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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 1
OFFICEMAX CUSTOMER SERVICE PROBLEMS ............................................................................ 3
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 3
SECONDARY RESEARCH.............................................................................................. 3
PRIMARY RESEARCH ................................................................................................. 8
DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................... 11
WHAT WE DETERMINED ........................................................................................... 9
LIMITATIONS ......................................................................................................... 11
CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 14
IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR OFFICEMAX ........................................................................ 14
TEAM RESEARCH PROJECT SOURCES ............................................................................................19
APPENDICES................................................................................................................................................20
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Executive Summary
Within this report we have explored and researched the OfficeMax Corporation. As we read
customer reviews on websites such as CustomerServiceScoreboard about their experiences
with the OfficeMax company, we quickly discovered that the performance of employees
regarding product knowledge, competence, and overall training have been a significant
problem for the company and has caused many customers to take their business to one of
OfficeMax’s competitors, such as Staples or Office Depot.
The primary research we conducted consists of a short survey in which we gathered
thirty-one participants’ responses on their personal experiences of being a customer of
OfficeMax. Our survey was conducted online through SurveyMonkey, so our sample size
reaches nationwide rather than locally. With all thirty-one participants, about sixty-two percent
claim that they are currently an OfficeMax customer and most participants rated their
customer service efficiency and helpfulness, “Moderately efficient and helpful” and “Very
helpful and efficient”.
Secondary research that was conducted was gathered primarily from online sources
through customer reviews, as well as employee reviews. Many problems that were brought to
our attention include shipping and delivery issues, broken or missing components, misleading
advertising and price errors; all of which directly result from the willingness of customer service
representatives to help the customer in any way possible. Unfortunately OfficeMax has proven
that many of their employees are neither properly trained nor competent to perform these
tasks and resolve errors state above.
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We recommend that the company creates a training program that increases
productivity and creates incentive for better performance.
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OfficeMax Customer Service Problems
Introduction
Upon researching the OfficeMax corporation, we discovered that their marketing strategies,
employee training, and customer satisfaction is a large problem affecting company growth and
revenue ("OfficeMax Incorporated," 2012). This research project investigates the customer
service that OfficeMax provides. Our purpose of designing this research is to discover the key
reasons for declining revenue compared to their competitors and how their customer service
directly conflicts with it.
Within this project we look at the consistent problems that arise as a result of how
OfficeMax’s customer service is delivered by their employees. It is the customer service delivery
itself that affects many different aspects of the OfficeMax brand, which will be discussed
throughout our research paper.
Secondary Research
Our objective with the secondary research is to identify the major customer service problems
that OfficeMax needs to deal with. As we’ve been researching different reviews it’s clear that
there are several patterns of issues deterring consumers from the OfficeMax brand.
One area of concern is the product quality of what OfficeMax sells. Several customers
are reporting that they have purchased something and discovered later that there are missing
and non-functioning pieces, or that the product is broken. This of course happens, but the way
that OfficeMax handles these cases is less than satisfactory for the customer.
To demonstrate this area of concern we looked at comments that were filed through
online customer service review sites. The reviews mention that OfficeMax will not return
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products that did not function when the customer got the merchandise home, or shortly
thereafter. These products include ink cartridges that were empty (“sophie,” 2012), telephones
that were not compatible with other hardware (“amcquerrey,” 2012), and computers with
failing parts (“Kristin,” 2012). There are also reviews where the customer explained that
furniture was broken and that OfficeMax would not return it (“dissatisfied,” 2012). In a few
cases OfficeMax was willing to return the defective merchandise, but the customer was
charged a restocking fee of fifteen percent (“heavensent,” 2012).
It isn’t just the product quality that makes this such an issue. It is the way that
OfficeMax employees handle the customer and their product purchase; the customer service
that is given. A simple resolution would be to assist the customer in resolving the issue by
finding merchandise that is compatible and exchanging it, or in contacting the appropriate
avenue to obtain parts and services for the broken or missing product.
From these reviews we can see clearly that there is an issue with the product quality
OfficeMax is offering on certain merchandise, and that they are not handling the resolution of
their customers in a way that will assure future customer loyalty.
Another area of concern is that OfficeMax has several problems with their online orders,
shipping, and delivery. When a customer purchases merchandise, whether it is at the store or
online, they expect to receive it when they are told they will, or to be informed of any delays in
the process. Unfortunately this does not seem to be happening with OfficeMax purchases.
Online orders are being placed on hold or cancelled without the customer’s knowledge
(“drdudidu,” 2012). The customers are not contacted and informed of their order status
(“Odog,” 2012), nor are they provided with tracking information (“Wastedtime,” 2012). Instead
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the product never gets shipped out so the customer calls to inquire and is told of the status.
When the customer requests tracking information they are told that there isn’t any or that it
can’t be provided (“Kygrl,” 2012). Customers are also told that they will receive an update call
but never hear back from an OfficeMax representative (“Ashley,” 2012).
