Office Depot Employees Need Customer Service Training

Wow! Being a ex OD employee I can tell you, the store staff does not
want to step foot into the copy center. It is a department they
consider diseased. I am suprised to hear there was three employees in
there to begin with. Usually it is staffed with one employee who works
8-10 hours without a break.

When you are working with one customer that is exactly that the one
customer you are giving your undivided attention to, they do infact
pay your paycheck. Yes, it does take some time to pack a package and
have is to ups's packing guidelines. This is a service the customer
pays for on top of the price they also pay for the packing supplies,
so yes, they deserve the 40 minutes it took to complete the
transaction.

There is no internet avaliable to the customer and limited sites
employees can go to. Employees are disciplined up to termination if
these policies are not met.

As for the employee not calling for you to verify the fax number you
provided, I personally would have called the number to get the correct
fax number for you, and yes the employee's explaination for why they
couldnt seems absurd, it does boil down to the fact it is your
responcibilty to provide accurate information for the employee to
provide you with the finished service.

If you were so upset I wouldnt have left until speeking with
management. Usually if you complain loud enough you will get your way
with Office Depot. From your comment you deserve a gift card it sounds
to me like you are a pro with this behavior, why this time you didnt
use it to your advantage is beyond me???

In close I feel sorry for your students and children for that matter.
You sound like a very impatient and spiteful person, not traits I
typically like to see in teachers and parents!

I never cease to be amazed at the total lack of respect people have
for customer service agents. They are not somehow beneath you because
they work where you shop!

That woman spent the same 40 minutes you did, helping some gentleman
whose problems, while time-consuming, were within her power and
responsibility to help, and she probably felt as frustrated as you
did.

It is not her responsibility to make sure that you have all your
necessary information. As a teacher, you should know that, and how
difficult would it have been for you to call the number yourself?
Moreover, I can almost promise you that Office Depot doesn't have
internet use for its employees.

Asking for compensation because you were mildly inconvenienced due to
your own mistake, just because you had two small children and actually
had to wait your turn in line, is just unreasonable.

With two kids, not enough employees to get waited on, apparently
standing in line for 40 minutes...I would have NEVER waited that long
in line for anything under those circumstances.

There are always other options out there for faxing...libraries, most
convenient type stores offer this service and many print shops. Even
the your local city hall/civic center may have a small fee for faxing
for its residents.

While they could improve on how to staff employees, its truly amazing
that you expect to be compensated for something that was your fault as
much as theirs. Being a teacher you should understand the importance
of reviewing a form/letter before its sent.
You could have re-checked the fax number before getting into line
instead of assuming that they should call the phone number to get the
fax number.

it was introduced sometime in 1996 and discontinued after a few months
in the test stores. It never made it to to the national market,
because the taste was that bad. How it even got to test marketing
phase I really don't know. (I tried it and it was.....I can't even
describe how bad it tasted.)

It makes sense. Shows how much I shop. I guess they can't trust
their internal people and testing to know what is good and what isn't.
The name rang a faint bell. I sure didn't find anyone saying "I wish
they'd bring Pepsi Cona back."

What is it with people these days? Why is it that just because
someone is inconvenienced, they feel that it is their God-given right
to be compensated for their inconvenience? It never ceases to amaze
me that people will bitch and bitch about a store, swearing never to
set foot in there again, yet they can be bought off with some kind of
freebie.

Yes, it sucks to have to wait like you did. However, the store is
there to offer products for your consideration. Sometimes a customer
is inconvenienced and has to wait for long periods of time. However,
you have the right to simply up and leave when you feel that you've
waited long enough. You decided to wait it out. On top of that, you
weren't even prepared with the proper information, and you felt as if
it was their job to straighten out YOUR mess. So the end result, in
your mind, is that you deserve freebies. Sorry, the store is there to
offer goods and services for a price. If they don't meet your needs,
go somewhere else. It's not your right to be compensated with free
merchandise just because you had to wait.

Oh, and the fact that you were there with 2 small children doesn't
mean squat. What you're basically saying is that your inconvenience
is worth more because you had two kids in tow, rather than someone
else who may have had to wait, yet didn't have kids with them. You
decided to have kids, you decided to bring them to the store with you,
so your presence at the store is exactly equal to anyone else there.

All that said, I'm not saying that your wait wasn't excessive, because
it was. However, your swearing off a store, and then demanding a gift
card is also excessive.

Jennifer, the first paragraph of your letter may be entirely valid.
I'm not sure what the reason for the delay with the other customer
was, but it seems that the assistant manager could've helped out,
particularly when he/she noticed the other customer was taking far too
long.

But as for the rest of the complaint, I don't see how this is Office
Depot's fault.

That wait sounds like the USPS. Some customers think that once they
get to the counter they can be counter hogs for an hour. I watched in
dismay a few months ago at my local post office while three people
kept having the clerks figure and refigure the cheapest possible
method of shipping. I heard every method numerous times and believe
me the difference was not even that much. This went on for at least
10 minutes. The clerks really could do nothing to speed these
customers up.

I began to look for the hidden camera. I thought this can't be real!


Finally I had enough and said EXCUSE ME your turns are over. Everyone
clapped! There was at least 20 people in line and they all wanted to
say what I said and supported my outburst with applause.

I have noticed that lack of help in retail is possibly a sign of hard
retail times, that these stores don't have much staff in them. I had
to wait to pay for a couple of copies last week behind 10 people at
one of their stores. The clerk moved pretty fast, but still was not a
line I wished to wait in to pay for 2 single copies.

Just curious could you not of called on a cell phone and got the
number instead of the clerk?

You'll never step foot in Office Depot again but wait, you will if you
get a gift card. How do you plan on using it if you won't go there?

I really can't understand how people, who have shopped at a store or
dined at a restaurant many times in the past with no problem, will
swear off a store based on one bad experience.

Somebody did help you, you were not prepared. You get an F on the
project.

Why do you need or want a gift card for Office Depot if you will never
set foot in Office Depot? "I can honestly say at this time I will
NEVER set foot in Office Depot again." Oh, but "A gift card would be
nice..." so you can set up your new classroom. Blast the way the
store is run, say you will never come back, and then ask for a gift
card.

Does the fact you towed your children to Office Depot make you any
more or less deserving of service? Does it determine whether you
deserve any "compensation" for being poorly prepared? No.

This whole thing occurred because of an error on your part.

Jennifer,
Once your wait got too long you should have asked for a manager.
Not having the correct FAX number and their not allowing customers to
use their phones is one you for your part and the company for sticking
to their policy.
Your final paragraph coliciting compensation for the effort, the drive
and the wait as well as a Gift Card is worth a chuckle or two
considering that you stated you will NEVER set foot in Office Depot
again.
Next time...get a Manager.
BillR.

So you are mad because YOU weren't prepared with the correct info.
This is not Office Deports job to try and find the correct number for
you.

As a teacher, I am sure that if a student came to you unprepared, they
would have to suffer consequences of that action (or inaction) just
like you did.

"I can honestly say at this time I will NEVER set foot in Office Depot
again."...."A gift card would be nice I will be changing schools this
year and having to set up a new classroom for more than 160 students
versus the 60 I used to teach."

Why in would you want a gift card for a store your NEVER going to
again?

I would agree having t wait 40 minutes while other associates are
walking around is ridiculous, butat any time did you ask for help?