on 4/6/2005 8:41 AM TEF said the following:
Whether one phones or not is still not an excuse for a poorly stocked store.
It would seem to me that if something sells well, the merchant would either
reorder with more frequency or purchase larger quantities. Even if one does
call before making the trip to the store, what is the point of a business
that is chronically understocked? If this happens often, I certainly can
appreciate Doug's disappointment with his Woodcraft store.

What is the point of discussing this if we're going to do so with
incomplete information?

That Gerald didn't call to check to see if the item was in stock before
he went is his "bad." Pure and simple. More so if he traveled a great
distance. If he was already in the neighborhood and "just stopped by,"
what the hell's the big deal?

"They don't have anything" is pure, unadulterated bulls**t. It's
hyperbole that means absolutely nothing to me but that the OP doesn't
know what the hell he's talking about. If they have nothing would their
doors be open to the public and would they be paying an employee to tell
somebody "sorry, that's out of stock?"

We don't know what he was looking for. Was it a couple booked sheets of
Birdseye Maple veneer? Was it a certain, not terribly popular hinge?
Or, perhaps the opposite? A very popular item that was in their sale
flyer that week? Hell, we don't even know - from Gerald's post - if it
was the same item in each instance.

So, there you have it. We don't know just how put out Gerald has a
right to be. We don't know if the store is "chronically" understocked.
All we really know is that he never bothered to check before making the
trek.

There's really nothing wrong with not calling to check stock before
going in to make a purchase. It's just that it seems a tad whiney to
bitch about it later.

One further point, since Woodcraft is a franchise operation I don't
think it fair for anyone to view all stores in this light. I know I
won't be patronizing the Knoxville store - not even if they were selling
brand new Unisaws for $1,000 out the door. But that's only because that
particular store's not close by.