This has happened to me at least twice now at two different stores.
I’m thinking about buying a product. I ask the employee “Is this product available?” They tell me “We’ll check. Give me your contact information.”
Then a week or so later, I get a phone call (or text or email) saying “Your order has arrived and you can come in to the store to pick it up.”
If I ask somebody at a store if a product is available, my intent is to find out if it’s possible for them to get it and what the price would be. Then, when I have that information, I will decide if I actually want them to order the product for me.
Am I the one who is off base here? Is asking about a product generally assumed to be a request to order that product? Or are the stores where this has happened to me just being overly aggressive in pushing sales?
If I am off base how should I make it clear to the store that I am just seeking information at this time?
Definitely overly aggressive pushy selling, if you did not explicitly state that you wished to order the item. In fact, I’d inform them that came off as attempting to scam me and had lost them my business from then forward.
Seems to me you could have made it clear you were only window shopping. Or wanted to see the product in person before deciding. And the sales person could have clarified if you wanted them to order you one or not.
Asking if a store has a product available to sell would indicate interest on the part of the buyer.
No. “Is X available” means “is X available” not “I would like to order X.” Apologize for the confusion, if you feel like it, but you don’t need to, and it’s not your problem, nor what you asked. I tend to be a little on the deferential side, but no effing way is this what you asked for or what your question could reasonably be construed to mean.
Totally reasonable, but there are other, alternative interpretations that aren’t entirely unreasonable.
That’s part of why I’m hesitant to ask a person who works at a store where a particular item is, or whether they have it—it feels sort of like I’m committing myself to buying it.
My feeling is, if it takes them a week to “check” if the item is available, the answer to “Is the item available?” is “No”. So next time, take the implied “No”, and tell them you’re not interested in further communications, so they don’t need your contact info.
You are in the right here, but you may have better luck if you are more specific.
You are asking whether a product is available, but you aren’t committed to buying it, which means there is some underlying concern you have about their product. I’d recommend conveying this concern directly during the initial inquiry, just to make sure you and the agent are on the same page.
“I need a toner cartridge today. Do you have a [product number] available right now? If so I’d like to place an order for same-day pickup.”
“I’m considering buying [product] but I’ll need it delivered by [date]. What would be the price and can you make that deadline?”
“I’m thinking about buying an older product of yours, but before I decide, is [product] even available any more?”
“A friend recommended [product] that I’m thinking about buying, but can’t find information about it on your website. Is [product] available?”
Maybe, but I don’t think it’s on him, in this case. He doesn’t need to be more specific. He’s just inquiring about the availability of an item. If the salesperson takes it on themselves to order it based on that inquiry, that’s their issue. They’re the ones stuck with the product they now have to sell (or return). They could have asked the questions. Their job is to understand what the customer wants/needs and to ask questions if there’s any ambiguity.
If you haven’t even seen a price, then you certainly haven’t committed to buying the product, and if the store assumes otherwise, that’s 100% on them. The answer to “Is this product available?” is either “Yes”, or “No”.
Exactly. Like you said, if you haven’t even seen a price, how could you even assume the customer wants to buy the product and order it for them? And, even if you have seen the price, that’s no indication of any purchase, either? While I deal with services, not products (mostly), I get people calling me all the time asking me if I’m available on a date, and/or what my prices are. I would never assume they want to hire me based on those two questions. Until the customer says “yeah, I’d like to buy that, can you order it for me?” the default is the customer is just shopping. The OP need not be any more specific.
Sounds like a communication problem between the two parties. Nobody wants to waste resources ordering in something for someone if it’s not a guaranteed sale. That just wastes everyone’s time.
I spend all day on the phone getting manufacturing parts and am pretty clear with “what is your availability on XXX” vs “I’d like to place an order for XXX”. If I just want a price and lead time the vendor will know it and not waste time collecting a lot of needless info from me.
If I’m in a restaurant and say, “Can I have the lasagna?” I think it likely they will prepare a serving of the lasagna for me, even though it’s a “Yes” or “No” question.
I see room for interpreting this as an innocent mistake. We do often conduct business with pretty informal commitments.
That’s because you asked if you could have it. If the OP said “Can I have product x?” then I would also expect them to order it for him. Just asking if something is available is different.
Well. I’m not asserting the sales people are doing the right thing, just that there’s room to interpret it as an innocent mistake rather than over aggression.
I’ve certainly encountered situations where I’ve known the proprietor of a store, and I’ve asked about something, and they’ve ordered it based on, “if leahcim wants it when it comes in he’ll buy it, but if not we’ll have one in stock to sell to someone else” conditions.
I think it had to be this - I can’t imagine a store special-ordering something they don’t normally stock without at least a deposit unless maybe if it was a known, regular customer ordering the item.
But I can see a particular type of store* contacting you when the item you asked about comes in - and it might be that saying “your order has arrived” rather than “the widgets have come in” was just someone misspeaking.
Although I’m kind of wondering what sort of item you’re talking about that it didn’t seem odd to be asked for your contact information and wait a week for a response when you asked about availability.
* Not a large store or a big chain but a mop-and pop type store.
No, their job is to sell. I bet if they order the product a lot of people will come back & purchase, even if they don’t want it because they feel an obligation to the ‘nice salesman’ that they really shouldn’t.