Staples didn't go the extra mile to make my customer a happy camper

On March 6, 2011, I met one of my customers, whom I've been taking care of for over 8 years since I opened the business, at the Staples in Port St. Lucie Florida to help with a new PC purchase. She lives in Stuart and I was going to have her pick the PC up there but, like a lot of times when it comes to Staples, they were sold out in that store. In case you didn't note above, this was a Sunday, the day stores have the new ads out and the day people go shopping for the things in the ad which are currently on sale that week. Having something not in stock in a store the day the ad starts is just foolish and is bad for business. Also (and most notably), it upsets customers AND business customers who shop there for THEIR customers to satisfy their technology needs. I know this because I've been in retail for eight years and I know how the "system" works.

The PC in question I recommended for her and the one she eventually purchased (after some persuasion since she was still using an 8+ year old HP desktop running Xp but she trusted my judgement and knew I'll take care of her) was the HP Pavillion Slimline s5710f. At the time it was selling for $349.99. You can click on that link above for the specifications of the desktop. As you can see, it's not the top of the line, but for basic computer tasks she uses a PC for, it's more than enough for her needs.

During that sale week and a few weeks prior, Staples was (and still is to this day this post goes out) offering a few free things:

If you have trouble seeing the above ad snip, it says: FREE PC Setup | FREE data transfer | FREE Microsoft online training. I obviously was going to do the setup and data transfer for my customer so she just wanted the training. I mentioned this to her as well and said this would have been a nice thing to get because it was free and whatever questions she had after the training, I could have helped her with. She mentioned this to the Easytech associate who was ringing her out. He was putting it in for her but the register required him to fill out a work order sheet. Basically, this sheet requires them to fill out information about services being performed on the PC, which entails them to keep the PC in the store until the work has been completed. He did not know why it was doing this and neither did I because it was just a website to go to and it does not require any setup. He brought the manager over and she said the training needed to be entered along with the setup and data transfer. Basically, it was a package deal. I asked if they can add that stuff to it and I just take the PC to work on but they enter it in the system  stating they would be working on it. This will be a win-win I thought; they get to ring that package out so it will look good for their store numbers and the customer is happy because she got what she wanted. Of course, she did not allow this to be done. So my customer got the PC, Office 2010, and left the store a little upset.

Here is what I  didn't understand:

• No where in the ad did it say this was a "package" deal. It just said it was a $300 value. 
• Since it was a "package" deal, where everything had to be rung up as a package, why couldn't everything be rung up and just have the PC services being performed say "completed" just to make the customer happy so she gets the online training she wanted and I can continue to work on her PC? If that was not possible, why not just give the customer the website and password needed so she can go to the site? 
• Also, and here is what really concerned me, this package deal was for any new PC a customer purchased in the store. What if the new PC the customer purchased was the FIRST PC they ever purchased. They obviously would have wanted the "FREE setup" and the "FREE Microsoft online training"  so they could learn how to use their FIRST PC they ever bought. They did not need the data transfer. Now, because it was a package deal, they probably could not have gotten two out of three and that would have upset that customer as well. I'm sure they wouldn't have rung that package up and done the two out of three services because they couldn't even do the simpler one out of three listed in that package. I honestly think the customer should have a choice in what FREE thing they want to have done on their PC. Having it as a "package" which does not state it being a "package" is not good for the customer and not good for the store as well who is "required" to do all three services, which will take a few days to get done.

So, as you can see, my customer and I, being a small business owner who shops at Staples A LOT for my business needs and my customers personal needs, were not happy campers.