Staples review: Staples sucks! 72

Staples is the worse place to go to buy anything but paper. If it moves, opens, closes, plugs in or otherwise is not paper, don't buy it from staples.
Most of their products is inferior and will have to be returned. Also, they will take your money for a warranty with a company called "Square Trade", not send the premium to square trade, and if you need to return the item you're screwed! Square trade won't be able to find the warranty because Staples kept the fee and hoped you don't have to return it for a replacement or refund.
The Staples store in Yonkers, NY is the prime stoe I'm talking about, but judge for yourself based on other complaints sent in.

I am writing to thank a red shirt worker with a badge name Mahamod who made my day by walking me to the furniture area and answering all my questions, He also explained me the assembly process of the desk I am interested in, in detail. I am happy that the staples has hired such efficient, talented, friendly, and knowledgeable workers.
He is very friendly and answered all my questions and explained me all options of self assembling, in-store assembling, of furniture, and other related product, to the one I am interested and options of free home delivery.

Please pass my regards to the gentleman and the store.

I've worked at staples for just over 2 years now, and I can honestly say that it has gone to crap (i'm a tech btw with almost 20 years computer tech experience). customer comes in and wants to buy a computer. ok, first thing mangers want us to do is ask"why do you want a new computer? second, where are you going to use it? third, how many people are going to use it? fourth, is it for home or office? fifth, what's wrong with your old computer? like it's almost a job interview to buy a new computer. and the managers will not even get the computer that the customer wants to buy unless that piece of paper is filled out. now, I can understand upselling to a point. premier setup, virus shield accident protection and so on. and yes! not all customers want that. and if management asks why not. they make you feel like crap because a customer said no, I do not want that. then your hours are cut because of it. there is no incentive if such services are sold at all, no bonuses, not even,"good job".
Then there's the cell phone screen repair. I do mostly iphones in store (the rest get sent to werx for repairs). they want liquid aromor sold with every cell phone repair, which jumps the price up by 30 dollars. not every customer wants liquid armor. again. I was asked why, I told them the customer said no. then I was told to not even tell the customers that liquid armor is being added to the final bill. far be it from me but if I didn't know any better, that's called fraud. then there's the customers that want to steal things. management flat refuses to call law enforcement because they feel it's a liability issue, I mean heaven forbid if someone gets assaulted there. the store I work at has no security cameras anywhere. and the staples I work at is painfully understaffed, especially at the copy/print center.
3 corporate restructurings in 2 years, and a buyout by sycamore partners tells me that things are so not going well for staples. there is so many others, but I think you get the idea of it all.

i ordered once from staples and the order was stuck on processing for ages, gave them a rang in the end and cancelled. won't be using them again, waste of time. :(

I received a flier from Staples yesterday (12/13/2008) indicating "7 days of savings!" from 12/14 to 12/20/2008. One of the products offered there is an HP Pavilion notebook with Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P7350 (item # 761021). I went to the store in Milpitas yesterday (12/13) and the people helping me told me they didn't have it in stock, couldn't find it on their computers and couldn't tell me when (or where) I could get it from. I tried calling 3 local stores today (located in the towns of San Jose, Campbell and Fremont)and got the same vague responses with the best response being "try again on Tuesday". Does this classify as false advertising? In addition, the people "helping" me on the phone were mono-syllabic and impolite.

It appears there are some disgruntled staff/customers at the Big Box stores. You might be interest in a program we offer. My company, Toners Plus, specifically targets businesses with pricing contracts for toner supplies through the Big Box stores. Customers range from New York to Hawaii and our largest account has 3, 500 locations. Everything sold is protected by a no-hassle lifetime warranty, which reflects our attitude, "Where Business Means More Than Just a Good Price."

A $500 referral fee is provided for companies with five or more laser printers that become a customer and after they place their first order. If you or anyone you know are interested in learning more feel free to contact me at [protected].

Sincerely - Jim

I bought a computer at staples office supply store that was supposed to have windows 7. I did not get windows 7 with my new computer, and was very disappointed. I was supposed to get a $50 mail in rebate with the purchase of my new computer. I did not get a rebate like I was promised. The computer just had to be sent for repair after only 13 months of use. I don’t think i will ever step foot in a Staples again because of this. As a paying customer, they definitely over promised and under delivered big time on this one.

