Staples

Their «easy tech» department is ridiculous, the two guys i spoke with at the PB store were arrogant and snappy. They put me on hold and then eventually hung up on me. I had my credit card out waiting for them to get back to me to take my payment. I guess i’ll be taking my business elsewhere.

I used to go to this location but while they’re closed, I’ve been going to Beach Mailbox down the street. They’ve been taking care of my printing and copying for me. It’s about the same price but Sema at beach mailbox is much nicer than the staples staff ever was.

This Staples location will reopen in March 2015… according to an article in the Beach & Bay Press, Thursday July 24, 2014 paper. Trader Joes will take theformer Staples location and the new Staples will be next door.
I have bought many office supplies from this location and they have always had what I needed.
The cashiers are always quick and being in line you never have to wait more than just a few minutes.

They always have great coupon deals that we save and stack up when we wanna buy something, usually saving more than we spend. Go here for work supplies mostly and nothing too special. It’s weird but they always seem to be out of the thing we need «We just stopped carrying that item» seems to be the standard response. Sometimes the staff is helpful, other times u can’t find then at all. Think office ghost town. Ease of access from the main road and easy to find.

Feel ripped off after taking pc here. Now i go to Fresh Tech on Hornblend by 24hr fitness for computer supplies/​repair. Its a lot cheaper yet they have better service than Staples

The staff at our local store have been exemplary, and the supply of items have been plentiful. I appreciate the professionalism and assistance from each person.

I went to staples to make a quick purchase before I head to work. I got the item I needed and went straight to the register but there was a long line with one register open. And I noticed the lady calling for someone for help to get the line moving but no one came to open the second register to assist her and i did see another sales associate walking around in the store. Are you guys short staffed? If so you guys need to hire more people who are reliable and responsible. I wouldve given this staples only one star but the customer service from the lady on the register was great. I believe her name was alyssa. Good job! But other than I wouldnt recommend this staples at all.

15 month long nightmare!!!
–Do NOT take your computer to their «Tech Support» Department!–
I originally took my HP notebook into them LAST January – Yes, meaning January 2013 – when it [my laptop] showed a message stating it need a new internal battery and shut down. I relayed what the message had said to Staples’ «qualified staff» in their «Easy Tech» department and paid them the diagnostic charge.
Within a few days I received a phone call from one of these «qualified» employees; who informed me that my notebook did not need a new internal battery; however it did require a new motherboard. Not being a computer-​expert by ANY means, I had put my faith in Staples and their staff, so I trusted this diagnosis and paid them more money to go ahead and order a new motherboard and install it.
(This process took several weeks.) $ 240 later; I got the phone call informing me that my laptop was fixed and ready for pickup. As soon as I got it home and plugged it in; it presented with the exact same message it had displayed months before regarding the internal battery and promptly shut down. I went right back to Staples Tech counter and told the young guy what happened. And I got to see the «oh shit”-expression on his face and his coworkers’ as they realized I had not needed a new motherboard at all. I left my laptop with them again, to order and replace the internal battery. Which they did do, over the course of weeks, as well as damaging two separate parts on my computer. They broke the CD drive and the touch screen control strip at the top of my keyboard. They ordered the parts and fixed what they broke. It had been about 6 – 7 months at this point. I took my laptop home; had it for about a week; when the motherboard (the one Staples unnecessarily installed) crashed. I, again, took it back to Staples’ Easy Tech department. I had to leave my laptop with them again while they ordered a replacement motherboard. More months passed. I was told that THREE motherboards they ordered, arrived at their store defective. I was told that TWO arrived with water damage??? In either November or December 2013; eleven or twelve months after initially bringing in my computer and paying $ 240, the store finally sent my computer out to be worked on. I finally got my HP laptop returned to me in January 2014 and told it was unfixable. The manager said he was only authorized to compensate me with $ 100 toward a new computer; even though I paid them $ 240 (and I had already; finally; purchased a new computer from Best Buy) and told me I would need to contact their District Manager Charles Douglas if I wanted more compensation than that. Which I do. I want my money back. Last I spoke with Charles Douglas was right before Christmas and just before he left on vacation. I didn’t have my computer returned and declared broken until January. I have not been able to get ahold of him since. I have left countless messages. I have stopped in the store and spoken with the assistant manager. The assistant manager left me a message saying that he had spoken with Mr. Douglas who claimed he has been trying to call me. I have received no missed call nor voice message from him. I’ll be emailing the CEO and Customer Service department a link to this review/​horror story. As well as forwarding one to Charles Douglas. Point is, if you decide to put your faith in this store’s tech department: you have been warned.
Booooo Staples

