Customer Dissatisfaction Department

Our January winner for bad customer service is Staples in Bay City.

I had to run into Staples to have something laminated. While I was at picking up and paying for my order at the copy center desk, I told the girl working behind the counter that I needed to buy five sheets of 11" x 17" paper. Simple request, right?

Me: "Do you have 11" x 17" paper in colors?"

Staples co-worker: "Yes."

"Can I have five sheets on the ivory or the cream?"

"We don't have it in stock...we have to special order it."

Didn't I just ask if you had it? Did she think I was inquiring as to whether or not such 11" x 17" colored paper existed?

"Okay...that's not a problem. Do you have it in stock in white?"

"Yes."

"Great. Can I have five sheets of that?"

"Um...okay...um...we don't...um...we can't really sell you five sheets like that. There isn't a way that we can ring it into our system."

You would think I was asking her to sell me her shoes or something. Even now when I think about it I have to shake my head in disbelief. There are several options she had, any of which would have worked out better than her response. She could have decided to:

1. Sell me the paper as if it were 5 copies. Easy. Problem solved.

2. Give me the paper for free. It's five sheets of paper...they cost you next to nothing. It creates goodwill with a regular customer.

3. Almost anything other than stand there like a deer in the headlights, stammering about point-of-sale systems.

My last job with Kinko's was as a regional trainer, handling customer service classes. This is Customer Service 101, Staples. Hire people who can solve problems, rather than create them. I'll still shop at Staples for supplies sometimes, but from now on my print work will probably end up elsewhere.

These days I frequently hear people blathering on about branding, but the truth is that very few people really have any idea what branding is. It's not your logo, it's not your tagline--it's everything. Including—especially in service businesses—the people who man your registers. In a micro environment like a small city where word of mouth carries a lot of weight, who you hire says more about you than your logo ever will.

A Brand is Born, A Brand Dies

I know that I'm a little late in writing about this, but I wanted to write about the FedEx decision to kill the FedEx Kinko's name in favor of FedEx Office. I'm sure that a move like this was planned from the time FedEx initially acquired Kinko's, but I think they kept Kinko's in the name to help transition consumers from one brand to the other. From a branding standpoint, it makes perfect sense. FedEx Kinko's was a terrible name—it was made up of two corporate giants whose names had become nearly synonymous with the product. This can instill in consumers a certain amount of confusion—is FedEx Kinko's a print shop who ships or a shipper who prints?

So, as I said, the decision to change the name makes sense. FedEx Office eliminates the two-brand name confusion and better communicates the full range of services offered. The name says business, which is the market that they want to appeal to. I worked for Kinko's as a general manager and regional trainer for a number of years, so I can speak from experience when I tell you that the small- to medium-size office is the bread-and-butter for Kinko's. They'll still be happy to do color copies of your grandkids and copy the minutes of your PTA meeting, but serving business is where they make their dough.

Kinko's is a great example of grass-roots growth of a brand. The name itself was founder Paul Orfalea's nickname which he applied to his first copy shop, located on a college campus. The brand grew by opening additional locations on campuses across the country. As this first generation of Kinko's customers graduated from college and moved into the professional world, they created a demand for the same services in the commercial market. That demand further grew the brand. With this growth in the number of locations, Kinko's began utilizing more regional and national marketing. Their success was so great that there are some who feel that the name Kinko's was in danger of becoming a genericized trademark—in effect, they were nearly so successful that they nearly killed their own brand (examples of lost brand names include zipper, thermos, and pilates—each of which was a trademarked brand at one time).

Personally, though, I have to admit that I am a little saddened to see the Kinko's brand go away. I have great memories of my time at Kinko's and of meeting and speaking with Paul (Kinko himself—his inspirational book, Copy This, is one of my favorite motivational/business books). As a matter of fact, I credit my time with Kinko's as one of the major contributing factors to my decision to become a designer. So thanks for everything, Kinko's. You'll always be open 24 hours in my heart, your name displayed in Reflex blue Revue font with a red dot above the i.