They have their share of problems with delivery as well. Customers stated that they
schedule a delivery at the time of purchase, or call to schedule a return pick-up and are given a
date and time range, but that no one comes. When they contact OfficeMax regarding the
delivery or pick-up issue they receive no help (“pgoth,” 2012).
In all of these examples communication seems to be the major problem. OfficeMax
needs to get this issue resolved.
There are several problems with the OfficeMax warranty program and this is another
area of concern needing to be addressed. A warranty that is offered through OfficeMax is
different from the product warranty. With both warranties there are always limitations to what
will be covered and they are listed in the fine print. The customer usually receives a copy of this
information for both.
There is additional warranty information that needs to be communicated to the
customer. This includes the time frame in which the OfficeMax warranty goes into effect, and
the product information that will need to be provided to either warranty provider (OfficeMax
or manufacturer). Customers shared their experiences of how this is not happening. In one
situation the customer was not able register the product through the manufacturer because it
showed the product as already registered. He contacted OfficeMax to get the correct
information. They were unable to provide him with any information, so he was unable to
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register his manufacturer’s warranty, which voided his OfficeMax extended warranty
(“Dentist,” 2012).
From the majority of warranty reviews we have read, we can identify that the major
issue is assistance and follow-through of customer problems and questions. Customers feel that
they are getting the run around and being cheated (“Jim,” 2012). Customers are not seeing any
value in their purchases of either the product or the warranty, and they certainly aren’t seeing
it in the OfficeMax brand (“Kristen,” 2012).
Regarding the warranty, working on improving customer service communication and
making sure that OfficeMax employees understand what they are selling is a key factor in the
company’s failure or success.
One of the biggest problems that deter OfficeMax customers is their misleading
advertising. OfficeMax has been notorious for their lack of employee knowledge on the
company’s advertisements, pricing errors, and of course the general atmosphere of how they
tend to carry out their business. These are all reflections of OfficeMax advertising misleading
their customers as explained below.
Through the research of many customer testimonials we have found that pricing errors
occur often. Examples of these pricing errors can be as simple as an item that was marked
wrong on their online website (“veryunhappycustomer,” 2010) or in-store (“Ann,” 2010) or a
sale price that turned out to be too good to be true (“Mary,” 2012). In these situations,
customer testimonials have been explicit as to how many employees have handled these
pricing errors: they don’t. It’s obvious that many OfficeMax employees have a lack of caring
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about the mismarked price and often do not honor it as an ethical company should do. The
result of these practices results in a negative public image and a decrease in loyal customers.
Bait & Switch is a classic example of a pricing error, in which a limited-time offer/sale is
offered for a certain item, and when the customer reaches the store to purchase it, they are
either persuaded into purchasing a more expensive item or the sale item is not in stock
(“Giamatteo,” 2012).
We have identified that many pricing errors also seem to deal with misleading
advertising. This can often manifest itself through uninformed employees who don’t honor the
advertisement because of their lack of knowledge of the sale price or their general carelessness
(“jscott004,”2011). Because these are not isolated cases and we have several examples of
misleading advertising, we can properly conclude that these practices are mainly derived from
the corporate level. Misleading advertising is a corporate strategy to entice customers into the
store or on their website, only to find that the advertisement was a confusing offer or that the
customer service representatives were not willing to help.
Employee integrity also directly affects customer service performance. According to
GlassDoor.com (2012), a website that allows employees to review companies that they’ve
worked for, OfficeMax is an “OK” place to work with a 2.6/5 rating ("OfficeMaxemployee,"
2012). One reviewer said the following about their experience working at OfficeMax: “Virtually
no real training, hardly anyone is paid what they're actually worth, don't seem to have any real
direction with the company ("OfficeMaxemployee," 2012).” In addition to these reviews, AOL
Jobs describes OfficeMax as “one of the worst companies to work for (“The 11,” 2012).”
Reasons cited include that employees felt they’re treated poorly by their management team
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(“FormerSalesAssociate,” 2012) and that their low-paying jobs associated did not help when
there wasn’t a good work environment (“CurrentSalesConsultant,” 2012). These reasons alone
could be speculated upon as to why the product knowledge that we’ve researched of many
employees is poor and their general interest and self-investment in their job is low.
Primary Research
With the results from our secondary research clearly defining customer service problems and
issues with OfficeMax, the goal of our primary research has been to attain results from all age
groups and several demographics. We want to support the information and examples from our
secondary research.
The primary research we gathered was done in the form of a survey that was posted
online ("OfficeMax Customer Service Experience," 2012). We created a customer service survey
and posted it on reddit.com, a website in which users from all over the world contribute news
articles and general information. On one particular section of the website, users post listings of
academic surveys to support their opinions. This also helps others compare similar experiences
to that of which the survey is proposing ("SampleSize," 2012). By conducting our survey in this
manner, our intention was to attain opinions from a national perspective, instead of a
concentrated customer base in Salt Lake Valley.
