That picture makes me laugh, heh.

More on topic; I feel for Chris, although it might have helped to just be forward in letting them know about the buisness before hand.

Although, some people are just self-righteous jerks, so who knows if it'd help ~_~;

Nice of OfficeMax to declare War on the Environment. What, did all the polar bear cubs drown, so they had to make toner cartridges the next target of opportunity?

It's unrequited love. If the poster simply batted his eyes at him and passed his cell number (bonus: throaty whisper, "Call me, vest boy... show me your 'manager special!'") none of this would have happened.
For the OP's sake, I hope the manager's a hawtie.

Hmmmm.... my workplace had LOADS & LOADS of empty printer cartridges...... Looks like its time for me to take advantage!!!!!

HOT DAMN!

I dont see any problem with what this guy is doing. I think people/employees just dont want/like anyone else getting a good deal.

Every time I go to walmart & use a bunch of coupons (last time I had about 15 one dollar off coupons).... I always get some cashier that takes one look at me & my coupon & decides I must be up to no good & scrutinizes the coupons like a secret service agent looking at counterfiet money! ANd they always have to check with someone in charge before they can allow me to use them. I HATE IT!

Why not just tell them the truth?

"I got them from a friend" sounds pretty suspicious.

Hey I checked out the "maxperks" on office depot's website & you can only join if you are a business owner or a teacher..... bummer!

I would certainly be annoyed as well.

However, if you're going to use the term "sic" in an effort to make the cashier appear stupid (particularly given that this was a spoken statement, rather than something that he wrote down), please make sure that the rest of your post is free of grammatical errors. He outright lied to "my father and ME," not "my father and I."

Sorry, that's a pet peeve of mine.

He hasn't done anything wrong, but what's so hard about saying, "I run a computer repair business" instead of saying he gets them from friends and family when questioned. Not only is it a more believable answer, it's the truth:)....?

@forgottenpassword: I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has problems using coupons.

The last time I was at Whole Foods, I used 20 e-coupons that I printed out. They always hassle me and ask "Are these copies?" I tell them no, they were printed, but they always call the supervisor or manager over.

Why is he protecting the identity of this loser?

So, did she not accept them or what? This story is not told very well. Just tell them where you get them, rather than being dodgy. Staples, OM, and OD all have commercial accounts and I'm sure they've seen a lot of cartridges before.

"It's a bit long to explain where I get them"

.... HOW is is a 'bit long to explain' if all you have to say is "I run a computer repair business, and I get these from customers"...

This whole story just seems fishy to me, since you couldn't even tell the truth to begin with.

The cashier needs to be careful of sending someone's picture out like that and possibly accusing them of stealing. Staples could end up in a defamation of character action. Best to not go directly to that, but I would contact corporate first after getting this employees name and store number.

What you should have told the employee is that it is none of her business where you get the cartridges, ask her if she wants you as a customer because staples makes a lot of money off of you or ask if she would rather you go to their competition. If the latter, then report her to corporate.

These people have no common sense at all. I guess that is why they will make minimum wage the rest of their life.

The managers at OM are a-holes. I was buying a 24" widscreen soyo that was on sale online but they ran out of stock on-line, and had to get picked up in stores. Well, they removed the monitor from their navigation but the link I had still worked ans showed the lower price. They refused saying that they don't honor 3rd party links (I linked in from SlickDeals cuz I forgot the exact link).

I called the corporate office and they said that the monitor was actually in their weekly ad. They called the store for me and told them to hold a monitor. The next day I found out that they did NOT hold one. Corporate was nice, the store are a-holes. I got one, but it wasn't being held for me.

The managers at OM are a-holes. I was buying a 24" widscreen soyo that was on sale...

Nice sweeping generalization unrelated to the post. FWIW - I bought the same 24" Soyo, and when it inexplicably died 36 days after I bought it, the local manager here let me swap it for one he had on the shelf, rather than have to deal with the manufacturer (which is what I would have to do, per their terms of sale I had 30 days).

I guess I'll make a generalization that managers are awesome and make me a happy customer.

Y'know, you blew it with your attitude. You should have told him the truth up front. Your lie is what got you into this.

"I run a computer repair shop and get a lot of old printer cartridges." Is NOT that hard of an explanation.

It sounds to me like the OP is being dishonest anyway. He's been lying about where he gets them from, from the very beginning. Instead of being professional and explaining that he gets them from a computer repair business that he runs, he says he "gets them for a friend".

The whole "I get them from friends" screams liar. My guess is that the manager would not have had a problem with the frequency if it was explained that these originated from a legitimate source. Grow up and be a real business owner. Real owners don't go around lying for simple things.

