We get the Dumor 6 grain scratch, it has more variety and it's always in stock.
Earlier this summer our
TSC seemed to be running out of everything! I went back 3 times in one week trying to get the products we prefer.
Every visit, I found myself lined up with other customers at the double doors to the back and we snagged every employee that came out to search around back there for the various livestock feeds we wanted.
One visit, with the line getting longer and louder, the manager in charge of feeds went and ripped open a custom order pallet to fill our carts, since the customer wasn't scheduled for pickup till the next day and a truck was due in.
The whole atmosphere had me picturing farmers with pitchforks.
After that, the store dramatically changed. Every time I go in there now, the shelves are
gloriously stuffed with every brand and product of feed. They reduced the shelf space of the treats and feeders/waterers to give most of the feeds a double row. And everything is FRESH, under 1 week old. It's wonderful!
So, what I'm getting at here is that, for anyone struggling at their store, it might be worth heading to the back and chatting friendly-like with the feed manager. Let him know what products you use and about how many bags a week / month. It could help him when he's placing the store orders. And it's clear to me now that his decisions make or break the customer experience.
I do think the whole feed scarcity issue is a toilet paper thing. People think it might go out of stock, so they buy it up until it's out of stock. Then that empty shelf makes them more desperate to grab it when it is available. Until even the scratchiest 1-ply is a highly valued item
People see the price of eggs, so they buy more chickens.
We are very reactive creatures.
