I know it’s late, but I was trying to find this christmas.. er, holiday gift for a friend.

I take a rather circuitous route home to check out one store more or less near my apartment, nope, they don’t have it. So I go home, and think of another place that would have it, a big place… so I phone them up.

“Hello, do you have X in stock?”

“Yes…”

“Do you have enough so that by the time I come down there tonight there will still be some?”

“Yes… did you phone yesterday?”

“What?… no”

“Yes, we have lots.”

“Okay, thanks, goo—”

“*click*”

Oh well, anyway, so I struggle down there, half hour later I’m standing in front of the floor walker exasperated

“What do you mean Sold Out?”

“We don’t have anymore”

“But I phoned, they said you had lots… did they lie?”

“I don’t know… let me check”

And after about half an hour of investigation where he helped other people and looked up the wrong item, he showed me the inventory screen… they have 10 X of type 1, and at least 5 of the other types. But no actual units… Lots and None At All it seems… all the units were imaginary.. apparently.

He suggested I come back later. I suggested I won’t.

Maybe everyone else out there in interwebland is familiar with this kind of screwery, but I’ve not encountered it, and it annoys me. I bet if I phoned right now they would say the same thing… lots. Because they just want me in the store, as long as I leave with any product, if additionally a scowl, they will have done their job.