I think that in combination with the frequency and the obvious lie about where they were coming from, the manager wasn't completely out of line here. Calling the police to let them know that they suspect you're coming in with stolen goods might have been the best course of action for them.

@hillsrovey: I agree, I don't see what was so hard about that.

I too don't understand why cashiers are such Nazis about coupons. As someone who is merely trying to use coupons to save money and not rip off stores, I don't see why I should be treated like a criminal.

What's really incredible about this is that it is to OfficeMax' benefit to take as many of these as possible. They spend about $5 per cartridge to buy empties in bulk to make their remanufactured ink, so every one they "buy" for $3 worth of store credit saves them $2.

Hmmm, while I agree that the person could have just said "I run a computer business..."

"Stealing used cartridges"??? Seriously, Office Max? Like, you think people go surreptitiously into the night, scouring corporate offices and homes for printer cartridges? 'Cause at $3 a pop, I'm sure the drug users are all over this.

C'mon Office Max, don't be pricks, and don't insult our intelligence with your lame excuses.

I have to admit, a person coming in with empty catridges and coming in everyday to turn in 5. and saying he gets them from "friends". Highly suspcious, he should have just explained that he runs/works at a computer repair store.

It seems to me the OP was treated suspiciously because he was acting suspiciously. It sounds like he says "my friends" because he is mistaking the simply act of making conversation for badgering.

@humphrmi: Or he could of been skimming them from a cartridge recycling place that he worked at. It seems the manager was just saying stop bringing so many in, it's suspicious.

@Televiper: Whatever. It's a lot of work for $15 a day. And not even cash, he's spending it in the stores. Not a very attractive theft vector.

If this guy gets his cartridges by taking advantage of customers' ignorance of the program, then he deserves what he got.

If he gets the cartridges because no one wants them knowing that they are worth something, then that's ok.

Aparently the guy who's over 'the box' doesn't know the cost-benifit of the recycling program (to put aside the happy trees and bunnies crap.) My room-mate is an assistant manager for OfficeMax, and he'd kill to have someone who would bring in extra cartridges like that. Aparently they make between $4 and $20 per recycled cart, depending on if it's an ink or toner cartridge, and what brand/make/model etc.

@Phexerian: "These people have no common sense at all. I guess that is why they will make minimum wage the rest of their life."

The problem is much deeper, really. Even if they fire the grumpy cashier, when you pay minimum wage, you get minimum wage effort and minimum wage attitude.

There's a pervasive culture, especially in retail, that treats customers as the enemy, and to defend the bottom line at all costs. And within that culture, even though this guy is doing something that benefits the company (i.e., saving money on cartridges, repeat business through store credits), they're trained to instinctively think, "OMG, he's going to make us give out free money, we have to stop!"

I recently read a looong, but informative blog post that looks at how Netflix and Apple are a minority because "They intend to make money because of my desires, not despite them":
[equityprivate.typepad.com]

If the poster didn't start the whole scenario out by lying about how he got the cartridges ("Oh, I got them from...a friend. That's it, a friend.") I'd be a little more sympathetic.

@HaloZero: @Televiper: Whether it's "suspicious" or not, who gives a shit? As others have mentioned, even though they're giving out store credit, they're still turning a profit on each cartridge.

Not only that, a guy who brings in "too many" cartridges is a guy who has a lot of office product needs - why wouldn't you want to give him reason to keep coming back?

@humphrmi: Unless you're frequently stopping by the store anyway. The guy runs a computer repair business.. so he's going to need parts. Recycle used cartridges, buy parts with them, charge the customer for the full cost of the item plus a little extra.

Who wants to bet that he's not a registered business, and isn't paying taxes on the income? It's not enough to live off of, so my guess is that it's more of a hobby than a job.

OK, I have no idea why people are slinging mud around. These are the facts:

1) Man comes in VERY often with printer cartridges and turns them in for a legitimately advertised coupon and does not circumvent the rules, except occasionally has a friend or girlfriend help out... while this is not in the 'spirit' of things... it is clearly NOT against the rules because this is 'per customer'.

2)Manager has no business asking 'where he got them'. That's like me taking a bunch of cars to get tinted and the shop manager asking, "Hey, why do you have so many cars?" Or turning it cell phones at the recycling box at Best Buy and having them one day ask, "Hey, where do you get these cell phones?" It's simply none of their business... it's also none of their business how you got there, how you make money, where you live, etc. etc.

3) Accused of being a thief and is possibly denied benefit.

If you people don't get why this is wrong, and why his snide "I get them from friends" is totally appropriate, then you should think long and hard about how you would feel if you were interrogated under similar situations as I mentioned above.

@spinachdip: I don't think the company wants to turn a profit by accepting stolen cartridges. Companies can get in trouble for receiving stolen goods just as an individual can.

