Staples — Attraction in Seal Beach

I was at this store yesterday (Saturday) morning. I have never been treated with so much courtesy, friendliness, and respect at a retail store (I am including Walmart, Target, Costco, Rite-Aid, CVS, Walgreens, etc.).

At first, I was a bit disappointed bc the store seemed to not have a box of 5 reams of paper of the particular brand that I wanted, so I got the 3-reamed box. When checking out, Ms. Shadow, with a genuine smile, asked me if I found everything ok. I told her about the paper situation, and she simply said, to the effect, "No problem, I'll just go and check the back."

She briefly spoke to her colleague (manager?) [I wish I had read her name tag 😔] who was standing next to her, and both women went together to the back, and brought back my 5-ream box of the exact brand I wanted...yaaay!

What was amazing is that they totally believed me when I told them it was not in the paper aisle/section. Instead of wasting my time by checking the aisle first, they just went to the back and performed their magic! I am sure they checked the aisle after I left, but they did that on their own time. I did not need to tell them that I an attorney who desperately needed to finish drafting and printing out a legal brief, while my Daughter was at an extracurricular activity (I am also a single father raising my Princess solo, so time is truly of the essence!). To them, everybody's time is valuable! Both women were so nice and engaging throughout the transaction.

I am sure Ms. Shadow also noticed that my hip is not in the best shape atm. Without a hint of condescension or offense, she simply asked if she can follow me outside to help me unload the papyrus - as if she asks everybody, not just me (Actually, now that I think about, I would not be surprised if she does ask everybody).

Young professionals like Ms. Shadow (yeah, I know, the coolest name ever!) and her colleague give me hope that the world in which my Daughter grows up will be...

My family, friends and I often shop at the Seal beach location of Staples. We normally never have a problem.

But three weeks ago I purchased an item at the Seal Beach Staples and a charge of over $100 was erroneously taken out of my account in error.

I was told that I would receive an immediate refund. I didn’t.

Weeks later I was told I would receive a refund to my credit card within 3-5 business days. I didn’t.

To be honest, although the store manager tried his best as “middle man” in order to get me the refund I deserved, he was often very rude in speaking to me, both in person and on the phone.

I believe courtesy to customers is a thing of the past and the old business adage of “The customer is always right” has sadly gone by the wayside.

I am a teacher and I would never be rude or condescending to any of my students’ parents, no matter the situation.

I was finally, almost four weeks later, given a cash refund, but had to endure an impolite manager giving it to me in the process.

Just be advised, refunds may not come easily in the...

The Seal Beach Staples is above and beyond the best shopping experience store. Rachel - the person helping me was phenomenal!! She and her team were knowledgeable, customer focused and very helpful. Rachel handled everything with exceptional calm, kindness, professionalism and friendliness. I told her that I had never experienced such quality of service in any other store in my entire life (and I am in my 70s). She was patient and understanding even though I was having technology problems. I later found out that she was a manager - now I understand why the store looked so good, was so organized, well stocked and with excellent staff - she is so good at everything she does!!! I hope staples does everything they can to reward and keep her. I know great talent when I see it - I was the VP of Human Resources for Custom Building Products before we sold our business to Quikcrete and retired. Thank you so much for...