I am a long time customer of the Pinole California Staples Store. As a preschool owner/director I use their copy center for relatively large copy jobs of school worksheets we use each day of each month. Heretofore, I've been very please with the customer service. If ever there were any problems they were slight and the manager on duty was more than willing the step in. As a regular customer at the copy center, I got to know the regulars and they got to know me and what to expect when I show up with my mothly work sheets.

Today, however, at the Pinole, California Staples Copy Center, I was the recepient of the worse cutomer service I have ever received in a store, hands down.

When dropped off my copy job, I was told by the clerk that they had a large job to finish and might not be able to get to my job today. I told her that I HAD to have the worksheets for school tomorrow and asked if I was willing to pick up late in the day would I be able to get my job done. She said yes, and asked if I could come in at 6:30. I agreed and left.

Approximately, 30-45 minutes later, I received a phone call from a person I believe to be named Tina at the Pinole store - who seemed to be very agitated. She told me that my copy would not be completed today and that I could pick it up the originals today, or come in tomorrow to pick up the copies. I explained my conversation with the sales clerk wherein she agreed that my job could be completed late in the day. Tina's response was she didn't know what was agreed upon between the first sales clerk and I but that my copy job wasn't going to be completed today. She stated she was calling then because "it wasn't too late." I told her it was already too late because Staples had accepted the job. And there was no one else I could find to complete it today. I asked her if there was any portion of my job that could be completed so that I could have some of it today. Tina came across as really irritaed with me. She put me on hold and came back and abruptly asked if I could come to the store at 8:00 p.m. I asked her what time the store closed and she said 9:00p.m. She said they would start my job around 4:00 and it would be finished thereafter. Feeling a little bruised but optomistic, I agreed and hung up.

I showed up at the store at 8:04 and they were closed! I gave a brief explanation of my situation to the guy at the door, Vitaliv, and he agreed to let me in. Got to copy center and asked to speak with a manager because I was unhappy with how my copy job had been handled and the misinformation Tina had given me about the closing time (I really think Tina purposely gave me the wrong time so that I wouldn't get my copies. How is it that a store employee wouldn't know when a store closed?)

Vitaliv was the on site supervisor and things went down hill from there. He approached me and before I could even get my complaint out, he told me Tina had told him all about me and how mad I was when she called me. When I attempted to explain my side of things he wouldn't listen- kept cutting me off with things he said Tina had told him. When I mentioned to him that she gave me the wrong closing time of the store, he told me flat out that I was wrong. What's worse, he told me my job had been finished early and I could have picked it up at 6:00! I asked why no one had called to inform me that my job was done (as they have always done in the past) and he shrugged. Worse yet I looked at the receipt and had been charged TWICE what I normally paid. When I attempted to ask the clerk questions to get clarification about the bill, Vitaliv interrupted the clerk and I, and told me the price was what is was. When I explained to him how I am normally billed for my job he told me I was billed more because I instructed Tina to hand feed my copies instead of using the document feeder. Not true and doesn't make sense. Why would I WANT to pay more for copies? I settled for paying only for the copies I need for class this week and told Vitaliv that I would be speaking to his manager tomorrow.

I am BLOWN AWAY by treatment I received in store today. Tina came across as harried, irritated and frustrated (perhaps overworked.) While I think her phone call was ill advised (she should have clarified things with her co-worker before calling me) Vitaliv was just plain nasty. He'd formed an opinion about me without having all of the facts and made it clear he couldn't care less about my concerns.

I spend a lot of money in the store and am a regular customer. I deserved better treadment today.