Quote:
Originally Posted by MapleMegatron
That's the part I don't get. Isn't the whole point of the site to let you know if a store has an item in stock?
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Yeah, I don't get it either. I
know there's a master stock check ability in their inventory management software. I've seen them check it at the store level, to the degree that they can look at
any store they choose and I believe also know if there is anything in transit that is earmarked for delivery to that store.
Even though it, by all rights, should be, it is clearly not linked to the stock-tracker abilities of the website. There have been enough people noting that website stock listings are constantly at 0 while they waltz into a store to find there's actually stuff on the shelves to establish this fact. That said, this is not surprising because the TRU website is decrepit, ancient garbage that runs on tin cans connected with string, paper clips, duct tape, and a hamster running on a little wheel.
But if you have an internal-use inventory management system that can check stock and transport levels across your supply chain, why would you not have your customer service reps able to check it? Surely you can make some kind of access account that allows them to poke around the system and see things even if they can't actually effect any change without managerial authorization.
But nope. Honestly it's like the person on the other end of the chat is simply a random schmo that has a browser window open with the public facing setup of the website open in a tab. And when you ask them to check on an item, they just use the customer-side search feature of the website, see exactly the same thing you do, and then come back as if they've done you some great service.
It would almost be a system designed for grandparents who are newbies to shopping online and who couldn't navigate a search and store stock indicator themselves. Except that would require them to know enough to access the chat feature and if we're assuming someone so tech deficient that they can't search and enter their postal code there's no way they're grasping the mechanics of initiating the chat option that wants you to enter your name and whatnot to get it started.
I mean... godammit Toys R Us. I
want to give you money for Thrust and Runabout. You literally have to do nothing except operate a competent business and I will pay you for it. That's it. No bells and whistles and other fiddly crap that companies engage in to attract customers. No marketing, no aggressive push sales, no needing to rope me in. Just let me tell you
exactly what I want and give it to me with the minimum of hassle and you will be rewarded appropriately. But nope. We're going to make this such an ordeal that it's no doubt driving people away from shopping with them because the stress of the "chase" is too much to be offset by the enjoyment of the purchase.
