Staples — Local services in Grass Valley

06/11/2024 @ approx 6:00pm

Went in just to pick up a pack of letter envelopes and since I was there I remembered I have been meaning to get a paper card laminated for my wallet since they offer those services in their printing department.

I stood in line behind one gentleman as we waited patiently for the lady ahead of us as she was wrapping her stuff up to leave, then the gentleman in front of me was helped next. Upon standing and waiting to be helped next I watched the female employee (early 50's with ashy blonde hair and glasses) helping this customer that only need a print job done but of over a hundred copies on a specialized paper, she had placed his order for next day pick-up which is totally understandable for the quantity size but she seemed confused and unable to do a print job for the work order itself. I then had 3 others in line behind me and there should have been more help behind the counter to efficiently bring services to the volume of customers in line which really was not that busy. I came to the conclusion that she was not capable of handling the work load as a single person but then also realized she did not have the skills for the job position she had been given. After 20 minutes of waiting though, she was finally able to get to me, and I asked to get a single (one) lamination the size of a credit card laminated and she asked for me to leave it and do a pick-up order for the next day as "she was really backed up" which made no sense at all as it would have only taken about a minute to do as there is no computer needed to work a simple laminator! She could have easily just done the lamination and been done, but instead wants to process a next day pick-up work order which would have actually taken longer to process the printout than the lamination that I watched her struggle to do for myself beforehand. It is no wonder why she is so backed up! The employee should have had more help as she clearly lacks the skills of multi-tasking and prioritizing small tasks alongside larger tasks in order to tackle the work load efficiently to satisfy ALL customers on her own as the employer most likely expects of her.

I then went over to the cashier to purchase my small pack of envelopes that I originally went in for and the cashier was talking to his current customer but they continued talking as he ignored the fact that he had another customer waiting to be rang up. I am sorry, but did I walk in to a social club and not an office supply store? Are you there to make friends or satisfy the customers that you rely on to get a paycheck?

In my 30+ years of specializing in customer service, also having 20 years experience in computing, electronics, and paperwork filing skills, being a current assistant manager now at my current company and working with my employees and pleasing my customers, this experience here at Staples is a complete disgrace and embarrassment!

This short visit and yet unexpected experience at Staples is a reminder why I do not usually come here in the first place and will never step foot in here again as this has not been the first bad experience, but multiple, with their lack of integrity, knowledge, and urgency when it comes to serving those that they rely on the most:...

If you need to use UPS services, don't bother going to this location. The employees have no idea how to do any of it. I asked the employee if I could send documents next day UPS and he immediately complained that I would need to package everything myself... he was rude for absolutely no reason at the outset. Obviously I had planned to do that anyway. So I spent 30 minutes getting everything ready and then when the employee came back to help me, he said they couldn't do next day. Not true. When he checked his system, they could, in fact do it. I ended up leaving because they couldn't figure out how to charge me correctly and clearly didn't want to enter all of the addresses into their system for shipment. I also heard him tell multiple other customers that they couldn't offer mailing services. All of this apparently because he wanted to take his lunch and is clearly just not competent enough to enter an address in a computer.

This man's superior told me I would need to go to an actual UPS store to make my shipments. I drove to yhe nearest store and after waiting in line for over an hour, was told that I needed to go to a different location. The useless employees at Staples couldn't even tell me how to get competent service from an actual UPS location. I literally wasted 3 hours of my day trying to mail documents because of this man and his manager. Neither of which could...

It’s disheartening to see how Staples continues to overwork and understaff its employees, creating an environment where morale is impossible to maintain and customer service inevitably suffers. Orders go unfulfilled, expectations are sky-high, and yet the team is left scrambling with far too few resources to meet demand.

This isn’t just a logistical failure—it’s a leadership one. When you consistently ask a skeleton crew to perform the work of a full team, you’re not just setting them up to fail—you’re showing a complete disregard for both your staff and your customers. The result? Burned-out employees, missed deadlines, and a growing list of dissatisfied clients.

Staples needs to do better. Invest in your people. Staff your stores appropriately. And stop pretending that a handful of hardworking individuals can carry the weight of an entire operation without support. I'd give 5 stars to the employees who are there putting up with this but to the corpororation and leaders doing this......