screwed over by officemax

om sent out an email--and i am pretty sure i am not the only one--to ppl who ordered the 2370 series online about a cancellation.

their story is they took as many orders as they thought possible and it turns out the vendor--being averatec--updated OM with the status how they were not going to send any more 2370 series out anymore to them.

sounds pretty iffy to me. i am at a lost. i dont know what i can do. i couldve of lined up for it during blackfriday too. or i couldve of purchased it instore and pricematched it as well. i really couldve. there was an hour away, in my hometown, that had it. but decided that i didnt need to drive.

damnit. sigh.

 

as of now i cannot even find and purchase the 2370series at regular prices. double sigh.

 

I too ordered the Averatec 2370 on the 23rd. I receive a notice on Tues of this week that it is on backorder and last night it is cancelled. I call and they tell me that the ad stated that quantities were limited and that they will no longer be receiving shipments from the vendor. I tell them that this is true they were limited quantities and that they fulfilled my order at that time promising me one. Had I known I could have bought one somewhere else and then price matched. They tell me they are very sorry and that they are going to send me a gift card. Why would I want to buy anything else there? I have seen on other sites where substitute products are being offered by several managers at local stores. I call again today and after much time on hold they tell me that they are working on a substitute and that they will let me know. I explain again how I waited outside the store and was one of the first through the door that morning only to be told that they never had them to begin with but we could order them and get it in a week. I wonder what they will tell me when I call again. I think this is fraudulent advertising and quite possibly illegal what they have done. I would call customer service and demand a replacement like what I have seen on other sites and continue to nag them till they give us at least some satisfaction. Just my $.02

 

no! your two cents are whole heartedly in the right place. i was thinking the same thing as well. that some sort of replacement/substitution should be in order. i couldve of done the same exact thing, either by purchasing the same wednesday night (before thanksgiving) and then pricematching it or bought it on black friday--which i stood in line regardless.

carols, please update me (and us) with your situation. i will pursue this case as well. i will definitely give customer support a ring tmw and throw them my two cents as well.

best of luck.

 

Well, this whole issue with Office Max reminds me of the Three Stooges. I call yesterday and talk to Larry who tells me there is nothing to be done and no more will ever ever be at OM and here is a $50 gift card for my trouble. Today I talk to Moe who tells me that there is no more but maybe I can get a substitute product when corporate feels motivated to decide. During intermission I call and get a girl who doesn´t ask my name or order number but tells me they are "still working on it" and she knows this because she would have seen a mass email sent out that surely would have dealt with my particular order whatever it might have been whenever it might have been. Tonight I check stock at my local stores and low and behold one of them just got a brand new shipment of the same elusive laptop in today but according to Curly at the store, they have no authority to do a price match for my original order. I will have to call corporate. I call corporate who tells me I will have to talk to the store as they have no authority. I at this point have a mental breakdown and unleash on the guy I currently have on the phone and he actually takes pity on me. This guy at corporate then asks me if I have the number for the store so that he can call. Apparently they don´t have numbers for their stores. He calls and they are going to talk to the managers, one who is out sick and the other....who knows where but not at work and try to get me a discounted price but no way possible to get the same price as the online purchase has nothing to do with the store side of things and the store will be taking a loss if they sell it less than current price. At the end of all of this a woman calls to verify my address so they can send me the wonderful gift card so that I can run out and make another purchase from a store that has treated their customers so wonderfully and been so clearly honest with them. So, another day...another episode of the Three Stooges. OM should receive an award for incompetence that reaches the point of being comical.

Here are some emails floating around on the other forums. Only one known to be verified as correct is the CFOs but the others I sent to didn´t bounce back so I suggest that everyone send a message to these to let them know of our displeasure.

