Howard A.

Went into the store on Monday to order an office chair - was told the item was in stock in the warehouse and would be delivered to my home on Friday between 9 and 5.

Friday came and went. Received an automated e-mail on Monday informing me that there was no stock of the item, and that my order was cancelled. No notice saying they have more on the way and I should expect it in x-xx days. Just cancelled!

Called customer service right away on Monday. They apologized, and said that they actually did have stock after all (there were apparently 54 at that time), and that I could place another order over the phone. Was asked for my credit card again. I thought ok, mistakes happen. Place an order a second time. Was told I the chair would be delivered the following day (Tuesday) between 9 and 5 pm, so once again made arrangements for someone to be at my home office to receive the chair. On Tuesday, the Staples truck DOES show up, but they're not delivering a chair. Apparently they were here to pick up a RETURN for an office chair. Later that day, I receive another automated e-mail stating that my second chair order has been cancelled due to the item being out of stock. WTF?

Called customer service yet again on Tuesday. Spoke to Keith this time. Explained the situation to him. He apologized and said he was going to call Cindy. Cindy is apparently the staff member who has the e-mail address of someone who works in the warehouse. One gatekeeper who relies on an e-mail inquiries to check warehouse stock. Are you kidding me? Staples clearly does not understand the importance of investing in a quality business process management system. Their inventory is not reconciled with their supply chain which means they have no idea when out of stock items will be replenished (or whether or not they are even on order). Keith assured me he would be in touch by phone or e-mail by the end of the day on Tuesday.

It's Wednesday. No e-mail/phone call from Keith. Called customer service yet again. I'm given the same run around treatment. "Must call Cindy. Cindy must e-mail the warehouse. Warehouse must reply to Cindy. Cindy must call the Customer Service Rep back. Customer service rep must get back to me." Doesn't this sound insane to you? In this day and age with all the cheap and readily available technology that can instantly make these kind of problems go away?! I'm baffled and so unimpressed! Goodbye Staples. Never again!