Allow me to go «East Coast» on your ass…
Today, I called asking whether a specific item was in stock, a WorldCard Pro business card reader, rated #1 in 2014 for business card readers. After waiting for over a minute on the phone, a woman answered and asked me what I wanted. I told her I wanted to know if they had a «WorldCard Pro business card scanner» in stock. She came back in over a minute (again) and told me they had «linen but no wool»…funny, yes, but a bit frustrating and more than a bit concerning based on my query.
She came back, again in over a minute, and told me yes they had a «WorldCard Pro business card scanner» in stock. I drove to the store to buy it but no one knew what I was talking about. The only card scanner they had was also a receipt scanner — very fancy, overpriced for about $ 399 — NOT what I was looking for.
So, my advice is, «dig the shit out of your ears»! Ask questions if you’re uncertain what the customer is asking for. But, don’t waste my fucking time again, or it will be your last opportunity!
Sincerely,
Gary D. Miner

This review is about the IT side of the business. The retail layout and print shop are fine, however, as a former
CEO I know a lot about assessing IT prowess and manners & this team did not meet basic expectations.
First, I called and spoke to Billy Lui the assistant manager and told him my PC wouldn’t start. Being experienced I told him I was pretty sure it was a dead hard drive and asked him what would it cost to diagnose this? I was told there would be no charge. I asked again to confirm this and he said no charge. When I get to the store, not only did Billy tell me there actually is a $ 69 diagnostic charge (they must check everything even if we think its just the hard drive), he actually had the temerity to accuse me (his potential customer) of willfully misinterpreting what he said over the phone. I find this surprising when the usual credo for service based businesses is that «the customer is always right». According to Billy NOT only are customers NOT right, they are LYING to him. It’s even more surprising to suggest that I could misinterpret the statement «There is no charge to diagnose your computer problem». It be one thing perhaps if I was a poorly dressed college student, but here I was clearly a 50’s executive who lives in La Jolla. I have better things to do than lie and while $ 69 is not a big deal, its really the principle of being misled. Did Billy finally relent? Oh no he went the full 9 yards and insisted on charging me, but as an after thought agreed to apply the $ 69 towards any repair. Ever hear of the term bait and switch? That’s what this felt like. So guess what? It turns out the drive is bad. Billy insists that he needs to not only replace the hard drive, but that any system data he can recover from the hard drive will be suspect so he needs to do a full re-​install of the system, etc etc. His hard drive proposed cost and repair exceed by about $ 150 the cost of getting a new computer. Is this really what it should cost? No, I know better but the prices are pretty inflated even for the parts. However, I’m already out $ 69 courtesy Billy’s little trick there. I figure we could perhaps apply the $ 69 to his reinstall of Windows 7 & figure I will install my own hard drive and save the $ 90 charge for that too (it’s about 15 minutes of labor so unless this work is worth $ 360/​hour they are very pricey). I explain to Billy, that I would like to do some of this myself and will come back. He assures me that they will have a full record and remember to apply the $ 69 when I return. However, at my insistence he begrudgingly makes a copy of the order with the statement that the $ 69 is to be applied to other work.
Guess what Billy is not there when I return. Was he fired? No he was promoted. Did anyone remember or have any record of the $ 69 and that it was supposed to be applied. Nope. Its a good thing I insisted I get a copy of this in writing as they were already arguing against covering this. I am certain they WOULD NOT have honored it had I not found the copy and showed it to them. The other thing I should say at this point is that when I removed the casing to replace the drive I found screws missing and one screw that was only half way screwed in. These were the screws holding the hard drive to the chassis. This is really shoddy work. Do you know what happened when I pointed this out to Jestin and asked that they replace the screws (remember Billy is gone now)? Do you think they believe or honor customers? Nope Jestin found a tech who insisted that the screws were missing (he actually remembers the screws, but not the $ 69. I’d laugh, but this is so contradictory its really sad). So he accuses me of losing the screws? He wants to charge me like $ 90 to open the computer and put the screws back in (about 10 minutes work tops). So now I realize it’s not just Billy and Jestin’s policy to screw customers & to tell them they are criminals and then nickel and dime them for every little thing. No it’s actually company policy. So would I recommend their IT service? NO!!! First, they can’t even put the machine back together properly without losing screws. Second its pretty clear they are NOT customer oriented. They seem to be so profit driven that they have forgotten to care for their customers. So how much would it have costed to install Windows 7 (which takes very little work, you just need the CD) $ 99. Turns out it costs less to get the CD from Amazon and do it yourself. Are they really providing any valuable service here? I’m struggling to find the answer to that question. My advice if your computer is broken, DO NOT BRING IT TO STAPLES.

