Replies

"I’ve noticed more and more in recent years, asking someone for help in a store is generally useless. The people working there generally have no knowledge of the products in their own stores. It makes for a frustrating shopping experience unless you know exactly what you want, and exactly where on the shelf it is, so you can grab it and go."

Just MHO, but it seems like retailers can't or won't decide what they want to be. If they want to just be warehouses where I go in specifically for product X and just need to retrieve it, then they can get by with minimum wage drones and need a better inventory/location service.

If they want to be a full service retailer, then they ought to invest in quality help and train them (or hire people with experience).

My local Lowes doesn't appear to find it necessary to keep their inventory current. I walk in and an item that shows in stock online is missing or isn't where it's supposed to be. Then I get a blank look from the floor people when I ask for it because they don't even know what products they supposedly carry.

But in the same store, one of the appliance guys is probably the best I've ever met bar none. Like a walking encylopedia of their product lines.

I'm always curious if he gets paid the same as the drones he has to work with.

My local Lowes doesn't appear to find it necessary to keep their inventory current. I walk in and an item that shows in stock online is missing or isn't where it's supposed to be.

That has happened to me at Staples more than once. They leave a cheery tag saying "why not go buy it online and then come back and pick it up here tomorrow." That assumes I live close to the store and don't have an immediate need for the item I walked into the freaking store to get.

Not that I shop at Staples much anymore. Their prices have skyrocketed over the past year, their staff is useless and some of the merchandise is starting to remind me of dollar stores.

I've found deeply discounted office supplies on ebay of all places.