I purchase software online they offered a coupon which was $40.00 off so my cost was 43.29. Upon return which took 3 calls to customer service and 3 trips to the store on Almeda Genoa in Houston Texas I was told the refund would be processed that was a nightmare in itself. Well I checked my credit card and it was charge for 43.30 supposedly for the coupon which they first said it was $40.00 Their explanation is that when you return an item then they charge you for the coupon they offered (I did not present one) so I have been charged for the software on my credit card a total of 83.29. This originally was the total price I did not even get the tax back. The customer service rep said this is what we do and this is our policy to make you pay the total amount and charge your credit card the total amount even though you return the item back to staples this is our policy
do not buy online unless you want this to happen to you highway robbery

I contacted the Staple Store located at 3019 Festival Way Waldorf, MD 20601, and asked a Staple representative for the fax number (301/638-3568) for my job to forward important documents. I gave my employer the fax number. Later, my employer contacted me and said the number was Staple’s Store recorded message. I called the number and the recorder directed me to Staple’s representative. Staple’s representatives gave me that same number on three different occasions before I asked for a supervisor (Gwen).

The supervisor (Gwen) spoke to me in an aggressive, annoyed tone and slowly repeated the same fax number to me twice. Manager Gwen had me to call this number on two different occasions. After, calling the number twice, I contacted Manager Gwen again. Manager Gwen replied that she called the fax number and it was in working order. I asked Manage Gwen if she had heard a beep on the line when she called. She replied yes. I told her thank you, hung up, and called the fax number again. I was greeted by Staple’s recorder once again. After bypassing the series of option, holding on the line, Gwen answered the phone in a more aggressive tone then before. She said “Maybe the lines were crossed in Staple’s Store so call back later.” I said thank you once again and hung up.

Manager Gwen’s performance was unprofessional, distasteful and, and non-customer friendly. Her unethical stance lacked management skills and proper English tools, which made it difficult for her to interact in a civilize conduct. I only asked for simple information nothing more. In return, Manager Gwen gave me a side-dish of her attitude. In addition, she spoke to me as if I had interrupted her activity circle and not as a valuable customer. In the near future, I hope that Manager Gwen is education on management and customer services skills, and English 101 before she’s forced to interact with other Staple customers.

The Staples office depot in Portage place Winnipeg is the worst. Each time I go there, there is never enough staff to help customers, always long line up at the one cash register there. Last Friday I went to return a purchase and waited in line for 30 minutes . The cashier didn't seem to know how to do a return with the customer in front of me and kept asking his supervisor for help. when it was my turn the female supervisor took over and she was slower than the clerk. She seemed to want to make it as difficult as possible for me to return the item. by now there was a long line up, She kept asking the clerk if the item I returned was OK several times as if she wanted him to Lie. He told her yes, yes, yes. Then she took her own sweet time like she was trying to find reasons not to refund. I told her what I thought of their service and she finally finished my transaction. Do not visit this store if you are in a hurry or if you need assistance.

I was employed with staples incorporated from May of 2011 until October of 2013 after almost 3 years of hard work and dedicated service. To this company I was let go due to two employees personally feelings towards me. I have asked repeatedly to my gm and hr for a transfer for over 8 months and received no help by them they would not even make a report through hr because they do not care about basic human rights . I was retaliated upon daily by my gm full time supervisor and part time supervisor for not training them in their job duties and told I would be fired if I did not negotiate terms to make their lives easier I have since been fired for not doing someone else's job how many of you other associates have this happened to please email me so we can stop them from hurting other employees I have many more things they did wrong but everyone seems so scared to say anything as they are fearful of retaliation like me

The staff and the lack of product in this store is outrageous... The staff are rude when I have been in this store and to find the product that I use it is never in stock... This store has failed for me in the customer service and product availability.

I work at Staples in Canada. I am a certified tech. With 3 certifications. I needed a job. I applied for the tech position I found online. I was hired . But everyone has to be trained on cash for a week. OK fine. I made it through the first two interviews. They were men. I never had a 3rd. The GM ( a woman) just said go ahead and get her. Then she met me. I have been on the cash for almost 3 yrs. . When our tech suddenly died ( sadly) she hired another person. And when he left, she hired someone else.I did however make a bit of a stink and told her that I believe she was holding me back So, she gave me some shifts on the tech floor as a sales associate. I am the only person in the entire tech department with certs. Not one of them has a cert. So the current tech does not have a cert. I need this job and it is why I am still here. She gives many of the shifts to her friends or her family that she has hired. BTW, I am a woman. She knows I am so much smarter than her and that is why she holds me back. She has had more complaints to HR and they do nothing. She is even on a recording screaming and swearing at a tech associate to quit his job. She is nothing but a bully, but Staples Canada will not listen. I am always looking elsewhere. Jobs are hard to find where I am. So in the meantime I keep my mouth shut . It takes one bad manager to make good employees hate the company they work for. I would love to see her fat ### out of here. Most of us agree. But she will find an excuse. I got written up for not putting a data sticker on a sheet. However the supervisor had her boyfriend in the cash office with the door locked and I just counted my cash. There was 1800 on the counter. Nothing was gone mind you. I complained and nothing was done. No write ups. since then my hours have been reduced and my tech shifts taken away. And she has hired two new people on the tech floor. How can I let HR know without fear of losing this job ? I can't because they don't care at all

