I encounter a lot of you ozbargainers here. Ask away. Will strictly not provide proof / location of the store I work in. If this is a deterrent then I suggest you act accordingly.
I mainly work in tech. Just a casual too.
[AMA] I Work at Officeworks. AMA
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So that they can beat the price to avoid beating the price? That makes no sense.
is it policy for the employee to inform management and have their prices be the lowest so they can avoid actually beating the price?
Is it policy that the employee informs management of the price match. Would management then lower the price of the item so they don't have to do a price match and 5% beat. Or would they simply leave the price as is ?
Think harder.
No that is not a policy. If lots of people begin price beating from a particular site I would assume that they'd act upon it on all stores. Most likely they just look at the main big retailers. I assume there is a 'fine line' that is maintained here between price beating popular stores to save money vs price beating smaller, less-known stores etc.
At the end of the day a report can be generated by the store manager to see what items have been price matched, at the counter we have to enter in a store name when price matching.
That being said, There's a team at HQ who do price checks against major retailers 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, night) or 2 times on weekends, which they price match to the same price as that of the competitors. These are automatically put into the system, but staff have to manually print and place out tickets, but you'll always get the newest/most updated price at the counter.
In the event of the price increasing and there is an old ticket on the shelf, bring the old ticket down to the counter and they'll give you the cheaper shelf label price.
You've mentioned extended warranties a couple of times (your vote for "best value" above) so I'm interested: does Officeworks incentivise/encourage you to push extended warranties?
Extended warranties might be great value for the retailer, but what do you believe they give the consumer over and above the rights you already have under the Australian Consumer Law? (you know, goods must work as described and for a reasonable period of time; the right to a refund from either the store or the manufacturer—consumer's choice—in the case of a major failure; the right to a repair—again from either—for minor failures, etc).
There is a push to sell extended warranties. There is no incentive to do so. No one in my store really bothers except me, when I think it is within best interest. If you buy a HL-1110 laser printer for example, at $45, the extended warranty only costs an additional $5. That is $2.50 per year. If the printer cost $51 then extended warranty is $14. At $45 you only pay 11% of the purchase price for 2 years of extended warranty (three years total). At $51 you pay 27% of the purchase price for 2 years extended warranty. This is quite a large margin.
It's a hit or miss sort of thing but people are willing to spend a tad bit more for peace of mind.
The extra cover is also transferable across buyers. It adds value if you are planning on selling your laptop for example. It is also refundable within 30 days. This is a good read: http://www.officeworks.com.au/images/services/pdf/OWO079%20E….
To be honest, for a $45 printer, I'll take my chances.
But the chance of them selling the same $45 printer in 3 years is practically zero so you can get a new updated model when the old one breaks
I'll take 3 extended warranties!
How do you deal with stubborn and rude people?
Stubborn and rude people don't really phase me much. I don't get them quite often, most of the customers here are nice. If you are rude and / or stubborn I'll probably forget you by the end of my shift.
It's different if you are dealing with a violent customer who threatens to punch people if his printing isn't done or tells you to "stick the easter eggs up you and your managers ass" when you offered him some because he had to walk 12 isles down to grab a receipt book. In this case you don't know if their violence is built from a) rudeness or b) insanity i.e someone who is genuinely a threat and has no boundaries.
rude people don't really phase me much.
Faze.😉
Per op: "Will strictly not provide proof / location of the store I work in"
I suppose so.
They can't do anything if he doesn't provide his name and store.
I doubt Officeworks management would care. They can't restrict free speech over the internet.
One OzBargainer who works in the head office of one of the airlines used to regularly post good airfares but then their marketing department found out and told him to stop.
Which airline was this for?
Yea I'm curious too. Which airline?
Virgin 'straya
Some info in this thread here:
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/218719?page=1#comment-3183…
As long it's not damaging to the image of Officeworks I don't think they mind. Pretty sure I had to sign that I wouldn't put down/demean the store online.
You're not spreading lies or slander about the Officeworks brand. You're just being honest and answering simple customer questions. I doubt they'd have an issue with it.
hi there, I'm the ceo of OW, I can confirm sy37 has my permission to represent my company here on ozbargain.
You forgot to tick the "I am associated with Officeworks" box =p
precisely, anyone can tick that box
Is there a guideline as to when a faulty product will be replaced on the spot as opposed to sending it away "for repair"? For example: I buy a bottom of the range phone and bring it back a few months later claiming an intermittent fault. Would this be different with a more expensive one or a tablet, etc?
