Office Depot — Local services in Los Angeles

I was discriminated against by a staff member named Abir, at the Office Depot location 1240 Vine St, West Hollywood, CA 90038, on July 4, 2025 at roughly 3:00pm. (His name, Abir, is publicly available information, as it was clearly seen on his name tag as a way he publicly addresses customers.) The double doors were wide open as I walked up to the store. As I came near, Abir, approached and closed both doors in my face. I am a black male, and a white female walked up behind me about 5 seconds later. Abir opened the door for her and let her in. Because this country celebrates this date as a holiday, both the woman and I asked if the store was still open as it seemed to be closing early – given that Abir closed the door in my face. Abir’s answer to the white woman was “Yes, of course we’re still open.” Abir’s response to me was “Our systems are down.”, which he said to me as he began to close the doors in my face, again. I stood and continued to have a dialogue with him to clarify what he had just done. I said to Abir, “You opened the door for her, and for me you’re closing the door.” And he said “Yes. The store is closed for you. Unless you’re here to buy something.”. I didn’t mention to Abir that I am a Kindergarten Teacher at a nearby school, and that I am a Camp Guide at a nearby camp, where I spend $500 in printing costs each month, and where I spend hundreds more dollars each month in crafts, art supplies, and office supplies all year round. I do not believe that I should have to justify my access to a public place of commerce, while a white woman does not have to. She is let in without question. I left and went to Staples, where I’ve spent several thousands of dollars over the past 3 years here in L.A. I only decided to try Office Max today, because I am printing a very large set of materials, which will be several hundred pages once I settled on the printing shop I will go with. I had never printed at Office Max, and I wanted to check their printing rate to see if it would make a significant difference in the cost compared to Staples, FedEx, UPS, etc. Needless to say, no matter the cost, I’m going with Staples. I don’t care if Office Max offers it for me for free, I will not subject myself to that experience with people that house and employ people who act in this way. On the other hand, the staff at Staples in Hollywood, have always been overwhelmingly welcoming, warm, and sensitive to my role a as teacher and guide for the youth of Los Angeles. The Staples staff in discussions with me over the years have noted that the youth in L.A. so desperately need to be guided to be conscientious. Abir, the staff person at Office Max who shut the door in my face, looked to be a teenager, maybe in his young 20s. Perhaps he didn’t have a teacher like me in his life, or he had one and did not care about learning from that teacher. Alas it only makes my job more purposeful, sacred, and important. God...

Weird service, bad attitute. I stopped there today to look at the agendas. I saw an older style (the last one left on the shelf) which I liked because it had metal zipper handles instead of vinyl but I noticed this older style agenda had oil stains on the paper and it also had some of the paper missing. I thought, oil wouldn't bother me too much, but wanted to ask if people ever get any discounts on damaged products and if I can get the missing paper. I found a person who I think was also the manager: I asked if they give any discounts if for example this agenda has oil stains on the paper? He said Ok, I'll give you 10% off. Then told him that there's paper missing. He got a bit angry with me and said: "What, you're going to tell me what's wrong with it until I give you more discount? ok, I'll give you another 10% off". I said, ok, I'll just buy it as is, but he seemed like he was very angry with me and he snapped at me in a weird way and then I felt guilty like I have to buy the damn thing and when I left, he went over to the other employees saying something hilarious to the rest of the crew. I mean, I would have asked a helper on the isle about the paper problem if I only would have known what kind of attitude that guy would have. I felt guilty and bad, that I wish I never went there. I should...

Client’s vehicle towed! I had my Office Depot membership and I was going to buy materials I needed. Less than an hour after parking, I returned to find my car gone. After making several calls, I discovered it had been towed, even though the parking lot was practically empty.

There was no accountability, no information, no apology, and no one on-site to help. I ended up paying $240 for the tow, plus the cost of a ride. To make matters worse, the tow caused scratches on my sports car. WASTED MY MONEY AND ALL MY DAY!

A complaint was raised, and they promised to follow up but never did, showing a complete lack of accountability. It was a nightmare no customer should experience, especially when choosing to be a loyal customer. Never again!

Our lives are busy and Office Depot continues to be obsolete. Their sales have been plummeting specially in retail yet they treat their “rewarded” customers like this… When other companies provide safety and a good experience. They're often out of stock and lack quality materials, offering mostly cheap items you could find anywhere else for half the price.

I canceled my membership and have no intention of ever setting foot in their commercial spaces again. Instead, I bought my materials elsewhere to find better quality and design. Office Depot is on the decline, and it's...