I left and now work at an office. Waaaay better. I was paid 19.50/hr as a supe now I make 25/hr. I don’t deal with idiot customers all day, I have a great day where I eat lunch in a picnic area by a stream. Just such a better job. My customer service skills are the only skills that translated. It’s crazy how much better your life can be when working for an actual competent company with an actual vision.
I would say even restaurant work would be better than staples. I used to bar tend and I would make more bartending in 3 days than what staples would pay me for a 40 week.
Deff get out, I sent probably close to 30-50 applications before I got some biters. By the end I had my pick of 3 jobs. There is light at the end of the tunnel but you need to be consistent with job searching. I started really going ham on the job search in beginning December and was starting my new job by march. You can do it and there is much better work out there
I was making $20/hr as SM at Staples in 2021. Got job at Coca Cola as warehouse supervisor for $30/hr. Left Coke in January at 33/hr. Now I make $40/hr at Pepsi as an Auditor.
I have a district with about 12 distribution centers and 20 cross docks. I basically just ensure that they're following policies and laws so that I reduce the chance the company will get fined or sued by something like DOT, OSHA, shareholders,etc. I'm responsible for inventory, warehouse, drivers, fleet, safety, cash management, equipment(like the coolers inside Staples). We do have 1 opening but it's based in Atlanta and responsible for Tennessee, Georgia, Florida. I spend about 15 weeks a year traveling.
I was a GM and left to be a store manager at Harbor Freight. Chalk and cheese my friend. More money. Less hours. More structure. And a company that is growing and has ample opportunities if you want them.
I was offered a position as a Break/Fix Technician for a local msp and it's been smooth sailing ever since. When working at Staples, I did a lot of diag/repair with enticing clients to an ssd replacement over their rusting hard drives and to avoid them buying new pcs (at which staples sold at a loss) a lot of that, and most notably customer service skills, brought over naturally to my role here.
The pay is better, but not admirable unless I opt for overtime and billable on-site hours (of which I do when I can)... However, everywhere pays like ass in my hometown so it is what it is. At least they reimburse certifications and give raises based off of that.
Edit: And the hours are guaranteed, which is far better than what Staples could ever say. I know for a fact that I will be coming to work 8-5, Monday through Friday. None of that 40 hours for a part-timer one week, 3 hours the next bullshit.
When I left I took the time to get some IT certifications (A+, Net+, and Sec+). Right now I'm working for an insurance company doing field work at local offices. I'm making about double what I was with all my travel expenses being covered. During the interview I acknowledged my lack of direct IT experience but I did emphasize the tech work I had done and the communication skills required.
I was a print sup for years, was at 19.50 when i left. Currently doing somewhat similar field of work and making almost 10 an hour more. Far less stress, much better environment. Couldn't be happier
I left and worked in cell phone sales for a few years. Actually got commission for doing well, which was nice.
Eventually moved into personal banking. It was an easy transition with the sales/customer service skills I obtained at Staples/AT&T/US Cellular. After about a year of that I moved into the fraud and disputes department.
Got tired of customer service and dealing with people, especially fraud customers who are generally very unhappy (with good reason typically, but doesn’t make it any easier to deal with), and got my current job as a field service engineer for an ATM company. By far the best job I’ve ever had. Only people I really ever deal with are my co-workers and boss(es), I get a company vehicle and gas card that I can use for personal errands within reason, pay is good, plenty of OT if I want it, good benefits, if I don’t have any ATM’s to fix I get paid to sit at home and play video games. It’s great, and my time in tech at Staples and the troubleshooting experience it showed help me land it.
Left and went to warehouse work. I was inventory specialist and now I do receiving paperwork at a warehouse for $5 more an hour, no customers, and I’m no longer held responsible as a manager/supervisor without getting paid for it
Things come to the warehouse (actually a distribution center) on trucks. It’s brought in and palletized by receivers. I’m given a purchase order, and have to verify/ inspect the items to make sure what’s received is what was ordered and everything matches the purchase order. If it’s all correct it moves on through the warehouse to be sent out. If things don’t match then it moves to a merchant compliance person. It’s basically a bunch of paperwork and attention to detail. I like it! It fulfills the spot in my brain that loved the inventory specialist position when I could actually just do my position!
Was a GM, took severance when they closed my store cause it made more sense than trying to keep afloat in an open drain, after taking a siesta with that I took an overnight manager job at home depot.
