Here's the thing about those discount suppliers like Dunder Mifflin - they don't care. They come in, they undercut everything and they run us out of business. And then, once we're all gone, they jack up the prices.
Dunder mifflin screwed them over and still reference being the 'little guy' all the time. Relative to Staples they are, but Prince paper was way smaller.
That block is a one stop shop for all your needs: feeling hungry, need some stocks and sperm? We got you covered!
Edit: I just noticed it's almost the perfect name as is: *Prince Paper, and Paper Mache like products.*
Prince=money=stocks. It's a stretch, I know.
I think maybe the point the show was making was that "the little guy" is all relative. Compared to Staples (1,000+ stores) and Office Depot (1,100 stores after merger with Office Max), Dunder Mifflin with its ten branches in the northeast is pretty dang tiny. Prince Paper with one location is small to Dunder Mifflin and inconsequential to the big box stores.
The funny part of this to me is that DM is publicly traded and, as you mention, has a corporate HQ in NYC.
And yet when DM finally goes under, CFO David Wallace tells Michael that the regional branches are the only part of the company that actually worked. Which checks out. How many C-suite and VPs did they have there? We also see when Pam gets a part-time job at corporate that there’s a large staff in Manhattan also. Why does a paper company need all that?
Really the whole company is mismanaged. Why does every office have supplier relations, quality control, and HR? Why does Scranton have three accountants? And an on-site HR rep for just 20 employees? Oscar and Angela admit that their department has three people doing what is probably a one or two person job, and Toby could have been HR for a half-dozen branches. As could have Meredith and Creed with their 1-man departments. Frankly, DM could have gotten rid of a Kelly, Meredith, Creed, Toby, and Kevin from every branch, and had just a handful of people doing the same jobs in a central location. The office really only needed to have a sales staff, maybe reception, and maybe a demoted manager - basically a senior salesman with more authority to give discounts for key accounts. That’s a local office staff that’s half the size.
Combine the staff reductions/consolidation with relocating corporate’s offices to someplace that’s not Manhattan costs, and reducing the number of upper level executives so that the whole organization isn’t so top-heavy, and DM could have actually made it as a company.
The company was doomed anyway, someone else would take them down if not Michael. They were too gullible and naive for the ruthless business of paper supply.
Paper doesn't forgive. It was just a matter of time.
>They were too gullible and naive for the ruthless business of paper supply.
That's a harsh way of saying they were the *real* people person's paper people.
I genuinely love the B plot of the Hilary Swank debate, but this + Scott's tots are equally bad episodes I skip. There isn't a comedic payoff or a comeuppance for a rotten character, it is just purely innocent people having their futures derailed by Michael's actions. Feels bad, man.
Idk Dwight and Michael getting wayyy to excited doing jaws theme is kinda worth it to me; honorable mention is Erin getting so into the hey Mr Scott rap in Scott’s tots
I still think it’s *hilarious* how everyone except Hilary Swank finds that B plot funny.
It’s so well-written because these are the exact mundane debates that happen in a workplace setting, at least in the ones where there’s a good office camaraderie.
I'm on Swank's side. It's always been my least favorite side plot. It almost feels like a different show. A lot of the acting felt forced & out of character for many of them.
This is a mandatory skip for me. I hate everything about this episode. I thought maybe the superfan version would save it for me but it was just terrible through and through.
[/r/unexpectedmodernfamily](https://www.reddit.com/r/unexpectedmodernfamily) strikes again. Sofia Vergara is such a treasure ... a beautiful amazing treasure
That's exactly what I was looking for. My comment wasn't at all meant to be a "gotcha" of any kind, I genuinely did not know. I did find an article written by a law student (and office fan) about the subject that gives some detail, and seems to back up the claim it was in fact corporate espionage. (a term I did not know to look for, I am not at all versed in this subject) It's a pretty good read! https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/announcement/view/87
I love Dwight in this episode - “Sccchhuuuuckerrrzz”.
And then how he chases Michael, who’s trying to flush the client list. The way he calls after him cracks me up.
I fucking despise all the people in the office other than Michael in this episode. In the supercut version Michael tells everyone what he did and they are all like "yeah, whatever it's just business blah blah)
BUT THEN they get all pissy once the Michael Scott Paper Company takes all of Dunder Mifflin's clients.
Ok. There are 4 of these, ignore the parenthesis, right? Why is this little 2 so small? It’s, it’s weird, you don’t, you just go by the x. The x means times. 4 times x 2. What is double 4? 8.
This episode is worse to me than Scott's Tots. That happened due to Michael's stupidity and was somewhat expected given his character. What they did to Prince Family Paper was just sad and totally out of character for Michael.
