Tag Archives: OfficeDepot

Another Satisfied Office Depot Customer

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A few days ago, after I posted my farewell to Office Depot, I read this account of Office Depot’s customer disservice in Augusta GA, via Bruce’s Red Clay and Sand blog.

I’d propose a monthly award for OD “associates” who go out of their way to ignore and impede their customers; I’d propose that it be named the Raana Award. The folks at despair.com have the perfect inspirational materials for this award; I include it here, posted with “Click to Embiggen.”

See you at Staples, Bruce!

-k-

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So Long, Office Depot Store #339

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We have an Office Depot about a mile or so from tbbs WorldHQ. Over the course of the last 15 years, I’ve spent a lot of money over there; the laptop on which I currently type this post was purchased there; I’ve bought countless USB mice, thumbdrives, and assorted other doodads from them. They are also a UPS shipping facility; I can’t enumerate how many packages for our daughter and grandchildren started their journey to the west coast from that store.

Over the last several months, this particular OD has been swirling the drain of pathetic service, all traceable to an OD “associate” named Raana, according to her name tag. A couple of examples of her stellar customer service:

  • While applying for the West Virginia job, that thankfully didn’t come to pass, I had occasion to fax some documents to my prospective employer1. Raana, after ignoring my presence at the counter for what seemed an eternity, given that the store was largely deserted, finally waited on me and faxed my document. I had specifically asked for the transmission report at the start. She faxed the document, walked back towards me while wadding up the transmission report. I asked whether or not that was the transmission report, she handed me the wadded up version, and I left.
  • Today, I went over there for some canned air2; one can for home, one for work. I saw Raana when I entered the store, saw the length of the checkout line, and thought that I’d just go home. But I really needed the canned air. I killed some time looking at electronic doodads, bit the bullet, and headed to the checkout line. By this time, the line appeared to have dwindled, there were two people manning the checkout lines, and I had a 50-50 chance of getting Raana. And guess what, I drew Raana. I paid cash for my canned air, but only after Raana saw fit to almost turn her back on me, while she discussed some topic with another “associate” in some language that neither smacked of Northern Virginia, nor Guadalajara, for that manner. I held out my 20 bucks at least three times before she deigned to accept it. She made a big deal of counting back my change, and then didn’t even put my 2 cans of canned air in a bag.

I just went to the Staples website, where I determined that the closest store is 4.25 miles away. I guess that now I plan my trips for office supplies.

Office Depot #339, goodbye and good riddance. Your shelves are nearly bare, your service is condescending and surly, your basic shopkeeping skills nonexistent.

I’m a Staples guy now, until and unless they hire Raana. OD sponsors NASCAR driver Carl Edwards; NASCAR fans are brand loyal. They also know when they aren’t being treated right.

-k-

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1 We have a fax machine, purchased from this Office Depot. It needs a new print cartridge, and I’ve been remiss in getting one.

2 Those compressed spray cans; excellent for cleaning out doughnut crumbs from one’s computer keyboard; you know what I mean.

Lessons Learned

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I never knew this, but shipping items via UPS immediately after a long holiday weekend can be a pricey proposition. I just got back from Office Depot, where I returned an item to QVC1; a set of wind chimes to be precise. I think we paid around $20 for them; when they arrived, one of the tubes was detached, and there was no clear way to reattach it.

Anyhow, the cost to return them to the Rocky Mount NC returns center was a princely $16. I did a double-take, the Office Depot guy showed me the screen, and printed the label. It was then I noticed that it was being returned 3-day select. When I pointed this out, I was told that with a 3-day weekend, there was this backlog, and that 3-day select was the only option available; this is UPS’s way of clearing the jam. And then there’s that cost of fuel thing.

So, henceforth, I’ll keep this in mind when shipping items post-holiday. Whether or not the policy has any merit, it is what it is. You can’t fight Brown.

-k-

1 Returning stuff to QVC is a rare event for us, but occasionally items do arrive broken or otherwise unusable.