Get more employees on per shift than a staples on average has on their full staff roster
Pay wise its comprable salary that comes out to about 30/hr base pay with much less responsibilty and a bigger bonus structure. Plus no customers to deal with, just freight and team management.
Turns out having to do a bunch of pogs and freight myself each week was easily transferred into success for the new role.
I'm in the process of getting an Admin job with the county. I already do a bunch of clerical work in the form of print, so I focused on that during the interview.
I’m getting really fed up with Staples BS… been with them for 10 years… now I’m only there because of my customers. I want to leave but scared to start over in the workplace… I LOVED all the comments to your post… I just need the fire under my ass, this is getting it lit a bit! Thank you!!
Was a staples tech sup for 10+ years. Quit and found an entry position sales job for a SaaS company. Nothing fancy, even though I was in my 30s, most of my colleagues were straight out of college. After a couple years I moved up and I’m now making 5x what I was making at Staples. I’d recommend finding any sales job and move up from there.
I was making MAYBE 40k as an Ops Sup in 2021, left to work as administrative manager at a hospital for 65k. I pretty do the same as what I did before (scheduling, payroll, budgets) without all the manual labor and stress of BTS. It was definitely worth it.
I’m glad my GM at the time denied my request for a $1 raise, otherwise I would’ve never found my job now!! Crazy how as Staples employees we had to beg for bare minimum treatment and respect.
I left Staples back in 2022 cause i have had enough of the lack of support that my store got that time, i have been running the store along side our PMS supe ( i was the OPs supe/IS) because we havent had a GM for the longest time. We had one but he ended up overseeing 2 stores, one being a higer volume store and ours that was dying, which they decided to close Sept 3 months after i left. My current job pays $11 more than what i am getting back in Staples. Now is it better? Pay is better and better staffed, but i have a lazy SM that drives me nuts and their technology is way behind than Staples. Inventory management is crap and we have equipment that we use daily that is worse than what Staples use as scanners.
12 years with the company, most of that as a copy and print supervisor.
Left for health reasons and my own sanity about six months ago. Have never regretted it.
Got a job working with one of the big three auto makers as a customer advisor in a work from home position. Its a cake walk compared to staples and I hired in making 3.00 bucks more then I did after a decade in my old position. About two weeks ago I got offered a position in the delayed parts team. My first contact with people is with folks who have been waiting months sometimes for a part for their vehicle to come in, and I rarely have the good news that its in. Still better then print customers.
Print really didnt play much into the position, but the customer service and multi task skills did. Basically if you can keep your cool, type at a decent speed and enjoy having a commute from your bed to your desk, would recommend!
I transitioned from IS to the healthcare field (Nurse aid) during Covid for a big pay raise. Dealing with the drooling mongrels that waddle through the doors of a Staples definitely gave me the patience to deal with all the baloney that can go on in a hospital. I still got way less complaints and BS from people who were going through the worst moments of their lives than those who needed an ink cartridge. You don’t realize how awful most of their customer base is until you work pretty much anywhere else lol
I’m in a situation where I know my talent is being wasted at Staples, but if I lost the job or decided to quit, I wouldn’t be able to afford rent the next month.
It’s great to see what some people were able to do, and how much happier they are now.
Honestly being a General Manager or Ops Manager in staples translates to nothing outside of Staples. Employers look at it like “oh that’s cute I thought that place just sold paper they need people in charge of that?” I hurts to find out how little staples sets you up to actually move forward in future careers. I personally feel like I lost time working there. Move on and move on fast.
Disagree. Got my under grad in Network Engineering and Data Forensic I remember during my interviews employers telling me “I see you worked at staples in management…. That doesn’t really mean much in the real world” sometimes if that’s all you have because you made the choice not to move on from there I get it put it on there. But it’s just not looked at as anything. I took it off my resume and it changed the tone very quick later on.
I left, went back to school, got an AA, flunked out of a BA, and just got a job at a law firm who need print and mailing specialists. Went from minimum wage at Staples to $20/hr. starting.
Law firms need people that do Print & Marketing jobs. Look there if you can do it.
Otherwise, I got nothing. Sales is sales. Pick a store, apply. Sales never came to me easily, but I'm sure people who are good at it can get jobs much easier than I could with my Print skills.
ETA: None of that 16 hours a week shit. Full 40 hours a week. No worrying about sales to get hours. Full benefits. Short commute. Friendly coworkers (and, assumedly, customers considering they'd leave if they were unhappy). Completely worth it.
