Thanks to a box office flop turned cult favorite, if someone says to you, “I want to go all Office Space on this printer right now,” you know what it means: beating a printer to death with a baseball bat as an outlet for the frustrations of corporate culture. So it’s not surprising that there are now sanctioned events popping up in the mainstream that let people bash office equipment into oblivion.
For example, companies can book Office Space viewing parties for their employees at various Alamo Drafthouse theaters across the country, the Wall Street Journal reports, after which everyone goes out to the back and crushes a printer.
The owner of a place called the Anger Room in Dallas cruises around once a month on heavy-trash day looking for office equipment her customers can smash in “rage rooms.” And at Battle Sports in Toronto, folks can pay $45 Canadian for 45 minutes of smashing stuff, including printers. The company goes through at least 15 printers a week, saving the biggest machines for corporate parties.
Then there are office-equipment companies — the ones that make and fix printers — who have “breaking stations” at industry conferences. About one-in-five of those events features a smashing opportunity, according to a printer-focused market research and consulting firm.
So how long does it take to beat apart a printer? At least 10 good whacks, Battle Sports co-founder Steve Shew told the WSJ.
“When you smash it, it creates glass fireworks,” he says.
Do You Really, Truly Hate Your Office Printer? There’s a Bat for That [Wall Street Journal]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
No comments:
Post a Comment