聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The sign on the door hit me like a ton of bricks.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淒ear Customers,
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥n Saturday, January 7, 2017, this Staples location will close. We encourage you to shop with us online at , where you will continue to find a full assortment of Staples products and services. We thank you for your continued business. Sincerely, Mary Sagat, president, Staples Canada; Barb Dolski, district manager.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I wanted to cry. Only a few minutes earlier, I had heard a rumour about the store closing. I needed to buy a USB drive, so I swung by. To my horror, it was true.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This was not unexpected, however. There were many times over the last year where I would walk into the store and I might be the only customer there. Three or four staff members would hover around, occasionally, politely asking if they could be of assistance. Nearly always, the answer was 鈥渘o,鈥� as I probably knew the store better than some of them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In recent years, Staples had announced several rounds of store closures, prompted in large part by people ordering their office supplies online. The oil bust in Estevan over the last two years surely didn鈥檛 help matters, either.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I first experienced Staples when I moved to Saskatoon in 1993. For a nerdy kid from Yorkton, the collection of computer gear and office stuff was spectacular. Around 2006, they opened one in North Battleford, my then-current home. I was there opening day.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As a ninth-order geek, Staples has been my Mecca.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 That Boxing Day, I put on my long underwear, three layers of shirts, a parka and heavy gloves to sit in my cold camper van in the parking lot at 6:15 a.m.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I was not the first, if I recall. By around 7 a.m. we started lining up outside, freezing in temperatures around minus 20 degrees Celsius while making sure no one else jostled their positions. That day I picked up three (!) laptops, one for $97, and two for $200 each on clearance; a scanner and a printer. It was my best Boxing Day haul ever.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I wrote a story about it, and the store put it on the wall for at least a year.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In subsequent years I found the Boxing Day experience to be waning. I didn鈥檛 even go this year, because, well, there鈥檚 not much I need that I don鈥檛 have, technology-wise. How many printers do I really need? Isn鈥檛 10 enough?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Doing my books for my photography business made me realize they were one of my prime vendors. I would spend thousands each year on photo paper and ink as well as computer hardware. My stack of Staples receipts was always thicker than fuel receipts, or anything else, for that matter.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Thus I was thrilled when, a few years ago, during the height of the oil boom, a Staples opened in Estevan.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A friend who lives in Weyburn (which never did have a Staples), pointed out he uses their online ordering and shipping, and when you spend a certain amount, shipping is free, and it tends to be very quick, i.e. within a day or two.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 That may be fine for him. He runs into Regina several times a month and sometimes several times a week, so if he needs something special, he can go and get it. But I only get to Regina once every several months, on average. And the stuff I often require often can鈥檛 be obtained at other local stores or the local Wal-Mart.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For instance, the other day I had the power supply die on an older desktop computer.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽The local selection at Staples wasn鈥檛 much, but I got one. My confidence level on finding a similar product anywhere else in town was low, and I needed it now, not in a couple days.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Often I鈥檒l need just little things: a few USB drives, or an ink cartridge, for instance. I loved picking through the clearance items. But these things rarely would warrant paying for shipping, nor would they be high enough in price to trigger free shipping.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The very real effect of Staples鈥� closing in Estevan is I now need to keep more things in inventory, just in case.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There will be much less casual shopping for me now, and a lot more online orders. These orders tend to be more considered, especially as shipping is an issue. I signed up for Amazon Prime, which covers shipping, so I guess we鈥檒l see how much Staples鈥� closure pushes me into Amazon鈥檚 arms.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I鈥檒l miss you, Staples. And to Todd, the former manager in North Battleford; wherever you are, I鈥檒l miss you, too.
