Facilities manager discovers executive mistook a copier for a fax machine

In a recent On Call submission, a former facilities manager recounted an incident from his time at a large UK food company. The company secretary, frustrated after a failed urgent fax the night before, was summoned early in the morning. She demonstrated the steps she took—loading the paper, entering the remote number on the keypad and pressing Enter—only to be informed she was operating a photocopier rather than a dedicated fax machine.

The manager explained that multifunction printers often bundle copying, printing and fax functions, which can lead to such misunderstandings. He highlighted the dated nature of fax technology, noting its decline since the late 1990s except in a few markets. The story was presented as a humorous illustration of everyday tech-support challenges.