I am so glad you read this and commented on it, your experience you had pretty much proved my point to some degree and also exposed where additional problems exist.
I would disagree on one point where you said the service rep "went above and beyond her calling" , to me her effort is to be admired but her calling was to make sure that you got what you came in there for and left as a satisfied customer. In that regard she failed as I see it, not by her own doing but by the fact that their computer system lacks important information, like where the product is located in the store. I can guarantee you that there is a place in that computer system for "product location" by aisle number and shelf spot. That information has probably never been entered or at least it has not been updated. Most inventory management systems even have overstock location for product that won't fit on the sales floor so that when the shelf is empty it can easily be retrieved from the stock room and refilled on the sales floor.
The store manager is the person responsible to make sure that the store runs on all cylinders and that manager has dropped the ball on making sure that happens. You wasted twenty minutes of your time and all of her good will and effort was lost to that location because if their inventory shown in system was correct and they had it in the store, she couldn't locate it.
You were the "walk in customer" I gave as an example and I doubt that you will be going back to the location to purchase those again unless it is a dire emergency and you need them that moment. In which case you may or may not get them as we have seen. Store pricing wasn't an issue I assume because you were there to purchase them, but when the store failed to satisfy your need you then opted for online purchase.
The savings ended up being a bonus for you. You got what you wanted at a more favorable price and I can also guarantee the order puller at the Amazon warehouse facility didn't spend 20 minutes looking for them when they pulled your order.
The question that Office Depot needs to be asking themselves is, "do we really need brick and mortar any longer?" Especially when they undercut their own store pricing like they do.
I can remember years ago when stores gave "trading stamps" and you could accumulate trading stamps and then go to a location to redeem them. The location had one of every item that you could purchase with the trading stamps, so you could see and feel what you where going to get. You never were able to walk in and get the item at that moment, they would place an order and then ship it to you or to that location and then when it arrived you could go pick it up. Maybe that is the future of "retail" , look, touch, feel and then order on line, just like the trading stamp places from the 50's and 60's.