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What We Determined
Gender
Age
80.00
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
60.00
40.00
20.00
0.00
Female
Male
Customer Status
Utility of OfficeMax
products
80%
60%
100%
40%
50%
20%
0%
0%
Current
Former
Personal
Business
Education
How would you rate the overall helpfulness of
OfficeMax's customer service, whether it be
online or in-store?
100%
50%
0%
Extremely helpful
Very helpful
Moderately helpful
9
Slightly helpful
Not at all helpful
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How quickly do you feel OfficeMax instore/online customer service representatives
have helped you?
100
50
0
Extremely quickly
Very quickly
Moderately quickly
Slightly quickly
Not at all quickly
How efficient do you feel that OfficeMax instore/online customer service is?
60
40
20
0
Extremely efficient
Very efficient
Moderately
efficient
Slightly efficient
Not at all efficient
I feel that I can trust OfficeMax to conduct
honest advertising.
60
40
20
0
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
10
Disagree
Strongly disagree
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OfficeMax has always met my expectations
with prices and product availability according
to their advertising.
60
40
20
0
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Data Analysis
Our intention for the survey was to analyze the overall perception of an OfficeMax customer
regarding the customer service they receive from the company. We also wanted to know what
these results were compared to their demographics and status of being an OfficeMax customer.
Within these questions, we could properly analyze the satisfaction these customers were/are
receiving.
We had 31 participants total who responded to our survey.
A majority of our respondents are female; however the age demographic we received
was more varied. Most of our respondents were from the ages of 18-24, followed by 25-44. The
reason behind most of our respondents being Millennial’s is most likely due to most of the
users of the internet today being of a younger generation.
Most of our respondents who responded are current customers of OfficeMax. Although
our secondary research may suggest that our results should reflect a higher “former” customer
rate, the sample size we received concludes otherwise. The utilization of OfficeMax products
(whether current or former) is mostly personal according to our survey. Although the OfficeMax
Corporation strives to attain a higher market share of business and education-related
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customers, it’s important to note that according to our survey; most of their customers come
from individuals buying personal technologies and products.
It seems that according to our sample size, customer service employees of OfficeMax
are generally “Moderately” helpful, efficient, and quick. This indicates that there is not a strong
opinion overall from our respondents, which may come from indecisiveness or being unsure of
how they feel about their experiences. One thing is most definite about our results: a good
portion of the respondents have had positive experiences with OfficeMax employees.
Although unstated explicitly, the next portion deals directly with OfficeMax’s advertising
and bait & switch practices. The first question asks if the respondent feels they can trust
OfficeMax to conduct honest advertising. Most of the respondents “Agreed” with this
statement, and following behind some respondents were “Neutral”. Because many
respondents replied with a middle-of the-road response, this indicates that they are unsure or
undecided on the issue.
On the question of OfficeMax meeting expectations with prices and product availability,
an overwhelming response indicated that they “Agree” with this statement. Again, this
limitation could be the result of a small sample size who either has not encountered a bait &
switch issue, or they haven’t particularly noticed if it has happened.
Limitations
Money limitations occurred during our primary research because we didn’t utilize research or
surveys that required payments or wages, nor did we pay our participants for taking our survey.
Therefore our primary research is cheaply-made and may not reflect results if we had a larger
budgets and a group of experienced researchers to structure our survey.
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There has not been a major market shift in the time that we have been conducting our
research, but being able to conduct research for a full year, including the back to school rush
and the holiday season would have given more accuracy to our findings.
We also realize that many people may not know the difference between OfficeMax,
Office Depot, and Staples. Although there are significant differences in each company, it’s safe
to draw conclusions that because they all sell very similar products, consumers may be unaware
of the significant differences. And if they do, the three are commonly mixed up, so people refer
to all three as ‘an office supply store’. This could be a large issue for our survey results.
More time could have also helped us in our primary research by allowing for additional
responses. It would have widened the results and allowed for a more diverse set of
demographics and possibly more accurate results on a larger scale. For our survey, we had to
rely on those people who frequented the survey site within a very short time period.
We can’t be completely sure that those who took the survey were truthful about their
answers. The information could have been provided based on assumptions and speculation.
The possible limitations of our survey could also include the lack of diverse age groups
participating because it has been conducted specifically online. Thus, we understand that our
results may have been different if a higher response of older participants had responded to the
survey. Additionally, our survey represents a small sample size. We fully acknowledge that this
could be skewed in comparison to a larger size of participants. Another limitation that could be
hindering results is the overall interest or attentiveness of the survey respondent. It’s possible
that without knowledge of the respondent’s interest in the survey, they will arbitrarily respond
to the questions without properly analyzing the reasoning behind their answers.
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Also, all of our respondents have different levels of contact with OfficeMax’s customer
service representatives and products. One user of the product and service could have a more
extensive use that may impact their likeness to the company.