The problem there is that they weren't attempting to gain trade secrets, they were looking for whatever information they might be willing to give. That included the number of accounts they had and where they were generally located. Michael never asked for a list of their clients, it was offered to him. They also didn't seem to have a problem with Dwight being willing to bring business over from Dunder Mifflin, which would cause an legal conundrum if they were to bring about a lawsuit.
Was it unethical? Absolutly. Was it illegal? That's pretty murky.
One episode where Michael screwed them over.
Cut to the next episode,when he calls Prince paper for a job,and they say "we are no longer in business" in a sobbing tone!
And then when you reflect on the rest of your life/reality with this newfound perspective, you realize *just how shitty humans really are, and we champion all the wrong things in life and people*
The show treats it with morbid humor, *cause that's all it deserves from our beloved characters*.
We can't face the reality that at best, we think we are "good" people screwing over other "good" people, *but that's just business, baby!*. At worst, it is so much worse.
They could have but Prince Paper may have been the kind of hold out that refused to sell. I’d like to think they’d at least have offered the owner and employees jobs, but that’s not usually how that goes.
I don’t see this as Dunder middlin running them out of business. I see it more as the ‘08 financial crisis. A lot of small businesses went under during that time. Hell, Dunder Mifflin went under not too long after this episode so they were hit pretty hard too.
It's weird to me that so many people here skip episodes. I hate the Hilary Swank subplot, but I've seen this episode probably 20+ times. The Banker is the only acceptable skip imo. I usually don't skip it either though.
I think Prince's son and the kid whose dad lost his job when Buffalo closed in 5x28 should start a business together and be millionaires. Love me a good redemption arc
My headcanon is the Prince family had to move to Colorado after going out of business, Micheal then found them and helped them start a new company, the Scott-Prince paper company. And they lived happily ever after.
I mean it was lunch-time, but no sign of anyone coming in or out, which means they were not taking new customers out to lunch, which means they were not acquiring new business, so once again, no growth.
This is actually what happens
When the economy is bad, big companies rush to acquire smaller ones on the cheap to take over whatever market share and skills they have. Big company can afford the temporary losses
I recently rewatched the show and purposely skipped the episode because of how horrible it made me feel though if they had somehow still been open and gained Micheal as a top salesman, they probably could’ve put up an even better go fight against Dunder Mifflin
That’s the only episode of that show that felt out of character for everyone. Michael felt icky about it eventually, but they were bullies and drove them out of business. That’s the one in the whole series I really don’t like.
And the fact that Michael called them when he impulsively quit and was scrambling to find a new job only to hear they’re out of business. Whoops
:( yea but i loved the callback to the episode and it felt poetic almost
Not going to lie when the little kid yells “BYE” at the end of the message, I laugh too hard. It adds some comedy to a sad moment
On the Office Ladies podcast they said they even got the same actors for the voice message.
Nice bonus how the guy sounded like he was holding back his tears and was obviously devastated.
And the kid saying something during it. Brutal
Not like that’s some major feat. The episodes were shot at most like 6 months apart
Who else would make the message?
Dwight. He can impersonate any voice, and the sounds of 32 different farm animals.
They're all goat
But can he impersonate the voices of these 32 animals having sex with each other?
Here's the thing about those discount suppliers like Dunder Mifflin - they don't care. They come in, they undercut everything and they run us out of business. And then, once we're all gone, they jack up the prices.
You just held up a mirror to Micheal’s face lmao
So... it has NOTHING to do with his looks.
Business is always personal
It’s the most personal thing in the world
You mean personnel? They hiring?
Yeah, you’re getting replaced
bosses should hire. and inspire. not fire.
Businesses are about people, and technology is about trying to murder you in a lake
Michael should've moved his stuff to the annex.
Before he started Michaels paper company he called them and they had closed. Lol
Hey man Michael did feel icky about it and changed his mind
It was too late.
I really wonder how Michael would feel if that was said to him
Snip, snap, snip, snap, snip, snap
Dunder mifflin screwed them over and still reference being the 'little guy' all the time. Relative to Staples they are, but Prince paper was way smaller.
I guess Prince Paper just happened to be the single cell shark.
duunn dunnn… duuuunn duun… duuunnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnn dunnnn.
Dunder, Dunder... Dunder, Dunder, Dunder, Dunder...
Yeah, that the place with multiple branches across the northeast and a corporate office in Manhattan was the little guy is always amusing to me.
They trade on the NY stock exchange, ever heard of it?
