that you have learned or, at least, that you are trying to learn. Sulking is for losers.
Of course, this tactic won't work on someone who doesn't want to discuss the problem... but that's a whole different issue. I personally have not progressed beyond passive aggression when dealing with this type. In my experience, all they actually want is someone to blame. I let them have that, and avoid entering into any further discussion.
On a semi-related note, we have a Temp in this week. Supposedly a Designer, but I discovered today - quite by accident - that he'd been booking RGB JPEGs to his jobs. Yes, the system can automatically change colourspace (in a JPEG only) from RGB to CMYK... but the results are crap, and what kind of half-witted so-called Designer works with RGB images for Print?
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