Staples has annoyed me.
3:01AM, December 19, 2007 - [ Permalink]
I have a video project that requires me to send out about forty DVDs in the mail to individuals. So, I went to Staples to get some dual-layer disks (long video, I know!), padded envelopes, CD/DVD labels, cases. Would you believe that out of all that, all they had in stock were 3 and 5 packs of dual layer dvds?
We dropped into the Future Shop and got the DVDs (3 packs of twenty), and a case of cases (100). We dropped all that off at home and then walked over to the Rideau Centre to see if Grand & Toy had what we needed - nope.
Tracey started poking around the Internet to see what she could find and saw that Staples had them available online, and if we ordered then, we would get them the next business day (in this case, Tuesday). So, we ordered the supplies and I edited the video, created the DVD, rendered it all out, and ran off the copies (I'm thinking of getting another burner, because this took *forever*).
The online receipt says they will deliver sometime between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Good thing I did not have to be anywhere today, but they should be here early enough to mail the disks out today.
Around one thirty, I get a call saying that they do not actually have any envelopes, but will deliver the labels today. If I want the envelopes, I can try again in five days. By four, I am starting to wonder, so I call Staples to see. They say that it will be delivered today, and everything looks okay with the order, which confuses me, considering the pervious phone call.
I hop onto the Staples website, and check my order - which still shows everything as coming.
So, I wait.
...and wait...
By 6:30 PM, Tracey and I agree they are not coming, so we head off to run a few errands and check to see if Grand & Toy have what I am looking for. Fortunately, they do, and it cost *less* than what I ordered from Staples.
We get home, print the labels, apply them, and start stuffing the padded envelopes.
Then, I called Staples to cancel my order. I was on hold for approximately twenty minutes, enduring forty cycles of twenty seconds of unspecific new-age music, followed by ten seconds of "You call is important...". When I explained my situation and that I wanted to cancel my order, she was pretty prompt about it.
I suspect they have to process a lot of order cancellations.
How could this have been prevented? Many companies have websites where the product information reflects what is actually in stock. Why did Staples wait until halfway through their delivery window to contact me and let me know they did not have what I needed? This tells me they didn't even look at my order until then. I have a funny feeling that the warehouse doesn't use computers.
Don't tell me you can deliver something by a certain time and then don't. It just irks the hell out of me. I will probably never buy from Staple's website again.
But, at least all the DVDs are ready to be shipped when I get up in a few hours, so people should start getting them as early as tomorrow. Yay!
-
And now for something completely unrelated, check out the new Bytown Bluegrass website.
