Staples

Went here to get a last minute graduation gift for my niece who was graduating high school last week. They had what I was looking for, which was one of those 3 ring binder/​nice looking planner things. They were a lot more expensive than they were a few short years ago when I bought one for myself, and the planner insert inside was from 2013, so I had to buy an up to date insert to put in it. The kid behind the counter was helpful though. They have a lot of great stuff, but if you ask me, they really need to come down n price, and update their stock.

It’s not a bad place, but it’s not a good place. Everything is organized pretty simply, and it’s easy to get around the store. However, they do offer carts, and it gets much more difficult to get around if you have a cart. I rarely see people shopping in Staples with a cart, though. Most everything is usually in-​stock when I want to purchase it.
The biggest problem here is customer service. It’s not great. I’ve had times where I was waiting in line for their EasyTech service, and after the person ahead of me was serviced, the employee walked away. I figured it must be something important and they’d be back, but after 15 minutes of standing at the counter with no help, I had to track down another employee.
Getting checked out here can take a long time. It’s partially the customer’s fault (not having things organized, not having their Staples Rewards information handy, etc.) but also partially the check-​out process’ fault. There’s a lot of steps and coupons that Staples wants to go through during check-​out, and it noticably slows things down. However, even at times where I’ve been 3^rd in the line of 7 people and waiting more than 10 minutes, I’ll see other employees walk by without hopping on a register, and it’s definitely frustrating.
On a brighter side, though, when I’ve had to return items here, they’ve always been great about their return policy. With the receipt, I’ve had no problems returning any defective or unwanted items (I accidentally got the wrong color once!). I also purchased one of their service plans for one of my office chairs. When it broke a couple months later, they fully refunded the cost so I could purchase another one. So that’s definitely some positives as well.
On another brighter side, their prices are fantastic with their price-​match policy. They’ll match many other online retailers at 110%, so I’ve come here in lieu of shopping online sometimes. I’ve never had a problem price matching. I also am a Staples Rewards member, and I’ve never had a problem earning nor using my rewards. So that’s gone smoothly. (But again, it does add more «steps» to the check-​out process that slows things down as mentioned above)
Final thoughts: I’ll continue using this Staples but only when I really want to deal with the hassle. I don’t like having to wait in line or feeling like I’m not a valued customer, but they also have good deals and haven’t done anything horrendously wrong. I’ll come back, but it’s definitely not my favorite place to shop.

I can’t say that I’ve had many good experiences at this Staples. When I moved to Ames over a year ago, I purchased a few things there and joined their rewards club. I purchased a printer with no issues.
When we were on the market for a new laptop, we found the one we wanted at Best Buy, but the Ames location didn’t have it in stock so we decided to go to Staples in lieu of driving to the Ankeny Best Buy. We looked at the computers on display-​of which there was not much selection-​and found a comparable touchscreen model that was a better price than what we found at Best Buy. But after we got if home we found out the one we purchased was not a touch screen. I went back to the store to check out their display because I was pretty sure I wasn’t crazy and that the model on display was a touchscreen and I was right. I should have known the price was too good to be true. When I approached a sales associate he looked at the display and informed me there was a mixup on the tag that was placed there. No apology was given but he did look up the correct model and let me know it would be another $ 150 – 200 to get the touchscreen model which would also have to be ordered. Needless to say I was very disappointed and probably should have returned it but my hubby was already personalizing it so we just kept it-​plus we earned 5% rewards cash that I thought we were going to be able to use for future ink purchases.
A few weeks later I returned for some ink so I could earn more points on my rewards card and attempted to use their reservation system so it would be ready for me to pick up when I got there. The confirmation email I received when I placed my reservation online is that it would be ready in 3 hours or less and when ready I would receive another email. I went 5 hours later after trying to call the store (with no luck) to get a status on my order because no confirmation email was received and it was not ready. When I inquired I was told that they had people call in and they didn’t have a chance to check their system. Again very disappointed. I did ask the cashier to suggest to management that they should not be offering services they can’t deliver.
Finally, I have been providing my rewards card for every purchase I have made since I received it. When I attempted to login to check my balance, I was told my acct number does not exist. When I emailed them through their website I did get a response but it was the same. My rewards number does not exist they suggested I call their customer service. At this point I think I am done with them. If I decide to pursue this it will be to get the rewards $ I should have coming and then I’ll just stick to Walmart, Target or Best Buy for my office needs

Staples are all pretty much the same. This one is no exception. Everything is where it should be, things are well-​organized, and aisles are labeled properly. The cashiers are a little slow.

When I’m in Ames, it’s more enjoyable to go the ISU Union Bookstore to browse around and if I need a pen or paper, to buy some cool Cyclone-​branded items. Yet there are times (like when my Parents run out of printer paper) when it’s better to head over to Staples and get what I need and where I expect to find it. This Staples is pretty much like any other and often times when you’re away from home, that sort of boring consistency is most welcome.