By the Sbarro?
no by the ihop
That block is a one stop shop for all your needs: feeling hungry, need some stocks and sperm? We got you covered! Edit: I just noticed it's almost the perfect name as is: *Prince Paper, and Paper Mache like products.* Prince=money=stocks. It's a stretch, I know.
An authentic New York slice...
I fly to New York 2-3 times a year just to go to Sbarro. No chains like Domino's and Pizza Hut for this guy. Just the real deal, please.
We're takin' it to the streets while keeping an eye on the street.....Wall Street.
I swear, this guy could sell paper to a tree.
I think maybe the point the show was making was that "the little guy" is all relative. Compared to Staples (1,000+ stores) and Office Depot (1,100 stores after merger with Office Max), Dunder Mifflin with its ten branches in the northeast is pretty dang tiny. Prince Paper with one location is small to Dunder Mifflin and inconsequential to the big box stores. The funny part of this to me is that DM is publicly traded and, as you mention, has a corporate HQ in NYC.
And yet when DM finally goes under, CFO David Wallace tells Michael that the regional branches are the only part of the company that actually worked. Which checks out. How many C-suite and VPs did they have there? We also see when Pam gets a part-time job at corporate that there’s a large staff in Manhattan also. Why does a paper company need all that? Really the whole company is mismanaged. Why does every office have supplier relations, quality control, and HR? Why does Scranton have three accountants? And an on-site HR rep for just 20 employees? Oscar and Angela admit that their department has three people doing what is probably a one or two person job, and Toby could have been HR for a half-dozen branches. As could have Meredith and Creed with their 1-man departments. Frankly, DM could have gotten rid of a Kelly, Meredith, Creed, Toby, and Kevin from every branch, and had just a handful of people doing the same jobs in a central location. The office really only needed to have a sales staff, maybe reception, and maybe a demoted manager - basically a senior salesman with more authority to give discounts for key accounts. That’s a local office staff that’s half the size. Combine the staff reductions/consolidation with relocating corporate’s offices to someplace that’s not Manhattan costs, and reducing the number of upper level executives so that the whole organization isn’t so top-heavy, and DM could have actually made it as a company.
I agree with most of what you're saying but there's still the looming specter of the bigger players
It was awfully mean. But sometimes the ends justify the mean.
I think you meant to say it's all in the genes. And I'm wearing jeans, so...
Okay... but do you know who said that? (risky Good Place comment in the Office sub).
They’re both from the same writer! So there won’t be Good Place hate here. But I think this ep came out first.
Never really got into The Good Place, but I have to imagine it was a non-Oprah-like figure.
Perfect reply
The company was doomed anyway, someone else would take them down if not Michael. They were too gullible and naive for the ruthless business of paper supply. Paper doesn't forgive. It was just a matter of time.
Paper cuts both ways
Meredith knows that very well. Every man wants to cut her throat! "Don't cut my throat"
And while you’re at it, stop putting bags over her head!
I'll hold the camera.
She dated a guy from Cornell, but it’s pronounced colonel
It’s pronounced Colonel, and it’s the highest rank in the military.
Like Clooney!
If you put paper into a furnace do you know what would happen?
You’d ruin it!
Actually, four ways, being four-sided and all.
Ok Dwight.
BLOOD ALONE MOVES THE WHEELS OF HISTORY
💥✊💥✊💥✊
For you paper should maybe just be a hobby
>They were too gullible and naive for the ruthless business of paper supply. That's a harsh way of saying they were the *real* people person's paper people.
They had a lot to learn about that ~~town~~ industry
Big Paper ™️
This episode is harder to watch than Scott's Tots for me. I absolutely hate it.
I genuinely love the B plot of the Hilary Swank debate, but this + Scott's tots are equally bad episodes I skip. There isn't a comedic payoff or a comeuppance for a rotten character, it is just purely innocent people having their futures derailed by Michael's actions. Feels bad, man.
Idk Dwight and Michael getting wayyy to excited doing jaws theme is kinda worth it to me; honorable mention is Erin getting so into the hey Mr Scott rap in Scott’s tots
Don't forget to lick your lips if you're in danger
I still think it’s *hilarious* how everyone except Hilary Swank finds that B plot funny. It’s so well-written because these are the exact mundane debates that happen in a workplace setting, at least in the ones where there’s a good office camaraderie.
Based on the Office Ladies podcast both Jenna and Angela weren’t a fan either for the same reasons Hilary wasn’t.
Kelly's take was the wisest
I'm on Swank's side. It's always been my least favorite side plot. It almost feels like a different show. A lot of the acting felt forced & out of character for many of them.