The ability to find out more financially about OfficeMax and if that has any relationship
to their issues will help to get more accurate findings for future research. Being able to broaden
the research area to more stores would also result in more accurate findings.
Conclusions
After researching the OfficeMax corporation, we discovered that their marketing strategies,
employee training, and customer satisfaction is a large problem affecting company growth and
revenue ("OfficeMax Incorporated," 2012).
Through our research we have found that a portion of their decrease in revenue was
due to their poor customer service. The customer service delivered by their employees has
affected many different aspects of the OfficeMax brand.
The information we have provided has shown that the company has areas where they
can improve in order for them to increase the difference in revenue between their competitors.
Our recommendations will help improve OfficeMax customer service, as well as the
company’s appearance to their customers.
Improvement Plan for OfficeMax
We have concluded through our research that the OfficeMax Corporation is most definitely
lacking in the overall performance and knowledge of their employees. As a response, OfficeMax
must utilize options to improve on the general atmosphere of their employees’ skill-level. A
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very simple recommendation is to improve training and require that more of it be completed in
order to maintain great customer service and attitude throughout every store and call center.
Many of the complaints online were about how OfficeMax employees didn’t pay
attention to their customers in the store, didn’t try to assist them, and didn’t provide any
service when asked a question. For example, when a customer asked about a desk as an
employee was walking past, she was told “’…they didn't really sell bookcases in the store
anymore.’ He didn't even pause as he told me this, just kept walking (“Lynn,” 2012).” This kind
of customer service is a terrible reflection of the company.
They need to make some changes by dedicating some time each week to train their
employees on how products work as well as becoming more aware of where their products are
located. We recommend that when they hold these weekly trainings they can explain exactly
where the product is and if possible take them personally to the certain isle. This comes to our
next issue that we believe needs to change.
OfficeMax also has the opportunity to train their employees on how to communicate
with their customers. When a customer enters a store, the employees should meet and greet
them at the door. They also need to be trained on how to be more personable with the
customer. Tone, content, posture, and attitude are important for effective communication.
Greeting the customer and being willing to help them find the specific product is a great way
for the employee to show they are there to help.
They should also provide quality information for the customer. When a customer asks a
question the employee doesn’t know the answer to, then that employee can help by showing
they are willing to go ask someone who does. They should return quickly with an answer or
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with a place to go find out more information. Employees need to show that they are willing to
do whatever is necessary for the customer. We also understand that not just OfficeMax but
many retail settings that pay a relatively low-wage have similar problems with employee
courtesy and willingness to help. To improve employee integrity, offering bonuses with great
attendance and performance or lottery-style activities to win prizes or coupons are a few
effective ideas.
The willingness of OfficeMax help their employees improve their customer service will
help improve the perception of the company as a whole.
A good recommendation to improve the customer service is to give an incentive to the
employees. This can be done by holding a contest on who can sell the most of a certain product
or have the customers rate the salesman who helped them.
One of the issues is that their service over the phone is terrible. Many complaints
mentioned that OfficeMax phone customer service is very poor quality (“Wasted Time,” 2012).
They can improve this by monitoring incoming phone calls. Management can then
evaluate how their employees are handling these calls to see where to improve. This will help
the company become more efficient in training their employees on how to handle calls on a
daily basis. This process will allow OfficeMax to evaluate which employees are not following
company policies. It also allows them to identify employees that have a pattern of mistreating
customers.
Many of the complaints that are found online talk about how customers have a problem
with a computer or program and call OfficeMax because they have a warranty. When they call
the store, the employees tell them that the warranty is through the manufacturer. They call the
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manufacture to explain the situation and they are sent right back to the store. They continue
getting the run around and nothing gets resolved (“Kristin,” 2012). This is a big reason why
many people don’t buy products such as computers and printers from OfficeMax. The
employees are very unwilling to help when something goes wrong.
OfficeMax needs to train its employees on what their warranty entails. Teach them how
to work with the customer to resolve any issues they have with products sold in the store.
The lack of employee training has led to a lack of organization in-store, especially in the
printing center. Many complaints talk about how poorly OfficeMax handles projects given to
them. One specific story explained how a man asked the store to print business cards but asked
them to wait until he had received a phone number for the business. The employee said that
would be fine but told him to call when he had received a phone number. When he called back
to give them a phone number they had no record of his business cards. He ended up making
multiple trips into the store in order to get his project finished. After his experience he
expressed that he would never come back to do business with the company (“Henry,” 2012).
One of the main complaints about the customer service at OfficeMax is the lack of
training and knowledge regarding warranties on the products. Many complaints go into deep
detail of the issues they have had with purchasing a product with a warranty that they seem
unable to redeem when an issue occurs.
