OfficeMax — Attraction in Elizabeth City

So, I wanted to plot out 3 sets of large format drawings - four pages in each set, for a meeting the next morning. I went to the Office Max in Elizabeth City, and asked the girl behind the counter to plot the drawings. It was around 5:45, and they closed at 8 pm. The plotting takes about 5 minutes, once the files are accessed on the USB drive. The girl behind the counter appeared new, she was nervous about the request, and she was not able to help me until she talked to the manager. After they conferred for a minute - out of earshot - she came back and said that I needed to wait until the next day for the plots. She explained that the Manager told her it was a new company policy from the Corporation that they could not just plot out the drawings, that a process needed to be followed. She did not like to be the bearer of this news, and frankly, she should not have. The Manager should have acted like he was in charge, and taken up the discussion with a potential customer that he knew he was going to disappoint. But instead, he went and hid in his office and pulled the door closed (mostly closed), but hidden from view. I asked the girl why, if no one else was in the store; why could they not accommodate this simple request. She just felt she could not go against the Manager. Which is certainly fine. So I went over to the Manager's office, and prodded him out to discuss this. He just kept reciting that it was 'Corporate Policy' not to perform this work out of a pre-set queue. I pointed-out that there was no one in the store; and that the girl was not even plotting out any orders. He was pretty stubborn about this process. I decided to leave, and find another solution, which I did. But before I left the store, I had to go back and ask him if it was truly corporate policy to forgo a $100.00 sale, and to alienate a potential customer - or worse, a lost customer who would post a bad review. He could not find a clear path forward, except to say it was corporate policy - that if they took care of me, then someone down the line would not get their order on time. Did I say that no one was in the store, waiting for an order, and the girl was not really filling any order, rather looking to wait on another customer who came in as I was leaving? I plot out drawings at 50+ different FedEx and UPS stores, across the nation - usually once a week, for sure. And sometimes Staples. In general, I have never been disappointed in my experiences with these folks. I have customers who ask for services and engineering with crazy timelines. I need to respond to them; and likewise, I want to work with folks that want to help me with my efforts. This was not a crazy request. The discussion with your Manager was almost Monty Python-ish. Senseless logic. I have never sent something like this, but it really was such a crazy experience, that I hoped you might help by re-evaluating whatever corporate policy prevents your folks from making an easy sale, and supporting your customers. The UPS folks, down the street, plotted the drawings without issue, were happy to have the business, and the cost was almost half of what I was...

The review from 1 year ago is still dead on. Before my latest visit, I went to print some business cards. The gentlemen who waited on me took 3 other customers with more complicated and larger volume jobs than my own. I wound up waiting 30 minutes for him to mess up my business cards after I told him how to set the margins properly with the print guide.

I should have never gone back after the first time but... I called in first asking if they would be able to print a letter sized job on their ink jet wide format printer. I was using a paper with thickness similar to cardstock that was heat sensitive, so I had to use an ink jet system. I was told they could complete the job, so I took my job into them, had Daniel print it up, and was in and out in less than 10 minutes. However, I went in with my own paper for a printing job today, as I had already been once before and was helped by Daniel. Daniel was amazing, he knew exactly what he was talking about and the whole process from proofing and printing on my paper took less than 10 minutes.

Cindy (the print shift manager working at the time) was unhelpful, rude, and didn't know how to load a letter sized 0.10 oz sheet of paper into the wide feed ink jet printer. This was after I explained how to do it to her and another co-worker at the time who was also unable to load it properly. Cindy then decided to tell me that my job was taking too long and that the next time I came in I would be charged a minimum of $15 to complete the job that Daniel finished in less than 10 minutes the night before. Oh, this is also after I patiently waited for them to finish with a customer and then take another while waiting on me. If they're going to make me wait while they take other customers that come after me, then I don't feel I should be charged in excess for having to wait on them.

I still have the receipt from my last visit with Daniel, I'm going back when he's on shift. He's the only one there out of 4 people and 5 visits that has --ever-- printed anything correctly and not talked down to me. I studied art and Graphic Design for 4 years at University, I know what I am doing, and I am utterly insulted at the way my job was treated and the attitude from Cindy and another female coworker under her.

I hope OfficeMax sees this and promotes Daniel. Or at the --very-- least starts workshops to train the other lesser knowledgeable employees who think it's okay to talk back to customers because they don't know what they are doing.

-------Summary: It's the only place in Elizabeth City to get residential printing jobs done. Daniel is the only knowledgeable print staff there. Cindy--the shift manager at the time-- and the female coworker who's name starts with an "E" didn't even know how to load the wide format printer, were rude, and threatened to charge me $15 for a job that took Daniel less than 10 mins the day before to do because I was "taking too long with a...

I work from home and have a small staff working for me across the country. I am in and out of various office supply stores and order online for my team. Normally, I utilize the store in Chesapeake. This week I needed a manual printed and a few office supplies. I thought I would give this store a try. Nope, not sure I will do that again!! When I order printing material, I understand by default the system gives you a pickup time. I also understand the “first come, first serve”. ALWAYS, when I order my order is either ready within a few hours of placing the order or the employees work with me. NOT HERE. I placed the order and almost 8 hours later I ran by the store. Employee would not even pull up my order, was rude and basically sent me away with a horrible first impression of the customer service and ability to work with someone standing in front of her. BUT when her “friend” came in the store; she made a point to tell her “I will break the rules for you”. At that point, I dropped my items down on a display and walked out. Because of my schedule, something I needed quick, I was not able to make it back to the store for 2 days. Totally disappointed with this store and employee’s attitude. If you are not a fan of being helpful to ALL people walking into the store, maybe a customer service position is not the right...