I hate inventory systems that lie

[mreed911]

I hate wasting time because someone is (mis)using their inventory system and it's got bad data.

After making the 25-mile-each-way trip to a major sporting goods retailer this morning because their website said they had what I wanted in stock I arrive at the store and can't find the item.  I ask an employee who looks in their computer - their local inventory system - and it says they have four and they're the kind of item kept behind the counter, not something set out on the shelves.  Keystone Kops ensues - the item(s) are nowhere to be found.  They do their best - pulling items off to look behind them looking under counters, etc., but it's nowhere.  They search the inventory room.  Nothing.  They search the inventory cage for secured items.  Nothing.  But the computer swears they have four and since they're behind the counter they shouldn't have walked off.

50 miles, an hour and a half of my time, the tease/promise online that "yes, it's in stock at this store," the local store believing they have four... and I'm empty-handed.

To cap it off?  "Someone probably got them in off a truck, all four of them are packaged in the same box, and they didn't put it in the right place in the inventory room.  If we have them we'll find them eventually... but our distributor doesn't have any in stock to send us so we can't get any more right now."

/sigh

/rant

[Flatland Shooter]

Placed an order Monday afternoon. Vendor verified it was in stock and set it aside for me to pickup.

Tuesday morning drive 36 miles each way in heavy Houston traffic and arrive to find it had not been in stock for over a week.

Left the store and within minutes got an email update indicating the the product was not in stock and would be back-ordered.

Yea, sure.