7 ms·

I’m sorry, I can’t help but point out that you could call the store before you left your house. And when in the store, you could ask a sales associate for help.

I’m sorry, I can’t help but point out that you could call the store before you left your house. And when in the store, you could ask a sales associate for help. Just sayin!

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
Calling a store is usually phone system menu hell, you will usually ultimately reach a 19 year old that doesn't care or someone in a call center.
- minikites 5y ago
  What small/local store has a call center?
  - JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
    Well my most recent experience is trying to call the local number for the electric company office in my town which went to someone asking what state I live in.
vorpalhex 5y ago
Prepare to be on hold a very long time and be subjected to the person who answered the phone flagging down a coworker to go physically check the isle.
qudat 5y ago
> I can’t help but point out that you could call the store before you left your house. And when in the store, you could ask a sales associate for help. This is still worse than going to amazon and doing a quick search, seeing a ton of different products that satisfy your needs, and reading reviews from people that bought them. Then when you purchase it arrives in a day. Fake reviews aside, this is vastly superior.
- yabadubakta 5y ago
  And then possibly ending up with a counterfeit.
  - varispeed 5y ago
    And mislead by fake reviews.
  - corty 5y ago
    That is equally possible in a brick-and-mortar store. Even regulated shops such as pharmacies are suspected of selling counterfeits: https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2017/05/18/geben-apotheker-gefaelschte-arzneimittel-ab https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2017/... I'd even argue that brick-and-mortar is more prone to counterfeits because control buying by the original producers is far harder.
crazygringo 5y ago
That's hilarious! Do you... try that regularly? Stores are so understaffed, you're lucky to get them to pick up the phone at all, and if they do you often won't get accurate information. They'll never walk to an aisle to see if something is physically there, they'll tell you if it's "in the system", but frequently "the system" will show 3 in stock while the reality is zero on the shelf. Or 48 in stock but they're all on a pallet in the back they can't get to. And good luck finding a sales associate in the store itself. Quite frequently there simply aren't any -- only cashiers, a security guard, and people restocking who don't have the knowledge to help you at all.
- nactivint 5y ago
  Actually my wife does this all the time and it works, especially for small businesses. Larger companies have websites, and small businesses care enough to do things like check the stock for you. So I guess my anecdote cancels yours out?
  - meroes 5y ago
    This goes for San Francisco retail shops but also I'm sure other places: Some of the stores don't open till noon. Some are only open 3 days a week. Some stores are open the days the other stores are closed. I'm talking about some of the most popular retail storefronts in SF. There are no good options. I went through this recently where I had to call different stores on 3 separate days, waiting till 10am, 11am, or 12pm. And you still don't know the product you are asking about is really the one you are after. There are so many versions of products and specific use cases nowadays.
  - VBprogrammer 5y ago
    The previous posters experience resonates much more with me than your experience. Even when you do go to a shop you are often redirected online. That item isn't in stock on the computer. No attempt to upsell you or suggest an alternative which they might have in stock. It's no wonder high street stores are dying out. To be fair, small specialist stores are usually much better. I even got a call back from a company the last time I was trying to buy a specific BBQ. Sadly they didn't have it in stock and a day or two later I found it online.
koksik202 5y ago
I asked floor staff and manager about item that they had pile of in previous week, they said its all gone I even pointed on same item smaller size (slow cooker) went two aisle down found bunch of them there. Shop staff is not keeping track with items being sold unless you ask about bread and milk locations
lazide 5y ago
In my experience, if i’m 10 mins away from a store, my end to end time is at least an hour if you don’t already know where the items is and if it is in stock. Then it’s 30-45 minutes. Driving, parking, walking into the store, check out, walking out, driving takes a surprising amount of time if you actually count it. If I call, it’s often 5 to 10 minutes for the call to determine stock availability (often the clerk needs to go wander around to find it, or go to the far back of their lot to see how much they have). That’s assuming anyone knows what I’m talking about/I can adequately describe what I’m looking for without them getting confused, which isn’t always the case. This adds up. For some things it’s worth it, or even essential. For other things, it is not. I’ve given up on in-person for computer/networking/IT equipment for instance. Too difficult to get a clear answer, local markups and stocking are too unpredictable, it’s so much faster doing a search and purchasing online.
pythonaut_16 5y ago
I can also go online and buy it from any retailer living in 2021 for a similar or better price. It's really not practical to call up the store and ask about every single item I'm looking for. You're not wrong that those are options, but those options are the exact reason brick and mortar stores are struggling to stay afloat. They offer an inferior service.
iamevn 5y ago
Tried this when I wanted a tool to help pick a tubular lock that was being difficult with the improvised stuff I was trying and which I didn't want to drill out. Of all the hardware stores and hobby shops I called, only one actually took me seriously and checked to be sure they didn't have it. All the rest falsely told me that lock picking was illegal and seemed to take offense. Ended up buying some cheap shit off ebay that got the job done.
robbrown451 5y ago
They might do that for the occasional person, but it wouldn't scale. They have to hire far more people.
Salgat 5y ago
So now I have to spend 5-10 minutes talking with someone and waiting on them just to find the price versus knowing it instantly. Then I have to drive there and buy it (if it is cheaper) versus just having it shipped free to my house. None of this makes sense for me to do.
dylan604 5y ago
I love going into my local Ace Hardware stores. I have found that these are usually staffed by older/retired guys that have been there, done that, and they are eager to assist. In fact, one guy would recognize me and ask what "crazy" thing I'm trying to do now. This is all because the first time we interacted I was attempting to build a "portable" 25' long suspension cable system for a camera rig. We probably spent 2 hours looking at all of the doodads they had available (of course he'd help other customers when needed). However, we did spend a lot of time just chatting about random projects. At the end, he asked if I'd show him the result of it when finished. It was sad day when I learned he had passed away. Kind of like losing a distant relative. Show me where Amazon or whatever online shop can emulate that.
- artificial 5y ago
  A service which you find useful that eventually disappears? I think you may find some Google products to fill this niche :)
  - luigibosco 5y ago
    haha, nice and true to a point with a few caveats - you may search for what you think you need which is a "whatsit" which can be fixed by a "whoseit", which may be in fact be best solved by a "thingamajig".
- luigibosco 5y ago
  At my local hardware store this saved me $40 and a whole bunch of plumbing and a trip back to the store when the seasoned veteran simply asked what i was trying to do. The money, meh, saving the time and frustration priceless. The best help is when someone asks you what you are trying to accomplish instead of what isle something is in. It's why you go back to that store and learn when certain employees are working. To the young workers, i totally get that your underpaid and not your career path or one at all. Perhaps for some of the older/retired gen is it more supplimental income and they enjoy being a knowledge base for people like me who sometimes know enough to be dangerous..
cerved 5y ago
how do i get this Tele-Phone app you speak of?

