You couldn't make it up...

[greek_jester]

This is why I love my office. This would never happen at any of the other branches.

Our office printer/copier is out of action as the toner kind of exploded all over the machine, then much of the office. Picture the scene.

The "out of toner" warning starts flashing and beeping. The drawer to the toner tray is opened; it is absolutely full of loose toner. The drawer is removed carefully by a colleague, hoping to drop the excess toner into the bin. Unfortunately the toner instead ended up in a massive splat on the floor. Cue a round of then much .

Our manager grabbed the hoover and started clearing up, also having a go at the toner piled up in drifts inside the machine with the pipe. While this is happening, one of the receptionist/secretaries grabs a bag for my colleague to drop the toner cartridge in. The bag promptly splits at the bottom and another toner-drift forms on the floor. There is stunned silence, before once again much .

This pile is also dealt with, while some bright spark notices that there's a plastic doohickey at the back of the toner compartment. This is taken out and put to one side in case it's important.

After getting up as much toner as possible, our manager hoovered the removable drawer to get the worst of the toner out of it. Somehow the plastic doohickey then gets hoovered up. Cue a round of "that just happened? That actually happened" before more .

Seriously, if someone scripted this the viewers would cry foul...

[pudddykat]

Not to mention hoovers are not fond of toner or any really really fine particulates. Thanks for sharing, I love a good laugh. Yes there are some things you just could not make up...

[taxguykarl]

You never told us you work with the three stooges

[mjr]

I found the soundtrack to greek_jester's story...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ

[eltf177]

You never told us you work with the three stooges

Sounds like a combination of The Marx Brothers and The Keystone Cops...

[Dreamstalker]

That is hysterical So was the doohickey important, or has that not been figured out yet (if it was, who got to sift through the hoover bag to find it)?

At my other job before they moved offices I learned quickly to bring a crap outfit or dress down when the office manager was there--her idea of changing the toner was pull the cartridges halfway out (as if I couldn't tell they needed changing) during the few times I wasn't in the room and leave them for me to do the rest. Those things were not designed for balancing acts...I escaped largely unscathed, but the carpet near the copier was varying colors, the head honcho bought a sisal mat for people to shuffle their shoes on before leaving the room and put about a dozen signs with "Toner changes not to be performed by anyone except Dreamstalker".

[greek_jester]

Not to mention hoovers are not fond of toner or any really really fine particulates.

The poor little Henry was beginning to sound a bit wheezy towards the end!

That is hysterical So was the doohickey important, or has that not been figured out yet (if it was, who got to sift through the hoover bag to find it)?

As far as we can tell it looks like the bit that was on the end of the toner cartridge, and it was either knocked off by whoever changed it last (possible) or faulty (more likely). Certainly not worth tipping all that toner over the floor again.

I found the soundtrack to greek_jester's story...

The Benny Hill theme tune! That's exactly what I was imagining all afternoon!