randal K.
Total Incompetence and a waste of time
I bought several items at the Annapolis Office Depot today and had a very bad experience. When I placed the online order, which included two large foam boards, I used a discount that gave me 25% off. That discount was for signing up for communications from Office Depot. The receipt properly credited the discount against the total, but there were two problems. First, when I arrived to pick up the order, the two foam boards they had set aside for me to pick up were damaged beyond usefulness. The damage was obvious on both boards as the corners were bent in and there was other damage to both boards from mishandling. I was directed to the area where the foam boards were stocked in the store and found that the entire inventory of that size was damaged. As I was working on a project that needed to be final by Monday, I looked for other sizes to find a foam board that I could use. I did find a tri-panel foam board and realized I would have to buy it and try to adapt it into a solid piece. It was not what I needed or wanted but I took it. The cashier rang it up but would not give me the 25% discount that had applied to the original order. I asked to speak to the manager, and after 10 or 15 minutes of discussion, they finally agreed to give me the discount. The second issue was that the receipt for the original order contained a very large and prominent coupon: "You have an exclusive offer attached to your order. $10 OFF $30 from your qualifying regularly priced purchase. Valid to use today at pickup or on your next visit. . ." When I saw this on my computer I clicked on the coupon looking for any further information or a code that I could take with me. Nothing appeared and reading the Terms for use of the coupon, it did not set out any information that would somehow exclude use of the coupon. So I printed it out and took it with me to the store and bought additional items that totaled far more than the $35 required for use of the code. When I gave them the copy of the coupon at the register, they said that it could not be used without the electronic code that they said should accompany the printed copy of the receipt that accompanied the coupon. I indicated that I had clicked on the coupon when I saw it, expecting an electronic code or something else to take with me to claim the discount, but nothing appeared. The manager, Frank Stewart, said sorry, nothing he could do without the electronic code that would have appeared if I had clicked on the coupon when it appeared on the receipt on my computer. I told him that I had clicked on the coupon and no electronic code appeared. He told me that if he could see the coupon on a computer or on my phone, he would give me the $10. I explained that I didn't bring my computer or phone with me and he said that there was nothing he could do. I asked him to confirm that if I drove home, retrieved my phone, and returned to the store to show him the coupon, would he refund the $10. He said he would. I spent a good bit of time driving home, getting my phone and returning to the store. When I got there, I gave the phone, opened to the receipt and coupon and she clicked on the coupon and nothing happened. Then she said sorry, nothing we can do. I asked again to speak to the manager and reminded him that he assured me that if I went home to get my phone and presented the receipt with the coupon, he would refund $10. He took the phone and clicked on the coupon and nothing happened. Then he said that he could not refund the $10. I objected and asked if remembered that he had told me that if I drove home and brought back my phone, he would refund the $10. Then he and the woman at the register took another 10 minutes to figure out how to give me $10, and finally did something like give me a refund on another item I had bought, giving me $10 and some change. This whole thing wasted a huge amount of my time. I will never go into one of your stores again, and my next stop will be to write bad reviews about Office Depot on every forum I can find. You all are crooks.



