# Why is Staples doing better than Office Depot, and OfficeMax even worse than that? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474 "2009-02-04T21:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/21 "2009-02-05T06:52:48Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Staples has a major advertising deal with _The Office_, which is the greatest show to ever air on cable television. I certainly wouldn’t attribute this as a sole factor for their success, but it probably has at least a small degree of influence or they wouldn’t be paying all that money. Sorry, but no show with blatant product placement, especially to the point where it affects the plot, is the greatest anything on any type of television. Maybe Telemundo, but I don’t speak Spanish, so I can’t say for sure. Also, NBC is broadcast TV, not cable. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/22 "2009-02-05T12:53:25Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Except, like many chains, the Buffalo area. No Staples stores to be found, even though they’re in Rochester and Erie. They moved to Charlotte, like everyone else from Buffalo. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/23 "2009-02-05T14:38:07Z")
We have a mix of the 3 throughout the twin cities. 3 Staples, 5 Office Max, 5 Office Depot. I really can’t tell the difference in any of them. I know where most are located but couldn’t tell you which ones are which. “Is there an office supply store around here?” “Yep, up the street on the left.” “Is it an Office Max, Office Depot, or Staples?” “I have no idea. It’s an office supply store.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/24 "2009-02-05T14:41:54Z")
There aren’t any in Greater St. Louis either. Their store locator doesn’t give a pin map, so we can’t see the big national picture. Both Office Max & Depot opened a shit-load of stores around here in the last 5 years, and now several Depots are closing. The Depots’ 50% off giveaway sales aren’t exactly helping the Maxs’ margins. They both suck. But at least around here, Max sucks a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/25 "2009-02-05T14:46:44Z")
I can never tell the difference between any of them. There’s an office supply store near me which I shop at regularly (ie., at least once a month) and _I have no idea which of the three chains it is._ However, I do like those “Easy Button” commercials. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/26 "2009-02-05T16:27:16Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Speaking of their stock, I’m reminded of an amusing anecdote. Once I went into a Staples to actually buy staples. This particular location was having some sort of major building renovation done and I don’t think they were quite operating at full capacity. I couldn’t find them so I asked a clerk, and she informed me that they were out. Yes, _Staples was out of staples_. > > For the most part they seem like a good enough store but I’ll never forget that incident. 😃 The same thing happened to me! The Staples on Route 1 in Saugus, MA, didn’t have any staples. No signs of a renovation at the time. The teenage clerk I asked about it didn’t see the irony. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/27 "2009-02-05T16:51:38Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I can never tell the difference between any of them. There’s an office supply store near me which I shop at regularly (ie., at least once a month) and _I have no idea which of the three chains it is._ [/QUOTE] Around here, the scheme was: Dark, dingy and blue, lit primarily by skylights in the warehouse roof? Office Depot Appearing to be perpetually under construction, impossible to find anyone for help, only one cashier? Office Max Bright, red, greeted when you walk in, able to find stock and help? Staples Pretty easy \ to tell where you were. And yes, Staples has our corporate business. It \*\*is \*\*easy - they let you designate your favorite items, so you can just log in, click on your specific toner cartridge without having to search for it, click on the particular kind of paper, click done, and get on with something else. They obviously asked administrative assistants about what they’d like and dislike in a supply ordering system, and paid attention. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/28 "2009-02-05T16:54:11Z")
Huh. I was under the impression that all three used some variation of red and white as their corporate colors. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/29 "2009-02-05T17:06:50Z")
I’ve found that the customer service and atmosphere of Staples is leagues better than the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/30 "2009-02-05T19:02:28Z")
I haven’t been to an Office Depot in years, but Office Max consistently had - at best - disinterested staff. I’ve always had good luck with the Staples staff. I’ve also been very pleased with the technology accessories (USB drives, etc) that I’ve found on sale there - well below everyone else’s prices. But one dig at Staples: at least at the store I most frequent, they are going overboard on the _Staples_-branded products. One example: reams of paper. 90+% (no exaggeration) of this store’s shelf space is occupied by _Staples_ brand paper. While I like the store, I am no fan of their store brand, and find them of average quality at best, and substandard at worst. I’m dismayed that I can’t find my favorite brands/lines of paper at the store. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/31 "2009-02-05T19:13:56Z")