WoW this is the worst service out their even the manager has no idea whats going on in her own store. Their is way to many other stores of this nature so stay clear of this one AT ALL COST maybe we will be lucky and they will close this one!!!

I called after hours and there was a woman by the name of Samantha who answered the phone rudely. I asked to talk with someone in the print center and she bluntly said we’re closed I was surprised and apologized for calling late even though its only 6pm on a Monday and then the phone disconnected.
I called back to ask her if that’s how she treats all customers. She said she didn’t hang up on me and said she’s busy closing up the store. I understood this and was ready to leave it alone and then she hung up on me again.
I hope someone from the store, like a manager that cares about the image of their company and location, reads this and addresses her appropriately.
This location is conveniently located and I’ve been here multiple times but now I won’t be back to another staples.

If I could give minus stars i would. How can salesman be so out of touch with their products and the population they sell to. They were wrong about the capabilities and performance of their products and the two salesman i spoke to contradicted each other so much that i didn’t know whom to listen to. They clearly are just salesman in this store and not tech savy. I went to this store because i was willing to pay more rather than wait in line at Frys or Best Buy– Big Mistake. And i don’t think they are trustworthy either. They were a total waste of my time and money. Don’t let them them be a waste of yours.

Props to Billy Liu (assistant manager) and his team today. There was an issue with the copy center (equipment failure, no fault of the team there) and not only did he jump on board to try to fix it, he was apologetic and did right by me in the end. Actually, multple people there tried their best to pitch in.
Except for Nordstroms, many of us often don’t think of big retail spots as having good customer service. I have no idea what the experience is at other Staples, but the guys in the PB store are on it.
They also have Twizzler Cherry Bites, which more often than not I buy on my way out the door and ruin my appetite.
Thanks again Billy, I’m stoked on your team.
My previous review from 2010 below.
——
I’ve been here a few times and gotten pretty good service. Today I went and it could be because they redesigned the store, but everyone was exceptionally nice and looking to help me out finding what I needed.
In the past my needs were pretty basic, but I did have some questions about a printer and one of the sales people who has been there a few years (forget name, but tall guy, long-​ish hair) seemed to know a lot about what he was talking about and made some good recommendations.
People drive somewhat nuts in the parking lot, but that’s not Staples fauly.

