Office Depot launches a nationwide 15-minute pickup promise with $15 guarantees, brought to you by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.

President Kevin Moffitt positions this as the ultimate convenience play, offering $15 coupons when orders aren't ready in time. Chris worries about operational strain on store teams, while Anne questions whether this is primarily a marketing hook building on their existing 20-minute capabilities.

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Office Depot has launched what it is calling the 15 Minute Pickup Promise.

According to ChainStorage, the 15 Minute Pickup Promise service allows customers to pick up qualifying online or mobile orders in store curbside in just 15 minutes and it is now available at Office Depot and Office Mac stores nationwide.

To use the new option, customers place a qualifying order@office depot.com or via the Office Depot mobile app and select in store or curbside pickup at least one hour before closing.

If the order isn't ready in 15 minutes, they will receive a $15 coupon for your next qualifying purchase within 72 hours, said Kevin Moffatt, friend of the show and president of Office depot.

Quote, our 15 minute pickup promise is designed to deliver convenience and peace of mind so that customers can get what they need when they need it and focus on what matters most.

End quote.

Chris, do you think Office Depot's 15 minute promise is a wise long term strategy?

Oh, and 15 minute MPP.

Yeah, you know me.

Absolutely not.

No, I actually don't.

In deference to Kevin, who I like a lot.

We've had him on the show, I've interviewed him as well in the past year.

I'm dubious on this one and I just am.

Mainly because I worry about, we go back the outset omnistar, you know, the things we try to call out and try to, you know, keep in mind, I worry that this is going to be a long term strain on the in store staff.

15 minutes, like, like what if I get the call on my PDA and I have to go to the bathroom?

Like that's not, I'm not, I'm not filling that order.

You know, you gotta hand it off.

To Phil, the other person in the.

Gotta have Phil go do the order, I guess.

I don't know.

Yeah, I know but like are there that many people in the store?

I don't, you know, I mean, you know, payroll is hard to come by right now.

So, so, you know, I don't know.

The interesting thing about this article is maybe they've got the economics worked out to some degree that I'm not understanding because the whole couponing that you have to redeem within 72 hours and $15 off, maybe they're getting some like upward benefit and people redeeming that coupon when they don't meet the service expectation.

But that's a dicey game to play in the long run because you're disappointing a lot of customers on the front end and then kind of in a way, you know, I hate to say it, but taking advantage of them on the back end.

So that's, that's a road to nowhere in the long run.

I hope that's actually not what's happening here.

I hope it's just about, you know, obviously both thinks that customers want things this quickly, but as a store employee, I'd have to be asking like, why 15 minutes?

Like, why isn't 30 minutes or less enough already?

Like, you know, it's like, it's like six minute abs from, you know, from something about Mary.

Like, you know.

Yeah, I just, I just don't get it.

Like, it doesn't make sense to me.

Well, I looked back at our interview that we did with him at e tail and he already said, Kevin, in that.

In that they have the world's fastest buy online pickup in store, which I think at the time was 20 minutes or less.

So I'm really wondering if this isn't more of a marketing hook for them than it is anything else.

I mean, I can even personally.

Right.

I mean, I can't even personally drive to my closest Office Depot in 15 minutes or less.

So like I like mapped it out yesterday.

I was like, I don't even think I could get there in 15 minutes.

Which obviously is not true for everybody, but I'm, it's, it's a factor.

Right.

So, so I think I would just be.

I think the most important part of what you just said and the most important watch out would be the backlash from consumers if they do really.

If you really have a 15 minute emergency and they can't get it and they're late, the $15 coupon is not going to be enough for me to come back.

I don't think if I, if you can't hit on that promise, I'm probably going to go somewhere else next time or just go and pick it up myself because I could do it just as quickly.

Go to the store with the coupon.

Yeah, I think so.

So, so that's just the biggest thing that I would, I would watch out for.

But I mean, they have been doing the 20 minute delivery buy online pickup and store delivery pretty reliably for the last few years, according to Kevin.

So I think it's really just a, just a marketing.

Here's an extra $15 coupon if, if we don't meet your.

Your satisfaction.

Yeah, that's a really good point.

Something I hadn't thought about, you know, like, you know, are they just meeting this expectation day in and day out anyway?

And now he's just.

But like, I don't know that I would market it that overtly either, because then it's a big move.

Yeah, it's.

It's a, It's a tough one to live up to, I think, in the long run.

But, you know, otherwise, you know, because versus just word of mouth of, hey, you know, Office Depot, they fulfill my pickleboarder pretty darn quick, you know.

Right.

And.

And reliably, you know.

Right.

I don't know.

Yep.