Office Depot Managers Encourage Lying to Customers, Say Employees

my dad works at an office depot. this whole warrenty thing is true........... but not at his store. but even though SOME office depots do this... there service is better that office max

Alright, let's educate the masses correctly here.

This is a common practice ANYWHERE. It's not by any means a practice by EVERYONE nor is it a pratice EVERYWHERE.

I happen to be a Tech Salesman at an OD. I personally take the consumer to a computer kiosk so they can see exactly how many of an item they inquire about we have left. I've scoured the store when unable to locate an item we supposedly have X number of left.

I offer the plans and for various LEGITIMATE reasons but never pressure or demand. I simply ask and list some of the benefits as I have had to use the same type of plans in the past. If I'm told no I may ask one last time as I take them to the register after retrieving the item from lock-up. That's it. The pc optimization and protection program is a benefit to a number of people for a number of reason (although I don't like the AV we HAVE to use so I offer an alternative where they can have us install it for the same amount we do McAfee and do the optimization for the amount it costs alone).

I will never deceive anyone to pad my paycheck. Karma is a bitch.

Now What OD does do that gets me is they place an add for a certain laptop at a certain price (via rebates that come from a company NOT AFFILIATED with OD and set forth from the MANUFACTURER) and ship you a minimal number (usually 3 -6 depending on warehouse inventory) PER STORE. We get a truck 4 days out of the week and may receive more. Now every time we have a laptop offered for $400+ after rebates we have a line waiting sunday morning and that laptop is usually gone within 3 minutes of the store opening.

Just my store. We have integrity. Sorry....

Generalization line is that way --------------------------->

As an OD employee (non-manager), it saddens me to see such negative feedback. Truth be told, we go through intensive Ethical Training to prevent the sales of technology items to be limited by mere "sales figures." Of course, we are still working on how to eliminate the unethical ones. The products we offer--including product protection plans, and tech services are there to enhance a customer's experience with that item, and we are warned on pain of termination that we are not to discriminate (i.e. turn away a sale) based on attachment rates of said services. I have personally seen managers fired for not heeding this. The OD mantra of "Delivering Solutions that Inspire Worklife (a culture of integration of your work and your life)" is what we are after AT THE CORE OF OUR BEING. This is a classic example of one bad apple spoiling the bunch.

BTW, I'm the computer guy offering antivirus services to little old ladies who don't know they need it. All windows computers will get a virus or spyware at some point in time. There's no need to spend more than a hundred dollars on software repairs, when it can be prevented by us, at less than the cost of buying the preventative software off the shelf. We also set up things "under the hood" to ensure that the computer runs well throughout its lifetime (I hate the windows registry system, and its inherent drawbacks).

Protection Plans do just that. All technology manufacturers offer is a LIMITED warranty (limited to defects in manufacturing and workmanship) that lasts often as little as 90 days. We offer plans that not only cost less than any single repair, but they cover any accidental damage, period (on portable electronics--and for two to three years at that). We are encouraged to sell these insurance plans (read: NOT EXTENDED WARRANTY) because they benefit the end user by providing coverage the manufacturer does not.

I can say with certainty that Office Depot is looking after the best interest of all their customers, and this is reflected in company policy. That said, I know of a few store managers who would rather make a buck than Take Care of Business. You know who you are, and you're giving us ethical, hard-working guys a bad name.

If you suspect that you are being given the runaround on an item's availability, please call the store before you go WITH THE ITEM NUMBER. It's a six digit number in the product's description in our advert. Say you are inquiring about the item's availability. If you find that you are being lied to, tell the district manager. We work way too hard to let some money hungry arseholes give us a bad rap.

There is nothing wrong with offering to take care of your computer's security, or to take care of the hardware when it fails, or to backup your computer, or to remove the viri/spyware when your system wasn't adequately protected, and we do charge for our services, but we are extremely competitve, and do offer these services at an affordable, flat rate.

Also, beware of the run of the mill "computer guy." Personally, I have fixed far too many computers to count, that were worked on by "the computer guy." Certifications are there for a reason. While all OD tech employees are not required to have them, all of our work is done by qualified, certified technicians. You get what you pay for, as the old adage goes, so be careful with cheap help. Although I love fixing a particularly troublesome computer, it'd be better for everyone involved to get qualified help from the get-go, like Office Depot's Support Specialists.

I encourage you to visit Office Depot, and take full advantage of what we offer.