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The stunned teenagers then ask the employees for their names. The male supervisor responds, “I’m (unintelligible), I’m the print supervisor.” The other employee adds, “I’m one of the managers. So, unfortunately, we do not print—”
Paid in Advance, Denied on the Spot
The teenagers even had the receipt in hand, proof that the order was prepaid. But the employees didn’t budge. One teen pushed back: “Okay, so you say you don’t print propaganda, but this is for somebody who passed away a couple of [days] ago.”
“That’s political propaganda, unfortunately,” the manager coldly replied.
The back-and-forth ended with the supervisor dismissively suggesting they come back Monday to speak with the general manager. “You’re welcome to return,” he told them. The vigil, of course, was happening that night.
General Manager Reaches Out — Too Late
After the footage began circulating, the general manager of the store, identified as “Justin,” called one of the teens and left a voicemail apologizing for the ordeal.
“Good afternoon, James. This is Justin from Opskeepo [the Office Depot], uh, store manager in the Portage location that you visited uh, earlier this afternoon. Just wanted to reach out to you and let you know that uh I am happy to get you taken care of in any way possible. Um, understand we uh, had a print job that we didn’t do for you and just wanna make sure that I’m here if you need something printed we got you so, um, please feel free to reach out to me, 269-XXX-XXX. Have a good night.”
Unfortunately, his call came too late. The teenager was already attending the vigil without the posters they paid for.
Corporate Scrambles to Do Damage Control
As outrage grew online, Office Depot’s corporate office finally stepped in with a statement posted on X.
“We are deeply concerned by the incident that occurred at Store 3382 in Portage, Michigan. The behavior displayed by our associate is completely unacceptable and insensitive, violates our company policies, and does not reflect the values we uphold at Office Depot.
We sincerely apologize to the customer affected and to our community for this regrettable situation. Upon learning of the incident, we immediately reached out to the customer to address their concerns and seek to fulfill their order to their satisfaction. We also launched an immediate internal review and, as a result, the associate involved is no longer with the organization. We are committed to reinforcing training with all team members to ensure our standards of respect, integrity, and customer service are upheld at every location. Our customers and communities deserve nothing less.”
One Fired, One Still Employed
Corporate confirmed that only one of the employees involved has been let go. Many are asking the obvious question: why not both? The video shows the supervisor and the manager working together to deny service.
The controversy has already stirred national debate about bias in corporate America, with conservatives pointing out that businesses appear quick to cave to political correctness — even when grieving families and communities simply want to hold a prayer vigil.
For three teenagers who just wanted to honor someone they looked up to, the Office Depot experience turned into a lesson in how ideology can poison even the most basic of customer interactions.