The employees are asked to push these warranties when they sell the product but are
unable to explain in detail what it is good for (“Kristen,” 2012). They need to be trained on what
is covered by OfficeMax and what is covered by the manufacturer, and at what point it kicks in
for both. This will help in their customer service as well as their product knowledge.
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Another huge change that needs to happen is the pricing and advertising in the store as
well as online. There are complaints all over the Internet about how people will pay for
something and when they go to check out at the register it is a different price. People
complained about how their order was cancelled after they had already paid for their products.
When trying to get their product they responded that they were unable to send them that
product at the price stated (“Wasted Time,” 2012). This leaves customers upset because they
are told one price and then charged another or do not receive anything at all. This requires the
company to become more responsible with their prices stated in their stores as well as online.
We believe by incorporating all of these recommendations into the OfficeMax best
practices, the company will see overall improvements in customer service and customer
satisfaction.
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Team Research Project Sources
AOL Inc. (2012, August 14). The 11 Worst Companies to Work for in America. Aol Jobs.
Retrieved November 7, 2012, from http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/08/14/the-11-worstcompanies-to-work-for-in-america/
Consumers Unified LLC. (2012). OfficeMax Consumer Complaints & Reviews. ConsumerAffairs.
Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/officemax.html
CustomerServiceScoreboard.com. (2009-2012). OfficeMax Customer Service User Reviews,
Ratings and Comments. CustomerServiceScoreboard. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from
http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/OfficeMax
Glassdoor, Inc. (2008-2012). OfficeMax Reviews. Glassdoor. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/OfficeMax-Reviews-E103.htm
OMX Inc. (n.d.). OfficeMax. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from http://www.officemax.com and
http://about.officemax.com/html/index.shtml
PR Newswire Association LLC. (2012, November 5). OfficeMax Names New Chief Marketing and
Strategy Officer. PR Newswire. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/officemax-names-new-chief-marketing-andstrategy-officer-177331741.html
Reddit, Inc. (2012). SampleSize. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from
http://www.reddit.com/r/SampleSize/
SurveyMonkey. (2012, November 9). OfficeMax Customer Service Experience. SurveyMonkey.
Retrieved November 24, 2012, from http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LG6YNDD
Yahoo! – ABC News Network. (2012, November 23). OfficeMax Incorprotated (OMX). Yahoo!
Finance. Retrieved November 23, 2012, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=OMX
Competitors
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Appendices
Below are several reviews that show customers feelings regarding OfficeMax and their brand.
These examples show of the poor customer service given in relation to the product quality,
online ordering, shipping, and delivery, warranty, and misleading advertising that OfficeMax
offers. All of these examples where taken from the CustomerServiceScoreboard,
Resellerratings, and ConsumerAffairs websites and have been referenced within the research
paper.
Examples of the poor product quality and communication provided by OfficeMax:


“Bought twin pack for Ink cartridge from OfficeMax. Never used Ink cartridge. We only
used black ink and tried using the color after 2 weeks as we thought it would have
nothing wrong with it. It didn’t work. We took it back and the sales person Anthony in
Gurnee, IL location said it’s empty. We used it at all. Why would we bring in one
cartridge that’s working along with the one cartridge that is not working? He didn’t do
anything for us. Very disappointing. And kept arguing with us that we used it
completely.” sophie11/13/12 1:36PM
“I bought a business landline phone for my home office at OfficeMax. The phone did not
work with my headset so I returned to the store 3 days later to return it and see if they
have anything else that would work. They did not have anything in store that would
work and the sales person (teenager) was not helpful at all. I asked if I could just return
it because I had the box and all the accessories it came with plus the receipt. He and his
supervisor said they were unable to give me a refund because I paid with a debit card
and I didn’t have it with me'. I live an hour away from the store so they even had me call
my husband to get the card # and give it to them verbally, which I did and had to repeat
myself at least 5 times so if they wanted they could have memorized the numbers. They
said that their system wouldn't give me a cash refund and my bank was the one not
authorizing the payment to be put back on the debit card. I explained that I didn’t want
store credit because they don’t have the item I need in the store. After about an hour of
arguing with me they called the corporate office and said they had to override their
system in order to give me cash... They were not apologetic nor do I think they knew
what they were doing. I will never shop at OfficeMax again and I am telling everyone I
know this ridiculous story.” amcquerrey11/9/12 6:10PM
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“I had an awful experience with a Gateway laptop that I bought from an Office Max
store in August 2008. After being duped by the song and dance of a sales associate
regarding how wonderful a particular laptop was, I purchased the Gateway laptop and a
3-year Max Assurance extended warranty, which I was forced to use many times. Within
1 month of purchase, I had to send my laptop back to Gateway because the
motherboard was shot. It was at this time that I was informed that my Gateway
warranty was only until May 30, 2009, but it was supposed to go until August 2009.
