Went into Coles today, as it’s the first day of new weekly sales, with the intention of getting a couple of boxes of Dine Cat Food. Instead once I reached the aisle, the shelves were in an absolute mess with NO stock of one flavour, and only 5 boxes left of another flavour my cats are interested in. I only took 2 boxes when I wanted to take more, thinking the shelves would be replenished. But I suspect they put the sale on without replenishing the shelves!
I should have taken a photo but forgot as I was so pissed off.
Is this a scam?
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Hi @MushroomSauce, welcome to the community.
It appears from the condition of the shelves, that there may have been other customers like yourself which visited the store before you to buy a number of boxes of cat food.
Most products sold in supermarkets and appear in their catalogues are usually conditional. These conditions include things like ‘until sold out’ or ‘where/when available’. Availability of product at any time within a supermarket (or any retailer) isn’t guaranteed, likewise amounts which may exceed expected number to be sold.
If you desperately need more cat food, ask the service desk if they have more stored out the back or when theme are more likely to get more in. Alternatively, check the store during the ‘sale’ period regularly as shelves are often restocked. If it is a popular item, maybe visit the store soon after opening, if they fill shelves overnight, to see if you can get your hands on more before others do.
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Unlikely, as Coles provides rainchecks for in store purchases which allow you to by the item for the sale price when it is back in stock.
In addition to the excellent suggestions from @phb, additional stock of sale items can often be located at the end of an aisle.
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Thank you I appreciate your reply, and acknowledge the reply from @Glenn61 also. I do look for those other opportunities and wasn’t in a desperate situation, I was just planning ahead.
However, I’d like to point out that:
- the sale started today, 24 April
- I was at Coles around 2pm today, 24 April, when most people were probably still at work
- given that the sale happened literally the morning of today, I was expecting there to be at least SOME stock available
- I would have expected to see these empty shelves say on e.g. Saturday
- I understand the ‘conditions’ but also think that when they advertise sales they are building expectations too
So my point is, if say Coles/Woolworths are defending their practice by saying things like ‘Oh but we provide plenty of affordable products during sales events’ and yet provide us with no/very little product to purchase, how can we also bring this to light as part of the ongoing wider issues?
I also should mention that I live with disability and am a carer, so it was doubly frustrated to head into stores. Since I am not that mobile, to have this happen was very disappointing and I felt tricked. I refuse to shop online because each time I have made orders, due to the difference of when I pay to when they fulfill my order, a lot of stock are no longer available. And substitute items are no good.
Not after a solution here by the way, just wanted to share my experience and see what others think. Thanks for your time - looking back, I probably should have added some more context to my post!
Store stocking of long life products may not have been a priority today, as ANZAC Day is the 25th. I think they may have been concentrating on moving as much fresh product as possible today, and will restock shelves come early Friday morning.
Another related issue some of us experience is that neither all Coles nor all Wollies nor all [name your shop] stock 100% of the same products and lines and the advertising arms do not seem to warn save for the small print, if that.
We became very fond of certain products that sometimes are on catalogue sale but no longer stocked at our local, yet still stocked 10~15 km away. When searching for the product in store and going to the service desk asking where (or using their apps that usually show ‘where’), sometimes their inventory only shows the product is ‘out of stock’ not ‘we do not sell it here’, eg incorrect information leading to unrealistic expectation that it will be restocked.
I have similar problems with shredded organic cheese at Coles - I arrive a few hours after the sale starts only to find none on the shelf. I just assume there are other people like me who got there earlier. A raincheck at the service desk is always an option.
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I hate that too. And now they won’t do rainchecks either??!! Not sure about the latter comment, but asked at Woolies the other day, as on special and only one item there. Was told no longer do rainchecks🥺
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You talking about the tray food? My cat loves the cheesy tuna one (tuna mornay with cheese) and I found the same thing on sale days, so I started ordering from Petcircle because they were $2 a box cheaper than colesworths. I get 4 boxes a month. Theres not a lot of difference in price these days but at least I know Toby won’t have to go without.
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Yes the tray food. We do buy a lot from Pet Circle, but sometimes Colesworth sales are really really cheap so we plan to stock up there. Which was the intention on this day.
@wallacethree this has also been my experience, everytime I’ve tried with rainchecks it’s been refused? So I stopped trying.
@grahroll you might have been right on this about ANZAC day. I decided to try again on Friday and found the shelves full! But the fact that I had to do 2 trips. And who knows when they decide what shelves are a priority or not.
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The supermarkets changed their raincheck policy a few years ago and now none offer rainchecks. The policy is now ‘offer available until sold out’. This means once sold out, any future purchases outside the offer period is sold at the price at that time.
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@phb Thank you, I think this is important as a few people have replied to my post suggesting utilising rainchecks.
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Coles:
It seems that rainchecks are available at Coles when applying in store? Unless it has changed just recently.
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Thanks @gaby for clarifying. I mistook the special terms as applying to both store and online. Thanks again for clarifying.
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can can??? hmmmm a dance provides an alternative, a free Folies Bergere show perhaps…good on Coles for proof reading their blurbs.
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It comforts me that I’m not the only one who doesn’t pay enough attention to my writing, spelling etc…
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Well if they scrape the Community site, they might just pick up on the error, but I don’t hold out much hope. Mastercard with all their employees and web design teams have similar issues with grammar/spelling, I expect more from professional organisations so that they provide accurate details. Like you, I can and do make enough of my own mistakes 
, so I am not blameless but I’m not paid to provide professionalism.
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Maybe the ‘down down’ has changed to ‘can can’, but the CBA might get their nose out of joint.
Maybe rather than singing, they will be dancing to the checkout.
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Rainchecks stopped during covid stock issues, and haven’t been brought back since… because it suits the supermarkets. very poor customer service.
Rainchecks NOT an option, they no longer exist.
