Taking Stock Of Ridiculous Requests

(A customer comes up to me asking if we carry a particular item.)

Me: “I know for sure that we do. Were you having trouble finding it?”

Customer: “No, I found it, but it says it’s out of stock.”

Me: “Okay, let me grab the tag so I can look up the SKU and see when we have more coming in.” *does that* “So, it looks like we’re expected to get more in next week, but that’s not guaranteed. When do you need it for?”

Customer: “Yesterday.”

Me: *fake laughing a bit* “Okay. So, would you like me to see if any other stores have any? I can get them to put it on hold for you.”

Customer: “No, I’m not driving out of town for it.”

Me: “Okay, then the next fastest way to get it is to order it online. We have a way to do that in store if you like.”

Customer: “No, I need it today.”

Me: “Okay, well, we don’t have any, unfortunately. So, if you need it today, I can have one put aside for you in [Nearby Town], or you could check [Major Retailer]?”

Customer: “No, I’m not going to [Major Retailer]. I need it now.”

Me: “Okay. I’m not sure what you would like me to do. We don’t have any.”

Customer: “I want you to have it in stock!”

Me: “I understand that, but we don’t.”

Customer: “Yeah, and that’s pretty ridiculous, isn’t it? You don’t even carry this popular item.”

Me: “We do carry it. We’ve just sold out of them. Because other people bought them… because they’re popular.”

Customer: “You’d think you guys would be more on top of your game, then! You should be ordering things way sooner than you are if you know how popular they are!”

Me: “We actually don’t do any ordering ourselves; it’s all automated. When stock gets to a certain number, a new order gets put in on its own.”

Customer: “Oh.”