Just before and after Thanksgiving, Catalog Age’s Secret Shopper called 15 mailers to check stock on numerous items. We found that 29 of the 40 items, or 73%, were in stock — not great considering that the holiday shopping season was just getting cranked up. As for service, most of the catalogers answered the phone right away, or in less than a minute if an automated call system picked up. The longest wait was seven minutes for Casual Living. Maple Grove Farms might have had an even longer wait, but Secret Shopper became frustrated and hung up after five minutes.
| Catalog | Items requested/items in stock | Wait time | Date called |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Institute of Chicago | 3/3* | none | 12/1 |
| Ballard Designs | 3/2 | 1 ring | 12/1 |
| Bloomingdale’s by Mail | 3/1 | none | 12/1 |
| Casual Living | 3/1 | 7 minutes | 11/27 |
| Dr. Leonard’s | 3/3 | 3 rings, 1 min. 30 seconds for rep | 12/2 |
| Garden Botanika | 3/3 | 1 ring, 5 seconds for rep | 11/27 |
| Harry and David | 2/2 | 1 ring | 12/2 |
| Lands’ End | 3/2** | None | 12/2 |
| L.L. Bean | 3/2 | None | 12/2 |
| Maple Grove Farms | n/a | 6 rings, on hold 5 minutes before hanging up | 12/2 |
| Oriental Trading Co. | 3/3 | 2 rings | 11/27 |
| Pfaltzgraff | 2/1*** | none | 12/2 |
| Sincerely Yours | 3/1 | 3 rings | 11/27 |
| Sundance Gift and Jewelry | 3/2 | None | 11/27 |
| The Swiss Colony | 3/3 | 45 seconds | 11/27 |
| * rep specified how many units were left ** desired color/size not in stock; rep tried offered larger size *** rep tried to cross-sell comparable item |
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