Now that a handful of Staples stores across the province are home to ServiceOntario kiosks, customers are noticing a hilarious but completely unsurprising phenomenon in some of the affected locations.

Just as some people predicted might happen when the seemingly random move to provide government services out of the retail chain was first announced, residents waiting to renew, replace, or make changes to their driver's licenses, health cards, etc., are getting in the habit of taking over other departments of the office supply emporium.

Of particular interest for those waiting for their turn at the agency, of course, are the furniture displays with their comfortable desk chairs, which multiple shoppers have spotted completely overrun with ServiceOntario patrons during limited appointment hours.

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As some expressed concern about when the new outposts began popping up, the service desks are located between retail departments in the back of the Staples stores, forcing ServiceOntario clients to walk past a sea of merchandise.

This poses the temptation to not just make potentially unnecessary purchases but, apparently, to take an unnecessary seat elsewhere in the store while dealing with the hassle and lineups involved in sorting out government ID and documents.

Service Ontario is literally Staples’ office furniture dept
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Staff members at multiple locations, including the Staples at Eglinton and Laird in Toronto and the one Yonge and Davis Drive in Newmarket, confirmed the trend over the phone on Wednesday, with one saying that it's usually only due to "overflow" during peak days and times.

"There is a waiting area of around 20-25 chairs," they said of the new ServiceOntario in their store. "Some people are just electing to use [Staples] chairs instead of the ServiceOntario chairs, but we've had lots of times where we've asked customers to move and they've done so right away."

They also noted that though the office furniture is near the new kiosk, the seats are visibly separated.

Staples corporate has yet to reply to blogTO's request for comment on the matter.

This is amazing 🤣

— PDOKing (Albertosaurus) (@Kinger999) June 16, 2024

There are seven ServiceOntario locations open inside Staples stores in Toronto, Scarborough, Newmarket, Welland, Oakville, Strathroy and Tillsonburg, with more set to debut in two additional Staples, and potentially other big box stores in the future as well.

The deal necessitated the closure of 11 existing ServiceOntarios, had a pricetag of $1.75 million, and has prompted a formal review by the province's Financial Accountability Office.