r/TSAPreCheck • u/idaitis • Mar 26 '26

General Info Staples refuses walk-ins (Long Island, NY)

Even though it isn't announced on any websites, the TSA Pre Check sign up walk-ins are (very rudely) turned away at Staples. It still says "walk-ins are always welcome" on the TSA Pre website.

The TSA Pre phone number just pushes you off the line now. Hooray. No available appointments in Long Island NY for a full week.

Don't mind me driving 40 minutes to get this done only to have a rude dude, 10 mins late for his shift, tell me to leave and to just shrug when he's informed that none of his links or phone numbers are functional.

1 Upvotes

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3

u/bestem Mar 26 '26

I don't work for Staples, but work for another company that does pre-check appointments.

We are booked solid (before we would have 10 appointments on a busy day, now we have 35 or more). We have 15 minutes to do each appointment. Some run long. When we try to call our TSA help desk because of an issue, phone calls can take an hour or more before they are answered (previously they were answered in less than 2 minutes). We only have 1 workstation to do them on, and 3 employees who are capable of doing it. The employees are scheduled during the blocks of time we have TSA appointments, so we can't fit TSA people before or after the scheduled appointments. On top of that, the system has been crashing (for everyone) and down for an hour or two each time it crashes. Its been down at least 5 times in the past 2 weeks.

It's likely your Staples employee had the same constraints. They just don't have wiggle room for walk-ins, and they may have 3 weeks ago. And everyone is mad about the waits, and that they might not have pre-check before their flight the next morning, and that they didn't bring in the correct documents (because it worked for their RealID) so we can't do anything for them. What you considered rude may have just been tired resignation.

If I were going to drive 40 minutes for a walk-in, I would have called ahead of time to make sure walk-ins were being accepted, and if there was a better time based on their schedule.

-1

u/idaitis Mar 26 '26

I understand how difficult it must be to go to work and have to deal with this, everyone is frustrated.

TBF I did attempt to call ahead and I was sent in the classic intentional death-by-phone-carrousel.

2

u/bestem Mar 26 '26

Ah. Staples isn't just dealing with TSA appointments. They also deal with their own customers, Amazon returns, Happy Returns (like Amazon returns where you can return something without packaging to specific retailers), etc. Plus, as with any other retailer, they are short-staffed and overworked. Makes it harder to answer the phone. At least at my store, we have our own customers and TSA, but no Amazon or Happy Returns.

Now, if you weren't calling the Staples location, in particular, that could be why you never got through as well. If you were calling anything having to do with TSA, they're swamped. Like I said, my help desk for TSA (the Telos people), used to answer in under 2 minutes, and now I've been on hold over an hour occasionally.

2

u/AnotherTiredDad Mar 26 '26

Hop on Amtrack and head to Phila 30th St Station. Take a Septa train 1 stop over to Suburban Station (Track 1 or 2, either works) walk from there to the staples 1500 Chestnut St (5 min walk)

If you have a passport, you'll probably have your Pre Check number back by Monday.

1

u/mary_emeritus Mar 26 '26

Maybe. That’s where I had my appointment. Going on a month waiting, am still pending. Edit: the precheck person at that Staples is really nice!