Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A Big Freaking Annoying Inconvenience Thanks to Office Depot

Every once in a while, I appreciate the opportunity to complain. To much of it is bad news. But I'm annoyed and it's all because of Office Depot. And after all, what a great release writing is.

Yesterday:
Place an Office Depot order for materials I HAD to have this morning to complete a project on time.

Today:
1:15 p.m. Order hasn't arrived.
2:38 p.m. Order hasn't arrived.
3:31 p.m. Where the heck...?
4:14: p.m. I can't freaking believe it's still not here.
4:46 p.m. There are 14 minutes left until 5 pm.
5:00 p.m. Could it still come?
5:10 p.m. I'm a believer. Faith. I have faith.

Our receptionist had sent 3 e-mails and called.
I tweeted about it.

5:26 p.m. I call customer service. After going through the whole thing, I am disconnected.

5:32 p.m. Call back, ask for a manager. Which I never get. So tell me again why you didn't give me a manager? Is it because it's after 5:00 p.m.?  Well I'm here after 5:00 p.m. because you didn't deliver the stuff. (And this was the first night in a while I was actually going to leave on time.)

So after cancelling the order, I stop at Office Max to pick up everything that obviously may or may not ever be delivered by Office Depot and to get equipped for a fun night of work that I was supposed to do today. Here's what happens:

The SECOND I walk in "Hello, ma'am, how are you today? What can I help you find?"
He takes me right to what I need.
On the way up to the register not one but TWO representatives offer to help me carry the stuff.
The cashier offers to help me carry it out to the car.

Office Max, you're my hero. Office Depot, you're so dead to me.

And world, I know there are much bigger problems than whether an order was delivered on time. But just entertain my aggravation for one small moment.  And then let's move on to happy things...

Don't you hate it when a company doesn't fulfill its end of the bargain and it affects your productivity or your work?

12 comments:

Menopausal New Mom said...

I can just feel your frustration hearing that clock tic down the hours while you are trying to stay calm about items that should have been delivered ages ago. Sounds a little like me waiting for my delayed luggage in Hawaii.

This happens so much more than is necessary and yes, although it's not the biggest problem in the world, the frustration can probably take years off your life if anyone bothered to check.

Glad it worked out. Aren't blogs a great place to unload :)

Deb

Leah said...

Glad that you found a savior... I shop at Office Max too.

Sometimes, I don't trust deliveries anymore, I just go to the store and pick up the stuff I need. Especially here in Manila, where the usual excuse by delivery guys is the traffic. Yes, everybody knows about the horrendous traffic in the metro so if the delivery is efficient, they have to leave early to get the goods delivered on time.

Have a great day! xoxo

KB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KB said...

You have every right to fume - that's just poor management at your local Office Depot. You should send them a copy of this post and let them know you're not a customer anymore.

You say it may not be a big problem, but look at it this way: every time customer service fails that's one less brick in the foundation of our economy. That is a big problem, and if no one complains the problem just keeps getting bigger. You'll do your country a favor if you give them a blast that can be heard all the way over to Office Max. (My favorite too.)

bernthis said...

nothing annoys me more than bad customer service. I swear if I can go somewhere else I do and if I got such great service as you did, I would be a loyal customer for life

Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl said...

I hate hate hate bad service! Hearing your story makes me evn more thankful for experiencing some truly brilliant srvice with UPS yesterday. I'm glad the service at Office Max was good!!

nursemyra said...

I've heard that tweeting or blogging about bad service really makes companies sit up and take notice - hope it works in this case.

Maureen@IslandRoar said...

Yes, now we're thrilled when we get the right service. So Frustrating! Glad you got what you needed.

Erica@PLRH said...

I've had the same "service" from Office Depot as well.

Anonymous said...

Oh, how frustrating!I hate it when I don't receive things on time and they are needed by a deadline!

Poindexter said...

Yes, it is so aggravating! Darn it all! As if the deadlines you have stacked up already aren't stressful enough - who needs an added layer of stress from paper products? Hope everything works out :)

btw, the professional fence is very nice. Sturdy, looks great, very secure gate. Wasn't exactly what I had hoped for, in terms of aesthetic design, but chalk that up to a failure to communicate clearly. 1/3 of the interior of the back yard is now fenced just for the dogs' use when we're not there to supervise. We wanted to prevent accidental drownings because the dogs have developed this habit of taking drinks from the swimming pool. But I don't think any of them would be able to get out of the pool if they fell in.

If Flanders loves to lounge around outdoors in the yard, then a fence might be a good idea for y'all. With 5 dogs and 1 cat, we don't have a choice - they need the space!

Marvin said...

I am such an anal control freak, I never let myself get cornered like that. I either finish the project ahead of time, or if I cannot do that, then I go and physically get what I need, myself. I don't trust anyone to follow through on their job when it's my necks on the line. I do it myself, to make sure it's done right. Just like evil Zorg, in "The Fifth Element," trying to blow up the spaceliner. "If you want something done right, do it yourself!" My motto. ;-)))))