Why you can't get good customer service at Office Depot

Many big box stores are known for delivering poor customer service.  In fact, service is the key way that small businesses can compete with the big boxes.  Last week I learned one reason that customer service in Office Depot is so bad.  In short, it's their hiring process.

The local Office Depot advertises almost every other month for departmental managers.  Either they're rapidly promoting people up the chain, or they've got astronomical turnover.  The same is true for several other large chains in the area.  Family Dollar is always looking for an assistant manager (more on that later).  Because I'm underemployed during the summer months, I applied for the Office Depot position.  I got a phone call inviting me to come in and take a computer-based personality test.  It had over a hundred questions, most of which were statements to which I had to indicate if I agreed or disagreed with them.  Many questions were rephrased and repeated often, either because they're deemed important or to gauge consistency in answers. 

There were several questions that left me rather puzzled.  I answered them honestly, because I'm just the most honest person you'll ever meet, and because I wasn't interested in "gaming the system."  Either they're going to hire me for being me or they're not.  One strange statement was "I like to take naps in the afternoon."  Hell yes, I like to take naps in the afternoon.  Not at work, of course, but the statement didn't differentiate between workdays and weekends.  So what does it mean that I clicked "agree" to this statement?  That I'm lazy?  Or that I'm honest?

Another question said something like "I've done something in my life of which I'm ashamed."  Again, I clicked "agree."  I can't think of a specific instance, however I'm pretty sure that sometime (or several times) in the last fifty years I've done something of which I'm ashamed.  Hasn't everyone?  Again, what does it mean that I answered the question the way I did?  That I'm honest or that I'm ashamed of my behavior?

Yet another statement was "I've broken some traffic laws."  I'm pretty sure I was speeding (at least a little) on my way to the store to take the test.  I probably didn't use my turn signal every time I was supposed to.  In fact, I would bet there's hardly a day that I don't commit a minor infraction of one sort or another.  Given that most people don't even know most traffic laws, it's safe to say that there's hardly a driver on the road who doesn't break traffic laws.  So, what does it mean if you click "agree" to this statement?  More importantly, what does it mean if you click "disagree?"  That you're a liar?

I suspect Office Depot uses this test because their store managers don't know how to screen applicants or conduct job interviews.  The fact that they've got such high turnover and that customers receive poor service in their stores underscores this fact.  They probably hired an expensive consultant to create this test.  The consultant probably has no knowledge of psychology other than a book or two he might have read.  He then sold them this test and convinced them it would help the hiring process.

As bad as the test was, it still was better than the one offered by Family Dollar.  They sent me a link to a similar test, but instead of agreeing or disagreeing to one statement at a time, their test presented you with pairs of statements, and you were required to choose the one you agreed with.  Uh, what if I don't agree with either?  Or what if I agree with both?  What if you were presented with these two statements: 1. I'm a bank robber.  2. I'm a child molester.  Which one would you choose?  Now, those weren't actual questions from the exam (or maybe they were; I quit the exam before finishing it).  They're the type of things with which I was presented.  Two statements that were equally negative in my mind.  I e-mailed their HR department and told them that I was positive if they asked their CEO to take this exam, he would tell them to stop using it.

In every job I've had, customer service is one of my top priorities.  I treat others as I would like to be treated.  And I define "customer" as each and every person with whom I deal.  It doesn't have to be a customer of my business, it could be a coworker.  I treated the guy in the mail room with the same respect I showed the CEO (he appreciated it, she did not).  If Office Depot had hired me, they would have seen an enormous jump in customer satisfaction at that store.  Just as with each and every other business in which I've worked, I would have made sure that every customer who walked through the door was taken care of and left pleased with their purchase.  Oh well, it's their loss (and yours, if you're an Office Depot customer).

Stop Shrinking My Food - the continuing saga

I've written about this before.  But, since new stories keep emerging, I'll keep writing.  


Food companies are shrinking packages as a way of increasing prices without actually increasing prices.  They say they're holding the line on price increases, but since you're getting less, the price per ounce is going up - often by quite a bit.


Among the problems with this are the increase in packaging per same amount of food, increasing the cost of freight, etc.  Personally, I think each food item has an ideal size, and that's what it should remain at.  What happens after they can't shrink anymore?  "New larger size!" they're sure to boast.  What they'll omit is that it's the same size they sold you five or ten years ago, but now the price is two or three times as much.

From The Consumerist:

Myron Reducto is at it again, turning his Grocery Shrink Ray Gun on Odwalla juice, zapping it down to 12 oz from 15. The price is the same. Like other food packagers, Odwalla is combining the shrinkage with a packaging redesign that it hopes will get more press. In this case, they are simultaneously rolling out bottles that are made from 100% plant based HDPE plastic.

Labels are there for a reason

Years ago, I read on the back page of Consumer Reports about the difference between regular and extra-strength decongestants.  One came in a yellow package, while the other came in green and was more expensive.  But both had the same amount of active ingredients.  Consumer Reports wrote a headline that read, "Yellow is for Sneezy.  Green is for Dopey."  


Labels have a purpose, and manufacturers who try to deceive their customers with misleading - or outright false - statements should be held accountable.

From The Consumerist:

Lawsuit: Campbell's "Regular" And "25% Less Sodium" Tomato Soup Both Contain 480mg Of Sodium

By Ben Popken on April 18, 2011 10:00 AM

(Mouseprint)

Here's a trick question: How much sodium does Campbell's "25% less sodium" tomato soup contain compared to regular Campbell's tomato soup? Would you believe that both contain 480 mg? And that the first one costs more? Four NJ housewives couldn't, and a federal judge has ruled that their lawsuit against Campbell's over what they call misleading labels can proceed.
Campbell's reply is that the "25% less sodium" claim is as compared to the average of "all varieties" of condensed soup, not tomato. "Campbell has complete confidence in the accuracy of our labels and our marketing communications and that they meet regulatory and other legal requirements," the company told Reuters.
Below the big yellow "25%" and big white "LESS SODIUM" on the front of the can in smaller yellow text it says "than regular condensed soup."
They may be right about meeting statutory requirements, but that doesn't mean a reasonable consumer can't still be mislead by the label on the front of the can. The lawsuit seeks class action status.