Staples And The Death Of Customer Service

During all our lovely jaunts into the world of Superduper Supermarkets, Electrobear and I ruminated about the awesomeness of Massachusetts and Canada, and how those two areas—and those two areas alone—are making the world a better place.

That is, until Canada screwed the whole thing up with its Live Chat Staples Idea.

Here's the spin: instead of forcing customers to stare into the glassy eyes of a zit-faced unwed pregnant teenaged employee, they're planning on installing 34 Live Chat kiosks in Staples stores. Walk up to the kiosk, press a button, and a remote Staples employee will answer your questions. They have access to the store layout and inventory numbers. All they can't do is be a physical presence. So if you're made wildly uncomfortable talking to people face-to-face, this is your go!

If this works with our inferior neighbors up north, they may trickle down to the United States. I don't think it'll fly, though. Think about the Midwest. Just think about it.

Staples Installs Two-Way Video Customer Service Stations [The Consumerist]