"It's off by a hair" has taken a new literal meaning.. (Rant)

Just a rant.

Some of you may remember my rant about my trafficking manager who's very anal and a perfectionist.

Well, she's brought truth to the phrase "off by a hair". Literally.

When doing packages, the net contents has to be a certain height. It should be a smidge bigger to pass lab testings. On this particular package, the net contents has to be a quarter of an inch (.25").

I measured carefully on-screen in illustrator.. both using the ruler tabs AND creating a box of the exact size and lining up the text with the box. I even printed and measured with my ruler. Satisfied, I handed in the project.

She comes to me, and tells me the contents are too big, it has to be .25". I'm like.. it IS. and she's insisting it's too big, make it smaller. So I get my ruler out and SHOW her that it's .25".



What does she do then? She rips a strand of her hair out, line it up to the text and the ruler and says (and I quote) "See, it's a hair off!" I tried telling her that it's probably not going to pass testing if I shrunk the text by a hair. It's always good to have it slightly bigger to be on the safe side. Her response? "FINE!" and walks away.

Really?

Not enough angry emoticons.

She also brings a new meaning to OCD.. though I don't believe it because her office is a MESS with paper!

currently the on-going thing is mockups to show Walmart and Spencer's to see if they wish to buy the product for 2012 Halloween.. it's a MOCK-UP, not a production piece. Even the boss told her not to be so picky with it as he doesn't think they'll buy the product. I can understand she wants the product production ready just in case, but geesh!

and what's worse.. she blames me if everything's not perfect and to a "T". this paper passing back and forth is getting out of hand because the image is "a hair" to the left. or the font is ".005 pts off". sigh.

This really isn't the place for her. She needs to be in a big advertising agency where they really need her and she'd be better off there, not here. This place is much more laid back than her. NO one else isn't as picky as her.

If the economy wasn't so bad and I can easily find another job, I'd so quit because of her. I deal with this every day, some just as bad as the hair.

tell me about it.

get this, just now.. she called me "where's the job request for this job? I gave it to you last night" then I tell her I gave it back to her with the printouts. She insists I have it, and I don't. I told her to check her "in-box".. and it's there. Her reaction? "Fine. got it" and hung up the phone. SOmeone needs to get the stick out of her bum.

Is there a bloody head-desk emoticon? or one stabbing self in the head?

can the computer one be thrown at her? LOL

Yes! And my jaws hurt too!

But a zinger for me... On a walmart Halloween package I accidentally left a pumpkin image sitting on a tree branch image.. She said "is the tree holding the pumpkin up?"

And I said "no. The pumpkin has a stick up it's rear" (used the other not so nice term). What a glare I got from her!!

no, it was black o.O lol

I work on these projects from start to completion, then send to printers to print and create the packages. Sounds like you are on an opposite world of graphic design than where I am! lol.

This is what I was working on (and you can see how the pumpkin gets a stick up its rear..)



I have Walmart's style guide that I follow to the T! .2" of space below the hang hole.. .25" from the dielines for the pre-price stickers.. font size is this, color is that and so forth.

My point to the argument is that it's a hair off, and a hair in the better way (to pass testing). LITERALLY a hair. This goes the same for a font being "half a hair" off (no exaggeration). Customers aren't going to care if an image is "half a hair" to the right or the drop shadow is blurred by half a pixal too little.

But I do see how and why she wants everything perfect with private label items, but she does get carried away in half the cases. The previous trafficking managers (And other current ones.. INCLUDING the boss himself) don't care so much as she does. they aren't nit-picky and I never, ever had an issue with any one else here about something being "a hair off". Especially on our own packages.. we do things as it works for the package. If it doesn't work as the style guides says, we make do with best we can.. and that's not good enough for her either. (net contents doesn't fit on one line, so I had to break it to two.. she gets upset and insists I make it on one line BECAUSE the style guide says so.. HOW?! I couldn't adjust the kerning or tracking any more and in most cases, we can't.