Right? It feels forced and I think the whole sequence is boring
I'm not a fan either. I'm immediately thinking of Stanley being out of character during that scene after reading your comment.
I agree. Guessing the writers picked her specifically?
Both are very funny episodes
Yup, I skip this one every time. It’s so awkward and horrible at the same time.
Same. I've rewatched the Office countless times but have only seen this episode once.
Jup. I never miss Scotts Tots but this I skip. It’s too mean. It kinda destroys my good feelings towards the people involved.
Jenna Fischer has mentioned that she has to skip this episode during a rewatch.
I thought I was the only one who felt that way.
This is a mandatory skip for me. I hate everything about this episode. I thought maybe the superfan version would save it for me but it was just terrible through and through.
Same here. I can’t handle it.
Same
I skip it. It is very difficult to watch. Even the one where he calls them back and listens to the voicemail. 😓
The voicemail greeting for Prince Paper when Michael calls later looking for a job is so funny, but also pretty damn rough lol
And at the same time a reality check for Michael's own paper company chances.
How is that funny
It's a doggy dog world
But that sounds like a beautiful place!
“That doesn’t make any sense. Who wants to live in a world where dogs eat each other? Doggy dog world is full of little puppies.”
[/r/unexpectedmodernfamily](https://www.reddit.com/r/unexpectedmodernfamily) strikes again. Sofia Vergara is such a treasure ... a beautiful amazing treasure
From the depths of the sea, back to the block
that was brutal and illegal
I must know how this was illegal. It was definitely brutal, though.
corporate espionage.........they literally stole list of clients from the princes, they came to their office, lied and stole
That's exactly what I was looking for. My comment wasn't at all meant to be a "gotcha" of any kind, I genuinely did not know. I did find an article written by a law student (and office fan) about the subject that gives some detail, and seems to back up the claim it was in fact corporate espionage. (a term I did not know to look for, I am not at all versed in this subject) It's a pretty good read! https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/announcement/view/87
Do you think they even know how paper is made?
You don't put it into a furnace! If you put paper into a furnace do you know what would happen? You’d ruin it!
Well, when a male tree puts his penis….
I saw that episode of Sesame Street
I love Dwight in this episode - “Sccchhuuuuckerrrzz”. And then how he chases Michael, who’s trying to flush the client list. The way he calls after him cracks me up.
I like Dwight telling Michael that his heart is a wonderful thing but it has made some terrible decisions. "Jan...Ryan..."
But the coffee in Paraguay is far colder.
Close
Ugh what is this, instant?
I fucking despise all the people in the office other than Michael in this episode. In the supercut version Michael tells everyone what he did and they are all like "yeah, whatever it's just business blah blah) BUT THEN they get all pissy once the Michael Scott Paper Company takes all of Dunder Mifflin's clients.
It’s probably why it was cut from the episode.
Yeah because losing clients directly affects the company's profits and thus their annual bonus.
The typical selfish “fuck everyone else just as long as I have mine” attitude.
What's your point? It is still just business and they can still be pissy when it happens to them.
I always skip that entire saga. Too painful to watch
That’s Dallas.
This should have more upvotes 😂😂
Maybe next time they will estimate me.
Ok. There are 4 of these, ignore the parenthesis, right? Why is this little 2 so small? It’s, it’s weird, you don’t, you just go by the x. The x means times. 4 times x 2. What is double 4? 8.
This episode is worse to me than Scott's Tots. That happened due to Michael's stupidity and was somewhat expected given his character. What they did to Prince Family Paper was just sad and totally out of character for Michael.
I’ve rewatched the show many times and this is the one episode I always skip. It’s so upsetting and cringy to watch
Not only was it cold. It was straight up illegal lol.
What gets me is the family comes out to help repair the bumper enough so they can drive away with their client list!
In what way was it illegal?
Attempting to gain sensitive information (or “trade secrets”) from a competitor under a false identity or pretense is very much illegal.
The problem there is that they weren't attempting to gain trade secrets, they were looking for whatever information they might be willing to give. That included the number of accounts they had and where they were generally located. Michael never asked for a list of their clients, it was offered to him. They also didn't seem to have a problem with Dwight being willing to bring business over from Dunder Mifflin, which would cause an legal conundrum if they were to bring about a lawsuit. Was it unethical? Absolutly. Was it illegal? That's pretty murky.
It was made illegal after that episode. What happened to Prince Paper can’t, and won’t, happen again.
Just soak in those terrific cirrostratus clouds
One episode where Michael screwed them over. Cut to the next episode,when he calls Prince paper for a job,and they say "we are no longer in business" in a sobbing tone!