I’m sorry, I can’t help but point out that you could call the store before you left your house. And when in the store, you could ask a sales associate for help. Just sayin!

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago

Calling a store is usually phone system menu hell, you will usually ultimately reach a 19 year old that doesn't care or someone in a call center.

minikites 5y ago
What small/local store has a call center?
- JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
  Well my most recent experience is trying to call the local number for the electric company office in my town which went to someone asking what state I live in.

vorpalhex 5y ago

Prepare to be on hold a very long time and be subjected to the person who answered the phone flagging down a coworker to go physically check the isle.

qudat 5y ago

> I can’t help but point out that you could call the store before you left your house. And when in the store, you could ask a sales associate for help. This is still worse than going to amazon and doing a quick search, seeing a ton of different products that satisfy your needs, and reading reviews from people that bought them. Then when you purchase it arrives in a day. Fake reviews aside, this is vastly superior.

yabadubakta 5y ago
And then possibly ending up with a counterfeit.
- varispeed 5y ago
  And mislead by fake reviews.
- corty 5y ago
  That is equally possible in a brick-and-mortar store. Even regulated shops such as pharmacies are suspected of selling counterfeits: https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2017/05/18/geben-apotheker-gefaelschte-arzneimittel-ab https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2017/... I'd even argue that brick-and-mortar is more prone to counterfeits because control buying by the original producers is far harder.

crazygringo 5y ago

That's hilarious! Do you... try that regularly? Stores are so understaffed, you're lucky to get them to pick up the phone at all, and if they do you often won't get accurate information. They'll never walk to an aisle to see if something is physically there, they'll tell you if it's "in the system", but frequently "the system" will show 3 in stock while the reality is zero on the shelf. Or 48 in stock but they're all on a pallet in the back they can't get to. And good luck finding a sales associate in the store itself. Quite frequently there simply aren't any -- only cashiers, a security guard, and people restocking who don't have the knowledge to help you at all.

