Dear Office Supply Store...

Dear Office Supply Store,
Please let me start by saying how much I love you. I am a first grade teacher and have a deep passion for educating students. I look forward to back to school shopping all year long. I wait for new sales ads each week like it's Christmas and love planning my trips. I also love the thrill of the hunt for great deals and appreciate your support with this.

With all of this said, I must admit I have one complaint. The decision to remove Teacher Rewards like exceeding store limits, or even allowing multiple transactions, was a BAD one. I, like many teachers, spend a lot of my own money each year on my students. I teach in a low income area, and while the school and parents do the best that they can to provide materials, it is simply not enough. I woke up this morning feeling excited to head out on my shopping trip (I even fell asleep with my shopping list in bed). I left feeling frustrated.

Here are a few fun facts based on my own teaching experiences:
1) The average classroom can go through 400+ glue sticks each year.
2) Crayons break easily and then have a magnetic pull towards the floor.
3) Sharpened pencils are like gold and each child goes through several a week.
4) Little kids write either super huge (like 5 lines each letter) or extremely tiny. The tiny writers typically like to put one sentence on a page. This means I need many notebooks.
5) The school supplies sent in by students usually run out by October. The rest of the year is up to the teacher or school.
6) I do leave your store and go to your competitor just to get a better deal (and then tell my friends).

As you can see, having a limit of 3 or 5 of an item, doesn't really help. While the low prices are great, buying 12 gluesticks compared to the 400 I need still leaves me short. I understand needing to set limits, you are a business. However, I strongly suggest you re-evaluate this plan.

Wouldn't you rather be known as the store that teachers can trust? Teachers talk. We share the best deals, we share who had great customer service, and we share our passion in educating your future employees. While it may seem like a loss to be "giving away" so much during the back to school season, I can promise you, we will be sure to repeat our business with your company the rest of the year. Set yourself apart and we will do our part to spread your support with others. We are not asking for a lot. Please just reinstate your policies that allow teachers to provide the necessary materials for their students at a cost that is feasible. Thank you.

 Sincerely,
The person educating your future employees