holding for people (rant)

[Brian Gobrecht]

Ok just so everyone knows this is a rant and to me complete BS.

Went for the past 3 days to get a Band from one store an employee was kind enough to tell me that they are holding them for a day for people that back ordered which is fine. whats not fine is that a few people haven't picked up the Band and the store is still showing they have them in stock. I told the employee of the stores that there are people that are willing to shell out money like myself cash in hand and cant obtain it because they are holding it for one person. they aren't calling people saying they have on in their size like they say they are but keeping it till those people have the money is completely unacceptable. holding the product for more than 1 day as well is completely unacceptable. so today MS graciously pushed out a survey to fill out and i gave them what im writing here but in short to the point sentences.

and before someone says theres a lot of people in your boat i am aware of that but need to go down the like and wait a day then go down the line again till it gets sold and not saying they are sold out when they aren't if they would of told me there is a list of people and we are contacting people that want it please be patient id have a different view on this but they just said flat out there int anymore.

but this is my opinion.

 

[ven07]

Lol I can't say that your rant is pointless! You make a very valid point indeed, but I'm wondering if there isn't a set amount of time that they hold these products for people that have pre-ordered them?

 

[Brian Gobrecht]

i dont know they told me various times one said by a specified time the customer says another said 2 days another said something else. but id say 1 day thats it if you dont have the money you dont get it and your at the end of the line again like everything else in the world.
either that of the compters that show stock is malfunctioning dont know exactly.

 

[surfacedude]

If someone backordered the unit, then doesn't that mean they've already paid for the item? If so, then those bands already belong to someone else.

 

[theefman]

Never heard of a company holding goods till a customer has the money if its not an explicit layaway service. What if that customer never comes back? I think these are being held back for legit users who have a backorder, especially when there are so many eager buyers waiting.

Sent from my Surface Pro 3 using Tapatalk

 

[ven07]

Perhaps a new system would be best. *Backorder the watch; get it within two days of availability; otherwise get charged a set amount as penalty for late pick up* or sth along those lines

 

[thericeman]

I think you're making an awful lot of assumptions here about the reason why the Band is being put on hold. Perhaps they are customers, such as myself, who purchased a defective unit and are on backorder with a store to replace their band. I can't say I empathize with the position; a Microsoft store refused to hold a Band for me for an exchange on my defective unit the following morning at store opening because of "high demand". I'd love to do business with the OP's Microsoft Store rather than the one I had to deal with; it sounds like they're more customer oriented than sales oriented.

 

[stephen_az]

Ok just so everyone knows this is a rant and to me complete BS.

Went for the past 3 days to get a Band from one store an employee was kind enough to tell me that they are holding them for a day for people that back ordered which is fine. whats not fine is that a few people haven't picked up the Band and the store is still showing they have them in stock. I told the employee of the stores that there are people that are willing to shell out money like myself cash in hand and cant obtain it because they are holding it for one person. they aren't calling people saying they have on in their size like they say they are but keeping it till those people have the money is completely unacceptable. holding the product for more than 1 day as well is completely unacceptable. so today MS graciously pushed out a survey to fill out and i gave them what im writing here but in short to the point sentences.

and before someone says theres a lot of people in your boat i am aware of that but need to go down the like and wait a day then go down the line again till it gets sold and not saying they are sold out when they aren't if they would of told me there is a list of people and we are contacting people that want it please be patient id have a different view on this but they just said flat out there int anymore.

but this is my opinion.

I can't say I really sympathize at all. Nothing in what you described suggests they are holding until people have the money, just they are holding the item for people who put their name on a list before you. Stores do this sort of thing all the time. It is at their discretion. If you don't want to keep going over, get someone's business card and number and call them. The Scottsdale store had no problem knowing what they had on hand and what was reserved with past backorders. People are also acting like they are being bumped down a transplant list. It is still just a piece of mobile technology and you really can live without it until it is back in stock....

 

[Zulfigar]

Ok just so everyone knows this is a rant and to me complete BS.

Went for the past 3 days to get a Band from one store an employee was kind enough to tell me that they are holding them for a day for people that back ordered which is fine. whats not fine is that a few people haven't picked up the Band and the store is still showing they have them in stock. I told the employee of the stores that there are people that are willing to shell out money like myself cash in hand and cant obtain it because they are holding it for one person. they aren't calling people saying they have on in their size like they say they are but keeping it till those people have the money is completely unacceptable. holding the product for more than 1 day as well is completely unacceptable. so today MS graciously pushed out a survey to fill out and i gave them what im writing here but in short to the point sentences.

and before someone says theres a lot of people in your boat i am aware of that but need to go down the like and wait a day then go down the line again till it gets sold and not saying they are sold out when they aren't if they would of told me there is a list of people and we are contacting people that want it please be patient id have a different view on this but they just said flat out there int anymore.

but this is my opinion.

Game Stop does this, WalMart does this, Best Buy, and the list goes on. It's a really common practice to hold an item for a customer who has already purchased the item before someone else (yourself in this case). Sorry you're on the receiving end, but learn from it, don't gripe about a system that's been around for decades just because you never heard of it.

