Candidate for Worst Packaging Prize

[akirlu]

Dear Dymo Products Packaging Department:

After I have dutifully plunked down the company's très cher for your overpriced DateMark printing date stamper because the old one crapped out prematurely, I should not have to resort to bull-nosed dykes, brute force, and goddamn' terrorist weapons in order to get the frakking thing out of the customer-proof packaging. Just sayin'.

No love,

Akirlu

Comments

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

Next thing you know, companies will be saying that opening that near-indestructible packaging voids the warranty on the product…

[stevegreen.livejournal.com]

A couple of years back, Ann and I bought a pair of scissors which came in a plastic / cardboard combination so impenetrable you needed a second pair of scissors to access the first.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that one, but usually I just use an old kitchen scissor -- the kind that cuts chickens apart -- and cut the packaging off.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I thought the whole point of box cutters was to open packaging? Based on the name, and all. I've used them, I've *needed* them, to open packages I did not consider especially customer-hostile.

But I have no idea what "bull-nosed dykes" are. Can you unpack that a bit? I mean, can you explain?

[devinshire.livejournal.com]

The Dymo machine for our department has its home on my desk, so I know first hand that Dymo = a big waste of time-o. I've spent more work time messing around with that one little machine than I have for any other device in the office. But I will admit that it's nice to print just one label without having to load an entire sheet into the printer every time. It probably evens out in the end.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Box cutters are meant to open boxes, generally by cutting open a thin strip of packing tape. They aren't suited to opening heat-sealed, heavy plastic clamshell packaging, because they don't readily cut through the plastic without a lot of pressure, which can damage the contents. Also, when you use a lot of pressure with a box-cutter, the risk of losing slipping and losing control and accidentally cutting yourself, your desk, or random passersby goes up.

Dykes are cutting pliers, and a bullnose is a blunt nosed shape of plier.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Yes, kitchen shears are a good tool for clamshell packs, but I don't tend to keep kitchen shears at the office.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think our single-label printer is by someone else than Dymo, but it is also a great time waster.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I believe purchasing the product voids the warranty...

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Actually, to be fair, when I called Fellowes to get a repair number for our shredder, the call center guy got our address and just sent us a new shredder instead. Boy was I gobsmacked. I hadn't even submitted the warranty paperwork.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

That is so wrong.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

However, "dyke" is a nickname for cutting pliers and it does refer to the sharp "mouth" (vagina dentata) of lesbians. I usually stick with calling them cutting pliers because although I see lesbians calling themselves that, I don't get the feeling it's as acceptable for hets to use it.

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Oh. I always thought it was "dikes", and short for diagonal pliers, being an obscure transatlantic word for what we'd call cutting pliers over here. "Bull-nosed d[iy]kes" get all of four hits on Google between them, so it could well be the "klang" of the word discourages its use....