Staples called me after I submitted my resume and wanted to hire me as an Easy Tech. During the hiring interview the person asked questions not relevant to the process, also two of the questions were illegal. I conditionally agreed to accept, I then saw the manager take a customer into the tech area to look at his computer, with other customers computers running the manager then went elsewhere, leaving that customer unattended. One of the computers was a portable, but know lockdown security was used on it then found out that there was no security on the tech pc and saw three associates come and start downloading files. Meantime the Tech that was working was forced to go sell printers because the regular associate did not know anything I went and talked to this tech and got his phone number talked with him, and found out that he was hired for tech work only, but then was forced to spend 80 percent of his time selling computers and equipment he also mentioned that 1 tracking cooking meant that a 150 virus removal was needed according to management needless to say I called back the next day and declined the position

1. I am a Staples Easy Tech associate. The only "free software" we use is malware-bytes but that's just for the first intake scan.
2. After that everything that has to have software or tech work done to it is ran by P2U "pay to use" or only accessible to TECH ASSOCIATES.
3. With total support everyone is actually making more money from staples then staples will actually be making from them, with these already offered services and the list still growing, these are the prices for a existing pc $150.00 for one year that includes
Any choice between
Sophos, Norton, Total Defense, McAfee, kaspersky.
Also you have a choice to go with the two of the highest secured online storage data bases from SugarSync to Cloud
Free Virus Removals which costs customer normally 149.99
Free diagnostics
and many other services
4. No customer can pick up a p.c unless they have a work order, and there drivers licence.
5. I don't have time to list all the other things wrong with what else you listed. Staples has made joining the Easy Tech team hard, but during my time with being a Tech, the customers have had no problems, or complaints with my services and they are all return customers. Not with computer issues but to buy equipment and ask questions about how they can make there computer using experience easier.

So to those who say staples Easy Tech services suck, I say come to store 0792 and talk to Doug, I will show you my certifications and bring your computer into :) take care of that for you as well..

To the OP: your store sucked because it had a sucky GM. That guy should've gotten fired. He did. Imagine that.
To the most recent post before mine - good luck! Being a GM doesn't look like much fun, plus it's a ridiculous amount of hours for not a whole lot of pay, comparatively speaking. It's definitely an opportunity though, as you said. A stepping stone into retail management, at the very least. I worked for Staples as a cashier/associate for 2.5 years. Our store closed, and the nearest other one didn't need more associates, and the other nearest one needed them for hours I wasn't available. So I sucked up the unemployment for 6 months. I just got hired back to the "first near one, " and I'm very glad to be back. From a "lackey's" point of view, Staples treats their employees incredibly well. Where else do part-timers get time and a half PLUS 4 hours additional pay, if they work on a holiday - and 4 hours pay if they don't work that holiday. Plus medical benefits at the group rate, plus HSA and stock options, bowling nights and quarterly snack-room stockups, vacation pay, and sick time? Full timers in other retail places get all that. Part timers only get it if they're in a union that demands it. Staples doesn't need a union to give their employees all that. Plus, when our store closed and my employment terminated, they gave me severance. As a part-timer in retail. That's UNHEARD of. Some of you should be grateful you have a job that provides any benefits at all. You -could- be picking oranges in Florida for less than minimum wage outside in 90-degree weather with 80% humidity 4 months out of the year, 10 hours per day, 6 days per week, with no benefits at all.

Also, some of you complainers really need to learn how to spell, or at the very least, use your spell-checker. Reading some of your posts is as painful as getting a tooth pulled.

Sounds like there is fault on everybodys part. The old saying goes, you get what you pay for. For those who aren't knowledgeable with computers should research companies before dropping off their computer to be worked on. Did any of you think for a minute that Staples is a company not trying to make a profit? If they can legally work techs for min wage, they're going to do it. Lastly, for those who are complaining about their past or current employment with staples, it sounds like you're just lazy. I challenge any of you to operate a pizza shop as a GM making less than $30k a year. While only required to put in 50 hours a week, try working 60 plus and controlling every single aspect of the business since lower level managers and associates do the bare minimum because they're all like you folks. Everybody wants to be handed a silver spoon from the silver platter. If you don't want to be productive and earn your pay, go ask the government for help like MOST low life individuals. I did apply at Staples in ohio for a GM position and hope to god they give me the OPPORTUNITY that most of you probably didn't care to take advantage of...instead ### that you aren't getting enough. A lot of you make me sick.

