Perpetual Ruminations

Inventory! Who Knows How Many We Have?

Another late night, it's after midnight here; it's been kind of a long day.

I was going to blog on some more about the Covid vaccine, or more accurately the speed at which it was developed. But, I will save that for another day because I want to discuss something else that I have seen a trend with.

A brief history of what and why: My wife is artistic and she creates the images we put on our Christmas cards each year. Once the image is finished, we scan it, then arrange it for creating a folded card. She does the image, I do the formatting, and together we add graphics and text from the computer. Then, we print out a sample copy, make sure it's right, and if so, we print out the cards we need and send them. This year we are running behind, but last night she finished the image, and today we wanted to scan it and finish the cards.

But, our all in one printer isn't working quite right. For some reason, scanning anything creates a shadow line right down the center of the page. Also, when printing, the printer creates a very light line across the paper. Finally, we discovered that we need to replace the colored ink cartridges. Our printer needed to be replaced. We went online and researched printers and looked at reviews. We decided on a HP model that did all we would need and the ink if through HP, was much cheaper.

Walmart sells the printer we wanted, but there were only five left in stock at one specific Walmart, so we had to drive a bit to get it. I wanted to purchase it online to ensure we got one, but it was an in-store purchase only. We drove over and headed straight to the back to find none. My wife asked an associate, I could think fo a few other terms that fit her better - but we wont go there.

She came around the corner with my wife, pointed, and said, "The printers are right there." as she pointed to the shelves. My wife again explained that it stated online that there were five, but there were none on the shelf. I had my phone out and was looking at their website at the time and showed her. She looked at the shelf and asked if we knew which printer they were out of.

I gave her all the details from my phone and she looked at all the shelves, and then pointed to an empty spot and said, "They should be right there, we must be out."

I showed her again that the webpage showed five in stock. She stated that it must be wrong, but if we could provide her with a barcode to scan, she could check the inventory. I asked, sarcastically, where would I find the barcode? She answered, dead serious, "It's on the box."

This is not the first time this has happened at various Walmarts. I don't know why the employees are so indifferent and anything but helpful but it seems to be getting worse. In fact, early this spring, my youngest took my debit card and walked to a nearby Walmart and purchased an iPhone through Straight Talk. She's was eleven at the time, and didn't know what all she needed, but she wanted an iPhone. An associate set her up with a phone, the prepaid card a case, earbuds, everything she could possibly need, and let her pay for it. When she tried to pay for it with the debit card, another associate told her she couldn't use the card without a valid ID, because of her age. She showed them my driver's license and they accepted it. When we confronted them, they said, "All that was required was a valid ID, we ran it and it was valid." It wasn't her's or even had a picture that looked remotely like her, but it was valid.

When we made a big stink about it, we were told it wasn't their fault, it was the girls and they were just doing their job, and with the pandemic, we should be thankful they were even willing to work! Worse yet, because she opened it and set up the phone, we couldn't even return it. I still have a five hundred dollar iPhone sitting around her someplace. I'd sell it cheap if I knew anyone who wanted a Straight Talk iPhone, hell for a hundred bucks I'll even through in the fifty dollar prepaid card.

But, I digress; unless you're interested in the phone, then let me know. What I'm blogging about is with the pandemic, it's difficult to shop, so many of us are doing as much as we can online. Even when I can't purchase online for whatever reason, I do my comparing and looking online to stay out of the stores as much as possible. Then, I check inventory and make sure they have it. But when I get to the store, they don't. I've noticed this only when it's a sale and a great deal. I'm pretty sure someone is taking some and setting them aside for friends and family, possibly even gifts.

I know Walmart does point of sale inventory. They know how many come in the back, then when the item is scanned at checkout, it's removed from inventory. When the count gets to a predetermined amount, an order for more is automatically generated. Now, with smaller items, sure the counts could be off as a result of shoplifting, but an inkjet printer? I think not. Even if something messed up, the count may be off by one, maybe even two, but five. I think not.

No, they were there but tucked out of sight for someone else. I'd blame the gal who came to not help us, but it was plain to see as soon as she opened her mouth that her IQ was less than my dog's. I also know, we shop at Walmart as little as possible, even if we have to spend a little more someplace else. After today, I'd even drive twice as far just to not shop at Walmart. Even so, I may have to stop in there next week and bring a part of the box from the printer we did end up getting and telling that lady, "Here, the barcode you wanted from us so you can scan it to see if you have any."

Then, after she scans it and shows me the other printers still on the shelf, I'll tell her, thank you, but I don't need one anymore, I had to purchase one someplace else to get you the barcode. I already know, she won't get it.