Fighting Back

The other day I went shopping for a digital camera. It's time I join the modern world of high-tech gadgets. I went to a Best Buy store in my neighborhood. After a bit of browsing I found the camera I liked at a price I could afford.

I asked a salesperson for the camera. Taking the priceslip from underneath the camera that I wanted, he disappeared brievely and returned to tell me that the camera I wanted was no longer instock. He continued by saying that he had checked with other Best Buy stores but none had that specific model available.

I asked him why the store didn't post a note indicating that the item was out of stock. He shrugged his shoulders and that was it. Disappointed I left and decided to go to Office Max where I had seen the same camera on display a day earlier.

Once at Office Max I basically went through the same ringer all over again. The item was not in stock but no sign was posted to alert me there of. As it turned out, the particular camera I wanted was not available anywhere, yet only Circuit City had a sign letting me know this up front.

I appreciated that because it saved me a lot of wasted time and grief. I ended up getting a different camera all together from Circuit City. Got to say I am happy with it and I am happier still with the service I got.

Still I can't help but wonder: "What in the world are other companies thinking to accomplish by not letting the consumer know beforehand what's out of stock? Would it really hurt their business? Or is there an other underlying reason why they do that?"