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Office Depot Lying to Customers?
[F]ormer Office Depot employees claim the company has widely told its workers to do things such as adding optional service plans onto clearance items without telling customers. One source says associates would accomplish this by altering pricetags in Photoshop to make the base price look a hundred dollars higher, thereby giving the store the credit for selling the add-on without the customer even knowing.
A Laptop Magazine investigation uncovered the accusations:
Since we published our article about Office Depot associates lying to customers last week, the company has issued an internal memo “reminding” employees not to lie to customers about notebook stock. We’ve also heard from and interviewed a number of additional Office Depot employees from different stores in completely different parts of the country who corroborated our primary source Rich’s account and added more detail, including new allegations that some associates alter the price of clearance items to include the cost of Product Protection Plans or Tech Depot Services.
One of the corroborating accounts:
One scenario in the tech department: I’m putting signs up … and a customer comes in and says ‘I just came from another store. They said you have this [notebook] in stock.’ So I’ll go and check it real quick and sometimes I will have it in stock, sometimes I won’t—and that is actual information. Sometimes I just don’t have it in stock and the other store lied to them. I’ll ask them first: ‘Where did you come from?’ And they’ll say what street or what part of town they came from, and I know all the store numbers so I pull it up and I can check their inventory in real-time and see that they have them [the notebooks] on hand and then I’ll ask them [the customer] did they talk to you about extended warranties or services and they’ll say ‘Yeah, yeah. I don’t need any of that. I just need a laptop.’ Then I know that’s what they did …
The other store will have it in stock, but send the customer to us, just to get them out of the store like they’re doing them a service. [They'll say something] like ‘Hey, I don’t have it, but they do and I really want you to get this laptop,’ so they can save their own store’s numbers.”
Buyer beware!
Via Techdirt, “These practices are quite illegal, and it looks like the report might trigger some FTC interest, especially given the multiple reports, suggesting that this isn’t just a few rogue employees.”
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6 Responses to “Office Depot Lying to Customers?”
Thats why I tell people never talk to sales reps at big box computer stores. Not only will they try to sell you service plans you dont need but also software packages that aren't necessary.
Ok, In 2006, I purchased a LCD cpmputer/TV mon. 599.00 minus a 100.00 rebate. You guessed it, never received the rebate, went by the store, they told me give it more time. went by again, they said give it more time. Then I brought the mon. back with my receipt and said when I purchased this monitor I thought I would be paying 499.00 not 599.00. so I want a refund or my rebate! They told me I was to late for a refund, hence them telling me to wait! and wait! and then to bad about the rebate, that's not there problem. Then asked me to leave the store.
Today I was looking for a bag for traveling with documents, and Offfice depot was right there, I swore I would never shop there again, but I ran in anyway. I found a clearance table that wow, had the bag I was looking for and a few other office supplies. When I went to purchase the the incident came to mind about the monitor I just laughed it off inside. The cashier said wow, your getting a good deal here,1 penny, I said great, and then he said I might get in trouble, let me call the manager, I said, what happen to what ever the computer rings it up as that's what you have to sell it for? Sure enough, the mang. comes and said, she (can't buy it,) anything that rings up 1 penny we are going to donate it. yet, the notebooks that were also 1 penny they sold to me. Office Depot will be the next one closing down or begging for money. Horrible customer service.
Ok, In 2006, I purchased a LCD cpmputer/TV mon. 599.00 minus a 100.00 rebate. You guessed it, never received the rebate, went by the store, they told me give it more time. went by again, they said give it more time. Then I brought the mon. back with my receipt and said when I purchased this monitor I thought I would be paying 499.00 not 599.00. so I want a refund or my rebate! They told me I was to late for a refund, hence them telling me to wait! and wait! and then to bad about the rebate, that's not there problem. Then asked me to leave the store.
Today I was looking for a bag for traveling with documents, and Offfice depot was right there, I swore I would never shop there again, but I ran in anyway. I found a clearance table that wow, had the bag I was looking for and a few other office supplies. When I went to purchase the the incident came to mind about the monitor I just laughed it off inside. The cashier said wow, your getting a good deal here,1 penny, I said great, and then he said I might get in trouble, let me call the manager, I said, what happen to what ever the computer rings it up as that's what you have to sell it for? Sure enough, the mang. comes and said, she (can't buy it,) anything that rings up 1 penny we are going to donate it. yet, the notebooks that were also 1 penny they sold to me. Office Depot will be the next one closing down or begging for money. Horrible customer service.
A. HALIM…
Your topic regarding to software penny stock sounds interesting compared to some articles i have read on Thursday ….
A. HALIM…
After reading several articles about penny stock information your article provided me with the right thoughts i was searching for….
Notebook Computer Stores…
Just dropping in to say hi, thanks for writing….