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  • How were you even able to order that?

    One of the first orders that came in yesterday was for one single item...20 large (16oz) jars of Marshmallow Fluff. Which we did not have, and never have had in that quantity (the most jars of that size that can fit on the shelf is 6). The only thing I could sub it with was eight small (7oz) jars of the store brand. That order seemed a bit sketchy, as it hit a few of the boxes for a fraud order; one item in a very large quantity, new customer in the earliest possible order slot (no time to reach out to customer).

    I filled it such as I could; on our end we can't do much and we are never to cancel an order unless a directive comes down from on high.

    Turns out the order was legit...when pickup time came, the customer came into the store and opened with "I need to talk to you about a substitution". Hooboy, here we go.

    SC: "I ordered twenty large jars of Fluff, you didn't give me what I ordered."
    Me: "Ma'am, we don't have any Fluff in stock right now. We have not had any for almost a week. You indicated on the order that we could substitute, so I gave you everything that we do have." (next time this happens I wonder what would happen if I subbed 40 bags of marshmallows and a utility lighter? )
    SC: "Are you sure you don't have it? I want what I ordered."
    I page J, the long-suffering grocery manager.
    J: "Yeah?"
    Me: "J, this customer ordered 20 large jars of Fluff and we don't have any on the shelf. She wants to know if we have any in back."
    J: "No, we haven't had it in a week."

    SC: "So can you tell me when you will get it in?"
    J, me: "No."
    SC: "Can you call other stores to get it for me?"
    At that moment my phone rings and another pickup walks in. "We can't call other stores right now, all I can suggest is that you call the Brighton store, they're much larger and might have what you want."
    SC: "But I prepaid for 20 jars, I'm not going to get charged for them."
    Me: "You will only be charged for what was actually included in the order."
    SC's hubs: "Honey, she's busy. Let's go and call the other store." SC seems deflated but stalks off.

    Later, M is helping me with some paperwork and tells me that SC decided to harass her on their way out. "We have never had that much Fluff on the shelves ever, and I want to know how she was able to order that much if we haven't had it. I know our shelf scanning has been problematic lately, but not that bad." We had a similar order a few months ago for four cases worth of a pasta sauce that we don't stock directly, and don't even have that much shelf space for it (so never get that much in the store). We're both wondering if that was the same customer...

    ...should I start stocking up on Fluff to resell at a premium?
    "I am quite confident that I do exist."
    "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

  • #2
    My guess is that his wholesaler is out... or cut him off...
    If he gets too obnoxious you could dream of getting it in a pressurized beer keg to do the Ginger Beer Trick!
    I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
    Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
    Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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    • #3
      ...oooh, evil. I like. Although some would consider such a thing to be an affront/insult to Fluff and the town that invented it.

      We have had instances of "customers" (local convenience store owners) cleaning us out of Coke/Pepsi products during a sale....I figured it was only a matter of time before curbside pickup got abused in such a way (that would be easier for them as there are no managers to set quantity limits and/or get a chance to recognize repeat offenders). Even if the store level did catch on to one there is nothing that we could actually do about it.
      "I am quite confident that I do exist."
      "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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      • #4
        What in God's name could anyone need 20 large jars of marshmallow Fluff for?? The only thing I can think of is that it was for a school or some other such place where they serve a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but they would get their supplies through different distribution channels. Either that or she was making a LOT of fudge.
        "We guard the souls in heaven; we don't horse-trade them!" Samandrial in Supernatural

        RIP Plaidman.

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        • #5
          I have had orders that seem like they were for school/group cooking projects, but they would typically include enough of the nonperishable ingredients that we could tell what it was. Orders for mass quantities of a single item (say more than 10) raise red flags generally. I love Fluffernutters, but could never use that much of the stuff before it went bad (does Fluff actually spoil?)

          That also raises a lot of questions about our inventory system--we have no grocery "back room" as such and rarely keep reserves of anything...Corp must know this. As per J, we had not been invoiced for nor ordered the large jars in quite some time...
          "I am quite confident that I do exist."
          "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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          • #6
            Quoth Dreamstalker View Post
            could never use that much of the stuff before it went bad (does Fluff actually spoil?)
            I don't think pureed styrofoam CAN go bad...
            "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
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            • #7
              Quoth EricKei View Post
              I don't think pureed styrofoam CAN go bad...
              I dunno. Velveeta can get *worse*!
              I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
              Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
              Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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              • #8
                Perhaps she wanted it for an exciting sexy time project.... *ponders* how long would it take to nibble off 20 jars worth of Fluff from whoever you'd adorned it with?
                The Copyright Monster has made me tell you that my avatar is courtesy of the wonderful Alice XZ.And you don't want to annoy the Copyright Monster.

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                • #9
                  Quoth Dave1982 View Post
                  What in God's name could anyone need 20 large jars of marshmallow Fluff for?? The only thing I can think of is that it was for a school or some other such place where they serve a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but they would get their supplies through different distribution channels. Either that or she was making a LOT of fudge.
                  Back when the family moved from MA to VA in the 70s, Fluff was not available in our new location, so every summer vacation when we visited the grandparents, my parents stocked up on about that much for the rest of the year.

                  Voice of experience: you have to flip them over every few weeks or the ingredients begin to separate out.

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                  • #10
                    Quoth Kit-Ginevra View Post
                    Perhaps she wanted it for an exciting sexy time project.... *ponders* how long would it take to nibble off 20 jars worth of Fluff from whoever you'd adorned it with?
                    That much almost pure sugar? You'd probably start regretting it before you get to the second jar's worth.
                    This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
                    I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

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                    • #11
                      I'd be more than happy to give the experiment a go if there's a willing female volunteer... all in the name of science of course
                      The Copyright Monster has made me tell you that my avatar is courtesy of the wonderful Alice XZ.And you don't want to annoy the Copyright Monster.

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