I see that this is still alive, which is great! I just wanted to voice my opinion before I toss in my two weeks tomorrow.

I was hired on last year as an Easy Tech Associate. I went in knowing that I'd be doing the mundane tasks like stocking shelves, pull lists and helping customers. It was what I was applying for. However, after spending a few months there, I couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed everything that the Head Tech did. He was an idiot. I'm not quick to jump and call someone out like that- but he was. He couldn't tell me what a PCI slot was. I KNOW he had absolutely zero certifications. One horror story I got involved in was when someone brought in a desktop with 4GB of RAM, which was under a consistent 60% or more load when idle right on start up. The smart thing would have been to check what was causing it and go from there... a process that could take less than 2 minutes. However, he insisted that the customer had an "out dated computer" and had to upgrade their RAM to *at least* 8GB. This was the first time I ever opened my mouth because it was absolutely ridiculous. After he learned that I knew more than him about computers, he started leaving work for *me*, the Easytech Associate, to do. I am not Staples Certified (for what its even worth), and that is not my job. I make $7.70 an hour.

Anyways, he ended up leaving and I am now stuck doing all of the tech work. I am still not Staples Certified. I sat down with the GM and told him that I will continue to work on computers if I am at least put in the position of Resident Tech. Now, I can pass the test. Yes, 85% of what I know is self taught. I build computers for friends, families, and others occasionally. I can do simple networking for small companies, etc. Of course the Resident Tech job would be simple... because it is.

The entirety of Staples Tech work is running Teamviewer so some "agent" can connect to the computer to either run Malwarebytes or PC Doctor. That is it. Its a task that anyone who can follow 5 steps can do. I feel terrible charging people $149 (or $173) to run Malwarebytes. I can't tell them to do it themselves because I have "numbers" to hit. I am the only person in my department. I am expected to do freight, pull lists, sell cell phones, help customers, fill in as a cashier and now fix computers... with no pay increase.

Is this even right? This isn't just my store. We're a platinum store (LOL like that means anything), and there are plenty of comments about people experiencing the same thing. How can Staples get away with this? I can't take the 45-50 hour work weeks (9-7 shifts every day), and only getting one break for 30 minutes when I'm there before most people, and leave after everyone. We open at 8 and close at 8. One week I nearly hit 60 hours, but I called off because I was absolutely exhausted.

Again, I don't even know where to start with filing a complaint. Just being a part of Staples makes me recognize that corporate won't care. All they see ar e numbers and they don't care HOW you get them. We're not a big store. We just got downsized, yet they want us to hit sales numbers that I can't hit alone. $2, 500 in tech? Not possible. I am not there enough, and when I am there I am stuck doing freight, because electronic freight won't get done if I'm not there... which means I'm literally running from tech desk to freight to customers to lock up to freight to tech desk to customers... all day.

tl;dr: Don't work for Staples. Don't take computers to Staples. Just stay away from them.

I would have to broadly agree with the OP and most of the other complainants in this thread. There may be a few details here and there that are inaccurate, but generally speaking EasyTech associates are salespeople *first* and technicians last. The Staples "certification test" should be able to be passed by anyone with an IQ above room temperature and minimal PC experience. Corporate policy dictates that repairs that can be simply and cheaply done through, say, using a Windows installation disc that is freely downloadable from Microsoft and using it to repair certain system errors can get a tech fired. The apparent motive for this is that the company wants the tech to do a system restore (at $129) instead.

The overarching mission of an EasyTech is to sell services, and the pressure is such that inevitably the customer pays for unnecessary procedures. Management oversight that putatively prevents this sort of thing doesn't really exist, since if you *really* want to find someone ignorant of PC technology, grab a Staples grey-shirt manager.

I was employed with staples incorporated from May of 2011 until October of 2013 after almost 3 years of hard work and dedicated service. To this company I was let go due to two employees personally feelings towards me. I have asked repeatedly to my gm and hr for a transfer for over 8 months and received no help by them they would not even make a report through hr because they do not care about basic human rights . I was retaliated upon daily by my gm full time supervisor and part time supervisor for not training them in their job duties and told I would be fired if I did not negotiate terms to make their lives easier I have since been fired for not doing someone else's job how many of you other associates have this happened to please email me so we can stop them from hurting other employees

Fax left to sit for over two hours before it was sent. All details here:

http://oneimmigrantsstory.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-4-2013-staples-bs.html

