Announcement: Samsung Laser Printer

BarryB

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Messages
59
Location
Redmond, WA
Hey Guys,
Just returned from vacation where I spent a fair amount of time looking for an inexpensive laser printer to use for transfers. Staples has a sale ($49.99 through the 6th of this month) on a Samsung M2830DW printer that is black and white only, wireless, 4,800x600 dpi, and a PC magazine editor’s choice for low end monochrome laser printers. Before going over there, I checked it out and think it will be a good one for noobs like me who only intend to engrave for a hobby.

I want to state that I have no relationship with Staples and in fact will probably not shop there in the future. While the printer seems like a killer buy, I had a bad experience in the store and the following is what I emailed to their corporate office a few minutes ago.

Sam or whoever monitors the posts will have to let me know if this kind of thing is allowable on here but I think ya'll should be forewarned if you are interested in this printer from Staples.



"I had the worst experience this afternoon in your Bellevue WA store and thought you should know about it. Background isn't all that important considering what happened but I thought I'd give you some of that too so you'd better understand my frustration. I've been looking for an inexpensive laser printer to use as an artwork transfer tool in my engraving hobby. The prints that I transfer to steel and brass are black line drawings and only one inch by two inch medallions or smaller, and so require a minimal amount of toner. The pieces are literally microscopic in their nature and a microscope is used to hand engrave the lines transferred from the printer. I researched extensively and was quite happy when I learned of the sale you're running on the Samsung M2830DW at $50. I knew going in that it was black and white, wireless, and a PC magazine editor’s choice for low end monochrome laser printers. I also knew that toner cartridges are available for as low as $32 from Amazon. The nature of the intended printing suggests that even using the initially supplied low-page-count starter cartridge would net me many usable transfers. A 3,000 page toner cartridge would provide something on the order of 30,000 usable transfers, more than I will ever need as a hobbyist. With all that in mind, I believed that I was an informed customer and expected that the reason for the low price would be that you are moving inventory or some similar reason known only to Staples. I expected at the very least that the printer would be bait for other items and went in with that expectation in place. I also expected that your on-line inventory would be ballpark accurate when it said there were three in stock. What I found was a store with two or three customers, including me. I found the display for the printer but could not find it on the shelves below. I could not find a staff person to help me so I returned to the front of the store where a customer was checking out and another customer was waiting for help. After a several minute transaction for the customer who bought a shipping box and a ream of printer paper, accompanied by a hundred questions about joining your customer group, the cashier asked both of us what we needed and the lady in front of me stated her needs, and I stated mine. The cashier asked me to return to the printer area where someone would help me. I stood there for five minutes, which doesn't seem like a long time, however, there were only three customers in the whole store so it felt like a long time. Finally a man came to attend me and I showed him the printer I wanted and he tried to scan the bar code, which didn't work. He seemed genuinely unaware of the sale and uninformed about the printer. He moved to the cashier area and attended to some kind of issue at the register and then carried a box of some kind to another area of the store. I waited patiently near the cashier, expecting the man to bring the printer to me in a short time. He disappeared into the storeroom for the length of a bible. He finally returned with the printer and a toner cartridge. I informed him that I didn't want the toner cartridge and he proceeded to argue that the printer was practically useless without the $70 printer cartridge. I told him several times that I didn't want the cartridge and he continued to argue that I needed it. I took it off the top of the printer box and handed it back to him. He finally got the message and carried the cartridge away. Then I had to deal with the cashier, who already knew how long I'd been waiting in a virtually empty store and who had witnessed the entire conversation about toner. I'm not a novice shopper, I'm over 60, and I know your cashier is required to ask me about insurance and when I said no, he described the litany of evils that accompany a failure to pay for insurance. I told him I wasn't interested, he persisted. I told him I'd take my chances. He asked about joining your group and informed me about all the wonderful discounts and I answered no to all his questions. He finally attempted to browbeat me into joining by asking me, "Don't you want a hundred dollars?" That question just frosted my ass and suggested that I was foolish for not joining your customer base. I know that you don't hand out hundred dollar bills and that the savings probably accrue through purchases. I can tell you right now that I will not take the opportunity to save the hundred dollars because I will never shop in your store again. Your cashier also said that the printer did not come with a USB cable, which I informed him was unnecessary in my case because I intended to utilize the printer's built-in WIFI capability. He seemed unaware of the capability and uninformed about the product. He finally completed the transaction the way I wanted it, but then he handed me the receipt with the comment, "I hope you enjoy your black and white printer," as if I were too stupid to realize that I just bought a mono printer and that mono stands for monochrome. It took every fiber of restraint that I possess to keep me from leaping over the counter and throttling your cashier. I simply carried the printer to my vehicle and decided to inform the world of my experience in every venue that I can find. It seems that Staples has forgotten about customer service and has instead taken the road of up-sell at every opportunity in the most irritating way that your bean counters can think of. Have a nice day."
 

dlilazteca

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
2,659
Location
Laredo, Texas
Maybe that's why it's empty,customer service sucks in Texas also, had an issue in the printer department years ago, never been back.
 

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