Not OP but I'll answer this one. Generally if the item can get sent away for repair, then it would. In your case, bottom of the range mobile phone, maybe/maybe not. More expensive items like mobile phones and tablets, definitely would. However you're much better off dealing with the manufacturer themselves (skip the middle man).
Be nice and it goes a long way.
I have a hp printer fail of a known issue, staff where nice enough to replace it on thw spot for a cannon.
I caouldnt get the blasted thing to work after every avenue was exhausted and after explauning the peoblems they then recommended another printer and been happy ever since.Had some great help and advice.
Can confirm. If you're an absolute tool about a faulty product (which most of the time, we as staff have no control over), then you can be sure that I will double, triple check the sucker to make sure it isn't working. If you're nice about it I might just check it once, or not at all and offer you a replacement.
Major problem in the product gives the consumer a choice of refund, exchange or repair.
https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…
If I had a major problem in my consumer electronics, I know my first choice wouldn't be repair and I wouldn't be dealing with manufacturer, especially if it meant a longer time for resolution
If it was a minor problem and dealing with the manufacturer meant shorter time for resolution I would, for example, I'd get a repair from Apple as their after service is great, wouldn't get one from D-Link.
Do you get comission on sales?
I heard harvey norman staff do, is it the same for ow?No commission.
Do you have certain kpi (key performance indicators)? Like add-ons you have to sell… Or just a normal store budget that your team has to reach.
Normal store budget
Staff are incentivised through various non-monetary award schemes where we can achieve lanyard pins, staff function funding and other things.
How does OfficeWorks get rid of warranty repaired, customer change of mind and ex-demonstrator items? Have heard of OzBargain horror stories of DickSmith + computer shops "accidentally" putting repaired external hard drives back on the shelves that still have data on them. Though in OfficeWorks its near impossible to see any returned electronics items for sale on the clearance table.
How does OfficeWorks get rid of warranty repaired, customer change of mind and ex-demonstrator items?
They get put aside and are sold at a lower price, specifically mentioning the reason eg. repaired, change of mind or ex-display.
So what about if someone brings a 3 day old tablet in, gets swapped for a new unit on the spot and the faulty tablet gets RMA'd by OW.
Would OW get that particular RMA'd unit back (assuming manufacturer opt for repair)? And if so, would it just get sold as new?
Not as new. As I said:
sold at a lower price, specifically mentioning the reason eg. repaired, change of mind or ex-display.
Hi sy37 - great post - thanks for the honest feedback. Just a plug for a couple of your stores in Melbourne's northern suburbs. Can't speak highly enough of the staff. Always a welcoming smile, extremely polite, helpful, and knowledgeable. Pleasure to shop there. Keep up the great work :)
TA being the workaholic you are surely you need another job. Part-time position at Officeworks?
Staples was an entrant and potential competitor in the market a few years ago. Their initial momentum seems to have fizzled out, and they are just an also-ran. Do you have any comment on them?
The Officeworks team members are just drones; they don't really care about Officeworks competitors or how well the business is doing as it doesn't affect them.
Unlike Officeworks, Staples doesn't have brick and mortar stores so they aren't able to capture the market of people who like shopping in-store or require the items immediately. Corporates definitely use either for their office supplies.
Do you know Honinbo Shusaku?
Hi sy37, how do you handle difficult customers?
Also, just a courtesy reminder that you have signed NDA and confidentiality agreement when you start you work. Please make sure certain things that are against the agreements are not disclosed publicly.No need to worry, overruled by Ozbargain policy.
Whatever is discussed in Ozbargain stays in Ozbargain.Hi sy37, how do you handle difficult customers?
See https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/242411#comment-3601914
Difficult question to answer to be honest. It changes from customer to customer, depending on the actual reason they're being difficult. You'd have to be more specific.
Difficult as in rude? I just deal with it like any other customer. Maybe they're having a bad day. I'll forgot you at the end of my shift :)
Thx. How to deal with those people that asks one thousand questions but has no intention to purchase anything?
Eneloops will OW ever stock them.
The Officeworks team members don't get informed of release new products until like maybe a few days or a week prior. This question is more for suitable for someone that actually does the sourcing and contracts.
Do people to your knowledge abuse your (in my opinion) overly generous return policy?
Yes, heaps.
Yes. Sometimes you don't have the time to investigate over a few dollars but if the store isn't busy and / or the amount is reasonably high, I will take every single measure possible to make sure that the claim is legit etc. It does vary from store to store though, and does depend on who is behind the counter too.
Hello, thanks for being a honest and decent human being. That is all :)
Thank you. GLaDOS said I'm a horrible, horrible person though :'(
Hi.
