Staples — Local services in Riverdale

Raised the rating by a star for two reasons: the store responded with an apology (albeit a generic one), which I appreciate. Also, I purchased the printer I wanted (from a different company, see below for details), and returned this one to Staples. They were gracious enough to accept the return and provide a refund without hassle. (I was within the return window, and had carefully repackaged the printer in its original box.)

Original review follows:

The following is more of a review of the Staples web site than the store. The actual store deserves a better rating...

Left on Staples web site at conclusion of online order: Created online account to process checkout. As a matter of personal policy, I add "+vendor" to email address as suggested by Gmail... but the Staples web site informed me that the "+" is an invalid character. This technique is valid on dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of other web sites, why not here? Strike One Set up for a pickup order, yet I had to enter a shipping address. Why? (Name and phone number of pickup person makes sense, but not a shipping address for a pickup order.) Strike Two Again, a pickup order, yet I'm being charged $9.95 Shipping fee. Seriously? Possibly Strike Three, depending on if the fee is waived. Is this really the way you welcome new customers? Impress me. Please.

Followup and review of Staples (again, aimed more at the web site than this location):

Yeah... no. Not impressed. Strike Three confirmed. As it turned out, I had ordered a printer and stapler. The printer was for pickup, but for some reason the system decided to make the stapler a delivery/shipped item. By the time I realized this, it was too late to change the order. When I went to the store to pick up the printer, I asked about the stapler. They said that the stapler had already shipped, and there was nothing they could do about it. My fault? One could argue such, however... When I was doing my research, I concluded that the MFC-L3780CDW was the printer I wanted. So I did a search for that specific model. Staples showed up in the top search results with a price tag that was considerably nicer looking than many competing vendors. So I ordered it. Big mistake. What I got was the MFC-L3720CDW. At first glance, they're near identical: same shape, same color (mostly beige with a bit of black), same general appearance. Same basic machine, right? I wish. What I got is WiFi only: no Ethernet. I wanted Ethernet. What I got prints about 19 ppm (simplex), the other is about 50% faster, at 31 ppm. What I got does not have a USB-A slot for thumb drives, the other does have thumb drive support. What I got scans one side of the page in the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), the other will scan both sides (duplex scanning). What I got will feed a single sheet of paper in the Manual Feed Tray, the other will accommodate up to 30. What I got is about 3/4" shorter than the other (same footprint, very slight difference in height). Not a big difference to look at, but several crucial differences when you look more closely. What I got is cheaper, sure, and it's a decent machine for the most part, but it's not what I though I was ordering. So, I ordered two items (printer and stapler), but because I wasn't paying meticulous attention, both items in the order managed to have problems. Staples' motto is, "That was easy." Liars.

Oh, but wait, we're not done yet... the stapler was delivered. They left it ON TOP of the drop box. That, my friend, is deliberate incompetence. And the final icing on the cake. I may shop at Staples again -- maybe -- but it's not going to be for a very, very long time. Even then, I will not shop online, it'll be in-store only, and believe that I'll be watching model numbers very...

This will be my last visit to Staples. This is the 2nd time that I've come in to make an Amazon return and been spoken to with disdain. My last visit was probably 10 months ago. During that visit, I was waiting at the counter where I had previously come in to make a return. There was no one around and finally an employee noticed me standing there and told me if I was making an Amazon return I needed to go to another counter. He said this with annoyance, as though he was tired of having to direct people where to go. Basically the intent was to make me feel dumb for not seeing the signs. Not friendly at all. Went in today and immediately started for the counter where I had gone last time when an employee saw me and said if I was there to make an Amazon return to go to the counter behind me. This was my 3rd return to this location and each time the return desk has been different. I started for the counter and I made the remark that each time I've come in the location has changed. Maybe he took it as a complaint, which was not my intent at all. I appreciated that he stopped me before I went all the way to the other side of the store. I was just making an observation and to show that I wasn't an idiot (as his tone suggested). As I was walking away, he felt the need to yell after that "It's been there for 6 months". Well excuse me that I'm not a frequent customer and am unfamiliar with the changes that occur. I've never understood the need to speak to someone with condescension, especially in customer service. What was there to gain by that remark? Other than to make me feel small (which I don't, but others may have). I was more annoyed by his tone. It's very probable that this was the same employee who spoke to me poorly on my last visit. Otherwise this store definitely needs customer service training for its employees. The only reason I give 2 stars is because the employee (tall guy) who processed my return was friendly and efficient. To the UPS store I will happily go from now on. They have never been anything other than kind, helpful and...

I have never ever ever had such an awful experience. I was supposed to have a package delivered to me on Friday. It ended up showing up early but I was at work at the hospital so I missed it. UPS then took it here to be picked up. I went to pick it up but they would not give me my $2000 package because the address did not match my address on my ID. I explained to them that I moved literally 3 days ago and that I could show them the order and receipt. They still refused and told me to contact UPS or the seller. I called UPS and they said that my lease or letter from my landlord would work. Staples would still not give me my package with that. I called the seller and the seller called staples and verified that it was mine and asked them to give it to me and they would still not. I called their corporate and Tony my only shining light in this absolute madness was baffled why they were acting this way and being so rude and difficult. She is currently trying to help me. Moral of the story do not expect any actual help or compassion from these people. I will never ever go here again and I hope all delivery companies stop using this place. They do not deserve there license for it. Will be sending emails to UPS, Amazon, and their corporate. Awful awful place wish I could give...