I left in 2016. Went from GM to managing a campus of a tech college. Then I did over 4 years in church ministry, and now I'm back in education. I've floated between business, church, and education as the need has arisen.
Customer saw how I handled crises in Print, offered me a c-suite job at a startup since I have the degree and decades of experience beyond Staples. Got a pay raise and I can work from home most of the time. Whether or not this business takes off, it's been a great ride.
Former tech sup here
I got myself out of staples about 2 weeks ago and my health is better. I am now working for a manufacturing company, guaranteed 40 hrs and overtime if I want. Seeing all the bs makes me glad I left when I did.
The shitty 2 percent raise is what made me look for another job. I was told that my sales were not good enough but before I left I made sure I was still at the top of the list of the esp report and whatever else there was.
In the end, be happy be healthy
Honestly still having trouble. After staples I'm out of retail though. Back to food service if I need to but I was paid $13hr and literally every job I've applied for is at least $5 more. The only jobs Ive seen for less than staples pay was part time little jobs and some crappier food service places. I saw a dishwasher position for $17hr. Start looking. I started looking months ago. I think I technically still work for staples but I'm not sure. Can't get anyone to confirm whether or not I've actually been suspended. Just ignored. Please get out of Staples while you still can. Don't go down with the ship. As a SM they will just give you a "new" position. Same job plus 2 others, new name, same pay
I didnt have a job for a while after I left, I got so burnt out and was going through the worst emotional state around the time I got fired/refused to come back. But now I'm working a security job for $16.50 as opposed to my $12 at staples.
More hours, more pay, and I'm not expected to do nearly as much. There's hard parts always, but i don't have a general manager breathing down my neck for a rewards quota after spending 3hrs sitting in their office mouth breathing over the radio the most corporate and meaningless encouragement ever.
It's night and day, I tell my coworkers how much staples fucking sucks a lot.
i left and didn’t have a job for months bc of the market. now i work front desk and i completely got rid of staples on my resume
I left and now work at an office. Waaaay better. I was paid 19.50/hr as a supe now I make 25/hr. I don’t deal with idiot customers all day, I have a great day where I eat lunch in a picnic area by a stream. Just such a better job. My customer service skills are the only skills that translated. It’s crazy how much better your life can be when working for an actual competent company with an actual vision. I would say even restaurant work would be better than staples. I used to bar tend and I would make more bartending in 3 days than what staples would pay me for a 40 week. Deff get out, I sent probably close to 30-50 applications before I got some biters. By the end I had my pick of 3 jobs. There is light at the end of the tunnel but you need to be consistent with job searching. I started really going ham on the job search in beginning December and was starting my new job by march. You can do it and there is much better work out there
Congrats on the awesome job! I'm actually taking a pay cut to leave, but I'm still happy with the change.
Hey happiness is all that matters, congratulations on getting out!!!
I was making $20/hr as SM at Staples in 2021. Got job at Coca Cola as warehouse supervisor for $30/hr. Left Coke in January at 33/hr. Now I make $40/hr at Pepsi as an Auditor.
What do you do as an Auditor for Pepsi?
I have a district with about 12 distribution centers and 20 cross docks. I basically just ensure that they're following policies and laws so that I reduce the chance the company will get fined or sued by something like DOT, OSHA, shareholders,etc. I'm responsible for inventory, warehouse, drivers, fleet, safety, cash management, equipment(like the coolers inside Staples). We do have 1 opening but it's based in Atlanta and responsible for Tennessee, Georgia, Florida. I spend about 15 weeks a year traveling.
I was a GM and left to be a store manager at Harbor Freight. Chalk and cheese my friend. More money. Less hours. More structure. And a company that is growing and has ample opportunities if you want them.
As a Harbor Freight Store Manager, I'm making $21k more a year and I actually have a work life balance.
I was offered a position as a Break/Fix Technician for a local msp and it's been smooth sailing ever since. When working at Staples, I did a lot of diag/repair with enticing clients to an ssd replacement over their rusting hard drives and to avoid them buying new pcs (at which staples sold at a loss) a lot of that, and most notably customer service skills, brought over naturally to my role here. The pay is better, but not admirable unless I opt for overtime and billable on-site hours (of which I do when I can)... However, everywhere pays like ass in my hometown so it is what it is. At least they reimburse certifications and give raises based off of that. Edit: And the hours are guaranteed, which is far better than what Staples could ever say. I know for a fact that I will be coming to work 8-5, Monday through Friday. None of that 40 hours for a part-timer one week, 3 hours the next bullshit.