My question is surrounding the 'Officeworks 20% Price Beat on School List Items.'
When this campaign is running, it was explained that if it was on the required School List? The item will get 20% off your regular price.
I dont believe there are any exclusions but are you aware of any?
Can you explain if your allowed to price match from competitors such as Amazon? I have in the past and the staff had no issues as long as it was in aud and including shipping. Or are they not suppose to be allowing it?
Refer to the Officeworks Price Match policy.
What items are excluded from the LPG?
* Non identical products and services (inclusive of non identical warranties)
* Package deals i.e. printer and computer bundles
* Cash back and coupon offers
* Resellers
* Customer special orders
* Contract Pricing
* Competitor clearance productsWhile there's no exact rule that you can't price match overseas competitors but it can complicate things. Sometimes international version of a similar-looking item (eg. Seagate 4TB portable drive) have different model numbers, which makes it a non-identical product. Sometimes the item has different warranty periods or is not covered by manufacturer warranty. Sometimes the team member or manager might just refuse, in case they get in trouble by upper management.
If you are still keen on price matching overseas competitors, make sure you do your research on model numbers and warranty first. This way, there will be no surprises, and if you get refused, you have some ground.
Do you generally have problems with the quality of your office chairs and stools? We have been through 6 sets of bar stools and 4 office chairs. I also fell through a chair at the photo lab in ow. When the last set failed they tried the out of warranty (13 months old) trick and failing that basically gave me my money back and kicked me out. It seems price comes before quality?
How are you using the bar stools and chairs? To go through 6 sets is very unusual; and in what time period?
When the last set failed they tried the out of warranty (13 months old) trick
That's actually a valid point and the team members are just following the refund policy. It was generous of them to refund you.
I'd say the quality of the office chairs are good enough. If you don't have much luck with the chairs, consider getting Extra Cover which extends the warranty up to 3 years. During that period, you can get your chairs replaced free of charge.
Personally I don't see complying with the consumer act as being generous.
I know it may have been an upsetting experience but no need to neg me; I'm just stating what the team members were trained.
There is no defined time period for warranty as per consumer law, just a "reasonable time". It's commonly accepted that 12 months is a reasonable time and that's also what Officeworks adopts as reasonable time.
I also think 12 months as reasonable time is fair for both the seller and the consumer. It's long enough time to test if there are any manufacturing defects in the product but not long enough for consumers to abuse it.
How much did you pay? There is a reference to "relative to the price paid" for the consumer act, so if you're talking about $20 stools/chairs for which you had 12 months warranty, I'd argue that 12 months for a $20 chair is indeed generous and they did not "comply with the consumer act" but just did it to appease you.
Around $100 per chair. There is a 'reasonable expectation of quality' that is not met.
And we sit in them. :)
We have a comedian. I wasn't laughing when my wife almost fell off one of your chairs holding my six week old son.
I'd like to say that consumer act doesn't guarantee that you'll get a replacement, repair or a refund. I use to work for competitor so i know all about it. You still have to go thru the process of going to the tribunal,I would say 95-99% the retailer has won or what originally what the retailer was offering. I've have say I've gone out of the way of for a customer that a 10 year old TV that was repair under recall once and was out of warranty by 4 years. I got replace for brand new smart TV for free and before I left he was customer last 5 years. Also his business continually bought from us when i was still there. I say if approach it nicely to the retailer you mostly like get your way and don't need to worry about it. Buying the extra warranty take all that hassle out. I'm sure OP has mention it peace of mind at the end of the day.
The gas lift chairs at OW are crap. As for going through so many chairs have you checked the weight limit?
We are under 100kg. But thanks for the negs everyone anyway. :)
Keep em coming. If you guys had as many issues with these chairs as we have, you'd be annoyed also.
We? They are only designed to hold one person at a time
Do you have access to view the cost price of the items? What are the general markups/profit margin on stationery?
Yes but the cost price factors in overheads so it's not the true cost price as sourced. Haven't really checked on stationery but I'd imagine it to be quite high.
A company I worked for was a supplier of tech items to OW. The products that were sold had a supplier price difference of about +200% on costly (~$1000) products (excluding what they would determine as overheads). These products I do remember were sold as "online only" and would be shipped when requested to their distribution centres around the country.
I've been fascinated by the fact that many of the latest laptops are still HD instead of FHD, especially for 15" laptops, and have USB 2.0 instead of being all USB 3.0. I assume they are using old tech standards because punters are clueless and never ask for FHD and all USB 3.0. Is that true? How often do you get knowledgeable shoppers asking for FHD and all USB 3.0? Is management aware of such issues or do they just accept whatever the manufacturers give them?