Not only that, but the OP's reasoning for why he had so many was an obvious lie. With that, any logical person would then have to question where they were really coming from, and whether or not it was legal.

@edosan: I agree. But I also believe that if he was honest from the start, then he wouldn't be having any problem at all. It's understandable that you'd come across so many cartridges when running a business. But getting that many "from friends"? Yeah, right. He probably pissed the manager off from the start because he recognized it was a lie from the start.

Unless they have an ABUSE or "not intended of for commercial purposes" clause or disclaimer I don't think they should be challenging the returns.

And if there aren't any disclaimers why is this guy telling them they're from his friends?.

Why in the world does it matter where he's getting them? If they're accusing him of stealing, then refuse to accept the cartridges. If not, stop giving him shit.

@akede2001: Well, I doubt OM has anything to worry about until people start reporting stolen empty ink cartridges to the police.

Anyway, it's not anyone's business where he gets the cartridges, so why ask in the first place? "From friends" is a perfectly appropriate response to politely end a nosy line of questioning.

@edosan: Sympathy has fuck all to do with it - the point of the story is that this is a business that's acting against its own interests.

They're pissing off an obviously high-volume customer, and they're turning down cheap supply of empty cartridge.

@mgy: It matters because there was a partnership that could be set up for business to drop these off in bulk. He did not want to go that route. Instead he brought them in as an individual, and began to bring in an abnormally high amount for an individual. Then when casually asked about where they were coming from, he lied and added even more suspicion.

It looks to me like they did accuse him of stealing them, after trying to see if he had a good reason why he was bringing so many in. If he explained he was a small business owner and that's where they were coming from, he likely would have had no problems. Instead, he decided to be unprofessional and lied.

OfficeMax could get in trouble if they are accepting stolen goods and paying him for them. They were not being unreasonable in asking where all of these were coming from. It could also be very possible he was stealing these from a day job or something.

Think about it this way, too: If you ask all of your friends to give you their empty cartridges. Are you going to be bringing in a full batch every other day? All of my friends are huge computer buffs-- but I wouldn't get more than one cartridge every other week.

FTA: "It's a bit long to explain where I get them; and cashiers are puzzled when I tell them I run a computer repair business (since I'm only 20 and look young) so I usually say I get them from friends and it's done."

That also sounds like a lie. "I run a computer repair business"-- right, you get a puzzled look because cashiers at an OfficeMax don't understand this? Please.

OP admits lying in this article multiple times.. how can we really even trust what all is being said in it? He's unprofessional and a liar. I wouldn't want to bring my computer to someone like this for repairs.

We had the same thing happen with Office Max a few years ago. A family member was doing computer repair and contract equipment liquidation projects. He ended up with tons of empty cartridges from repair customers and these liquidation jobs. People just wanted them gone. Were talking the small ink jet cartridges.

He would toss them in a box and when we ran out of office paper I would take a few in to Office max and turn them in for reams of paper. They used to do the deal where you got a ream of paper for every cartridge you turned it. First the manager told me I could only do one cartridge at a time, not three at a time as I usually did to make the trip worthwhile. Then she started to question me coming in there to get paper with cartridges about once a month. That was when I decided that Staples was just less hassle and quit going to Office Max. I liked Staples so much I don't buy anything at Office Max any more. Why? Because they were petty asshats about the cartridge program.

Ummm why is it any of the cashiers business where you get them from? Are they a FBI interrogator or something? More importantly why do they care? Process the transaction and move on buddy!

yup! there must be a rash of empty ink cartridge theft going on! Must be the ringleader of the notorious "empty ink cartridge gang" who sneak into people's homes & offices swiping those empty ink cartridges!

Cracked the case Officemax employee!

Well done!

@akede2001: I'm not sure what the problem is here. What, so he's stealing cartridges to buy parts for his business? At $15 a day? Seriously? Or is it that he's "buy[ing] parts with them, charge the customer for the full cost of the item plus a little extra."? The latter is called mark-up, hate to say it but all profitable businesses have that.

is this yet another case of a store having an ad or deal and then denying it because someone is taking full effect with it? don't have the deal then if you don't want people to use it. I would probably just bring corporate's number and if he denies you then call up right at the register. i agree with the poster too...i think it's funny when managers or employees act as if you are taking money out of their pockets when you use coupons, pricematch, or take advantage of an advertised deal.

@humphrmi: I know what a mark up is. My point is that if he's going to these office supply places as a daily course of business, then that's not "out of his way".

The way I'd see things going down with this dishonest repair business, is "Oh, your ink cartridges were low. We replaced those for you, and we also replaced(/upgraded) your video card." That enables him to save some money, mark up the cartridge, and the video card. If he was heading up for some supplies and/or hardware anyway, why not get some extra money for his efforts?