You guys must have way different Staples than we do here. Here the Staples people are uniformly rude and surly assholes, you can’t get any help, you can’t find anything, and if you could find it they’d be out of it. Office Depot has the friendly people and the store you can figure out. Office Max closed. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/32 "2009-02-05T19:26:34Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Except, like many chains, the Buffalo area. No Staples stores to be found, even though they’re in Rochester and Erie. OT, but maybe that’s a potential spinoff thread. There are a number of national chains which don’t have a Buffalo branch, even though they might have branches in Cleveland or Erie or Rochester, which have similar demographics and economy. One in particular I’m thinking of is Sonic, because ads for Sonic are all over local TV stations, and you can even buy Sonic giftcards in the bookstore on campus here. But the nearest Sonic is in Cleveland. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/33 "2009-02-05T19:31:45Z")
There’s 3 office supply stores near me but I’m not sure who they are. I’ll give my assesment first then look them up to see who they are. #1- Older, dingy, lots of odd non-office related merchandise, open box items. #2- Older but nicer, cleaner, very organized. #3- Very new, carpeted, eager staff, seemed to have a lot of computer stuff. Now I’ll look them up… … Interesting All 3 of them are Office Max ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/34 "2009-02-05T20:56:13Z")
Many years ago, I worked in one of the call centers for Staples. I started out on the phones, taking orders, and worked my way around the place, and through promotions. It was a good place to work, although one boss described it as a “white collar factory”, which isn’t necessarily bad, and I enjoyed it, and learned much. That said, I really don’t have anything bad to say about it – but to try to answer the OP’s question – the company was agressive in pleasing customers. The phone reps had a real sense of empowerment, doing pretty much whatever was necessary to make sure we got the sale (and repeat business). There was a limit of course, you don’t give away the store, but if you have to send out a $10 coupon because we told a customer an order would be delivered the next day, and it wasn’t (and it was demonstrably the company’s fault), then you’d send out that coupon. As I said, there was a limit: if there’s a blizzard in NYC, and traffic can’t get through, then we’d apologize, and pretty say you’re SOL (diplomatically). But the company worked extremely hard to fulfill the next day delivery promise (order by X:00 o’clock, and it’ll be delivered next day). So service and value were very high on the list. Please your customers, and they’ll come back. It didn’t hurt that Staples also pioneered the “instant” office supply store concept: they started in 1986, and by 1997 were a billion dollar company. Now, with all that, the short answer (too late!) IME was we focused on giving the customer good service and value for their money. After all, at least at the time I was there , the target was the small office (fewer than 50, and as few as 2, or even 1, employees, and I’m sure it’s the same now). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/35 "2009-02-05T22:11:37Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > Now, with all that, the short answer (too late!) IME was we focused on giving the customer good service and value for their money. I have trouble believing that it’s any different for any store. 😛 Really, is anyone giving their CSRs a pep talk before the door opens that goes, “Come on, guys! Let’s give them fair customer service, poor selection, and make sure they overpay for it, okay? Go, team!”? … Well, okay…maybe Best Buy… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/36 "2009-02-06T00:05:05Z")
I think Staples is pretty damn expensive for some things, like receipt rolls, for instance. We were buying 10-packs of thermal rolls for $30 from Staples, and recently I found an online vendor that sold me 2 cases of 100 rolls for $228. Their computer stuff looks pretty pricey, too. Altogether though, it’s generally a pleasant experience shopping there. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/37 "2017-03-09T17:59:03Z")
I’m resurrecting this thread because the tide has completely shifted. I for one loath Office Depot but loved Staples. They always appeared to carry better quality materials. So why are they the ones snow truggling? Is this another case of the bean counters getting their way: lowering quality to increase profits, causing a temporary lift, but ultimately killing the company as more people get disgusted with the quality drop. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/38 "2017-03-09T18:22:08Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I think Staples is pretty damn expensive for some things, like receipt rolls, for instance. We were buying 10-packs of thermal rolls for $30 from Staples, and recently I found an online vendor that sold me 2 cases of 100 rolls for $228. > > Their computer stuff looks pretty pricey, too. > > Altogether though, it’s generally a pleasant experience shopping there. If you’re going to Staples to buy computer labels, they don’t expect you to want to buy hundreds of dollars worth. They think that you’re only going to want to buy enough to get you through until you can find a better price. That’s how they make their money. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/39 "2017-03-09T19:10:23Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > So why are they the ones snow truggling? Best typo of the month. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474/40 "2017-03-10T01:07:08Z")
On the Left Coast of the Great White North, Staples seems to reign supreme. What I miss are the higher-end stationery stores that have been driven out of business as a result. No leather binders or quality papers or handy vellum scrolls to be found there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-staples-doing-better-than-office-depot-and-officemax-even-worse-than-that/484474.md?page=3)