(BTW, I asked a HP rep outside Harvey Norman why smaller screen laptops have FHD while large screen laptops have HD, and he said it's because small screen laptops are more popular. Makes no sense.)
It's due to the production cost:
1366×768 comes from a quirk of at least one method for manufacturing LCD panels. At one stage in manufacture, they’re made as a big sheet of pixels, much, much larger than you want as screens. This is then cut into individual screens, first by cutting into vertical chunks, then cutting the line of screens into single screens. The trick comes in when you’re cutting – defects tend to cluster in individual spots on the screen. Any finished screen with too many defects is a failure and has to be discarded.
So, vertically, you want to cut into as small a number of sizes as possible, and cut horizontal chunks avoiding any defects. You may be seeing why 1366×768 is popular at this point – you can now cut your lots by 768 stage into a mix of 1024×768 4:3 and 1366×768 16:9 screens, and can therefore get more usable screens from the same vertical cut.
The other reason I suppose is price vectoring. By keeping the higher resolution panel as an optional add-on for more premium laptops such as gaming machines and business-grade notebooks, the consumer is more likely going to pay the extra money for an overall more expensive machine if they want that high-res 1080p+ display.
Yea I wonder the same sometimes. As a computer enthusiast, I wouldn't do my laptop shopping at Officeworks. However, many others don't think much or don't care so they will just get whatever that works (and usually at a lower price bracket). Also, most laptops come with at least one USB 3.0 port.
Yeah honestly I've recommended people other more specific computer shops for their even more specific needs sometimes. Having no influence on the products imported into OW, I can only assume it is because there isn't much of a profit margin on laptops compared to stationary so getting the latest and greatest isn't much of a priority.
Haven't had any shoppers ask something specific for laptops, usually these guys come in, ask for a laptop, I get it out and they go home in less than 5 minutes in the store. Barely any interaction, no dramas.
If Officeworks continues to think that laptops are low priority, then Officeworks will continue to be seen as technically ignorant and of low quality. Much better to build a positive reputation.
I happen to have a Nokia/Microsoft phone that I purchased from OW that I want to take in for warranty (within 1 year) . The reason is because it has 1 (ONE) dead pixel. Do you think the guys at my local would agree it is faulty?
Yes, you can return it and most likely they will send it off for repair.
However, you're best to contact Microsoft/Nokia directly and cut out the middleman. This way, you have more control on what's going on and the waiting period will be significantly shorter.
Adding to Ronnknee,
The only benefit of bringing it to officeworks is that you won't have to pay for shipping when sending the phone off, rather Officeworks will ship it off for you but may take an extra couple of days to get back to you, saving you some cash.
If there is a local service center near you, or shipping isn't too expensive, I'd recommend you just do it yourself as ronnknee said.
Is there a possibility that the OW store will refuse a price beat because the price at the competing store is ridiculously low?
Is this ever a factor in refusing, considering the price beat complies with every condition required.
Is there a possibility that the OW store will refuse a price beat
There is always the possibility of a team member refusing a price beat, whether it's legitimate or not. Some are more trained than others when it comes to price beating.
The normal procedure would be the team member verifying with the store by going to the website and/or calling them to check if the price is correct, and if it's available.
If it has been confirmed that the price is correct and the item is in stock (and also assuming that all other conditions are met), then it will be honoured.
I am always thinking if anyone setup a fake online store website and mark down the price a lot then come to OW for price matching, that would be a loop hole to your price matching policy. I am against price matching to any online stores.
Why would you do that if you're "against price matching to any online stores"? Not only is this unethical but you word it as if you'd be going against your own beliefs too…
Also illegal.
No? Surely not?
They probably can if they put enough effort into it and if the team member is careless. If anyone's getting ideas, please don't ruin the price beat policy for everyone…
I have always wondered how big brick and mortar stores make money given their staff, electricity bills, real estate rents, price match and generous returns policy. Do they make any money?
Of course they are. If they weren't then they would cease to exist.
It's simple. There are a lot of people who aren't really price conscious and/or prefer shopping physically in-store. Alternatively, there are also times even though you know the price isn't the cheapest but you need the item immediately.
Ofcourse they do but it still boggles my mind how? Must be the mark up on each item. Do you have any idea what margins are they working at?
Markup varies between products but 100% markup is not uncommon in retail.
When someone comes in and price beats at office works, is it policy for the employee to inform management and have their prices be the lowest so they can avoid actually beating the price?