"will you be getting anything else in?"

i have been asked this question several times already this january. it is asked in reference to the merchandise in the store. but to be honest, i'm not sure what the aim of this question is.

first, if you notice the date of this blog entry, it is not even february. and the format of the question is asked so that the answer to this question is either "yes" or "no". what if i said no? it would mean that before it is even spring, i am already done receiving merchandise. that maybe i'm not going to get anything new in until the fall. it also means that even though every other store gets "new things in" every month of the year, that somehow i might be an anomaly. what if i said, "no, i thought we'd stop early this year. we'll get more merchandise in next january." it really is such an obtuse question. so i can't imagine that people are really asking to find out if after january, spring merchandise will come in. i don't even want to hear about how normal people don't know the ins and outs of retail. so why do people ask this?

a variation is "are you going to get any color in?" what? does the sign say "white house black market"? for six years i have had color in my store but, oh maybe this year i will only have black and white. it's so ridiculous i felt shocked when it came out of someone's mouth. another variation: "will you get more pants?" ?? "when do you start getting spring in?" well, spring.

the only pattern i see among people who ask these sorts of questions are that usually they don't buy anything so it's their way of saying "well i WOULD have bought something but you didn't have anything i liked" or just some sort of pretense because they didn't have money to shop or whatever. or maybe they actually want to ask for something specific but are passive. all of these things are fine. you don't have to like what is in the store and you don't have to buy anything. and if you want something specific, you will have to tell me. but please don't say weird things like "will you be getting anything else in", it makes things awkward.

well i don't want to complain and not be helpful. if you would like a tip, maybe modify the question: "i'm looking for a ___ ( ie long cotton lawn dress), can you tell me when you might get something like that?" or at least ask toward the end of a season: "are you done getting in spring (ask in may)/summer (ask in august)/fall (nov)/winter (jan)?" i agree, clothes always deliver the month before the season starts (feb for spring, may for summer, july for fall, nov for holiday). and resort and cruise wear throws people for a loop.

the nature of this question actually falls in line with a greater annoyance, the general question.