Having What You Need

Written By:  Andrew Eide

One of my complaints, which is in the category of poor customer service, is going to a store which should have what you need, but they either don’t carry, or they are out of stock, on that item. Allow me to give you a few examples.

You see commercials on television from home improvement stores. They each claim they have what you need in stock and they each claim they have better customer service than the other home improvement stores. So you drive over to the one who brags the most in their commercials only to find out they do not have the item you want. I mean, come on, you need a home improvement item, you are in a home improvement store, and the store that bragged the most that they have everything you want in home improvement items, then you find out they don’t carry that item. So you drive around to several other home improvement stores until you find one that carries the item you want.

So you fully understand my rant here I am not talking about some totally obscure, never before heard of, home improvement item. I am talking about items that nearly every home uses but these stores don’t carry that item. That is poor customer service.

The same concept applies to major department stores, whether they are high-end department stores, or one of the discount department store chains. They brag about their inventory of items that everyone uses and when you go there they don’t have the item you use and want. This causes you to have to travel around until you find the department store that does, in fact, carry the item you desire.

The worst offender is Toys R Us. They claim to have the largest selection of toys of any store in the world and the lowest prices. My personal experience was during the 2011 Christmas season. We were looking for toys, mostly dolls, for our daughter and other relatives in the Philippines. The selection of toys and dolls at this major toy store was pathetic and extremely expensive. We ended up storming out of this store and we went next door to what I would call a discount department store. They had every toy and doll we wanted and at an extremely good price.

I know I ask too much to have truth in advertising, and I am never going to get it, but at least I try. The job of these advertisements is to deceive you and get you to spend your money at their store. What they seem to not realize is that when they lie to me, stating they have what I want at a good price, then I go there and they don’t have what I want, and what they do have is extremely expensive, they have lost a customer and usually permanently.