Why noel leeming refuses to answer stock availability requests?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Why noel leeming refuses to answer stock availability requests?

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#138320 30-Dec-2013 10:02

Phoned Noel leeming and asked if the local store has the Linksys EA6900 in stock.

The woman from noel leeming said they will not disclose stock availability for sale items and that i must visit the store. This is rather annoying.

Why would they do this? Some kind of secret squirrel spy stuff? Or, do they just not know?

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521 posts

Ultimate Geek

#958931 30-Dec-2013 10:06

It's usually to stop price matching.

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Bananabob

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#958932 30-Dec-2013 10:08

The advertised specials are limited stock and are used as customer bait to get you into the shop. Then when you find out the item you want is not there it gives them a chance to sell you something that is not on sale.

macuser

2120 posts

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#958933 30-Dec-2013 10:12

I guess it's also because there may be a lag between a sale and the system being updates, and they don't want the customer complaining that 'the lady on the telephone said they were in stock'

crazed

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#958937 30-Dec-2013 10:17

If I ring a store to find out about stock, and they refuse to tell me, then that store misses out on a sale.

They can play their little games elsewhere.

CraZeD,
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surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#958940 30-Dec-2013 10:19

System: It's usually to stop price matching.

I might just use the click and collect service. Or, maybe NL don't honour sales on that either :)

Batwing

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#958941 30-Dec-2013 10:19

I'm sure they have their reasons but its more than a tad frustrating making the trip to buy something specific and in my experience they are out of stock half the time and make no attempt to offer to get anything in, not always for items on special either. Then there's the times you order online and literally never get a call to pick up, call the store and lo and behold "Its been sitting out back all week we didn't get round to it."

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#958942 30-Dec-2013 10:19

macuser: I guess it's also because there may be a lag between a sale and the system being updates, and they don't want the customer complaining that 'the lady on the telephone said they were in stock'

It was more than that, you can't even ring the store to find out.

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#958943 30-Dec-2013 10:20

Bananabob: The advertised specials are limited stock and are used as customer bait to get you into the shop. Then when you find out the item you want is not there it gives them a chance to sell you something that is not on sale.

ha ha, bait and switch. Not sure that it is legal though.

Bananabob

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#958944 30-Dec-2013 10:22

surfisup1000:
Bananabob: The advertised specials are limited stock and are used as customer bait to get you into the shop. Then when you find out the item you want is not there it gives them a chance to sell you something that is not on sale.

ha ha, bait and switch. Not sure that it is legal though.

I think ou will find they are advertised as limited stock

sonyxperiageek

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#958945 30-Dec-2013 10:25

Similar to a loss leader I suppose.

Sony

MaxLV

656 posts

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#958958 30-Dec-2013 11:02

Batwing: I'm sure they have their reasons but its more than a tad frustrating making the trip to buy something specific and in my experience they are out of stock half the time and make no attempt to offer to get anything in, not always for items on special either. Then there's the times you order online and literally never get a call to pick up, call the store and lo and behold "Its been sitting out back all week we didn't get round to it."

Or worse, you visit the website that says your local shop has stock available, but when you get to the shop they say they're out of stock, but we can order it for you.

My response: If I wanted and knew it would have to be ordered I would have done it myself online, at home, and wouldn't have had to waste my time coming to your shop...'

I find that I'm telling local shops this more often. They can get you the item you want, but they don't have any in the shop. NZ Retailers often complain about online shopping and buying by customers is not fair. I just say "if you want customers walking in off the street you need to have the products available for customers to buy there and then, not say you can 'order them in' when their potential customers can do that themselves from the comfort of their own home, without ever visiting your shop.

Hammerer

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#958966 30-Dec-2013 11:24

What Noel Leeming is doing is inconvenient but hardly unusual. I can think of one good reason why they don't give stocked quantities particularly for clearance items: stocked quantities are notoriously inaccurate. Many times the system will say there is at least 1 item when the product is sold out. DSE, for example, has grappled with the same issue for years and handled it in several different ways none of which are adequate - for a long time clearance items couldn't be searched on their website.

sen8or

1758 posts

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#958994 30-Dec-2013 11:51

Sounds like operator laziness to be honest.

I will not only check our system if an item is available for rent, but if it is one where we have limited stock showing, I will try and physically put my hands on it before confirming to customers that we have it. yes systems can be inaccurate sometimes, but for the 1/2 a minute it takes me to leave the counter and find the actual item, its hardly an inconvenience.

As for bait advertising, yes, illegal and I dont think even the "limited quantities" covers them off if they had very few items to begin with (was in Repco recently where someone was enquiring about an advertised item "there is only 1 of those in the country in the north island" said the rep - very poor). I think something like "limited to x number per store" is ok but thats about it

Batwing

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#959005 30-Dec-2013 11:58

Sound familiar. Was looking for a push2tv and got told it was only in a couple of stores in the South Island

Hammerer

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#959025 30-Dec-2013 12:47

sen8or: Sounds like operator laziness to be honest.

I will not only check our system if an item is available for rent, but if it is one where we have limited stock showing, I will try and physically put my hands on it before confirming to customers that we have it. yes systems can be inaccurate sometimes, but for the 1/2 a minute it takes me to leave the counter and find the actual item, its hardly an inconvenience.

Original post was about ringing Noel Leeming's central number asking about local store stock. The frustration for surfisup1000, as he later points out, is that NL didn't provide a phone number for the local store:

surfisup1000:
macuser: I guess it's also because there may be a lag between a sale and the system being updates, and they don't want the customer complaining that 'the lady on the telephone said they were in stock'

It was more than that, you can't even ring the store to find out.

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