Struggling to be relevant without any tangible differentiators - Store Manager Office Depot Employee Review

2.0
Feb 21, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Customer focused culture (without the payroll to fund it in high volume environments) High paced atmosphere and can be fun at times for the average employee depending on store management.

Cons

Ever since Steve Odlan decided to downsize the entire inventory system Office Depot lost its edge over its competition. We no longer carry the items we used to that drove people into the store. Corporate is so out of touch with the regular customers and how thier needs drive customer instore purchases versus online purchases and DM's are unwilling to say what needs to be said for fear of not being a team player. Can we kill the jerk who decided that the "endless aisle" was a method of saving the sale when the customer knows he can go to another store across the street and buy the item there instead of waiting a day or two with us? We are just generic box chain in direct competition with the other box chains playing the same game at lower prices than ourselves. The only trump card we play is our focus to customer service which is ill funded by the payroll and personnel design set forth for high volume stores. In the end the new CEO has applied no focus points in front of us on how he plans to turn this ship around. We will never be doing more than maintaining until we get out of dying categories and get into thriving ones (wireless phones or at least wireless tablets etc). I remember an amazing company once and it has passed on.

Explore other reviews about Office Depot

5.0
Mar 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Store never get overwhelmingly busy - mix of light/busy days Management does a good job at listening to employees

Cons

Have to push selling product on people that don't want it Schedule may be inflexible

1.0
Jul 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are no pros to working for this company.

Cons

Low pay, grueling hours, unsafe and toxic work environment. The company does not offer opportunities for its sore employees to advance to the corporate sector; especially if you have a college degree. As a store employee neither you, your expertise and skill set, nor your ideas on how to improve workflow and company culture matter.

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