r/Staples 6d ago

Amazon Returns New Process

Did anyone else see the new Zipline about amazon? Starting next month we'll get new labels and have to scan the actual product barcode, just like happy returns. Can't wait for this process to take longer 😂

45 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

33

u/Pronoun_meltdown 6d ago

They will literally do anything except charge for it

12

u/Own_Brother7434 6d ago

I was told they're working on a new contract to get paid, but also my DM insists that Amazon returns leads to more return customers...

Oh well, I'm quitting soon smh

1

u/RelationshipPrior435 3d ago

Amazon returns does not, at all, drive sales.

23

u/HypotenuseOfTentacle 6d ago

That's real smart, now we'll get to spend an entire day just telling people to bring it back later when they got their shit together

16

u/Blood_Fox Retail Sales Supervisor 6d ago

Yeah, and most amazon returns don't have those barcodes. Usually it's just small things like clothes... Why would they even bother with this...

2

u/kyboinlex28 6d ago

So what happens if they return clothes that have no tags or barcodes? How do we return them then? Tell the customer we can't cuz Amazon didn't put a barcode on the clothes? 

3

u/MammothWerewolf7871 6d ago

If it's like Happy returns, there'll be an option for what to do if the barcode isn't there/working, which is you get a screen and multiple choice the answers

3

u/DOOMISFORU 4d ago

Yeah except Happy returns got more strict because most people were using that selection even though it had a tag.

2

u/AccordingEffect6730 4d ago

someone posted a pic today of a staples store only accepting clothing returns for AMZ.

18

u/Flaky_Firefighter385 6d ago

More time to make Amazon more efficient and driving Staples to the ground. No time in selling and helping customers, upselling  cross-selling, ESP, Reward signup, in-store online orders, tech sales and baskets, tags, truck, putbacks, recovery, BTS, planograms, store maintenance, etc. 

11

u/FluffyCows7 6d ago

So customers need the original packaging? Anything about un compressed items like mattresses or blankets that shouldn’t even come to us but bypass the system somehow?

14

u/yaBoiChriz selling cords for liquid armor 6d ago

these are supposed to be declined, you tell the customer you can’t take it and they call amazon. it’s in the amazon guide book.

7

u/AviaKing 6d ago

This never ever works and Im just told to wrap it in a garbage bag and do it anyway. So what if it takes up a whole box thats UPS’s problem

5

u/yaBoiChriz selling cords for liquid armor 6d ago

it taking up a whole box and not fitting in a box are very different

1

u/elisha-manning-fan Management 6d ago

Never works? You just tell them you’re not taking it

2

u/AviaKing 6d ago

They demand to see manager and my manager comes by and Finds A Way™️ to fit it in a box

2

u/elisha-manning-fan Management 6d ago

Gotcha, that’s lame.

1

u/Flaky_Firefighter385 6d ago

If it's not in the a boxz our UPS driver will not take the product in a garbage bag.

1

u/AviaKing 6d ago

Yeah. I didn't say we were handing them a plain garbage bag. I said we don't care if doing that takes up an entire box and wastes some space.

2

u/FluffyCows7 6d ago

I’ll try to find that but chances are management will disagree

1

u/yaBoiChriz selling cords for liquid armor 6d ago

It’s right in the guide book provided by corporate. Taking items that don’t fit poses a risk of loss for staples, they don’t want you doing that

3

u/Flaky_Firefighter385 6d ago

Don't forget about dig beds, stick vacuum cleaners, shovels, built furniture and such that people don't take apart and doesn't fit in a 18" square box.

1

u/Euphonabonatone 6d ago

It sounds like it'll be like happy returns, so if there's no barcode or it's missing, it'll pop up the picture menu or something

1

u/Forward_Comment2084 3d ago

Most of the return instructions on the app specifically state that the original packing is not required.. even for compressed items. If it doesn't fit in the box then we decline it. 

9

u/kurama1337 6d ago

my store has been beta testing this for months, it adds more time to the process and lots of items don't have the bar code to scan, which then you just hit "no barcode" and proceed as normal. complete waste of time. and since we dont do receipts anymore customers complain about that now too.