Warning sirens went off. I'm guessing that I was sold a piece of crap returned laptop. I
had to send my laptop in for repair 4 more times over the next 3 years - motherboard
again, twice the hard drive took a dump, and once the power source failed. Ironically,
just one month after my extended warranty expired, the power source has failed once
again. What a lemon. I will never, ever purchase anything from Office Max again. Oh,
and the first two times my laptop required repair, I was told to go through Gateway as
my extended Max Assurance protection plan would not begin until the one-year
Gateway warranty was done. This means that my Max Assurance warranty should have
gone through August 2012. I called back in August to request a repair for my laptop's
power source (again), only to be told that my extended warranty lapsed 1 year ago and
that it did, in fact, run concurrent with the Gateway one-year warranty. How does that
even make sense? Fraud.” Kristin of Milwaukee, WI on Sept. 12, 2012
“I purchased 3 office chairs from office max and within one month the wheel broke off
of one of the chairs. Because this was a close out, and over the 14 day satisfaction
period, the store would not take it back. I was told by the manager that I would have to
return it to the manufacture direct. They had no idea who made the chair and there is
absolutely no manufacturing information except made in China on bottom of the chair.
In calling Office Max customer satisfaction, I spent well over 2 hours on the phone trying
to get information on the chair from service representatives from various countries.
None spoke English well enough to communicate and only tried to sell me extended
warranty that costs more than the chair. This was a very poor experience and will not
happen again at Office Max.” dissatisfied customer7/24/12 7:11A
"I was charge a 15% restocking fee on a defective product manager said once I broke the
seal on box I automatically lost the restocking fee it didn’t t matter that the laptop was
defective I go to Wal-Mart or target now." heavensent
“On July 2, 2012 prior to going to T-Mobile to have a cell phone reactivated, I went to
OfficeMax to have business cards printed up with the wrong phone number. T-Mobile
gave me to the cell phone. I went back to OfficeMax on July 5, 2012 to try and stop
them from printing the wrong phone number on the card. They told me there was
nothing they can do. The cards had not been printed yet. This is store no. 0613, main
office: 1-800-283-7674. I want the cards printed right or my money back.” Henry
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Examples of multiple customer problems concerning online orders, shipping and delivery:
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“I placed an order online, which was cancelled by OfficeMax - I don't know why. The
representative simply replied - I don't know why, I cannot know why, No one can know
why! What horrible service.” drdudidu7/13/12 8:52AM
“Ordered a printer from Office Max site. Decided to check on it a little later. My order
said it was on hold. Called around 5:15 P.M. Pacific time. After being on hold for 10
minutes or more told to call back the next day. Order was on credit holding and credit
department closed for day. Called next day and eventually ended up with the credit
dept. Told hold was due to conflict on order and my credit card on Zip code. Was looking
at the order and zip correct. Told everything ok now and printer would be here Friday.
Checked later. Now showing as back ordered. Called again. Told not to worry it always
shows back ordered when on credit hold for awhile. Checked again Friday. Still showing
back ordered. Called again. Rep didn't know what was going on but said he'd call me
back. I said never mind. Cancel it.” Odog9/7/12 1:37PM
“I purchased a computer from Office Max Online. It was a great price and it was to
arrive in 1 to 3 days. After 8 days I contacted Customer Support to get a tracking # or
more info on my computers location or delivery date. Customer support said they were
investigating and they would call me in 2 days. After 2 days I called them back and
customer support said the computer was never delivered.... well DUH that’s why I am
calling. I asked if they were sending another one they said no we're all out. I asked if
they could send a comparable in stock computer or one at a local store for pick-up.
They said no but I could go to their web site or local store and buy another one with the
money that was being returned to my credit card in about 5 days.
So basically I loaned them hundreds of dollars for 15 days. THANKS FOR NOTHING.
I bought a computer from BEST BUY!” Wasted Time3/23/12 10:39PM
“I had exactly the same experience as Wasted Time. I ordered a laptop computer that
shipped but never arrived. Their records show it was delivered and signed for by
someone named "Desktop". What lousy a-- delivery service are they using that can't
provide a tracking number and who allow laptops to be stolen in transit? No one at
customer service can even tell me who the delivery service is. I am livid to say the least!
Someone call me back!!!!!!” Kygrl34/17/12 11:52AM
“I received a broken filing cabinet on 8/30 and immediately contacted them to replace
it. They told me I would have to return the one I have and then order the new one, no
exchanged. I did what they instructed me to do and 12 days later I am still waiting for
the 1-3 day pickup and 1-3 day delivery. I have called several times to get this fixed and
only spoken to rude, unhelpful employees who couldn't care less about my situation. I
have received 2 emails where they have not answered any of my questions and have
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stopped correspondence when I asked for the contact information of the manager. My
company would spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a month at this store and I
can assure you now that we will never waste another dime on this business.”
