customers who think it is the end of the world when you have discontinued a product

[Marxfan]

I have this curse on my head where I only want books or CDs that are out of print or impossible to find. Still, I would never blame the hapless employees. If they had that kind of power, well, they'd have much better jobs, wouldn't they?

[Bluenomi]

I must admit I got a little upset when Jeans West discontinued my favourite jeans. Not at the assistant though, I just pouted a bit. Then went to everyone Jeans West clearance store I could find and bought every pair in my size I could get my hands on. I have 8 pairs now, should do me until they make a new style that fits

I have to agree with Primer though, things I like nearly always get discontinued

[Becks]

I'm so used to everything I like being discontinued, that I try not to like anything any more!

Oh, how deeply I feel your pain.

Latest item: Suave Naturals Toasted Vanilla & Sugar body wash.

[Custard Chick]

Alright, this isn't a discontinued product, but a retired doctor, lol! So I'm on the phone with a nurse at my doctor's office and I can hear this one-sided convo in the background (apparently their phones at very sensitive):

Other Nurse: Dr. Katigbak? He's retired! ...... He's been retired for 9 years!

Side note: This is the man who delivered me! And I'm 22 years old!

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

Hmm now you have me curious as to what exactly that is....

Saimin = ramen - noodles, broth, maybe some chinese cabbage and a wonton or two, if you're lucky. Just had a Deluxe Won Ton Min from Siu's Chinese Kitchen for dinner. Was SO ono (Hawaiian for delicious) and had like 6 won ton and a few slices of char siu pork. I was happy.

[RammsteinGirl]

I had a lady who damn near about had a panic attack because a manufacturer (Johnson & Johnson or one of those companies) discontinued some kind of child's wet wipes. We didn't have any on the shelf, and upon calling the department they informed me that those particular wipes had been discontinued by the manufacturer. She got EXTREMELY upset and said that those wipes were the only ones her grandchild could tolerate because of an allergy (well, I guess that's understandable, but still). I told her that her only option was to contact the manufacturer and that seemed to calm her a bit.

At least it wasn't something as stupid as chicken or an ancient console game system.

[powerboy]

Its sad, that they think it is our fault, because it not being made anymore

[hotelnpa]

At the movie theater, a candy product simply changed it label. I think it was Hot Tamales. Well the new label was totally different but the product was the same. This woman ordered the new labeled Hot Tamales and screeched "These aren't Hot Tamales!!!" I explained in vain that the label had changed, not the product. She finally ordered them, but brought them back after she opened them. She said she couldn't eat them because of the new label and they tasted different from the old ones.

[cinema guy]

I hate that I have a coat or pair of shoes and wear them for years and years and when it comes to replace them I can't get one exactly the same. Or even similar.

I like what I like and I'm not a fan of shopping for new clothes.

But I don't complain to the staff.

[protege]

Out of Print? What does that mean? They don't make it anymore? Well, can't you get me one? I neeeeeeeed it!!!

I can somewhat sympathize with that one. Some of you know that I model the Penn Central Railroad. Well, since the PC has always been seen as the "bastard child" of railroading, not many people follow it. As such, there aren't many books (well, until now, anyway) about it...and most 'railroad history' books tend to gloss over it. For years though, the book available was Yanosey's "Penn Central Power" which has been out of print over 15 years. When I first got into that railroad, I simply couldn't find a copy anywhere. Nobody had them--the one I eventually bought took 10 years to find, and was about $90. 7 years on, I've seen *mint* copies selling for well over $200 on Ebay

Then there's the MG I'm working on. Parts for that are in pretty good supply--back in the '80s, getting things for it was a bitch. There are still a few things I *can't* get--namely the bezels for the oil pressure gauge. The chrome had peeled off mine, and I was looking at a *massive* bill to rechrome it. I ended up buying a used gauge off Ebay, and using the bezel from that. Hopefully, someone will remanufacture them soon.

[Dreamstalker]

You have no idea how many times I fielded this at the record store.

I'm getting that through the online-orders email at the bookstore. Um, this is a 20-year-old gaming supplement, the only place I've ever seen it is used on Amazon for about $50. I know you'd love to get it from us, but if we ordered it from that seller we would then have to mark it up*. The "orders" email address is for ordering stuff we already have in stock.

* Apparently I'm not supposed to outright recommend Amazon to customers, even if it is really the only place they would have a hope of finding $item...I don't get that. If it's something we can't get, it's not really a lost sale then is it?

[matty]

I explained in vain that the label had changed, not the product. She finally ordered them, but brought them back after she opened them. She said she couldn't eat them because of the new label and they tasted different from the old ones.

This does seem kind of weird, but it's interesting because I read an article in my local newspaper about a week or two ago that said a study had recently been done about this.

It found that when products were given a more appealing name/packaging etc., but were exactly the same, people would report that the product with the better name/packaging actually tasted better. E.g. That's why meals in restaurants are called, say, "Pan-fried Atlantic salmon on a bed of light and fluffy mashed potatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar" instead of "Salmon with mashed potatoes".

So, I guess it's strange but true.

[Geek King]

It found that when products were given a more appealing name/packaging etc., but were exactly the same, people would report that the product with the better name/packaging actually tasted better. E.g. That's why meals in restaurants are called, say, "Pan-fried Atlantic salmon on a bed of light and fluffy mashed potatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar" instead of "Salmon with mashed potatoes".

So, I guess it's strange but true.

Also why the fish sold as "Chilean Sea Bass" isn't called by the real name of Patagonian Toothfish.

[Andara Bledin]

Ah, the curse of the discontinued product.

It seems that SoBe knows which of their drinks I really, really like, because those are the ones they stop making a month later. First it was Zen Blend, then it was another of their teas. *sigh*

^-.-^

[blas]

My latest discontinued (or just discontinued at my local mall) product: Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Halo body spray

Before that it was Jane makeup. It's no longer sold at any Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Shopko, Target or Walgreens. Maybe in bigger cities, but before I started tanning, I had to order my pressed powder online at drugstore.com because they replaced Jane with some super expensive way too expensive for Wal-Mart standards makeup.

Most of the time, customers know when a store has stopped selling a product for months or years. I think some people are just that senile or mentally insane that they find joy and humor in pissing off clerks. I mean, if 2 years after a product is discontinued and a customer keeps screaming they KNOW you have it, they either have Alzheimers and escaped the Home, or they are insane and escaped the funny farm.