nactivint 5y ago
Actually my wife does this all the time and it works, especially for small businesses. Larger companies have websites, and small businesses care enough to do things like check the stock for you. So I guess my anecdote cancels yours out?
- meroes 5y ago
  This goes for San Francisco retail shops but also I'm sure other places: Some of the stores don't open till noon. Some are only open 3 days a week. Some stores are open the days the other stores are closed. I'm talking about some of the most popular retail storefronts in SF. There are no good options. I went through this recently where I had to call different stores on 3 separate days, waiting till 10am, 11am, or 12pm. And you still don't know the product you are asking about is really the one you are after. There are so many versions of products and specific use cases nowadays.
- VBprogrammer 5y ago
  The previous posters experience resonates much more with me than your experience. Even when you do go to a shop you are often redirected online. That item isn't in stock on the computer. No attempt to upsell you or suggest an alternative which they might have in stock. It's no wonder high street stores are dying out. To be fair, small specialist stores are usually much better. I even got a call back from a company the last time I was trying to buy a specific BBQ. Sadly they didn't have it in stock and a day or two later I found it online.

koksik202 5y ago

I asked floor staff and manager about item that they had pile of in previous week, they said its all gone I even pointed on same item smaller size (slow cooker) went two aisle down found bunch of them there. Shop staff is not keeping track with items being sold unless you ask about bread and milk locations

lazide 5y ago

In my experience, if i’m 10 mins away from a store, my end to end time is at least an hour if you don’t already know where the items is and if it is in stock. Then it’s 30-45 minutes. Driving, parking, walking into the store, check out, walking out, driving takes a surprising amount of time if you actually count it. If I call, it’s often 5 to 10 minutes for the call to determine stock availability (often the clerk needs to go wander around to find it, or go to the far back of their lot to see how much they have). That’s assuming anyone knows what I’m talking about/I can adequately describe what I’m looking for without them getting confused, which isn’t always the case. This adds up. For some things it’s worth it, or even essential. For other things, it is not. I’ve given up on in-person for computer/networking/IT equipment for instance. Too difficult to get a clear answer, local markups and stocking are too unpredictable, it’s so much faster doing a search and purchasing online.

pythonaut_16 5y ago

I can also go online and buy it from any retailer living in 2021 for a similar or better price. It's really not practical to call up the store and ask about every single item I'm looking for. You're not wrong that those are options, but those options are the exact reason brick and mortar stores are struggling to stay afloat. They offer an inferior service.

iamevn 5y ago

Tried this when I wanted a tool to help pick a tubular lock that was being difficult with the improvised stuff I was trying and which I didn't want to drill out. Of all the hardware stores and hobby shops I called, only one actually took me seriously and checked to be sure they didn't have it. All the rest falsely told me that lock picking was illegal and seemed to take offense. Ended up buying some cheap shit off ebay that got the job done.

robbrown451 5y ago

They might do that for the occasional person, but it wouldn't scale. They have to hire far more people.

Salgat 5y ago

So now I have to spend 5-10 minutes talking with someone and waiting on them just to find the price versus knowing it instantly. Then I have to drive there and buy it (if it is cheaper) versus just having it shipped free to my house. None of this makes sense for me to do.

dylan604 5y ago

I love going into my local Ace Hardware stores. I have found that these are usually staffed by older/retired guys that have been there, done that, and they are eager to assist. In fact, one guy would recognize me and ask what "crazy" thing I'm trying to do now. This is all because the first time we interacted I was attempting to build a "portable" 25' long suspension cable system for a camera rig. We probably spent 2 hours looking at all of the doodads they had available (of course he'd help other customers when needed). However, we did spend a lot of time just chatting about random projects. At the end, he asked if I'd show him the result of it when finished. It was sad day when I learned he had passed away. Kind of like losing a distant relative. Show me where Amazon or whatever online shop can emulate that.

artificial 5y ago
A service which you find useful that eventually disappears? I think you may find some Google products to fill this niche :)
- luigibosco 5y ago
  haha, nice and true to a point with a few caveats - you may search for what you think you need which is a "whatsit" which can be fixed by a "whoseit", which may be in fact be best solved by a "thingamajig".
luigibosco 5y ago
At my local hardware store this saved me $40 and a whole bunch of plumbing and a trip back to the store when the seasoned veteran simply asked what i was trying to do. The money, meh, saving the time and frustration priceless. The best help is when someone asks you what you are trying to accomplish instead of what isle something is in. It's why you go back to that store and learn when certain employees are working. To the young workers, i totally get that your underpaid and not your career path or one at all. Perhaps for some of the older/retired gen is it more supplimental income and they enjoy being a knowledge base for people like me who sometimes know enough to be dangerous..

cerved 5y ago

how do i get this Tele-Phone app you speak of?