I… Guess That’s A Win?

It is late October. I am going on a sailing trip next year, and I’m keeping an eye out for gear I need to buy. I find a heavily marked-down waterproof backpack for sale at a big box store and place an order online. I also add a couple of Advent calendars to get free shipping. A couple of hours later, I get a call from the store.

Me: “Hello?”

Caller: “Hi, this is [Big Box Store]. We received your online order, but we don’t have the backpack in stock at this location. We can ship the order without it, though, and you can try to find it at another location.”

I don’t know what location is calling, or anything about how their shipping works; I’ve been shopping at the chain for years, but this is the first time I’ve placed an online order for delivery.

Me: “I do still want that bag. I don’t know how shipping works, but I don’t want the order sent without it.”

Caller: “We just have the backpack in the smaller size, not the size you ordered.”

Me: “It showed as in stock online when I ordered. I would take it any of the other colours, though.”

Caller: “It was a seasonal item that is out of stock. I could check with another store or our central ordering system, though.”

Me: “Yes, please do that.”

A minute or so later…

Caller: “[Store] in [Suburb Town] has the backpack in stock, or it’s in stock at our central ordering system. I can order it there, but it will take another three or four days. Is that okay?”

Me: “Yes, that’s fine. I don’t mind waiting.”

Another three hours later, I received an email that the entire order had been shipped from a location on the other side of the city (and nowhere close to the other store mentioned). I still don’t understand what happened!