Went to buy a printer that Staples' website indicated was in stock. A salesperson approached me, asked me a few introductory questions, then decided I was an idiot and begin treating me as such. He took my phone right from my hand when I showed him the online listing of the printer and walked away with it multiple times. He asked me what it was I liked about the printer that I was looking for, and I told him that the price was the main factor (as I had looked online before coming into the store and found that this printer was the best quality for my price range). He then gave me a condescending look and said "Well, you know you'll still have to buy ink and stuff, so..." I was confused at this point, as I knew from looking online that this printer comes with its own ink in the box (as do all other printers that I know of). He glanced around at the shelves then continued, "I guess I could TRY to find you one, but I don't think we have any in stock." I responded that that was fine and he didn't have to look, so he left.
He then came back about two minutes later and said they definitely didn't have any left, but again asked, "So what was it about that printer that you liked? The colour?" to which I had no response, as I had just told him that it was the price, but he chose to ignore that and instead assume I was a halfwit because I'm female and look young. No, buddy, I don't want a printer because of what colour it is, but thanks for being the most condescending stranger that I've ever encountered. I also work in customer service and I know that this is now how you treat a customer; I can understand having a bad day and accidentally taking it out on someone, but it was clear that this man was having a great deal of fun talking down to me, which is not good practice for an employee looking to up their sales.
On the same trip, a friend was looking to have textbooks bound. She gave the loose pages to the worker behind the counter, who then said that she would need to split each textbook into three separate bindings (and charge her as such) because the page count was too high. My friend paid for each binding, and the worker asked if there was any particular place my friend wanted the books split. She said no, it wasn't very important, and they agreed to have them split around a third of the way through at the closest chapter mark.
My friend went into Staples the next day to pick up her bindings only to find that they had not been completed, as she apparently "never specified where to split the pages," which was interesting, as the worker from the previous day had noted where to split them and then assured my friend that her books would be ready in exactly 24 hours. She was forced to split them in random places in a rush, and the new worker behind the counter chose to complete her project immediately while a long line of new customers formed behind the counter, rather than just asking if she was willing to come back at a later time.
TL;DR Staples is more hassle than it's worth. Go to Best Buy, Walmart, and/or the Queen's campus copy centre for better service at a lower price. Also, I don't know why this man asked if colour mattered to me when Staples only sells printers that are black or white. read more
