LCBO question.

[robinvboyer]

Has anyone here gone to an LCBO all excited to get some new beer, and be told they can;t sell it to you cause it was special ordered for someone else!? Here is the kicker, it's listed on the online inventory as being in the store, that's how i knew to go there. The clerk sympathized, and apologized, but why would it be on the online inventory if they are specifically holding it for someone?

I live up near North Bay, and this is arguably one of the biggest wastelands in Ontario when it comes to the LCBO. I haven only seen ONE of the fall release beers in my area, and it was the dismal Wychwood offering. All the other beers haven't come closer than 250Km away.

Yes i know i can order the stuff, but all the local LCBO beer guys i've spoken to won't put in an order unless i say i'll buy the whole case. Yes i know i can bring what i don't want back, but that's a pain in the ass. ANd yes i know i can just refuse to buy the case once it arrives and just take what i want. Honestly though, is that managed going to order for me again if i do that? I know I wouldn't. Its pretty frustrating.

The main store in Sudbury used to bring in atleast one case of every seasonal offering, but all of a sudden, fall of 2009 they stopped, I haven't seen ONE SINGLE SEASONAL in this area (except the wychwood) since. I would have to drive 250km south to Barrie to get some, or drive 350km north to timmins, or 350km east to Ottawa. Thats arguably got to be the biggest area of macro swill in the province! Even Thunder Bay has some of the seasonals!

I'm not expectings answers or solutions, I just wanted to vent!

thanks!

[SteelbackGuy]

Any inventory will show up in an online search. There is no way of preventing this. I've said this before and I'll say it again.

If you're using the online search and find something at a store, please call the store to make sure it is available. We will hold products for people if they ask, and we will also order products and hold them for a period of time. All of this shows in the online inventory.

Best thing you can hope for is that the buyer doesn't show, in which case they'll put it out on shelves.

[heebes]

i can sympathize bud being close to very boring local lcbos.

if a product is on hold for someone though, cant see myself offering any up as an employee since they had the foresight to call and hold it.
i'd go about ordering the minimal (a case) of something awesome and biting the bullet/purchasing it all and enjoying it over a long period of time. It'll be much better than any macro/euro lager can shit most stock.

lately i've been planning trips to larger LCBO's for the good stuff. Seems the only way to get variety. (Damn rural living...)

[SteelbackGuy]

i can sympathize bud being close to very boring local lcbos.

if a product is on hold for someone though, cant see myself offering any up as an employee since they had the foresight to call and hold it.
i'd go about ordering the minimal (a case) of something awesome and biting the bullet/purchasing it all and enjoying it over a long period of time. It'll be much better than any macro/euro lager can shit most stock.

lately i've been planning trips to larger LCBO's for the good stuff. Seems the only way to get variety. (Damn rural living...)

Good ideas.

I wish there was a way to show "on hold" in the online search,but there is just no way to do that. A simple 2 minute call can save lots of time and frustration.

[robinvboyer]

Ok fair enough, I can accept that.
But it's not like i live out in the remote north! North Bay has close to 60,000 people, and Sudbury has over 150,000. YOu think SOMETHING would make it's way up here!

[robinvboyer]

I understand the "on hold" aspect, but these are beers that were an inter-store transfer. Its not like someone beat me to it, and called before me. But alas, i have to agree, I should have just called first.

[Belgian]

Has anyone here gone to an LCBO all excited to get some new beer, and be told they can;t sell it to you cause it was special ordered for someone else!? Here is the kicker, it's listed on the online inventory as being in the store, that's how i knew to go there. The clerk sympathized, and apologized, but why would it be on the online inventory if they are specifically holding it for someone?

The LCBO has acknowledged this frustrating problem of 'held' stock showing on lcbo.com and say they intend to do something to fix it in software. Then again, no competition.

Yes i know i can order the stuff, but all the local LCBO beer guys i've spoken to won't put in an order unless i say i'll buy the whole case. Yes i know i can bring what i don't want back, but that's a pain in the ass. ANd yes i know i can just refuse to buy the case once it arrives and just take what i want. Honestly though, is that managed going to order for me again if i do that? I know I wouldn't. Its pretty frustrating.

Ridiculous they never order anything nor accept your partial unsold case. Talk about wanting it all fifteen ways (see: no competition.)

You should order at one store, pay cash, and return non-needed stock to another store (thanks @ Matt.)

[Ukie]

Ok fair enough, I can accept that.
But it's not like i live out in the remote north! North Bay has close to 60,000 people, and Sudbury has over 150,000. YOu think SOMETHING would make it's way up here!

Welcome to my world. Hamilton-Burlington gets bypassed many times and we are talking a million or so people. But there are work arounds.

Good advice from Belgian and Steelback, this is the system you just gotta work it. The LC set it up this way so TS to them.

I would suggest finding other BT'ers in your area or wanna bees and order in cases and then split on them just like the people on here do with private orders.

As Len said for sure phone before you go and have them physically verify its there. I went one time because stock was listed at 48 and they couldn't find it, so they said. Now I print the sheet from the site showing number of bottles, stock number, store and date. I find that sheet is like a key sometimes, it shows you have some idea of what you want and prevents them from blowing you off, it also makes it much easier for the CSR and a lot of them really do care and are helpful.

Also, dont forget to check The Beer Store, separate the wheat from the chaff and there are some goods ones there so you dont have to be stuck drinking 50. Someone was looking for Urbock, TBS carries it.

[Belgian]

I would suggest finding other BT'ers in your area or wanna bees and order in cases and then split on them just like the people on here do with private orders.

I'd feel less bad breaking the law for this type of thing, but you're not even supposed to re-sell liquor in Ontario without a license.

So much irony - this store would force Robin to to buy the whole case (breaking from the usual LCBO practice) so that he is then forced to either drink it all (yay, social responsibility) or else re-sell it to friends (violating our liquor laws.)

I'm not saying we'd have better provincial liquor access without the LCBO but there might be less provincial bullsh-t in the way of it.

[bufordsbest]

i've only seen this once and when i went to the store there was none on the shelf so i assumed it was just an inventory error.

thing is the inventory still shows the same even til this day. (several months)

maybe i'll go check it out and ask a staff member.

[SteelbackGuy]

i've only seen this once and when i went to the store there was none on the shelf so i assumed it was just an inventory error.

thing is the inventory still shows the same even til this day. (several months)

maybe i'll go check it out and ask a staff member.

They should purge it from the inventory if this is the case.

[Ukie]

I think if its only a bottle or two showing then it could be phantom stock. In my case the 48 bottles was a new release that was still in the back that they hadn't got around to putting out. They tried to tell me first that it was sold out, then tried telling me it never really arrived. Okaaaay!

Now I take the sheet, saves a lot of heartache for me and time for the CSR.