Complaint Review: Staples

To John,

One thing I wanted to get out of the way that Dan clearly stated is that no denomination is trivial when expecting a rebate to actually come through. Money is money, if that were a mitigating factore in her decision to purchase the product, and obviously it was since she sent the rebate in, she deserves to get it. Period.

Staples makes its gross amount of margin on the sales of attachements, software, supplies, *not PC bundles*. A sales associate no doubt ( in a perfect Staples Sales practice executed by a top notch Staples sales associate) used the rebate as a sales tactic to sell the product over another, say, Macafee, for instance. Staples also gets a kickback from the manufacturer for the sales of it's product either directly or indirectly. The software is purchased by staples for pennies from the manufacturer until the product is sold, every Norton Virus scan sold is recorded in a database, anually this information is passed onto Norton and they are paid according to how many units are sold. The more if it they sell the cheaper the cost to buy the next time a buyer makes the deal with Norton.

Every sale, every rebate, *all* has something to do with Staples when something is sold to a consumer in a Staples store. Staples also has a rebate/customer service line in which they can persue a rebate claim. It doesn't sound to me like the store in question utilized this option or even offered it to the customer. When I was a Sales manager for Staples, this situation would have been handled properly and Staples would stand behind this rebate, no questions asked.

It is called customer service, of which I know Staples is very big on, and usually comes through.

I would strongly advise this customer contact the store manager and or the district manager. Call the home office. She *will* get results.

Never be hasty about someone elses complaint, they are big shoes that it seems any foot can fill, even yours, John.

To John,

One thing I wanted to get out of the way that Dan clearly stated is that no denomination is trivial when expecting a rebate to actually come through. Money is money, if that were a mitigating factore in her decision to purchase the product, and obviously it was since she sent the rebate in, she deserves to get it. Period.

Staples makes its gross amount of margin on the sales of attachements, software, supplies, *not PC bundles*. A sales associate no doubt ( in a perfect Staples Sales practice executed by a top notch Staples sales associate) used the rebate as a sales tactic to sell the product over another, say, Macafee, for instance. Staples also gets a kickback from the manufacturer for the sales of it's product either directly or indirectly. The software is purchased by staples for pennies from the manufacturer until the product is sold, every Norton Virus scan sold is recorded in a database, anually this information is passed onto Norton and they are paid according to how many units are sold. The more if it they sell the cheaper the cost to buy the next time a buyer makes the deal with Norton.

Every sale, every rebate, *all* has something to do with Staples when something is sold to a consumer in a Staples store. Staples also has a rebate/customer service line in which they can persue a rebate claim. It doesn't sound to me like the store in question utilized this option or even offered it to the customer. When I was a Sales manager for Staples, this situation would have been handled properly and Staples would stand behind this rebate, no questions asked.

It is called customer service, of which I know Staples is very big on, and usually comes through.

I would strongly advise this customer contact the store manager and or the district manager. Call the home office. She *will* get results.

Never be hasty about someone elses complaint, they are big shoes that it seems any foot can fill, even yours, John.

To John,

One thing I wanted to get out of the way that Dan clearly stated is that no denomination is trivial when expecting a rebate to actually come through. Money is money, if that were a mitigating factore in her decision to purchase the product, and obviously it was since she sent the rebate in, she deserves to get it. Period.

Staples makes its gross amount of margin on the sales of attachements, software, supplies, *not PC bundles*. A sales associate no doubt ( in a perfect Staples Sales practice executed by a top notch Staples sales associate) used the rebate as a sales tactic to sell the product over another, say, Macafee, for instance. Staples also gets a kickback from the manufacturer for the sales of it's product either directly or indirectly. The software is purchased by staples for pennies from the manufacturer until the product is sold, every Norton Virus scan sold is recorded in a database, anually this information is passed onto Norton and they are paid according to how many units are sold. The more if it they sell the cheaper the cost to buy the next time a buyer makes the deal with Norton.

Every sale, every rebate, *all* has something to do with Staples when something is sold to a consumer in a Staples store. Staples also has a rebate/customer service line in which they can persue a rebate claim. It doesn't sound to me like the store in question utilized this option or even offered it to the customer. When I was a Sales manager for Staples, this situation would have been handled properly and Staples would stand behind this rebate, no questions asked.

It is called customer service, of which I know Staples is very big on, and usually comes through.

I would strongly advise this customer contact the store manager and or the district manager. Call the home office. She *will* get results.

Never be hasty about someone elses complaint, they are big shoes that it seems any foot can fill, even yours, John.

Okay, let me see if I get this straight. You are:

1) blaming the consumer for not allowing enough time for her rebate to arrive, and

2) implying that, because the rebate is only $30, she should not complain about it?

First off, please note the date of the consumer's original post. It is 6/19/03. The consumer states that the software was purchased on 3/19/03. By my math, that's 12 weeks. You say that she should have allowed 6-8 weeks because "rebates don't come overnight", but this person's rebate appears to have already been 4 weeks overdue at the time she posted her report. I think she certainly does have a right to gripe!

Second, you imply that the monetary value of the rebate does not warrant her report, to which I say it's not about the money, but the principle! Even if it were only a $1 rebate, she still has every right to complain, because it was advertised that this money would be returned to her, and for those who offer the rebate not to follow through when she has correctly followed instructions is false advertising.

It doesn't surprise me that the attitude of many of these companies seems to be that nobody will care about 30 bucks here or 30 bucks there, or that the amount is "so trivial" that the consumer will either forget about it, or figure that it's not worth the effort to pursue it - that's what these retailers are counting on. Your response reflects that attitude quite clearly!

In response to Staples not sending a $30 rebate, lets understand rebates. First of all, the packaged rebate was from the manufacturer. This means that the manufacturer (Norton) is the company that pays the rebate, not staples. Staples has nothing to do with it. Also, rebates do not come overnight. Read the fine print. It takes usually 6 to 8 weeks to process a rebate. You are not the only one sending in the rebate. I really wish that consumers would be reasonable and a little more patient with companies before sending in stuff like this. Save this sight for occassions when companies actually do rip people off, not for taking time to send out an $30 rebate check.

In response to Staples not sending a $30 rebate, lets understand rebates. First of all, the packaged rebate was from the manufacturer. This means that the manufacturer (Norton) is the company that pays the rebate, not staples. Staples has nothing to do with it. Also, rebates do not come overnight. Read the fine print. It takes usually 6 to 8 weeks to process a rebate. You are not the only one sending in the rebate. I really wish that consumers would be reasonable and a little more patient with companies before sending in stuff like this. Save this sight for occassions when companies actually do rip people off, not for taking time to send out an $30 rebate check.

In response to Staples not sending a $30 rebate, lets understand rebates. First of all, the packaged rebate was from the manufacturer. This means that the manufacturer (Norton) is the company that pays the rebate, not staples. Staples has nothing to do with it. Also, rebates do not come overnight. Read the fine print. It takes usually 6 to 8 weeks to process a rebate. You are not the only one sending in the rebate. I really wish that consumers would be reasonable and a little more patient with companies before sending in stuff like this. Save this sight for occassions when companies actually do rip people off, not for taking time to send out an $30 rebate check.