Ashley9/11/12 6:57AM
“What a joke their delivery process is! Do not ever order anything to be delivered from
them. The people in the store ask when you would like it delivered, but don't tell you it’s
only an estimate, it could be delivered anywhere between 1 and 3 days (don’t take the
day off when you think it will show up!). After waiting 4 days, we told them we did not
want it, and asked for a refund. Here it is 9 days later, still waiting for a simple refund of
$76 because they won't do anything until it comes back from the warehouse. They have
my money and will not give it back! That I am paying the price for their lack of follow up
with a 3rd party is bull----. NEVER AGAIN will I be fooled by an organization that does
not give a rat's a-- about the people who pay the bills. Oh and don't ever think that their
managers will actually listen to your concerns, they are AWESOME at reading a script. I
don't know how they go to work knowing they will treat people like crap- this has to
happen 500 times a day.” pgoth7/8/12 11:15AM
Examples of warranty problems regarding both the product and the service:
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“Seems that OM customer service reps and supervisors need some serious help in their
customer service skills! I just got off the phone with a supervisor named Jonnie that was
absolutely not at all professional. I purchased a combo fax/printer and purchased an $80
warranty to go with it (just in case) for my office. When I registered my printer online,
the printer was not correct so I tried to go back and find the correct printer to register.
After trying to do this a few times (to find the right printer) I noticed that it showed I
had registered all 4 incorrect printers and could not delete them. I called the customer
service number only to get a rep that stated it did not matter what online was showing
that I did have the correct product registered. I asked the rep her name and the for the
first initial of her last name (just in case if I had to go back and file a claim and OM says I
did not register the correct product, I could say NO Carol? said on my call on 11/6/12
that she did see I had the correct product registered....) (it has happened before and I
learned to cover my butt!).
Only to be told by Carol? that is was against OM policy to give out her last initial!!!!
Therefore, I asked to speak to her supervisor. The supervisor Jonnie? stated that it was
against OM policy and they could not give out their last initial (she stated this with
MUCH attitude!!!). I informed Jonnie that if I called in the future and was told that my
information was not put in properly then OM would not honor my warranty therefore, I
need to make sure I am covered by getting the name of the person who working for OM
told me I was fine!
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She said she would give me her id # and that was all! Jonnie was rude and
unprofessional and spoke so fast that I could not understand what she said.
Someone in the higher ups should seriously take at look at these comments and have a
serious talk with the customer service reps and most definitely inform the supervisors
that if they cannot treat the customers with respect, DON'T WORK THERE!!!!!
I will not be making any future purchases with OM (to which we spend several thousand
dollars a year with....no more!).
Good luck in this economy OM....you better start doing it right...there are a lot of other
places to order from!!” Dentist11/6/12 8:59AM
“I purchased a Lexmark printer on May 17, 2011. I also bought an extended warranty
from OfficeMax. Within three months, the printer broke down. I first called Lexmark
about the problem. The customer representative told me to ship it off to the company. I
objected, telling him that I use the printer every day for my home business. I then called
OfficeMax and was told to bring the printer into the store, purchase a new one and my
money would be refunded in August. I did that. In August, I came into the store and was
told that the Lexmark warranty expires on May 17, 2014! After that the OfficeMax
warranty would then click in. I told the store manager that I no longer had the printer
because the store wanted it back. Now I didn't even have the choice of sending it back
to the manufacturer. I talked to the regional manager and he said the store manager will
talk to me. I never got the call. Tonight I called the store. The manager told me to talk to
the regional manager. Now if you were running a big retail outlet, a purchase of a
$129.99 purchase has got to be small potatoes. But now everyone is dodging the bullet,
unwilling to take any responsibility. I'm a small businessman. I couldn't imagine leaving
any customer in the lurch like OfficeMax.” Jim of Austin, TX on Oct. 30, 2012
“I had an AWFUL experience with a Gateway laptop that I bought from an Office Max
store in Aug. 2008. I purchased a 3 year extended warranty, which I was forced to use
many times. Within 1 month of purchase, I had to send my laptop back to Gateway
because the mother board was shot. It was at this time that I was informed that my
Gateway warranty was only until May 30, 2009, but it was supposed to go until August
2009. Warning flags went off -- I'm guessing that I was sold a piece of crap returned
laptop. I had to send my laptop in for repair 4 more times over the next 3 years - mother
board again, twice the hard drive took a dump, and once the power source failed.
Ironically, just 1 month after my extended warranty expired, the power source has failed
once again. What a lemon. I will never, ever, ever, ever purchase anything from Office
Max again.” Kristin9/11/12 7:10PM
“We bought an HP laptop and a two year warranty through MAXAssurance. Now that
there is a problem we've hit a brick wall. First, we were sent to Warranty Logistics. Over
a week later they returned my laptop with the same initial problems, but with the added
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"bonus" of a completely new hard drive. No information transferred AND no
explanation. (The working of the computer was never the issue. It was a problem with
some physical issues.) We called back OfficeMax and we get nothing. The warranty
means we need to send it back to Warranty Logistics...AGAIN. The local Office Max can't
help. The national Office Max customer service can't help either. We are on our own.
