Another national chain with a West Seattle presence is planning to close stores. Today, Staples – which has an outlet at Westwood Village – said it will shut down 225 stores, which is 12 percent of what it has in North America. As with Radio Shack earlier this week, the news came as part of a report of an earnings drop. And, also like Radio Shack, Staples is not yet announcing which stores it will close. (Thanks to Jon for the tip.)
I happen to use the Westwood store periodically for copy center stuff. It seemed to me they had no other customers.
There’s a Burien store…I bet this one gets the ax.
Radio Shack is a mix of corporate and franchise stores. I’m assuming they are talking about shutting the corporate ones. I hope Staples in WW stays open – they have a fantastic staff and are the only office supply in West Seattle.
Those two stores have something in common – customer service issues. Staples, I could wander for HOURS and never find an employee who can help me find whatever it is I want. In Radio Shack it’s the opposite. They’re on top of me, two at a time, following me through the store, making comments on what I pick up or look at, being so overly helpful I feel like they think I’m going to steal everything. And then when I do choose something, they question as to whether I know what I’m buying, how to use it. When done right, like at McLendons, I hear “have you ever used one of these before? Need any instructions before you leave?” But at Radio Shack it comes across as “are you sure you’re buying the right component? You probably have the wrong thing. Tell me what you’re going to do with it so I can second guess you.” VERY different experience.
While I’m always sad to hear of people losing jobs, I think we need some better stores in WWV, and this is a good opportunity.
I also hope Staples stays for the convenience, though I suppose ink cartridges are outrageously priced everywhere… @Aim: man, you nailed the RS experience. I was just there to buy a new phone charger cord and it took a team of three to help me find the right one. “Help” being relative. I only needed the cord and not the outlet component, and I could barely get a word in edgewise while they hovered. The crowning moment came at the register when the young man asked if I wanted to pay a (approximately) $3 insurance coverage on a $12 cord! That’s just bad training (and shame on RS for trying to gouge customers!). For all that, I hope RS stays as well.
I do not believe Staples has announced which of its 250 stores across North America it will be closing. All the years we have gone to Staples in Westwood Village, we have always found them helpful, courteous and knowledgeable in all they have helped us with. They have gone the extra mile in helping us. We would be quite sad to see the store closed. Time will tell. We just want to thank Staples at Westwood Village for all they have done for us over the years. Thank you.
No, they have not, and I wrote that very clearly in the short story above …
Hope Westwood stays for lots of reasons including UPS shipping.
What kind of flawed logic correlates this story with the leadership of President Obama? I find Staples to be very overpriced so I shop elsewhere, obviously many other folks do as well.
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President Obama did not create the recession, he inherited it. The country is in far better shape now than it was 5 years ago.
I agree with AIM. Neither store has good customer service and Staples is overpriced. Buying online is cheaper. Wereally could use a good office supply store in WS, but Staples is not it.
@West Seattle Hip… I think the original Obama comment was in jest. Take a sip of water, everything is ok
I use Staples frequently for UPS shipping. However, I do agree with rb that the space has great potential for a movie theater, which is sorely needed in WS. I must admit I rarely if ever buy office supplies at Staples, so if they left, I wouldn’t be heartbroken as long as a UPS Store moved into WV (in a smaller space, obviously).
Sorry, comment time is over.
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