If you have turned on a TV lately, or browsed YouTube you probably have seen the newest of Staples advertisements called “Wow! That’s a low price!”. The mild-mannered guy on the commercial screams that line at the top of his lungs as he sees each and every low price at Staples. The employees in the commercial are only slightly amused with the corny character.
Today, I was only slightly amused with Staples Customer Service.
Back to School
My son will be attending Tippecanoe High School this year as a junior, and I was dutifully obtaining school supplies for him today, including the expensive Texas Instruments TI-84 calculator. I searched high and low and found that in the online weekly ad from Staples the calculator was only $79.99 after instant savings and an easy rebate. I was so excited to have found the low price at Staples. Well… until I went to go to checkout when the price raised to $99.99. Wait just a moment. That is no longer a low price. That is the same price as all the other “dancing monkey” discounters (WalMart, Target) out there.
Customer No-Service
So, I called 1-800-STAPLES and spoke to a pleasant voice that told me that “in her system” the price was actually $89.99, after a $10.00 Visa Card rebate. I asked why “her system” said it was $89.99 and not $79.99 like the weekly flyer and the Staples website? She had no idea, but that if I was to buy it today, the price would be $89.99.
So, I called and spoke to the manager of the Staples store in Moraine. He said “his system” said it was $89.99 as well. OK, well now I know that “her system” and “his system” were the same. Wonderful. Then I asked him about the Internet website price. He said that if I go all the way through the checkout process it would “probably be” $79.99. Excellent information. Now, how many of you like to jump off a bridge before checking to see if your bungee harness is attached?
So, following instructions I went through the check out process, and came to the final checkout screen.. the very last thing I would see before my credit card would be charged the wrong amount. And I see a “live chat” prompt. Maybe this online chat customer service rep would know why my weekly ad price was not represented in “her system” correctly. I provide all the information, the Item number, price before discount, etc. I even offer to email her the screen shots of the circular that show the low $79.99 price. She states “You may need to refresh or something” followed up with “May I help you with anything else at this time?”. Obviously trying to get me to stop asking questions. The kicker was when “Tammy D” the Customer Service Chat Rep said “I am sorry for your trouble”.
I don’t believe that Staples should make “finding the low price” a trouble for me. Why should I be troubled by their false advertising..really? And then I guess I should not be troubled when clearly my computer was the only one on the planet that displayed the Low Price of $79.99.
Tammy D the Staples Customer Service Chat Representative then disconnected the chat conversation with me. Maybe I was asking too many questions?
Clearly, Staples is not the place to find the low price today. It is also not the place to find Customer Service.