Also the training was great, i had 2 people training me, between the expert and our supervisor, they trained me on how to intake computers, and how to pitch plans, and everything, the only thing they didnt train me to do is fix computers, and that's because I'm A+ cert, they trained me on using the software though. The management is amazing, between our GM SM and 2 supervisors, they're awesome people. I can tell you one thing though, dont go to the easy tech side if you have a question about a pen or where stuff is on the office supplies side of the store, we dont know that side and nor do we care, we'll say, we'll call someone up for you who can help you. I stay on my side with my computers. Some people complain about that, but i dont care, we have people who are specifically on the office supplies side of the store, for that reason, to help you with those questions, thats like going to office supplies and asking whats wrong with my computer.
I'm also very familiar with all operating systems and can navigate in the innards of the OS and change stuff. if i can build a computer from scratch, i sure as hell better be able to fix them which i can. So just because a staples in your area sucks, doesnt mean all of them do. Ours is awesome. Just ask around to people and ask about the Staples in your area about how they do, and if your store sucks, your store sucks, but when you ask people here, they love us.

Well considering I'm a tech at Staples and I can tell you I'm certified and so is the other resident tech and the easy tech expert, we're all A+ certified, and so is one of our sales associates and we're among the top 30 stores. Our Easy Tech desk is organized. I've never lost the data of someone. We recommend a system restore when there's a virus and the person doesn't mind losing all their stuff if its already backed up or do a data backup. I've only had a few unhappy customers and that was out of my control because we had to depot their computer and it took a while. We also have the best virus protection on the market, being lightweight so it doesnt bog down your computer but while being the best protection along with if a virus gets through which is rare, they are the only one who will remove it for you. Whenever i had to work on a computer, i've never had an unhappy customer. So your store must suck. Also we require their drivers license and either the receipt or work order form. So you must've hired the wrong people and that would have been on your hands. So dont blame it on all the Staples just because you were a horrible GM and hired the wrong kind of people. Also, everyone at my Staples i very polite, although all of the stupid people that come in to Staples piss me off and same for everyone else, but we all put on a smile and gladly assist everyone. We have one of the best easy tech departments i've heard, we hit around 4 grand a week, and right now this week we are currently at 8 grand. But that's because people know and tell others that Staples is great and knows what we're doing. And idk about you, but i enjoy retail and working with people and helping people and having a job working on computers, whether it be removing a virus or exchanging out the hard drive and transferring files to it, or replacing the mobo. I'm in a job with a bunch of awesome people doing something i love.

So you chaps / ladies are all American, right. Okay, let me give you a taste of working at a Staples here in Great Britain. The first day of training was a joke, just me and some other bloke watching a corporate video for two hours. No other formal training took place!

On the first actual day of work neither the general manager or his deputy introduced themselves. I had no idea who they were until another associate let me know! The only other training I received was being shown what to do by other staff members and team leaders. Some of which included being shown how to do things incorrectly!

There was no 'EasyTech' service when I worked there up to 2007. However, I had the most (self taught) IT / Computing experience. I like to think I knew what I was talking about. I certainly knew more than the management. For example, one time a customer purchased a laptop. He enquired as to whether the machine had a CD-RW drive. The deputy manageress looked puzzled and replied 'no'. Another associate even suggested backups could be made using a USB memory stick! Eventually it took THREE members of staff to find the technical specifications on the side of the box that included CD-RW included!

On another occasion, a customer had problems with her tower PC running Win XP. It was very slow and the CD-RW did not work. I simply swapped the CD-RW over for a new one off the shelf which she happily paid for and was about to sort out the speed issue (partly caused by having two anti-virus programs installed) when the general manager walked in. He had a face like a kicked ### when he saw what I was doing! Later, he asked me what I had done wrong in trying to fix this customers PC. Apparently I was suppose to send the base unit back to the manufacturer and let them fix what was no more than a 30 min - 1 hour job! The fact that I saved a ton of paperwork, saved Staples and the customer valuable time, sold a CD-RW drive making the store money, and created a happy customer meant nothing!

Indeed, all Staples increasingly wanted me and other staff to do was push reward points cards and product warranties. The reward cards could save money and were free after all, so were no big deal. However, product warranties could easily add 20% on top of the price of an item such as a laptop. Such warranties are definitely not worth the money and I refused to push them onto customers as I felt uncomfortable trying to sell an item I'd not purchase myself. Little wonder that particular store never made it's required budget total.

One last thing. I found my basic hours cut down. Without my consent too! How did I find this out? Because I turned up one morning only to be asked by the deputy manageress what I was doing there. She explained that my hours had been 'changed' and that I should have found out by looking at the rota board. Would have been nice to have been told face to face mind!
Suffice to say, I have not bought anything from Staples since and have recommended others to do likewise!

Staples sucks more # than miss richfield 1981 from iowa where gravy is a drink in her christmas special movie with marie claire the third... staples is the biggest waste of time and if you work or shop at staples then you are the biggest #ing # that this world has ever met! I quit staples today, yes staples sucks alot of # I feel like a free man now!