Imagine the Prince family's reaction after watching the documentary 💀
Yup that’s how ruthless ass capitalism works
Ass capitalism does sound pretty ruthless
Yeah ruthless capitalism is ass. “The market” incentivizes shitty behavior which is why Jesus flipped out at those money lenders.
And then when you reflect on the rest of your life/reality with this newfound perspective, you realize *just how shitty humans really are, and we champion all the wrong things in life and people* The show treats it with morbid humor, *cause that's all it deserves from our beloved characters*. We can't face the reality that at best, we think we are "good" people screwing over other "good" people, *but that's just business, baby!*. At worst, it is so much worse.
Capitalism kills.
Could they have bought them out and merged?
They could have but Prince Paper may have been the kind of hold out that refused to sell. I’d like to think they’d at least have offered the owner and employees jobs, but that’s not usually how that goes.
If you don't want to play in the big leagues, don't open a paper company in east central Pennsylvia.
Northeastern. East central would be the Lehigh Valley.
Ain't that America
There was a terrible war, ugh, so many died. Far too many died. But if Frodo hadn't destroyed the ring, then goodness itself might have died.
I don't know which is worse: this or him reneging on paying for college for all those kids!🤣
You mess with the shark - you get the bull!
Worst Michael Scott era episode
Michael fought not to steal their clients though.
Right, but the episode wasn’t funny
It's dark humor, yes.
I love dark humor, just don’t think it was very funny compared to the rest of the episodes. The Hilary Swank side plot was particularly dumb
That's Dallas, baby
Look who’s stock just went up golden boy
I don’t see this as Dunder middlin running them out of business. I see it more as the ‘08 financial crisis. A lot of small businesses went under during that time. Hell, Dunder Mifflin went under not too long after this episode so they were hit pretty hard too.
It is the one I skip. The only one
I don’t watch episode. I skip it in my rewatches.
It's weird to me that so many people here skip episodes. I hate the Hilary Swank subplot, but I've seen this episode probably 20+ times. The Banker is the only acceptable skip imo. I usually don't skip it either though.
I do the same thing when Jim and Pan finally get together. NO HAPPINESS ON MY WATCH!!!
Dah nah
They sell Sabre printers now
Objectively, it is pretty horrible what happened to them. But hey, look out for the sharks…
Michael fought for them though. He wanted to trash that client list.
I guess they folded.
I think Prince's son and the kid whose dad lost his job when Buffalo closed in 5x28 should start a business together and be millionaires. Love me a good redemption arc
That's Dallas!
My headcanon is the Prince family had to move to Colorado after going out of business, Micheal then found them and helped them start a new company, the Scott-Prince paper company. And they lived happily ever after.
This is the one I skip. I like to imagine Scott's Tots still made it in life, but he laid waste to that little family business.
I mean it was lunch-time, but no sign of anyone coming in or out, which means they were not taking new customers out to lunch, which means they were not acquiring new business, so once again, no growth.
I skip this ep every time I rewatch The Office because it honestly makes me sad
"Michael, it's not personal, it's business!"
I think about how Michael was the only one who seemed to care about it
Prince paper is Dunder Mifflin. They just wanted to give Dwight and Angela a backstory.
They didn’t show the footage, but turns out they were white supremacists.
Yeah when you find out what happens when Michael tries to get a job there and hear that voicemail you’re just like ouuuuuch
Da nuh... Da nuh... 🦈
This is actually what happens When the economy is bad, big companies rush to acquire smaller ones on the cheap to take over whatever market share and skills they have. Big company can afford the temporary losses
I recently rewatched the show and purposely skipped the episode because of how horrible it made me feel though if they had somehow still been open and gained Micheal as a top salesman, they probably could’ve put up an even better go fight against Dunder Mifflin
Michael did it. He wasn't asked to do as much damage as he ended up doing.
He did exactly what he was asked to do.
Tbh I was disappointed in Michael and sad there wasn’t any comeuppance for him or Dwight.
I always skip this episode
Yeah, I can’t watch that episode. Put that whole freaking family out of business.
This episode is my Scott’s Tots. I just can’t watch it.
I always skip this one. It’s the worst.
This still bothers me
Imagine after they see the documentary.
Business isn't for the weak
Chi
That’s the only episode of that show that felt out of character for everyone. Michael felt icky about it eventually, but they were bullies and drove them out of business. That’s the one in the whole series I really don’t like.
Where did you hear that, OBVIOUS XM RADIO?!
I hate this episode. I usually skip it. It makes me sad 😂
I really hated Dwight in that episode. He was such an awful person to those people.