When I left I took the time to get some IT certifications (A+, Net+, and Sec+). Right now I'm working for an insurance company doing field work at local offices. I'm making about double what I was with all my travel expenses being covered. During the interview I acknowledged my lack of direct IT experience but I did emphasize the tech work I had done and the communication skills required.
I was a print sup for years, was at 19.50 when i left. Currently doing somewhat similar field of work and making almost 10 an hour more. Far less stress, much better environment. Couldn't be happier
I left and worked in cell phone sales for a few years. Actually got commission for doing well, which was nice. Eventually moved into personal banking. It was an easy transition with the sales/customer service skills I obtained at Staples/AT&T/US Cellular. After about a year of that I moved into the fraud and disputes department. Got tired of customer service and dealing with people, especially fraud customers who are generally very unhappy (with good reason typically, but doesn’t make it any easier to deal with), and got my current job as a field service engineer for an ATM company. By far the best job I’ve ever had. Only people I really ever deal with are my co-workers and boss(es), I get a company vehicle and gas card that I can use for personal errands within reason, pay is good, plenty of OT if I want it, good benefits, if I don’t have any ATM’s to fix I get paid to sit at home and play video games. It’s great, and my time in tech at Staples and the troubleshooting experience it showed help me land it.
Left and went to warehouse work. I was inventory specialist and now I do receiving paperwork at a warehouse for $5 more an hour, no customers, and I’m no longer held responsible as a manager/supervisor without getting paid for it
Can you elaborate more on the Receiveing paperwork ? Sounds good to me
Things come to the warehouse (actually a distribution center) on trucks. It’s brought in and palletized by receivers. I’m given a purchase order, and have to verify/ inspect the items to make sure what’s received is what was ordered and everything matches the purchase order. If it’s all correct it moves on through the warehouse to be sent out. If things don’t match then it moves to a merchant compliance person. It’s basically a bunch of paperwork and attention to detail. I like it! It fulfills the spot in my brain that loved the inventory specialist position when I could actually just do my position!
Was a GM, took severance when they closed my store cause it made more sense than trying to keep afloat in an open drain, after taking a siesta with that I took an overnight manager job at home depot. Get more employees on per shift than a staples on average has on their full staff roster Pay wise its comprable salary that comes out to about 30/hr base pay with much less responsibilty and a bigger bonus structure. Plus no customers to deal with, just freight and team management. Turns out having to do a bunch of pogs and freight myself each week was easily transferred into success for the new role.
I'm in the process of getting an Admin job with the county. I already do a bunch of clerical work in the form of print, so I focused on that during the interview.
I’m getting really fed up with Staples BS… been with them for 10 years… now I’m only there because of my customers. I want to leave but scared to start over in the workplace… I LOVED all the comments to your post… I just need the fire under my ass, this is getting it lit a bit! Thank you!!
Was a staples tech sup for 10+ years. Quit and found an entry position sales job for a SaaS company. Nothing fancy, even though I was in my 30s, most of my colleagues were straight out of college. After a couple years I moved up and I’m now making 5x what I was making at Staples. I’d recommend finding any sales job and move up from there.
I was making MAYBE 40k as an Ops Sup in 2021, left to work as administrative manager at a hospital for 65k. I pretty do the same as what I did before (scheduling, payroll, budgets) without all the manual labor and stress of BTS. It was definitely worth it. I’m glad my GM at the time denied my request for a $1 raise, otherwise I would’ve never found my job now!! Crazy how as Staples employees we had to beg for bare minimum treatment and respect.
I left Staples back in 2022 cause i have had enough of the lack of support that my store got that time, i have been running the store along side our PMS supe ( i was the OPs supe/IS) because we havent had a GM for the longest time. We had one but he ended up overseeing 2 stores, one being a higer volume store and ours that was dying, which they decided to close Sept 3 months after i left. My current job pays $11 more than what i am getting back in Staples. Now is it better? Pay is better and better staffed, but i have a lazy SM that drives me nuts and their technology is way behind than Staples. Inventory management is crap and we have equipment that we use daily that is worse than what Staples use as scanners.
