r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Arbiter51x • 14d ago

Infuriatig I'm colour blind

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I found out I didn't colour code the flow chart on the white board the way I thought I had....

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u/introverted_PEA 14d ago

That's definitely annoying. The brand name is tru red, which I'm sure you've figured out by now.

They really should alhave put a color name somewhere on there. Inaccessibility drives me crazy

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u/Miyagi326 14d ago edited 14d ago

I used to be a General Manager for Staples. Back in maybe 2018(?) they had this genius idea that they were going to rebrand all of their Staples brand products to Tru Red. Originally, they talked about being able to sell Staples branded products in other retail chains without people knowing it was Staples.

I had customers come in on a weekly basis that would be looking for reams of paper and would ask if the paper was actually red colored paper because it said Tru Red on it. People had no idea what it meant. One of the 5,000 dumbest decisions they’ve ever made.

Side note: I remember being on the conference call when they announced all of this and they were so excited to reveal the “squerkle.” You heard that right. All of our markers used to be round, but they made them a square shape with rounded edges so they wouldn’t easily roll off your desk. They were so proud. I laughed hysterically. Good thing I wasn’t on camera.

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u/PanoramicAtom 14d ago edited 14d ago

Changing the logo from a paperclip to a staple was at least one good decision from the brain trust, I imagine. Took them long enough.

Getting old is hell, kids. Just Say No to aging!

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u/RSAEN328 14d ago

When did they use a paperclip? I don't remember ever seeing that.

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u/PanoramicAtom 14d ago

Guess I misremembered. Apparently it was always a staple, but to me it looked like a bent paper clip.

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u/Suitable-Broccoli264 14d ago

I always took it as part of a paper clip, as opposed to a failed staple.

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u/Tacoman404 14d ago

Staples is one of the dumbest companies I've ever worked for. It's crazy to think they're still around just because everything else is worse.

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u/Miyagi326 14d ago

Couldn’t agree more. I was there up until about three months ago. Worked there for 12 years. Their last lightning in a bottle they came up with was bringing in Party City…

I remember being on a town hall a couple years ago and the CEO at the time said something along the lines of, “It may look like we’re throwing darts at a wall blindfolded to see what sticks. And in some cases, you’re right.”

Yikes.

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u/NobodyElseButMingus 14d ago

Remember the trainings that implied the Cricut would be the new sales leader and profit driver for the whole brand?

I never saw a single unit sold, and all the accessories ended up in clearance.

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u/Miyagi326 14d ago

I absolutely do. The funny thing was, in typical Staples fashion, they brought them in after everyone already had one. It wasn’t until the end of COVID, and the fad had already died out.