Apr 15
1
Customer Service from Staples Canada
In this age of squeezed margins at retail stores caused by mega online retailers like Amazon, customer service is generally one of the first things to go. Sometimes however, a person and the company they work for go above and beyond even old fashioned standards of customer service. In recent years, I have rarely experienced customer service like this so this experience has be noted and shared.
Earlier this week, my son came home from school and unpacked his laptop right in front of me to show me something he was working on. Upon opening up the laptop, he noticed the screen was cracked. He tried turning on the laptop but the crack made it inoperable. I told him don’t worry. Back when we purchased it (about 18 months ago) we paid for accident protection. All I have to do is find the receipt and we can get it repaired.
Finding the receipt proved more difficult than anticipated. I went to the file where it was suppose to be, but it wasn’t there though I did find another receipt for another computer purchased about the same time. I started going through all sorts of files and papers but to no luck. My mind raced all night, depriving me of sleep as I thought where that receipt might be. I continued my search again on Tuesday morning, but no luck. Then I had an idea.
I know I had purchased the laptop at a nearby Staples retail store. So I called the main Staples Canada number to ask if there was a way to get a copy of a past receipt if I knew which credit card it was purchased on and at which store. They said yes, but I’d have to go to store I purchased it at with the credit card and an near approximation of the date it was purchased on. The the store could request the receipt which would take about 5 days. That was a relief, but when did I buy it? Was it September, October or November 2013? Credit card statements should help find the exact date.
At least my credit card company has on-line copies of all my statements so I scanned them for a purchase in or around the cost of the laptop for those 3 months. I couldn’t find anything. I then remembered, Staples had sent me a special coupon as a replacement for a defective item that I had applied to the purchase of the laptop which dramatically reduced the amount charged to my credit card (which is why I couldn’t find it in the statements). I also remember that I used that coupon for the laptop within a week of getting it. I got back on the phone with Staples Canada, this time with the group that took care of my past problem.
I got someone named Sarah on the phone. She was a delight and listened to me as I explained my dilemma. She quickly found the date that the coupon was issued but couldn’t find the date it was used. With that titbit of information I found in my credit card statement a purchase 4 days later and told her about it. She told me to hold the line and she’d look something up. About 3 minutes later, she told me she couldn’t access the receipt, but had escalated the issue. She promised to call me back either way, but warned me it could take up to 2 days.
Less than 90 minutes later the phone rang and it was Sarah. She had located the receipt and yes it was the one for the laptop and the extended warranty. She then started the claim process and assured me everything was in order and not to worry about anything. She gave me a claim number and told me to take the laptop to any Staples store to arrange shipping. I dropped it off and it’s out for repair now.
Why is this Customer Service above and beyond expectations? The first time I called Staples they didn’t offer anything more than telling me to go to the store to get a copy of the receipt. This time Sarah not only helped me find out about the coupon date, she then offered to look up the receipt. When she couldn’t find it, she could have done nothing more and sent me the store route. Instead she took it upon herself to look for the invoice and when it didn’t come up in her system right away, she put in a request for it and then followed-up personally once the receipt was located.
Sarah could tell I was stressed out about the laptop and she not only did her job, she went beyond my expectations. Her demeanour the entire time was of a calm and caring person. I felt safe and comforted in her capable hands. In this day and age, where too many of us only focus on price and companies respond to that by lowering prices and subsequent support services, it is nice to see that people like Sarah and Staples Canada are still there to help.
The next time I try to compare prices at Staples to other retailers including online retailers like Amazon, I’m going to remember Sarah and make that part of the value add equation before I hand over my credit card for an online purchase.