Not my department sir

One evening I enter the hardware store, looking for bulbs. It is quiet and soon I am standing in front of the lamp compartment. Sigh: empty shelves. This may not be the intention, perhaps an error in the ordering system? I approach a seller, greet him and ask if there is a reason for the empty shelves. The young man looks at me somewhat irritated and says: That's not my department, sir.

I look at the boy questioningly, he starts to walk. I notice that I don't feel like insisting, so I walk back to the box and decide to buy another lamp. At the checkout I draw attention to the empty shelves. "I don't like that, sir, but I'll pass it on," the boy stammers.

Back in the car it didn't let go of me: 'not my department', that's not me'. At Shop Academy we train people based on the 'Flow method'. Jointly responsible for 'The tent'. Working together on a pleasant shopping experience and connection with customers. This shopping experience is the opposite. Is this the result of frameworks and protocols? Or did I just accidentally run into the wrong employees? I hope the latter for this retailer, because otherwise there is a serious problem within the culture.