"The help desk has repeatedly e-mailed the store managers, instructing them to order an extra toner cartridge for the new printer," fish says.

"If they order it before they need it, there is no shipping charge. If they run out of toner, they have to pay us$15 shipping for overnight delivery."

When the manager of one store runs out of toner and calls the help desk, he's reminded of the overnight delivery charge. And when the help desk calls him back an hour later, he thinks he's found a solution on his own.

"He said to himself, 'I still have that old printer!' " fish reports. "He decided that toner is toner and used a drill to open a hole in a toner cartridge from the old printer. He poured that toner into the empty cartridge of the new printer model and installed it into the new printer.

"After getting a replacement printer for the one he destroyed by using the wrong toner, he can't figure out why his store is being charged for a new printer."