If he is in fact handling that many cartridges just in the course of a small repair business (but has time to drive around to several stores to recycle them for credit), I have to wonder what he's telling his customers.

It doesn't matter where the hell he got the cartridges from, whether it be a "friend" or his own company, that really isn't OfficeMax's business (nor does their policy say anything about denying the cartridges simply on where someone got them from) - quite frankly it seems like there are too many "blame the consumer" types who want to post their deranged sense of idealism here.

@benh57:
I thought the same thing about the whole "I got them from a friend" reason sounding like a lie. Well, it is a lie and the manager probably can read that in Chris's face which makes Chris appear even more suspicious. People never realize how transparent lies are as they feel they lie well when they really don't.

I'm a bit torn about this as I think Chris's lying has created a problem that may not otherwise exist. People are supposed to report or do something about potential criminal behavior and they don't want to reward suspected thieves by giving them credit regularly. If Chris were stealing them and the police showed up and asked the manager, "why weren't you suspicious of this regular returning of cartridges?", the manager wouldn't have a good answer.

Chris should have either told the manager it was none of his business or explained that he's in the computer repair business and this results in a lot of empty cartridges.

In these situations, it's important to keep in mind that the customer can make things worse or better by choosing to respond in a certain way to the behavior of others. That doesn't make the manager's behavior "right", but it makes it more understandable. Also, Chris's responses from lying about where he got the cartridges to responding with 'am I stealing money from your wallet' made it far worse when the goal would seem to be to make it better. Is the goal to be "right" or to get what you want? In the end, Chris exacerbated the problem rather than acted to fix it though his responses can be "justified" though I would think that's not really what is important.

That being said, I think that what OfficeMax did was wrong as you can't change the policy because someone takes advantage of it too often for your tastes if they are adhering to the written rules.

What is with you guys?

It is none of the manager's business where he gets them! I can understand the OP getting tired of explaining it over and over. If I got that question, I would sarcastically tell them "I found them" or "I stole them". The OP did the same when he said "friends". The policy of recycling them does not say "must show valid ID and proof of ownership" to recieve the credit. Everyone here would do the same thing if they were questioned daily (kinda like asking for a reciept when your hands are full!) You'de get sick of explaining yourself.
If the manager thinks something suspicious is going on, then he needs to check with the local PD and see if there are any thefts going on, maybe even report his suspicions. BUT, to harass someone for using their program is wrong. This employee is overstepping his bounds, BIG TIME!

I totally agree with the above poster, let corporate know what is going on with this manager and that he threatened to slander you and your business!
How about posting the info on the store location/number and the manager's name? I'm sure some people would like to call up and ask about the return/store policy direct from this person.

As someone who looks really young, I totally get the guy's frustration. I get carded to see R-rated movies, to buy things with a credit card ("where's your mom, sweetie?") and am frequently asked whether I am old enough to have a cup of coffee (no, I just ordered that quad-Americano for kicks). At the same time, he really needs to own it and act like a professional. In my experience, acting maturely and respectfully wins most people over, even those who originally wanted to offer me a cookie and send me to bed. I hate the "blame the victim" game, but being a liar is never a good idea! Stand up for yourselves, young-looking professionals, and you will be rewarded.

@TheManator: No, some of us are adding perspective to the situation. Sorry to inconvenience you with the fact that things aren't cut and dry. I thought the purpose of the comment section was to discuss the situation and come up with better solutions and understandings. Sitting here saying "OMG Office Max is so unquestionably evil" will accomplish the opposite.

Some of us are just saying it's a little reasonable for the manager to be suspicious, since by the OP's own admission he was acting suspiciously. Ideally the manger shouldn't care... but then again we aren't supposed to be so idea are we?

I work for OfficeMax.. Have for years.. This is the first time Ive heard of someone saying that the 5 cartridge limit was per week..

We can do 5 per transaction, simply because thats the way the coupon scan sheet works. Any more than that and it comes up saying "Coupon Limit Exceeded"

There is no ID requirement whatsoever.. The biggest requirement we have to it is if its an employee returning the cartridges, but then you just need a manager to sign off on it (Just to make sure the person isnt swiping them from the recycling boxes.)

Aside from employees, noone has been looked at funny for returning cartridges... We have people coming in with BAGS of cartridges, but we can only take 5 at a time.. Sure, we bend the rules sometime, have them go put their bag in the car, then come back in.

I wish the OP had posted the store number and such.. Id get in contact with them myself, or at the very least, provide the OP with the district and territory managers email addresses and such..

Worst comes to worst, send an email off to samduncan@officemax.com .... That will get a response from someone for sure... Especially regarding the threats about circulating your picture...