I was looking for Dial antimicrobial soap and surprisingly, this Staples location carries it in store. (You can check online to see which Staples locations carry items.) Home Depot didn’t even carry Dial onsite, only online. Lucky for me, I was also emailed a 15% off coupon for cleaning supplies, so I saved money on my purchase as well.
Knowing what I needed, I walked in and headed towards the back of the store (I’d never been in there before, but assumed the cleaning products were in back). Someone working there asked if I was looking for something in particular and told him Dial antimicrobial soap and he wasn’t sure if they carried it, but led me to the cleaning section. There it was!
The transaction at the register was quick and friendly. I even got another coupon.
My experience here was quick and pleasant. The lot is also big so parking is ample. I suggest anyone purchasing items from Staples join their rewards program. It’s free and they email you coupons every week.

Short and sweet:
I like how they have a Staples Rewards program where you can recycle your ink cartridges and get a $ 2 email rebate for each recycled cartridge.
And … BOOM goes the dynamite.

You’ve normally got to leave PB for just about anything that isn’t booze or a bikini so I was stoked when they moved into the neighborhood. It’s easy to get in and out — no long lines or parking problems.
They’re surprisingly competitive on electronics prices, just watch the ads and they carry a lot of the same products as Best Buy — cameras, PCs, printers, GPSs, cell phones, etc. In the last year I’ve bought a printer, cell phone, laptop, camera and a variety of other goodies at the best price in town without leaving PB.
I’ve had a number of good experiences with the staff which is the only reason I’m reviewing a nationwide chain and giving them the thumbs up.
My only complaint about Staples is that so many of their products are made in China. They’re making a killing on low cost high markup items. Beware of the bargain bins and read the labels. You can go next door to CVS or Vons and buy similar products made in America.

Stopped by this Staples to pick up some ink for my printer, and some Marcal toilet paper (which is made of 100% recycled paper, and why don’t supermarkets carry this?) since i had a 10% off coupon sent to my email. I’d never been to this store before, but my general navigation sense got to find my needed items. While walking through the store with my cart, i passed a few of the staff, but none of them welcomed me or asked me if I needed any assistance in finding stuff. Maybe I looked like I knew what i was doing, but usually other Staples’ stores have a little bit friendlier staff.
It took at least two calls by the one open cashier to get another staff person to come and open up a second checkstand when the line got to be «long» — at least 3 or 4 customers. Not enough staff during the middle of the day?
I got my ink and toilet paper, got my discount, and dropped off my old ink cartridge for $ 3 rebate (which is no longer applied immediately, but sent in the mail).
I chose this location because it was convenient for my other errands, and I had guessed it would be larger (and thus more likely to carry what i needed) than the La Jolla Village Square Staples (and indeed, it was larger), but if you want the best selection, and slightly more helpful staff, probably go to the Kearny Mesa Staples, next to 163, south of Balboa.

Staples gets 5 stars from me based on the experience I had when I chose them to fix my laptop. My hard drive crashed, and, after polling some friends for their opinions, I ended up choosing to take my computer to Staples based on its convenient PB location.
The price for a middle-​sized new hard drive plus the service to install it was somewhere between $ 110 and $ 140; I don’t remember the exact bill amount. I was OK with this price, and the service I received was fast and personable. The whole experience was completely stress-​free for me, which was the most important thing. The best part is that my computer was handed back to me less than 48 hours later in ready-​to-​go form – installed with MS Office, antivirus software, and loads of applications.
I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to this Staples location should I need computer help in the future.

(I’m on hold as I type this, trying to find out how much a certain HP printer cartridge costs.)
The stupid girl answers the phone.
I tell her what I need… I speak s-​l-​o-​w-​l-​y and c-l-e-a-r-l-y…‘HP Black Ink Cartridge number 9−2−0′…
she repeats back to me, ‘9−6−0′?
uhhhh nooooo.
We get through that mess and she puts me on hold…
Finally, she comes back on the phone and tells me that the COLOR cartridge is $ 14.99.
OH. MY. GOD.
How does this girl make it in her everyday life?
I’m still on hold waiting for the price for the BLACK INK Cartridge.
Bah. I’m going to Costco!