.
The guy's name is MURPHY. He is so famous in doing these dastardly deeds that they have LAWS known as MURPHY's LAWS.
In many cases, it is also good to approach the Manager of the store in question, tell him what happened in a reasonable manner, and suggest that this is really not good service and it reflects badly on the Store. Many times the Manager has no idea of what is happening and generally he wishes to correct such instances.
I ask for a firm commitment from a Manager, as to delivery time, and I ask for his card and even his home phone number. I get a promise from him to phone me if any problem happens. Then, about a week after the deadline has gone by, and if I haven't heard from him, I phone him at home about 2:00 a.m. in the morning and gently remind him of his commitment regarding my order.
It also depends upon the employees and their attitude and training. Many of them these days have that attitude that they are doing you a favor by serving you. I once stood at the optics counter at Wholesale Sports in Winnipeg for the better part of ten minutes while two employees less than 20 feet away and in plain sight discussed the previous nights football game. After figuring out that I was not going to go away, one of them asked if he could help me. I told him no, and that I was just standing there for that length of time to see how long it would be before they would serve me. I did have a rather frank discussion of this event with the Manager a few minutes later.
But, the Wholesale Sports experience is just Basic Training for the REAL thing, a visit to CABELAS in Winnipeg. The old SIR attitude didn't change much when Cabelas took over. I live over 300 miles from Winnipeg and get in there about 6 times a year. A Saturday afternoon, two people at the gun counter, 8 visible people goofing around and talking with each other, and customers lined up (and subsequently leaving) several places at the gun counter. We have one guy showing a "lookey loo" adult with a 13 year old boy, the latest $1500 Weatherby because the father wanted to look at a gun for the kid who would be starting hunting next year. So this bright salesman want to show him the best. If I had not needed the reloading supplies I would simply have left them there. It took me almost 3/4 of an hour to get the scope I wanted.
And then the time I was in Cabelas to look at some Steiner Binoculars they had on sale. Two sales people, young, one male, one female, engaged in conversation. After about 5 minutes they decided I was not going to go away, and asked if they could help me. I asked about the Binoculars and was told they didn't have any left. My response to that one was to tell the guy to look down through the glass case, and check the box that was about a foot under his elbow that he was leaning on.
And then you get "The walk of Shame." They do not trust you to take the Binoculars to the check out, so they escort you there. Now, this has some amusing possiblilties when you are grey haired, well rounded, and with a bit of imagination, you can drool a bit. On the way to the check out, you can stop at the fishing section and select a 29 cent 1/4 ounce sinker, whether you need it or not. You can ask the bright youn guy holding your Binoculars if he has an opinion on the best weight for some kind of fish. You can compare the merits of two of the same sinkers from the same bin, weighing each of them in each hand and commenting that one of them "seems a bit light." You hand the sinkers to Bright Boy with Binoculars and ask him what he thinks about the weight difference.
Then, you drop your car keys, and spend a minute or so in antics picking them up. Make sure you are pointed in the direction opposite the check out when you finally get up, and then start walking back toward the Binocular sales area. When Bright Boy with Binoculars finally comes after you, you now have two options. If he asks where you are going, you can tell him you are going to buy a pair of binoculars. If he does not ask, you ask him where the binoculars are so you can buy a pair. Of course, the Binoculars you want to buy are the ones he is holding in his hands.
Now this might not work so well if you are about 20 years old, but when you are 70 like I am, it is surprising just how long you can keep the "Old Guy with Alzheimers" routine going. At the check out, I even got "Bright Boy with Binoculars" to walk over to a strange woman, (whom for some strange reason he thought was my wife,) to "Get the credit card so I could pay for them."
.