CEO - Sam Duncan - [email protected]
CFO - Don Civgin - [email protected]
VP Marketing - Bob Thacker - [email protected]

 

i will email accordingly. three stooges? ha! great anecdote. do you mind me asking which zip code you live in carlos? because i believe you should pick up the laptop instore and then deal with the pricematching afterwards. secure your hands on it first!

i am hoping to do so myself. this is really the run around. i dislike it when their information is varied from when representative to another.

p/s.: could you please share the number for corporate?

 

as you mentioned, and i do believe this is a possibility, that officemax is actually willing to give out giftcards instead of taking a huge loss over the amount of averatec laptops that were ordered at a price they now seem to not be able to honor due to the sole fact that they will not make a profit from it.

 

after several phone calls and talking to multiple store managers and corporate supervisors (online phone #)... basically, they just do not want to pricematch/honor the previous sale price given to customers because they do not want anymore losses.

just like carlos, i have encountered the Three Stooges and have been given the run around.

 

OWBERT,

They don't have any obligation to price match any former sales, especially if they don't want anymore losses.

How is that screwing you over?

 

(i have posted this on other forums as well in hopes of increasing the chance of helping ppl who do not mind trying to claim the blackfriday sale price they were given)

i was able to purchase my averatec in store at blackfriday's sale price after pricematch. i hope this "guide" helps anyone else.

time frame: dec 2nd (this previous saturday) late morning to noon. the whole ordeal took about less than hour; excluding actual commute time to and back from OM (officemax).

so earlier when forum member, carlosworkman, tipped me off about how OM stores had actual stock of them i was surprised and then set forth on a mission. i pulled a list of all the OM's within my area that was within reasonable drive time and started calling each one. i started with one story and ended up editing my introduction story each time to each store and its respected store manager when i found out they have an averatec laptop in stock.

sure there was the usual bull**** of how their hands are tied and that their sympathy are with us. no dice. i wasnt going to give. each store should theoretically have more than one store manager. you just have to wait till they are off work and call back again.

basically what i am getting at is i was able to procure two (one for myself and one for a friend who was ripped as well) averatec laptops at the blackfriday price. in fact, they were 2 bucks a pop cheaper due to the lower tax--yes, i had to drive 33.7 miles away, each way, but it is worth it.

here is basically what i did and i advise anyone else to give it a try:

1) find your local OM's and a radius foundation (how far are you willing to drive).
2) call early so you can rotate and call later in the day to talk to someone different.
3) when you first call, ask the the representative who is the store manager and if there is a shift/co manager. also who is the current manager in charge.
3b) keep a note of this so you can call later and "negotiation" your way for a second chance.
4) start off by asking them about their PM (pricematch) policy--play innocent.
4b) ask them if would honor their own officemax.com prices--of course they will.
5) tell them your situation about how you were promised a laptop and you even have the order confirmation but the whole thing was cancelled due to the warehouse being out of stock.
5b) do not tell them you were snubbed of the laptop via online order. tell them you waited in line during thanksgiving holiday and was given the order by a store manager at another store.

*basically, the angle is that OM in general was willing to sell you the laptop for the 599.99 price but they had to recede the offer due to not having any in stock. but a sales representative from corp. did hint that you should find a local store since they might have one or two left after the crazy holiday sale and you could purchase in store instead.

6) stop by the store when successful. bring printed email confirmation receipt of both the first initial order and the cancellation email. print out the blackfriday add if needed.
7) purchase without hassle.

for my case i did encounter store managers that would not budge on their position. no big deal, i either moved on or waited till a shift manager or co manager cycled into the work schedule and tried again.

i was successful when i talked to a shift manager who confirmed with his store manager. they did not see why i should not be allowed to have my laptop at said sale price if OM previously agreed to it--and charged my credit card.

i walked in the store, asked for XXX and XXX and showed them my printed out papers, he asked when i purchased this sale, i showed him the timestamp from the email and he proceeded to ring up the laptop for 599.99.

best of luck with this. the idea is not to be impatient with them and bring out the empathy from them. we are all human after all.

--any questions? by all means ask away. albert.

update: carlosworksman was successive in PM-ing at a local (65 miles away!) OM near him.