Do Staples want to sell staples or not?

So there I was, out of staples for my home office stapler. No sign of any odd staples lying around or even a discarded box. What size to buy? The stapler didn't have any marking on it to suggest what size to buy. Being ever-resourceful I took said stapler to Staples so I could check I purchased the correct size.

Along with the box of printer paper (£11.45) I took a cellophane-wrapped box of staples to the checkout. On asking the till operator if I could break open the cellophane he said "No". Could the staples be returned "No". On chivying him a little it he asked another operator - "We shouldn't really" came her reply.

Eventually the second operator gave the first permission to break open the cellophane although "We are not supposed to" came the retort.

Well the staples were the correct size. Hey presto! a sale of the princely sum of £1.26 was made in addition to the printer paper.