Retail Woes

At a conference in Kansas City, so I visited a Container Store. They sell a brand of modular shelving that I like and I needed two shelves to help me finish out a unit. They can be ordered online, but I thought since I was in the area anyway, why not just pick them up?

Me to clerk while holding sheet with shelving items listed, since they weren’t out on the sales floor. “I was needing to get these two items.”

Clerk calls manager, who is on another call, so she goes to the back room of the store to talk to him directly. She returns.

“We don’t actually keep those in the store anymore; they would have to come on the truck, which would be here Wednesday.” Since I won’t be here until next Wednesday, I decline. I’ll wind up ordering them anyway, because they will get to my house as fast as they would get to a store, even if I lived here and could come back by and pick them up.

I wish I could figure out why retail stores seem to be having trouble keeping business.