Office Depot

EXPLANATION OF EVENTS

JULY 20, 2022

On May 16, 2022, I purchased a Lenovo Ideapad 3 (17”) from Office Depot, Springfield, IL. This machine ended up having all kinds of problems. I returned it to Office Depot on May 25, 2022. They did not have another one so I decided on an HP 22” All-In-One. It was the last one and the box had been re-taped. The salesman made a statement wondering if it had been returned before. He stated that if I had a problem with it to return it. There turned out to be several issues with this computer. I set out to return it on Monday, May 30, 2022, if they were open, otherwise Tuesday, May 31, 2022. However, I got a call on Sunday, early morning that my granddaughter had been in a bad accident and I needed to get to Omaha, NE as soon as possible. I headed out ASAP, without even taking the time to pack.

(A side Note: During the process of taking CAT Scans and MRIs, a large ependymoma tumor was located on her brain stem. The Doctor informed us that they had to operate immediately. This tumor turned out to be cancerous. My family wanted me to go into surgery with my granddaughter, as I have experience in this type of situation, so it was necessary that I leave immediately, and the computer was the least of my worries. I stayed on to help my granddaughter after surgery and did not return home until June 21, 2022.)

On June 22, 2022, I returned the HP to Office Depot. They told me it had been past 14 days so I was out of luck. Upon my return home on 6/21/2022, I called Office Depot Corporate and was told that Office Depot's policy is: If returned prior to 14 days from the date of purchase, then one can get an exchange, if it is after 14 days and before 30 days then a refund is issued. The gentleman I spoke with at Office Depot Corp; said he would forward an email to the manager at the Spfld. Store instructing him to allow me to get refund or another laptop or computer. The manager claimed he did not receive such an email. I have since found out from another Corp. C.S. Employee, that the record show, that he did, in fact, sent that email and it showed it was received.

In speaking to Tim, an employee, he informed me that the Lenovo Ideapad 3 is junk because the processor is so slow and because it does not have a Solid State drive. In fact, he told me that all of these specific Lenovos that had sold had been returned except maybe one. Tim advised me several times not to get another Lenovo like the one had.. After Tim had several conversations with the manager, the manager finally agreed to allow me to return the HP only if I bought another laptop or computer. The only 17” laptop or computers they had were a lot more expensive then I had the budget for. I was told in no uncertain words “take it or leave it”. I was furious because this manager refused to come out and talk to me. I was so mad I left the store and drove home.

After I cooled down I called to talk to the manager. He was rude, arrogant and very unprofessional. He said, more than on one occasion, that if returning the computer was that important to me that regardless of the condition or seriousness of my granddaughter, I would have found a way to return it before the 14 days. I could not believe how cold and callous this man was. Finally, after his sarcasm and mean hateful attitude, he said he had a really good deal on a laptop he would give me. He said is was a 17” Lenovo, with solid state drive and he guaranteed me I would definitely be happy with this laptop. So, I drove to Springfield again and picked the laptop up. I got home and found it looked exactly like the one I had before, except the stickers that has all the laptops statistics on it had been removed. At that time I was suspicious as to why the stickers had been removed. It wasn't anytime at all before this laptop started acting up just like the one I had before. I did not want to call Office Depot again and talk to the jerk I spoke with before. So I decided to call Lenovo and try to find out what was wrong with this laptop. First, I found out one of the many lies the manager told me was that the laptop I received the 2nd time did not have a solid state drive as he assured me it did. After several attempts I finally reached someone. He conducted several tests on my laptop, via the internet, and he said the laptop was bad and his recommendation was to return it to Office Depot.

I decided that before I was going to deal with this manager again, I called Office Depot Corporate and spoke to Mark in Customer Service. I explained everything to him an he told that Office Depot will definitely take the laptop back. He asked me to give him time to call the Springfield store to make sure they understand the store policies on returns and to inform them that I will be returning the laptop for a refund. I waited a week and did not receive any call from Mark. I called O.D. Corp. again on July 18, 2022 and spoke to JoAnn in Customer Service. She suggested a 3 way telephone call with the manager and she assured me that the manager would have to accept the return and return my money. At this time I wanted no further dealings with Office Depot.

This time Brad, took the call, saying he was the manager. He certainly was not the person I spoke to before. He understood the situation and saw no reason why I could not return the laptop. He said he had to talk to Tom, he said that was the name of the manager I spoke with prior, and he would call me back. Corporate hung up and she stated she was sure they understood the policies now and I could return the laptop and get a refund. We all hung up. A few minute later Brad called back and stated that the manager said no way was he going to allow me to return the laptop period. He stated that the manager said I had returned these items several, many times, and he wasn't dealing with it any further. The manager said he was using the first date of May 16, 2022 as the initial return date. Just as I suspected, I believe the manager gave me the same laptop back that I returned 05/25/22. He lied to Brad about so many things that didn't even occur.

If this man talks to every woman the way he talked to me, it's no longer why there is hardly any customers in that store. I can't even swear the name of the manager I spoke to the first, I Tom. Brad claimed he had just spoke to him but could not remember if his name was Tom, but thought it might be.

I am enclosing along with this Complaint a copy of the receipts. On the back of Office Depot's receipt it states “100% Satisfaction Guaranteed”. Right! This Manager, Tom, said he makes the policies for his store and not Office Depot's Corporate policies. I might have better business if you had a much much better manager.

Any questions, please call. I wonder if he talks to all women like this. I'll have to say, I have never encountered a person like this.

Sally Ann Tirey