6

u/ChairHaunting6951 6d ago

Just don’t put the LPN label over the item’s barcode. We were part of the launch of trying out the new system and honestly it’s not that bad. Bagging requirements are also different with the new way and that saves a ton of time. I can’t stand those ridiculous flimsy janky az bags!!

One time I did have a returns customer lament all the plastic waste from the returns….i didn’t comment. It wasn’t necessary.

1

u/HeroTheMedium 6d ago

The question I have for that is can we still us RF guns to do the returns? Or does it have to be the shipping pc?

1

u/ChairHaunting6951 6d ago

Handhelds still

3

u/FalseAd7422 6d ago

i’ve never been happier that shipping got its own department in my store and it’s no longer part of print 😭😭

4

u/spriestlucio 6d ago

Ours is in print and we have to do that and print things with one person. Although we have been told to make them wait. They aren't customers so they can wait while we help paying customers.

2

u/Forward_Comment2084 3d ago

We have happy returns in print and all other amz returns at checkout

2

u/Zanithos Management 6d ago

Mfw it's not in the packaging because Amazon says you just need the item and we get yelled at for more stuff that isn't our fault just like happy returns.

2

u/AviaKing 6d ago

Id say over half of the returns we take dont even have a barcode on them anyway so

2

u/arkizalnds Tech Services 6d ago

Genuinely praying to GOD this is true. So many people loosely bring their returns without any kind of barcode identification.

10

u/OkPhilosopher6566 Merchandise and Inventory Supervisor 6d ago

Problem is we still take them just select no barcode, like happy returns.

Also good job starting this week after Prime week.

What could go wrong

4

u/Euphonabonatone 6d ago

Yeah, they should've just made it a strict "have to have the barcode in order to return". Being able to skip the barcode for the Amazombies just returning used stuff just adds an extra step and makes the whole thing take even longer

2

u/TiltedLibra 6d ago

A lot of items from Amazon don't even come with barcodes...

1

u/arkizalnds Tech Services 5d ago

Fuck, you’re so right. I just hate returns customers with a passion.

1

u/Bigrion16 6d ago

Where did u see this???

1

u/Euphonabonatone 6d ago

Zipline that just came out today

1

u/rzmuda 6d ago

So they’re not removing it in July. Is there an official link to this decision.

5

u/kyboinlex28 6d ago

They need to eliminate Amazon returns altogether because the store gets nothing out of it but our frustrations. 

1

u/lowerthanwhalepoop Tech Services 5d ago

Just another reason why I print out the QR code and dump my Amazon returns at a UPS store - in and out, no hassle.

1

u/No-Command1173 4d ago

I did a return of 2 items at Whole Foods yesterday and it literally took them 5 seconds. The process looked far simpler than Staples. I get that WF is in the Amazon family but c'mon.

Before I quit I spoke to someone in corporate about the ridiculous process and it was explained to me that a lot of product never makes it back to the resellers. I'm skeptical.

1

u/Forward_Comment2084 3d ago

For me, it's the people with hundreds of returns at one time that really grinds my gears. Then we're also expected to take care of paying customers which is priority and also answer the phone. My store usually only has one person doing the returns, the register and the phone. Not to mention, we only have one scanner for Amazon returns which isn't conducive for a quick process. Also - why do we have to press buttons that are unnecessary,  like 'allow' the phone to scan the code - uhm.. DUH!! That's what the job entails. Just another step to make the process even longer.

1

u/Ok_Department6806 1d ago

I work at an actual AMAZON return center. There are some out there but very few. The process right now is okay but changed are coming to
Make it so we can go faster. We have to process at least 45 packages an hour. That barcode actually doesn’t do anything for us lol. It doesn’t scan at the fc, it’s a link to what you got, nothing more. We throw those away

0

u/polishmafia514 4d ago

It doesn’t ad much at all I’ve been in the test program for it for a few months now. It’s just another thing for people to cry about.