Product Complaints

So there's a frustrating thing at work.
Where a few months ago we were given 'orders' by higher ups to not write off anything in the store.
Meaning...if we had inventory discrepancies where our inventory says we have a product but there's none on the shelf....
We can't take the steps to fix it.

Which is frustrating because if our inventory thinks that we have a product when we don't...it means that we're not going to get anymore of that product in.
And if customers are trying to buy said product....and fail time and time again to find it when they come into the store....

Well it basically ends up frustrating for all sides.
As I really want to help customers find what they want.
And if I can't help them find the product.....
*exhales*

It's not like I can tell them. "Sorry, our inventory says we have three of these, but we last got them in in October so obviously they were either stolen or we didn't have them in the first place, but unfortunately I can't correct the inventory so we can get the product back on the shelf because we were told we can't make those adjustments, so until we're told we can fix our inventories again...you're out of luck."

Yah, pretty sure that wouldn't go over well.
*shakes head*
So I've resorted to saying something along the lines of: "It looks like we're temporary out of stock on these, and I don't know when our supplier will be able to send us more. There may be a shortage."

Still doesn't mean the customer is happy...but at least they have a reason as to why they can't find their item.

*exhales*
I had a customer today that wasn't happy. It was a 20 minute lecture of not happy.
Because for the past 3-4 months (so they said) this customer has come into the store to buy certain flavors of a certain brand of cat food.
And we used to always have that item in stock to where they could get four or five cases of the food easily.
But recently. Not so much. Customer came in for those cases....and left with one can.

To them, this was unacceptable. They easily spend $100 in the store on cat food when they come, and they don't want to see us losing business, but their cats are particularly picky and so will only eat certain flavors of certain brands... etc etc.

I can understand the frustration.
Honestly, I'm hoping that the customer is just having bad luck and is coming in after other customers have grabbed their flavors, leaving us constantly short stocked for this customer.
I'm hoping that it's not an inventory issue. Because if it is....there's not much I can do to fix it.
And with cat cans....inventory is easily to mess up.
If the cashiers accidentally only ring up one can when they should have rung up 24....it's easy to get off.

Hopefully we'll get the issues sorted out soon.
I mean, our inventory will become accurate in a month or so when we have to do our yearly 'inventory count' of everything in the store to start us back at 'square one' basically.
But I really want us to fix the issue before that point. So that I can make customers happy again, and not have to listen to complaints about it without being able to do anything.

-Sarnic Dirchi