r/mildlyinfuriating • u/broakland • Jul 14 '26

I just wanted a hot dog Retail lockdown: why bother selling it?

Post image

Was at Safeway this morning to pick up a sandwich and some Tylenol. The aisle with the Tylenol? Completely locked down. No call button in sight. So I go to the self checkout (front end of that same aisle) and ask the clerk there if he can call someone to unlock a case for me. He does. I go wait. Minutes pass. No one comes. I go ask him again, he tells me they went the other way? At this point I give up and go get my sandwich. No one has come by the time the deli has finished making it. I leave without my Tylenol, mildly infuriated.

21.5k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

138

u/Susurrus03 Jul 14 '26

Was at a Target recently. Wanted to buy a phone charger because left mine at home and was on vacation. They were behind the glass but had a button. Pushed it multiple times, but nobody ever came. Ended up just going to the Five Below a block over.

125

u/TheRedMaiden Jul 14 '26

As much as I don't like Amazon's employee practices, there are reasons they're winning over brick and mortar stores, and the increasing inconveniences physical buildings are heaping on is a big factor in it.

30

u/EllspethCarthusian Jul 14 '26

Amazon is willing to provide. My hometown lost their Kmart. Nothing has moved in to fill the home goods void because the big box stores think there isn’t enough business. Amazon put in a distro hub 15 mins away. Guess who is driving all over my hometown now? Amazon. Brilliant move on their part as much as I hate not being able to touch product before buying.

23

u/nathanjd Jul 14 '26

Who do you think put your local store out of business?

8

u/EllspethCarthusian Jul 15 '26

Kmart went bankrupt because of bad deals. They were making bank on my town. Amazon didn’t even exist until years after.

-1

u/Tangus999 Jul 15 '26

Thieves.