 

[Brian Gobrecht]

i have heard of it i just don't think if they have that system in place use it with such a popular item as this. like i said before i can see holding the item for a day then moving on to the next person in line that wants it but holding it for the person for days when it's such an in demand product isn't right. it should be first come first serve

 

[surfacedude]

Sounds like it is first come first serve. They're holding those bands for people who paid ahead of you. Those sounds like backordered bands. Back. Ordered.

i have heard of it i just don't think if they have that system in place use it with such a popular item as this. like i said before i can see holding the item for a day then moving on to the next person in line that wants it but holding it for the person for days when it's such an in demand product isn't right. it should be first come first serve

 

[Brian Gobrecht]

the backordered people dont pay for the device. im on 2 backorder lists if it were paid id be better off on ebay right now and cut my losses. now just impatiently waiting for them to call or order it when MS doesnt have it on back order on the web site

 

[surfacedude]

The way this is worded, I honestly can't figure out what you're saying. Anyway, if you're on backorder lists, then this is still first come, first served. Those other folks got on the list ahead of you. If you had gotten on the list sooner, you'd have a band. I think you've simply had your expectations frustrated. I understand that, but theres nothing to be angry about here.

the backordered people dont pay for the device. im on 2 backorder lists if it were paid id be better off on ebay right now and cut my losses. now just impatiently waiting for them to call or order it when MS doesnt have it on back order on the web site

 

[undisputed n00b]

The way this is worded, I honestly can't figure out what you're saying. Anyway, if you're on backorder lists, then this is still first come, first served. Those other folks got on the list ahead of you. If you had gotten on the list sooner, you'd have a band. I think you've simply had your expectations frustrated. I understand that, but theres nothing to be angry about here.

Backordering the device is free, you pay for it when you go to pick it up. As for the stuff about buying it on eBay, no idea.

 

[undisputed n00b]

they aren't calling people saying they have on in their size like they say they are but keeping it till those people have the money is unacceptable

Sounds like somebody is not doing their job. They are supposed to call us to tell us they have the band to be picked up. As for holding it until somebody has the money, I agree that is unacceptable. If a person doesn't pick up their band within the days they are given then it should be sold to whoever is there with the money. You should have spoken to a manager and if the manager does nothing, call Microsoft Store customer support and file a complaint against that store.

holding the product for more than 1 day as well is completely unacceptable.

No its not. Stores usually hold pre orders for 2 days and then start selling them.

 

[cardingtr]

I paid for mine backordered. I have the receipt but it doesn't say anything about being backordered and not picked up yet. I haven't gotten a call or email from Microsoft store here in Houston. I am calling them today because on the website it switches between 'in stock' and out of stock almost everyday. In fact it says in stock today.
My question is how do I get assurance that they will call once my item is stock and its my turn? I already paid and they can just skip me for now and sell it to someone else. Also I never got the email confirmation that I am on the list or they can just say I already got it since the receipt has a serial number on it. I'm actually concerned right now that I am being skipped. I ordered and paid for it last Thursday in store.

 

[Brian Gobrecht]

I paid for mine backordered. I have the receipt but it doesn't say anything about being backordered and not picked up yet. I haven't gotten a call or email from Microsoft store here in Houston. I am calling them today because on the website it switches between 'in stock' and out of stock almost everyday. In fact it says in stock today.
My question is how do I get assurance that they will call once my item is stock and its my turn? I already paid and they can just skip me for now and sell it to someone else. Also I never got the email confirmation that I am on the list or they can just say I already got it since the receipt has a serial number on it. I'm actually concerned right now that I am being skipped. I ordered and paid for it last Thursday in store.

I would call MS Store since you did pay for it and never received it. They will either give you your money back or send you one from the reserve (repair place). not 100% to be honest though.

 

[cardingtr]

I called the Microsoft store listed and was connected to retail services. Its not somebody from the local store. I asked about the status of my order and told him I paid since last Thurs and its been more than a week. He can't give me info since he said he is not from the store. I asked to be connected to the store, he won't because of 'policy'.
So basically no one can tell me by phone the status of my paid order. I have to go to local store and that is unacceptable. Why would Microsoft list the number if they can't help me with my order. He can't even tell if I'm on the list.
There is a better way to handle this short supply situation. All I need is to verify if I'm on a list. It doesn't need a trip to the store unless Microsoft is desperate to populate their store to look like is crowded.
Also, Microsoft should realize that the best form of advertising is getting this thing out as fast as possible. If a friend show you something that he likes (ex. Band) you are most likely to get it since you trust your friend better than a TV commercial.

 

[cardingtr]

I finally got the band today. After the store realized I was not on the list, they took one out for me.

 

[smurfalarm]

i have heard of it i just don't think if they have that system in place use it with such a popular item as this. like i said before i can see holding the item for a day then moving on to the next person in line that wants it but holding it for the person for days when it's such an in demand product isn't right. it should be first come first serve

This is pretty much how it works, though. I back ordered the Band at my Microsoft Store. They sent me an email on Thursday at 9 PM saying they would hold it for me until Saturday at 9 PM, and after that it would go on sale to someone else and I would have to wait until the next batch. You can quibble over whether they should hold it for 48 hours or 24 hours, but the system you want is pretty close to what they seem to be doing.