Tag It On The New Guy

I am buying towels during a post-holiday sale at a store that is well known for having its inventory numbers wrong. I always figured it had something to do with large volume and lots of returns. There are only two left of the kind of large bath sheet I want in the color I want. There are two sewn-in tags on all the towels: the embroidered manufacturer’s tag, and a store tag in something cardboardy with a tear line, showing a bar code, SKU, size, and color. Neither of these last two towels has its removable tag. No big deal, I think; they can just look up the SKU at the register.

Cashier: *Pointing at the missing tags* “Hmm. These look like they were returned. Do you still want them?”

Me: “Yes. Unfortunately, they’re the only two left in this size and color. They’re the [Manufacturer and Style] 40 by 70 bath sheets.”

The cashier started to try to look up the SKU, then realized her line had gone from two to six or seven carts. She asked a passing coworker to run and find the SKU. I figured he would check the back room for additional stock or an inventory sheet in the department. But a couple of minutes later, he was back… with a torn-off tag from another towel of the same kind but in a different color. 

The cashier somewhat numbly took it from him without a word. She and I looked at the tag, and then at each other, and she sighed.

I guess the mystery of missing tags and their poor inventory has been solved.