Someone tell me why we are on our throughout this whole scenario? Why did we buy a
warranty?” unhappy7/3/12 3:11PM
Examples of general employee carelessness for a potential customer:
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“I had the most unfortunate experience of at the Office Max at 8055 Giacosa Place
Memphis, TN on Sunday September 23, 2012. First, the office manager, Lana Taylor, was
called to verify pricing on items. She quoted a sale price which was different from the
ad. When called on it, she was rude and said "there is a mistake in the ad". This was a
clear listing in the Sunday paper. Next she proceeded to pull everything out of my
shopping bag without an explanation. I believe she wanted to recheck all items again.”
Mary 9/23/12 11:07AM
“On January 31, 2012, I went to OfficeMax to purchase a 5-shelf bookcase. When I
entered the store, I noticed that several employees were standing around, talking and
laughing near the cash registers. They ignored me as I made my way to the office
furniture section. There was only one bookcase and as it was a 3-shelf, it wasn't what I
wanted. A salesperson was walking by and I asked him if they had any other bookcases.
He said, "No," and they didn't really sell bookcases in the store anymore. He didn't even
pause as he told me this, just kept walking. I don't understand why an office supply
store wouldn't have bookcases. I know they are available online but I didn't want to
order one. I left the store and the employees up front were still standing there, having a
good old time. This isn't the first time I have encountered unhelpful employees and poor
customer service at OfficeMax. It was as if I were invisible. I then went to Office Depot,
found exactly what I was looking for, and was even told to have a nice day!” Lynn of
Johnson City , TN on Feb. 1, 2012
An example of a misleading advertisement that was clearly confusing, leaving the customer
unsure of how to proceed and with no help from quality customer service:
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“How do I obtain the $5.00 coupon when you spend over $25.00? I am unable to reach
the area to ask for the coupon. I have several receipts that should have the $5.00
coupons sent to me. As I have not been able to contact the correct area at OfficeMax
these have been applied to my account. If you check my account, you will see there are
no coupons listed as being sent to me.” sunshine44 9/13/12 10:14AM
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An example that shows that a promotion OfficeMax was advertising did not show in an order
and was not honored (additionally, the customer was explicit about his preference for the
competition):
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“Online (officemax.com) I ordered a desk, which allowed me to take advantage of a
promotion they were running. After the order confirmation arrived, I noticed the promo
had not gone through. When I spoke to Gail Beard of their customer service area, I
requested that the promotion be added. She immediately told me "no". I informed her
that if she would not do this, I would cancel the order and dispute any charges on the
credit card used. She answered that she would attempt to cancel the order, but within
minutes of the call, I received an email that reported that the order could not be
cancelled and to contact them should I need to return the order. I will NEVER order from
Office Max again...Office Depot has much the same items, but much better customer
service.” JeffHogston 7/25/12 8:12AM
An alarming example that has instances of delivery issues, but mainly it deals with Bait and
switch advertising:
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“Went into my local Office Max to pick up a laptop they had a great deal on. Found out
that it wasn't in stock so the cashier pretty much BEGGED me to order the bloody thing
through him. I was in a hurry to get the laptop and he assured me it would be delivered
by Wednesday (3 days from the date of purchase). I went ahead and ordered it based on
this specific information alone. Well I grabbed my receipt when I got home and saw that
not only was the item BACKORDERED online but it gave me a 7-10 day delivery date!
WTF? This guy was all about making a commission off of me and didn't give a damn
about me getting the laptop when he said I would. Called up customer service because
miracuously the laptop is showing up as being available online and locally now (1 day
later and 1 day after the sale ended). So I asked how long it would now take to get my
laptop. I was told 7 days, DESPITE them being available in the stores now. I asked if I
could pick it up directly from the store. Was told no, I would have to cancel it and pay
the regular price for the item if I wanted to pick it up in the store. WTF???
This is the LAST time I ever purchase anything from Office Max. They bait and switch
products and could care less about customer service.” Giamatteo 2/27/12 3:30PM
An example of misleading advertising for “Back to School” sales:
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“I visited my local Office Max today to purchase needed office supplies. This week is
"back to School" week. I brought along three students and a 20% discount bag looking
to purchase schools supplies and teach these students the need for saving when
possible. I was absolutely amazed at the Office Max approach of price gouging. In these
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troubled economic times it is very disappointing to see that Office Max seizes the
opportunity to outright screw families with students when it comes to school supplies.
Most of the school supply goods with ultra high pricing are also basic needs for general
office supplies. I have been purchasing business office supplies from Office max for quite
some time. I will definitely need to reconsider this customer loyalty. We purchased the
needed school supplies from Target instead for about 40% of you bag discounted
pricing. By the way, customers in your store were openly promoting other retail stores
as being significantly less in pricing. Shame on you Office Max.” Anonymous 8/8/11
5:31PM
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