Complacent employees often try to skate by while no one’s looking.

That is, until the right customer comes along to put some pep in their step.

One shopper, tired of being brushed off, found a clever way to make the whole team spring into action to find what they needed.

Read on for the full story!

That was Easy!

I was looking for a Staples Easy Button as a gag item to put on top of a large radio tower for a climbing class I was hosting/organizing just before the world went sideways in 2020.

I saw online that the local store had two versions in stock, with at least 15 of each.

One version was even on sale!

I was getting some work done on my truck at the dealer a short walk away, so I headed over after dropping it off.

Retrieving the button, however, would prove a more difficult endeavor than originally planned.

The store had maybe four or five employees in the front chatting.

I was one of two customers there, as an older lady was getting things printed.

I spent maybe 15 minutes looking but couldn’t find the Easy Buttons anywhere, so I went to the desk and asked.

It turns out, the staff there wasn’t super helpful.

The woman there said they should be out somewhere, so I asked where.

She just rolled her eyes and said they must be out, but I could order online.

Okay, well, it was just for a stupid laugh and not worth paying for shipping.

But then the customer had a bright idea.

But as I was about to leave, I checked my phone and saw I still had the webpage open. I also noticed they had an “order online and pick up in an hour” option.

Great!

I had nothing better to do since my truck was supposed to be ready in about two hours.

So they popped a squat and got a front row seat to the show.

I found a nice desk chair in the back of the desk display area to sit at, where I could see most of the store, and ordered the item for pick up.

A moment later, I saw an employee leave the front area with a small printout.

He proceeded to walk around for a while, passing me a couple of times. He couldn’t find the buttons either.

After another 10 minutes, he went back to the front and got another person to start looking.

By now, the whole situation was turning into quite the spectacle.

More fruitless treks around the store followed, and I could see they were starting to panic.

As I was in a swivel chair, I had a great view of everything and could rotate as needed. Thus far, I seemed to be unnoticed.

Now three of them were looking.

Then the manager got involved.

After a few more minutes, a manager appeared to see what was happening.

He got everyone there to start looking, except for another employee still helping the older lady.

I overheard the manager commenting on how other things weren’t on the correct shelves either.

The staff finally found the buttons.

After what had now been 1.5 hours since I entered the store, they realized the buttons were all still in a box up on a high shelf.

The desk woman I had originally dealt with was asked to go get a ladder and had to come past me.

She put two and two together.

At this point, she finally realized what was happening and made a very lovely face at me.

She finally got the box down and took one to the register while the manager had everyone else gather around to start organizing the store.

I still hadn’t received the “item is ready for pick up” email, but I got the call that my truck was ready.

Finally, their order was ready.

I noticed the woman glaring at me, but she must have entered the item as ready because I got the email.

Now, as these formerly chatty employees were being put to work, I walked up to the register and got the pickup from her.

She had even more worked lined up for her, too.

As soon as I started walking to the door, I heard her manager call for her to come help.

Thanks for the tip to order online!

Seems like their little chatting break is over!

What did Reddit think?

One fellow shopper can attest to just how disorganized stores like this can be.

Maybe there isn’t such a bright future for office supplies stores.

This commenter has used a similar strategy at another popular chain store.

This commenter marvels at just how well this little malicious compliance plot worked.

Maybe this will teach the staff that a little effort goes a long way.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.