I truly do believe that staples gender discriminates against any one who is a lia to fit there mold stapels is a slave comany that doe's not care about the consumer at all the stapels that are in a right to work state will let an employee go if they have a thought about bettering there customer service they gender discriminate by only hiring women because stapels beleives that lyinh and mis leading people comes beter from women lying to each other and last they gender discriminates agains hiring african american males in the age group of 30- 65 they repeatedly hire women why to pay less and to take back the pay from the same women who work for them because they think this misrepresentation of business is good it's not it's bad for all why are they still in bussiness I do not know but stapels is a racist compny and especially in the right to work states are racist as hell people

Staples suck hate working their management sucks >=[ very stressful for little pay

Its based on who is your DM is, i have worked for staples for 4 years. 3 as an Easytech expert and my last year as the CSL. What the first post said is the TRUTH, i have filled in at almost all the stores in this district and NO ONE had A+ certification including me for 3 years. I have seen it all, personal hard drives plugged into floor computers, Up charging ignorant customers, Customer Computers never being alarmed along with tablets and cameras on the sales floor sitting with no alarms, sending a computer off to depo to change a hard drive we already had to make $269.00 off of a little old lady, Random associate working on customer computers, people using freeware/ illegally downloaded software on computers (like MRI5) Changing sales signs to incorporate protection plans into final cost. And none of it was hidden from anyone but the customer, even joked about openly.But somehow these stores pass an LP audit. Leads me to believe the DM has to look the other way on some of these things to stay profitable.

Today I tried again to contact the store GM in Spring Hill, FL and even contact their corporate customer service to get my laptop situation resolved...Again they run from me like the plague because A)They are cowards, they prey on the older people around here B) because they really don't care about the consumer. After wasting another hour and a half trying to contact the management at Staples I posted a Blog on a friends website of my "factual" experience that Staples and their employees can NOT dispute at this point. In one hour I got thirteen calls, five emails of customer's of theirs who experienced something similar after a purchase, three were from the same store. A few went as far to say Noel, the GM is a complete jerk, but that is neither here or there since he is a coward and has no follow up skills. Anyway one lady has posted her "bad" experience at the Timber Pines Retirement community and referenced mine as well. There are thousands of retired people that will no longer buy from Staples...I will spend my time making sure others know this as well.

I purchased a laptop for my business in November 2012. The pushy old lady that was the star salesperson was there because she got demoted from management for not being a people person and now she is a computer expert! Regardless I didn't want the new HP Envy 7 or Windows 8 and they talked me into both, saying "we will take care of you if anything is wrong", never has that saying been 180 degrees false. My laptop is basically junk as it auto updates(they set it up) and uninstall programs I am working on. Windows 8 is not user friendly, but tablet software and Staples, HP and Microsoft are in bed together while the consumer has little to no recourse. Well they messed with the wrong person. The GM at Spring Hill, FL store said he would get back to me(three weeks ago) and the glorified customer service dept they call the Office of the President doesn't help or return calls. I have stood out front of two of their biggest stores and discouraged people from EVER buying there, I just show them my 2 1/2 month old laptop that was a waste of a $1000. I estimate that I have turned over $35, 000 of print and computer business away.

What a horribly inaccurate assessment of Easy Tech services. I am one of 3 A+ certified techs at my staples, and had to have the certification to even apply. We require all customers provide identification upon pick up, Diagnostics cost 69.99 and are only done on a machine after they are examined and it is deemed necessary. Virus removals are not done that way, we do not use freeware, and the only associates that have access to personal data are techs.. which is normal. Your write up is ignorant, horribly inaccurate, and I have a hard time believing you held a management position of any sort, at any time, anywhere. That being said, every staples is different and a lot of things change over the course of a few years. My staples is the ###, my co workers are the ###, and the benefits for part time employees is mother ###ing BOSS. Sorry you had a bad experience of some sort with a staples, but don't go condemning the entire company because your store sucks dick, and doesn't adhere to company policy.

I'm a ETE in California who get harassed about all the time on how my numbers aren't good enough. I'm also a key carrier who is MOD and closes the store 4 nights a week with no other manager and is responsible for Tech, BM, OS, Load, Planograms, Copy Center at times, and covering breaks and lunches . And they wonder why are ESP is at 5% all the time. This company can suck my dick and anyone else who defends it can suck it as well.

Not the retailers fault if your product fails. Anything can be bad out of the box, and your first clue, which should've resulted in IMMEDIATE return to the store (which you apparently didn't) was it coming without Windows 7.

