This is honestly one of the worst Staples stores I’ve ever visited. From the manager to the floor staff, there was an obvious lack of respect toward customers—whether intentional or not. Their attitude came across as dismissive, unprofessional, and at times even discriminatory.
I went there specifically for an item that was on clearance. Many people had already confirmed the markdown, and I was willing to drive 20–30 minutes just to purchase it. But once the manager brought the item down from the shelf and realized how deeply discounted it was, he suddenly became unwilling to sell it.
What was even more surprising is that the manager himself didn’t even know the item had been marked down. Instead of reflecting on why a customer would know the store’s pricing better than he did—and why a manager wouldn’t know the price of his own inventory—he acted as if we were somehow taking advantage of Staples.
This item had already gone through multiple markdown cycles without being sold, yet when an actual customer finally wanted it, the staff made excuses and tried to block the sale. They didn’t seem to understand that clearing out old inventory is exactly what they should be doing. And the irony is: if this item doesn’t sell, Staples ends up wasting even more money shipping it back to a warehouse.
People often say online retailers are killing brick-and-mortar stores. But the truth is, many physical stores are hurting themselves because of a few rude or unprofessional employees who drive customers away. Over the past few years, Staples locations across the country have been closing one after another. I doubt the corporate office realizes that some closures are caused not by competition, but by managers and staff who simply do not know how to treat customers.
When customers choose online shopping, it’s often because they don’t have to deal with this kind of unpleasant behavior. And sadly, experiences like this only accelerate the decline of stores like this one