Staples Now Demoted to Emergency Use Only

A policy such as this should never be left up to the manager to
fulfill or not. If its policy its policy and should be done
consitently not just when the manager/cashier feels like it.

And as for Office Depot I used to go there all the time because they
were polite, great helpers and always made sure I had what I
needed...too bad there are no more around our area.

For those who keep harping on the "it was only 10 dollars. They should
have done it since it was such a small amount of money"...you are
missing the point.

Its the principle of the matter. Its their policy and they have NO
reason NOT to enforce it if they dont want to. I have more respect for
stores who enforce their policies than those who dont.

I worked too many years for managers who made their employees tell the
customers of the policies and when the customers got mad and the
manager got into it they went back on it and gave the customer what
they wanted, making their employees look like idiots. And when
inventory loss counts come back sky high, those same employees who
were made to look like fools because they TRIED to enfore the policies
are the same ones who get chewed out and blamed for the bad loss
counts.

If 10 dollars is SUCH a small amount then why did it matter in the
first place?

Those who are up in arms about the 10 dollars, how would you feel if
it was coming out of your paycheck? How would you feel if you couldnt
get a raise because your store manager was giving the store away and
your raise went to cover the bottom line? How is that 10 dollars
looking to you now? Dont think it doesnt happen or that this is an
exaggeration? I have seen it happen to the point where a company that
has been around for generations had to file bankruptcy and almost went
out of business.

And the customers, they all think the same way. Its just me. Its just
one person. Ignoring the policy for ME wont cause a problem. It wont
hurt anything. And every single customer that wants something feels
the exact same way.

In the long run, seperating the wheat from the chaff will give a store
a more stable customer base where they are actually making money
instead of losing it. If you no longer want to shop at this store
because of "the small loss of $10" then you are doing them a favor and
you will not be missed.

May the gods of retail bless the store managers who follow company
policy and refuse to bend to the demands of every person who walks
through the door.

Was this camera you were buying and trying to charge to a business
credit card actually FOR your business?

I work at a Staples.. maybe 20% of the time a cashier... and if its
less than a certain amount, we can modify the price if need be. If its
over a certain amount, we need the manager's numbers. But they always
check on why we change it.

I can guarantee with out a doubt you did not tell staples you got the
price off the net. They agreed to price match a competetors price not
the net.

I'm glad Office Depot was able to accomidate you. I would suggest also
writing them a thank you letter through planet feedback.

I agree that 10 dollars is quite a small amount to lose a customer
over. I worked in a similar store (circuit city) a few years back, and
I remember being permitted to price match up to a certain percentage
without a manager approval. (right before I left i think the policy
was changed so it could be completely different now.) I think this
just shows that staples doesnt "trust" their employees enough to make
small adjustments. (such as ten dollars)

On the other hand (just playing devils advocate) If circuit city had
the better price, why not just go there? I only say that because being
on the other side of that situation, many many people would bring in
ads that were obviously things we could not honor (such as rebates,
combos or online-only specials) and would get nasty at us for not
honoring these, and the other store was just around the corner.
Perhaps Staples had just had enough of this and cracked down on their
policy.

Either way, your letter is rational and free of unneeded emotion, so
kudos for that!

First we get letters about companies that don't have a clearcut policy
(KMart, Target) and then we get letters about companies that do (BOA,
Staples) and stick to it. Which is it folks?

Yes, it would have been nice if she did but you have no way of knowing
if she got reprimanded for doing it in the past. As you said, it's
not a lot of money.

You probably didnt state the price was an ONLINE price. You knew what
you were doing. Get a committment to a price match on the phone
without the whole story, then mention it was online when they searched
Office Depot's sale ad for the price.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

I agree. It's a small amount of money. The manager should have just
done it.

If Staples does not match website prices that is fine with me. But
the employee should not have told me to print it out and come down to
the store for price matching. It was a waste of my time and theirs.

The reason I wanted to use Staples is because it was a business
purchase and I have a Commercial account there.

Office Depot helped me without a problem. They won't lose a sales
over a few dollars, which is a great way to do business.

Next time I want a price match I will go directly to Office Depot.

Did you tell the person that answered the phone that it was an ONLINE
website price? I agree with a reply below.. I hate price matches.BUT
we recently changed the price match to 100%.. no more 110% u greedy
people! If $10 is such a small loss.. why didn't you just buy it there
still? You, yourself, said it was small!

Under your theory, I shoudl be able to walk in there and demand $10
off of whatever I am buying becuase it is just a small loss and I may
go somewhere else.
I HATE price matching. It you can get it cheaper somewhere else, go to
that store!

If the employee who made the mistake isn't responsible for their
mistake, who is? It seems like the OP is blaming the company. Human
beings who work for businesses are capable of many mistakes that have
nothing to do with the company for which they work.

Why don't we just say that each person is responsible for their own
mistakes? Unless the OP is concerned that he won't be able to blame
Staples for his own mistakes under this arrangement, perhaps?

I thought it was pretty common practice for price-matching to not
include website prices, since websites often sell merchandise cheaper
than the store.

Not only does Office Depot give this guy great service, but they also
sponsor a great NASCAR Team!!

Congratulations to 2007 Busch Grand Nation Champ - Carl Edwards!

Good luck to Carl as he runs the final three races of the Nextel Cup
season.

Thanks to Office Depot for their involvement in such a great sport.

I always choose OD for my office supplies!!

Clete

Their policy is on the website.

http://www.staples.com/sbd/content/help/using/general_match.html

Which items and services aren't available for price match?
We don't match our store prices to those on other companies' Web
sites. We don't price match our Staples® EasyTechSM services. We
don't price match our thirdparty providers' products and services
(e.g., custom printing), items sold on auction sites or at local or
special events (e.g., grand opening, anniversary, clearance or
liquidation sales). We don't price match taxes and typographical
errors.



Was this item the same price in the Circuit City store as on the
website?