Having worked retail the past few Christmases in management and as a floor associate, and with Black Friday 11 days away, this is what I experienced, and what I would like to share.

The internet is not perfect. Not all stores update their website regularly. So when shopping on a site and it states an item is in stock, it may or may not be accurate. If it is a small local retailer, I advise you to call and ask them to hold it for you. If it is a large department store, wait at least a day before going to pick it up. You could get an email later saying it is not available. If you go to get it right away and the store doesn’t have it, you are out of luck. And that location does not have to compensate you, nor does the company.

Please also keep in mind retail is very hectic during Christmas. There is a lot of theft and store employees are overwhelmed. When I managed the vitamin store we had people who would steal vitamins, water bottles, and the high end beauty products we sold. And as a part time floor associate at Macy’s, all the departments were overwhelmed with returns and cast offs from the fitting rooms. Some areas of the store had bins full of items in the back they had no time to return to the floor because they had to keep up with ringing register and putting out new stock.

Lastly, have a plan B. If a store doesn’t have an item, it is not the end of the world. And it is not the fault of the person working behind the counter. Yelling at a manager or customer service person at the 1-800# isn’t going to fix anything either. If they tell you the sweater you saw on the website isn’t obtainable, nobody is lying to you. It could have walked out the door under someone’s coat or be at the bottom of pile at the return counter.