Staples

Staples at 1000 Gerrard St East — Very Poor Service When Doing A Return For A Defective Laptop
I purchased a defective laptop at Staples 250 Front St East on May 02, 2015. I wanted to return the laptop at this Staples location (1000 Gerrard St East) for a full refund. I went in store and the manager michael said I can’t return it here and I should go back to the Front St store to do the return.
I found this to be suspicious, I left and called the Front St store and I spoke to the manager Hardatt and asked him: «Is it true that I must return my laptop to his store?» He said no, I can return it to any Staples store since we are all one company. He said I can return the defective laptop to his store if I wanted to but michael should allow me to return it to his store if I choose to, since that is the Staples Return Policy, else I could call head office and file a report.
This is starting to get bizarre. I called Staples Head Office in Richmond Hill and explained my case to Katie (the customer service agent who answered my call). Both Hardatt and michael are telling me different things. I suspect it was michael who was dishonest.
I eventually received a call back from Katie and she said micheal has been informed that I am able to return the laptop to his store. I asked why did michael lie? Katie was not able to say why michael lied but michael now knows the Staples Return Policy. This is incredible because it is not possible for a manager to not know his own store’s return policy!!! Else how did he deserve to get promoted to a manager in the first place???
I went in the following morning (May 5, 2015) again for a refund. I showed michael my receipt. The technician Elliot checked my laptop and he was a real professional throughout the whole process. He told michael everything was in order. He told michael to do the refund and michael did the refund. I finally got my money back.
michael had absolutely no reason to deny me this legitimate refund for this defective laptop. He also did not give an explanation nor an apology for his lies.
A refund is suppose to be a simple task, this turned out not to be the case. It is not worth it to shop at this store. If by chance something turns out to be defective you will NEED after-​sales support. This store does NOT have it.
If the manager denies you a refund, be firm and state that they have to do the refund based on your store policy. If michael lies again, call Head Office at:
Staples Canada
6 Staples Ave.
Richmond Hill, ON
L4B 4W3
Phone: (905) 737‑1147
And Head Office will call michael back and explain it to him again.
In the end I spent over $ 1500 at Staples and I received the worst support at this Staples store. This is the last time I will make a purchase at this store, even though last year I have spent over $ 1100 on a Macbook Air and $ 500 for an iPad Air. This refund experience has shown me this store only wants your money and they don’t want you to come back if you have any problems. Don’t let my terrible experience go to waste, you don’t have to go through what I went through. Please learn from my mistake and shop at a different store.
Henry

So I buy a magnifier/​flashlight gadget for my gran. It quickly fell apart & I returned it the next day. She was find of the stupid thing so I returned it again. After the cashier calling ‘Steve’ in mgmt 3 times, he finally came over & I guess OK’d the refund. I wouldn’t know as he never even said ‘hello’ to me or apologize for the hassle. I plan on calling head office tomorrow & letting them know how shabbily I was treated. Simply unacceptable.

I have had things printed here three times and all three times they have been wrong. They were not complex orders — print this .pdf and bind it, x3.
The service is beyond terrible — there is no sense of urgency at all for any of the staff and they will stand behind the counter and look down until you shout HELLO! at them. Then they will lumber over to you and say they don’t have your order, and you will say «then why did you call me and say it was ready» and they will say «mumble mumble mumble I’ll do it now I guess…»
I have considered buying a printer and a coil binding machine for my house so I don’t have to go here anymore.
Pros:
— they sell pilot hi-​tec gel pens
— cheap routers
— proximity to my house

Had very negative experience at this location with management who refused to follow up with my customer complaint issue. Wound up having to call head office for a resolution.
Never shopping at Staples again! Terrible service!

Incompetent, rude, and lazy. I was debating whether to give this place a 1 star b/​c that’s how bad it was. I think I might reserve the 1 star in case there is a worse Business Depot.
SERVICE
Terrible.
So I bet there is a policy for employees to seek out customers and ask them if they need any help. As soon as I walk in I feel like i’m being eyed by the employees vying for my attention. It would be ok if they were actually helpful. But as soon as you start asking them questions, they look at you like you’re wasting their time.
I was looking for a camera b/​c my camera literally smokes up when I use it.
I asked «What’s the difference between Model X and Model Y».
Clerk #1: «we don’t carry Model X»
I asked: «What’s the difference between them? I saw Model X at another Business depot (Front) and debating between the two»
Clerk #1: «Why do you want to buy Model X? It’s not even being sold anymore. It’s better than Model X. «
I asked: «Well what are the differences? Can you check online?
Clerk #1: «fine. I can go check online» (incompetence)
She goes to check online and tells me that no store has Model X. I didn’t even ask her to do that. In addition, there were these camersa still in stock b/​c I was at another business depot the night before and they had tons. She still doesn’t tell me the difference between the two. (incompetence)
I ask her to call the other business depot on Front street to check whether they have Model X. Her response: «they never pick up the phone». (LAZY and WRONG). So i’m thinking… does that mean you’re not going to call? I say: «can you try to call?» Clerk #1: «I can try» and she slowly makes her way to the phone to call. In the meantime I ask her can she google Model X so I can compare specs of the models myself. She told me I had to wait. Finally she got someone else to do it.
After talking to a salesclerk at the Front location, she told me they only had the demo cameras left and that I could buy those. (WRONG)
The clerk #1 went on break. I asked another clerk #2 if I could buy Model Y and she said «weren’t you dealing with the other clerk?» (LAZY and Rude) and I said. yes but I think she went on break. Clerk #2 calls on the PA system for clerk #1. Clerk #1 comes out, I tell her I would like to buy Model Y and she goes to get it.
She will not give me the camera though and walks with me to the cashier. She opens up the box to show me the contents and still will not let me touch the camera even after it is in the process of being rung in. I told her I wanted to look at the camera and she finally relented after rolling her eyes at me (RUDE). I took my time looking at it with her and the cashier staring down at me. I finally let them ring the camera in.
The cashier did NOT ask me whether I had a dividend card and before she gave me my receipt I said «oh I have a dividends card, let me get it». The cashier said it’s too late to get my points. I said of course it’s not too late. Return the item and ring it in again since I am entitled to my points. It wasn’t even like I was buying a $ 5 dollar item. The points accumulated could have been significant. At this point, I don’t really care b/​c they should have reminded me about the dividends card and there was literally no one in the store so it’s not like I was holding up the line. The cashier rolled her eyes (RUDE).
They did the transactions w/​o even returning the item and just added the dividend points on. I couldn’t even follow the trail of dividends points given to me. They just kept saying sign here.
INTEGRITY
The Clerk #1 kept lying up her ass. She lied about the Front location never picking up the phone (she called and the picked up) and even lied about only the demo cameras were available for Model X (We went to the front st. Location next and they had plenty as per their staff and us buying one from there).
CALIBER OF EMPLOYEES
The employees at this location have minimal knowledge of their products and take little interest in further educating themselves. This type of situation is not a one off event. It has happened several times in the past and for some reason I keep going back b/​c it’s convenient. About 4 years ago, the employees were actually knowledgeable, patient and helpful. Now these standards at this location have been abolished and has resulted into this 1 – 2 star rating.
The service is so poor that I will never shop at this Business Depot again. These employees could use more training, less self-​entitlement, and a smile wouldn’t hurt once in a while.