Now, I wouldn't say we're superstitious here, but somethings are unexplainable...
We employ three drivers at Greensource. Part of their job is to go and collect empty cartridges from businesses local to us.
There's always been competition and sometimes cartridges will have been taken by another collector - I guess we've done the same on occasion. Most collectors are charity affiliated and most businesses retain loyalty to a certain collector, because of the charity they support.
However the course of events since 2007 has changed this in Bristol. Greensource acquired the two other cartridge collectors local to us and effectively all this argie bargie of one man taking another ones cartridges should have ended...but it didn't.
There is a mysterious/indescribable/ninja/ghost woman who drifts in and out of offices in Bristol taking empty cartridges. I'm starting to obsess about this particular individual though the more I dig the less I know.
Soze cartridge recycling - yes I do support charity!So, getting in to the role of chief investigator at Greensource I ask all the businesses we collect from and who are aware of this woman who she works for, if they have contact details, even what she looks like! And I come up with zip.
People are genuinely unable to even describe this woman. It's like she has the ability to stand in a room and do what she chooses without anyone even seeing her.
This is becoming surreal and laughable and I am enjoying the jokes with our donors about it.
But there is a serious side that I am more than happy to make platitudes about.
We collect to raise funds for our charity partners and two of these charities are local to us - St Peter's Hospice and Children's Hospice South West. So beyond my bafflement I see our charity partners missing out on something they deserve.
The ghost collector does mention to the businesses she frequents that a charity benefits. But no one seems to pin point which one...The two mentioned most commonly are NSPCC and Clic Sargeant.
I'm really taking the role seriously now, so phone up both charities and dig a little and find out no one regionally or nationally is aware of someone in the Bristol area doing this on their behalf. This is weird - and possibly fraudulent.
My mind is racing, trying on the one hand to justify what the cartridge ninja does (simply a good person, supporting charity very anonymously) while pragmatically building up a case against this (seriously, how easy is it to go and sell empty cartridges for the average person and why is it all so vague!!!!)
Experience of working with charities leads my cynicism on, as official relationships need to be airtight and a regular supporter/volunteer would be known by someone
And now my own paranoia takes hold. What if I do unmask a fraud, who has been living off this for years and ruin their life? Maybe I'll unleash a monster hellbent on taking revenge - it happens!!!
What 2011 holds, for us and the cartridge pixie time will only tell.
NB I like telling this story because it adds a different kind of colour to the business than the CMYK we deal in.
People are genuinely unable to even describe this woman. It's like she has the ability to stand in a room and do what she chooses without anyone even seeing her.
This is becoming surreal and laughable and I am enjoying the jokes with our donors about it.
But there is a serious side that I am more than happy to make platitudes about.
We collect to raise funds for our charity partners and two of these charities are local to us - St Peter's Hospice and Children's Hospice South West. So beyond my bafflement I see our charity partners missing out on something they deserve.
The ghost collector does mention to the businesses she frequents that a charity benefits. But no one seems to pin point which one...The two mentioned most commonly are NSPCC and Clic Sargeant.
I'm really taking the role seriously now, so phone up both charities and dig a little and find out no one regionally or nationally is aware of someone in the Bristol area doing this on their behalf. This is weird - and possibly fraudulent.
My mind is racing, trying on the one hand to justify what the cartridge ninja does (simply a good person, supporting charity very anonymously) while pragmatically building up a case against this (seriously, how easy is it to go and sell empty cartridges for the average person and why is it all so vague!!!!)
Experience of working with charities leads my cynicism on, as official relationships need to be airtight and a regular supporter/volunteer would be known by someone
And now my own paranoia takes hold. What if I do unmask a fraud, who has been living off this for years and ruin their life? Maybe I'll unleash a monster hellbent on taking revenge - it happens!!!
What 2011 holds, for us and the cartridge pixie time will only tell.
NB I like telling this story because it adds a different kind of colour to the business than the CMYK we deal in.
No comments:
Post a Comment