Staples — Local services in Falls Church

I have been coming to this location for a little over a year, for office supplies and never had a problem or complaint, but recently my printer broke and haven’t shop for a new one so I thought staples was convenient to print a few documents and decided to go there and do it myself. Everything was fine until the machine I was working on got jammed with one of my documents so I came to the printing section for help. I saw a “nice” lady(judging from appearance) who now I’ve learned her name is Annette she was obviously busy stocking merchandise but not busy with clients, so I asked for help. She look at me with disgust and Immediately proceeded to say she was busy with 2 clients and that she couldn’t help and that if I needed help I would have to wait till she was done with them two. I was confused because there were no clients nearby and the only person near her was an associate (male) who just seemed to be fixing another machine. So I had no option but wait. 2 mnts later a different person came and me being the only person there obviously needing help she came and asked if she could help me. She helped me with what I needed but left confused as what have I done to make Annette completely disregard me, I thought she might be having a bad day and forgot about it.

A few days later it I need to print a few other papers and came back having already forgotten the last experience because I would not keep a chip on my shoulder for someone else’s having a bad day. I proceeded to try to print my copies and realized that the attachment I’ve sent didn’t appear on the document I was printing. So I saw the other lady who happened to remember me from the other day and I asked to help me. She thought I could send the documents to a different email address for them to print it for me and turned to Annette for help. The helpful associate tried explaining Annette what was the problem but didn’t understand her, so I said to Annette allow me to explain… but she immediately turned her back and ignored me without saying a word or at least acknowledging me and walked away. The other lady felt bad and said “I am sorry “ This being the second time that has happened something similar with Annette, I felt it was personal. Has she profiled me? What is it about me that makes her be nasty and to give me a rude attitude? What did I do to upset her?

That being said, I won’t be coming back to this location and would recommend management to keep an eye out for associates who profile customers for their...

It's so sad what the world has come to. I go into Staples at 8:00 a.m. this morning to find an employee going back and forth with her manager over helping a customer who didn't speak English very well. The manager wasn't saying much back but that you should help him he doesn't understand and that's your job. She kept stating that she was overwhelmed and had a lot of work to do. Literally, the store had just opened ma'am there is not that much work in the world. You woke up to come to work and be at service for your customers That's what you applied for. When I realized that she was not going to help the customer, I went over and helped him print out what he needed. Another customer asked for my help because she wasn't willing to help him either. Though he understood English he just didn't understand what to do. So, I helped him. While I'm helping them (her name is Amira), she gets on her phone and calls the general manager (I believe) to explain to him the situation between her and the manager. So wait a minute.... You have time to go cry to somebody else about what just took place but you don't have time to help the customers who are literally here and paying your salary. Make it make sense please. Once she got off the phone I explained to her that I had emailed what the guy needed and she needed to give us the paper from the printer. She saidd, oh thank you so much. I'm so busy back here. I said no ma'am!!! It's customer service. That's what you signed up for and sometimes in life you have to go that extra mile for other people... it's just the way. God will take care of you... Instantly she came from around the corner to ask how can she help and she ended up helping both customers and I left. I gave three stars because the manager diffused the situation by walking away and telling her I will talk to the manager because Amira kept coming back and taunting her about owe you want to fight you want to fight. So I commend her and that's why I gave three stars... other than that.... Staples you will go out of business if you don't do something about...

I was in line at the printing and shipping area to return an Amazon package and patiently waited at one of the counters. After the associate, Anette, finished helping an older gentleman, she called across the floor, asking if she could assist me. I told her I had an Amazon return, and she looked incredibly annoyed with me. I tried to brush it off and went to the counter, expecting that she would help me.

Once there, Anette began typing and clicking on the computer for about a minute. Then, without any explanation, she simply walked away, saying, “Just a minute,” and went off to help another customer in the printer section. She left me standing there, confused and with no further explanations.

If she wasn't able to properly assist with the return, she could have let me know or called someone else to help. Not only was Anette’s behavior unprofessional, but it also felt borderline discriminatory. It seemed as though she was judging me based on my appearance. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I’ve seen complaints about her service, as well as individuals feeling profiled by her, and it’s concerning.

This is a customer-facing job, and if an associate can’t handle simple tasks like helping a customer with a return, they probably shouldn’t be in that role. Customers expect to be treated with respect and professionalism, especially when it comes to routine things like returns.

Thankfully, another associate named Madison stepped in to help me shortly after. She was professional, kind, and handled my return quickly with excellent customer service. I was really impressed by Madison's approach, especially since she demonstrated more professionalism and respect than Anette.

I hope Staples will look into this issue and ensure that all associates, including Anette, are held accountable for their actions. Every customer should be treated with respect, regardless of their background, and it’s vital that employees are properly trained to perform their tasks or communicate when they're...