Office Depot

This place is dirty, outdated, staff scattered throughout the store… not helpful. However Office Depot is one of those places you have to go to and know what you need before you get there. The cashier was really friendly, so one extra star for that. I do think corporate needs to clean this place up a little.

I recently went to Office Depot, where I was actually helped by the manager Fritz, what a nice guy, went out of his way to get me everything I needed, was very patient with me changing my mind back and forth for things, I really hope his supervisor reads this, I got A+ service, and will definitely make it my go to store for office supplies going forward.

Remember the old yellow pages ad jingle, Phone First? Of course you don’t.
Anyway, I was looking for a specific model laptop that according to Office Depot’s website was only available at a couple stores, none of which were close to me. Being a former boy scout (2 weeks in the service) I was preparing myself for the trip, so I phoned ahead. Yes, I called the store and asked if they had the unit and was told yes.
Let’s recap the phone call, shall we?
Me: Do you have xyz laptop?
Office Depot: Yes we do.
So I packed up my vehicle with provisions and headed off to my not-​so-​close destination, only to find when I got there that they did not have the laptop.
The floor sales rep Dave was actually quite apologetic, understanding and empathetic. He did his best to explain the situation, etc. etc. I then asked to speak to a manager, which is where the service went downhill.
Instead of getting a manager, I got an assistant manager (which I didn’t realize until it was pointed out to me after we left the store that he wasn’t an actual manager). Whatever. This guy was awful. He was argumentative, uncaring and completely lacking in empathy. He didn’t care one iota I drove over 30 miles to come to his store based on the premise of the product being there. He kept saying he would order it for me and ship it to me, which was a useless gesture, as I told him (several times) that I needed it that day. He of course then said it again. He was actually arguing with me over the possibility that someone could have come in and bought it in the 2 hour time frame from when I called to when I arrived. Arguing with the customer? Really? Is that what they teach you to do in assistant manager school?
Now I am realistic. When there is only one of anything in stock I realize it is a gamble. The computerized inventory could be wrong; someone could have bought it 4 minutes before I got in, etc.
But that is not the point. The point is the assistant manager was a complete and utter jerk, with no empathy skills whatsoever.
Sonjoy, if you read this… this means you.
They should demote this poor excuse of an employee and promote Dave, the sales rep I spoke with. He was actually understanding of my plight.
Office Depot should be ashamed to have such a poorly skilled person on the floor representing their company.
Dave’s professionalism helped this review be a 2 star instead of a 1 star.