Your complaint was made in 2011, at a date almost two full years after Windows 7 was released. If it did not come with Windows 7, why did you hold onto it? Why did you not return it to the store. That part is your fault.

The rebate? Did you submit it online or mail it in? Did you make copies of everything for your records? Did you visit the store so that they could call and check on the rebate?

To be blunt, I'm trying to figure out why Staples should care about your computer after the manufacturer of the computer stopped caring about it.

Dear Ms. Zyda,

Your feedback is much appreciated. We would like to contact you directly and hear from you.
May we have your email address or contact number?
Or, is it possible to contact us at m.alulod@samsung.com

Again, thanks for your valuable time. We hope to hear from you soon.

Monei Alulod

Customer Service Division

Samsung

...when did they start requiring us to have additional certifications? I must have missed that particular memo.
Now, for the point by point rebuttal...

1: I catch anyone other than someone who's allowed to work on the computers even standing behind the counter? Management is informed and I personally (and physically) escort them out of there.

2: Way back when I started, to be a technician, you had to actually attend a training event. Even now, there is a certification test, but it's no walk in the park, honestly. It is an adaptive test that changes based on how you answer. There is no training going over the test, it is not actually administered by Staples, and it requires either personal knowledge, Google, or another employee walking you through it. Of course, a manager allowing the second two would be a major violation of ethical policies...

3: This gets you hired into the DEPARTMENT, not to be able to work on computers. You get hired, you have an A cert, and you can't pass the Staples requested certification test? You don't get to work on computers, just the sales floor.

4: You, sir, seem to be getting the "Free PC-Tune Up" and the (relatively now) Diagnostic Refund confused. Yes, we offer a Free PC-Tune Up, which is a basic check to see if we can get some money out of you. Scan for viruses, defrag the system, run windows update...nothing truly groundbreaking. It's mainly to see if we can find viruses. The Diagnostic Refund is not 'free'...it states (running from memory, here...)That if we cannot fix your machine, your diagnostic is refunded. I don't recall ever being outright told (by way of company policy) to refund the diagnostic elsewise. The diagnostic is not free. Best case, it goes towards your repair (a Data Transfer, by the way, does NOT fix a problem...)...and it's supposed to be charged in advance. If you haven't been collecting money in advance, I can see why you were fired.

5: I. Am. Offended. We f*** up your computer, we fix it. It's right there in the legally binding contract that is signed at intake. This seems more ineptitude of the individual store than a company wide thing, as it's an easily exposed lie. A customer can opt out of ANY service before it's performed. They come in and a computer is in worse state than when they dropped it off (brought it in for office to be installed, come in and it's now an Elder God...) that kind of raises red flags that the store screwed something up, and should fix it. It doesn't apply to all situations, we've had a couple of hard drives fail outright on us in the middle of a tune up due to unseen errors, but for the most part, if your computer breaks on the bench? It's fixed by staples.

6: Yes, Support.com (not the in store. It's actually explicitly listed that using unauthorized software on the store level is a terminable offense) uses software that can be downloaded by the user for free. I've actually got a bit to go along with this in a moment, so not going to be redundant. But it's not the in-store technician using the software.

7: It's also not required to have the intake paperwork unless it's someone whose name doesn't match picking up the computer. You pick it up, we're supposed to check ID. If the name mismatches, and we don't have permission for you to receive the computer, you don't get it until we call the person whose name is on the computer. If you have permission to pick it up, we make a a photocopy of the ID (black and white only) and then you get it. Not all stores do this, just saying how it's supposed to be done.

What the fired manager, who appears to have been posting out of sheer butthurt for being fired, has forgotten is that (and this applies to ALL computer repair locations)...there isn't a THING that we do that the customer cannot do themselves. From the lowliest of defragmentations to replacing every part in a laptop after a liquid spill, the customer can do all of this on their own. Do they have time to do so, or patience? Do their hands shake so bad they can't get a screwdriver into the guides? Fear drives a lot of people in, afraid that if they click the wrong button, their computer will burst into flames and a screamo band will start a performance in their lap. Why yes, the prices are high. Consider it less how much the service is worth and more 'how much is the convenience worth?'.

You appear to have been GROSSLY breaking policy, which is the only reason you would have been terminated without cause. As a GM, you should've known this..you cannot just 'be fired' in Staples, with a few exceptions. If they do not have a writeup or a note to file on the record for you, you for the most part cannot be fired. Unless you were to steal (immediate), or...

...well, let's say that if you were a General Manager, knowingly letting your employees release computers to people without checking ID, letting your employees use freeware that is unlicensed by Staples to use, letting whatever employees were on shift look at customer computers without them being authorized to work on computers...these are all offenses that can result in immediate termination, without cause, to the individual. A GM letting this go on for so long without curtailing it...let's just say that the employees are obviously not the cause of the issue.