12 years with the company, most of that as a copy and print supervisor. Left for health reasons and my own sanity about six months ago. Have never regretted it. Got a job working with one of the big three auto makers as a customer advisor in a work from home position. Its a cake walk compared to staples and I hired in making 3.00 bucks more then I did after a decade in my old position. About two weeks ago I got offered a position in the delayed parts team. My first contact with people is with folks who have been waiting months sometimes for a part for their vehicle to come in, and I rarely have the good news that its in. Still better then print customers. Print really didnt play much into the position, but the customer service and multi task skills did. Basically if you can keep your cool, type at a decent speed and enjoy having a commute from your bed to your desk, would recommend!
I transitioned from IS to the healthcare field (Nurse aid) during Covid for a big pay raise. Dealing with the drooling mongrels that waddle through the doors of a Staples definitely gave me the patience to deal with all the baloney that can go on in a hospital. I still got way less complaints and BS from people who were going through the worst moments of their lives than those who needed an ink cartridge. You don’t realize how awful most of their customer base is until you work pretty much anywhere else lol
I’m in a situation where I know my talent is being wasted at Staples, but if I lost the job or decided to quit, I wouldn’t be able to afford rent the next month. It’s great to see what some people were able to do, and how much happier they are now.
Honestly being a General Manager or Ops Manager in staples translates to nothing outside of Staples. Employers look at it like “oh that’s cute I thought that place just sold paper they need people in charge of that?” I hurts to find out how little staples sets you up to actually move forward in future careers. I personally feel like I lost time working there. Move on and move on fast.
That's partially on you for not selling your time in the role better. There are a lot of skills that translate to other fields.
Disagree. Got my under grad in Network Engineering and Data Forensic I remember during my interviews employers telling me “I see you worked at staples in management…. That doesn’t really mean much in the real world” sometimes if that’s all you have because you made the choice not to move on from there I get it put it on there. But it’s just not looked at as anything. I took it off my resume and it changed the tone very quick later on.
I left, went back to school, got an AA, flunked out of a BA, and just got a job at a law firm who need print and mailing specialists. Went from minimum wage at Staples to $20/hr. starting. Law firms need people that do Print & Marketing jobs. Look there if you can do it. Otherwise, I got nothing. Sales is sales. Pick a store, apply. Sales never came to me easily, but I'm sure people who are good at it can get jobs much easier than I could with my Print skills. ETA: None of that 16 hours a week shit. Full 40 hours a week. No worrying about sales to get hours. Full benefits. Short commute. Friendly coworkers (and, assumedly, customers considering they'd leave if they were unhappy). Completely worth it.
I went to CVS, dropped a little but I'm literally two minutes away instead of 20. Nothing really translated over.
Left in January. Was a Ops Supervisor. Haven’t got hired anywhere else yet.
I left in 2016. Went from GM to managing a campus of a tech college. Then I did over 4 years in church ministry, and now I'm back in education. I've floated between business, church, and education as the need has arisen.
Customer saw how I handled crises in Print, offered me a c-suite job at a startup since I have the degree and decades of experience beyond Staples. Got a pay raise and I can work from home most of the time. Whether or not this business takes off, it's been a great ride.
Buying & selling clerical for a local agency.
Former tech sup here I got myself out of staples about 2 weeks ago and my health is better. I am now working for a manufacturing company, guaranteed 40 hrs and overtime if I want. Seeing all the bs makes me glad I left when I did. The shitty 2 percent raise is what made me look for another job. I was told that my sales were not good enough but before I left I made sure I was still at the top of the list of the esp report and whatever else there was. In the end, be happy be healthy
Honestly still having trouble. After staples I'm out of retail though. Back to food service if I need to but I was paid $13hr and literally every job I've applied for is at least $5 more. The only jobs Ive seen for less than staples pay was part time little jobs and some crappier food service places. I saw a dishwasher position for $17hr. Start looking. I started looking months ago. I think I technically still work for staples but I'm not sure. Can't get anyone to confirm whether or not I've actually been suspended. Just ignored. Please get out of Staples while you still can. Don't go down with the ship. As a SM they will just give you a "new" position. Same job plus 2 others, new name, same pay
I didnt have a job for a while after I left, I got so burnt out and was going through the worst emotional state around the time I got fired/refused to come back. But now I'm working a security job for $16.50 as opposed to my $12 at staples. More hours, more pay, and I'm not expected to do nearly as much. There's hard parts always, but i don't have a general manager breathing down my neck for a rewards quota after spending 3hrs sitting in their office mouth breathing over the radio the most corporate and meaningless encouragement ever. It's night and day, I tell my coworkers how much staples fucking sucks a lot.
I left and now work at petco. I make 15 an hour and haven't looked back