Sources: Work for Staples. Work in a Right to Work state. Have watched management fruitlessly try to fire employees. Also, do all of my own computer repair, build my own machines, administer my own server and network, and generally have (and had before starting there) experience working on and with computers. But, if you think this is better than attending a class and being told that you're now able to work on computers, such as with A certifications or the Staples certification process... (see what I did there?)

Also, it feels weird writing this post defending Staples after, on another site, condemning Staples for a different reason.

Okay, I worked at Staples briefly and all the negative posts in this thread are true. I don't know where the positive posts come from, but my Texas store fits all the negative points

easyTechs aren't hired with formal certification

The pay sucks, all employees are expected to "Sell, Sell, Sell" protection plans, rewards, and store credit accounts without any commission. All employees are expected to be proficient on the cash register in addition to their hired position.

The hours suck, at best you can get 30 hours on a schizophrenic schedule (open, close, midday, overnight) there are no set shifts and if you're new, expect to work 1 or 2 days a week on average and expect to be sent home early often.

I joined Staples because in the interview they said that I could expect to work 20-30 hours per week on average.

I left Staples because they were only working me 8 (16 if I was lucky) hours per week and giving me the run around about the promised scheduled hours.

The store manager told me" "it's just how things are in retail"
I replied: "not in any of the retail jobs I've had previously"

thats false all easytechs are certified and knowledgable, I agree staples pushes easytechs on selling services and sales and tech work, doesnt provide a car for onsite techs and pays very close to miniumum wage for someone thats experianced and knowledgable and does the same or more work for someone that should be making atleast 15-16 dollars an hour. I found that its all about money working for them. Its a really nice place to work and the push on the sales can be sometimes fun but when you think about how much they pay its kind of dissapointing. They came out with the whole VIBE and ET 2.0, I hope they look at the value of the employee in the future becuase I would like to stay there if they actually pay us more attention and stop underpaying us and value their employees.

Hmm..not all Techs that work at Staples are incompetent...I am the Easy Tech Lead at a Best tech Store, and do a majority of the work on customers computers in-store and on-site. Certifications currently in my possession... CompTIA A+, NET+, Security +; CISCO CCENT; Microsoft MCP. I am a experienced Network professional by trade, so you can't say that all techs are hired off the street with zero experience because that just isn't true.

Come on people, lets get real. As a former employee from this company i can tell you that their services are bad, I am a certified tech so I got a real job that pays me a decent wage based on my certifications. For one thing the priorities on Staples have changed, for example if you are working on a machine and they pull you over the cash register to do cashiering jobs, you have to drop everything you are working on to do attend the registers. I was forced to up sell always looking for the company not the customer, we ha to meet quotes, easytech to get $2000 a week, warranties about 7%, the hard part was to work in the floor put away merchandise, sell, and upswell and at the same time to work on computers, there were times when only one employee had to cover everything. But for some weird reason we had lots of cashiers.
I know that every store is different and maybe they are some good techs out there, but if they know how much they are worth, they should a better paying job, get certified and apply somewhere else, Staples wages for tech can start about $9 to $ 11 per hr, with the certifications you can get a starting pay at Best Buy for about $17.
One thing about Staples is they are good at selling office supplies, but tech services have a long way to go. If the company wants to become the best they need to hire the best with the best pay, at least $18 plus commissions based on sales. Then maybe they have a chance.

This whole post is ridiculous. I see why you got fired as a GM. You're very unprofessional. I, myself, am an Easy tech, sales hybrid. I work on computers on a daily basis, and definitely know what I'm doing. I WAS NOT pulled off the street. We DO NOT over charge customers. We actually do a lot of price cuts with tech services depending on what was paid for prior, and what is needed to finish service on the computer. My Resident technician is the most knowledgeable technician I have ever met, and actually does tech work for 2 other MAJOR companies. Staples techs CANNOT use freeware. We have certain virus removal tools and diagnostic tools that we are allowed to use, and they are all very costly. We CANNOT perform virus removals. Virus removals are done in store, over the internet. The computer is booted into safe mode, and is taken over remotely for the service. There are many certifications that I had to go through to become a technician and a lot of supervised training with my resident tech. Any future employee that does not have some form of degree does NOT get hired directly as a technician. They get hired into "sales" and slowly, through various certifications and training, become a technician. And lastly, a copy of the work order, and ID are needed to pick up a computer. If we saw you drop it off, we're lenient on that matter. Or if you call in advance, and let us know who will be picking it up. Just because you're a disgruntled and embarrassed man, who was let go from a General Management position for being unprofessional, does not mean you have to bad mouth an entire company.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.
balbosta@gmail.com