Cocaine Princess here.
Summer is usually a slow time for me. I've been trying my best to keep busy and keep from being bored. I'm actually kind of looking forward to September where I'll be back on schedule and busy.
This week was so boring.
Let me explain how bored I was. I was SO BORED I decided to tag along with my sister to the Sears Dept. store midweek to purchase a new George Foreman Grill. The day before she was telling me we needed to get a new one.
I was literally bursting at the seems in the car. "Oh boy I'm going to Sears!"
We arrive inside and almost right away we're greeted by one of the employees, a chipper young girl passing out scratch and save cards. I'm sure you've all heard of these: you scratch the card to reveal how much you save. The minimum you can save is 5% and the maximum is 50%. After our run in with her we were literally bombarded by harvest decorations. Almost the entire store was decorated with harvest items with several of the items sitting on top of bales of hay with bushels of apples and corn nearby. Nobody wants to that especially when there is a heatwave outside. Many people grumbled at the sight of the decorations but there were a few who took an interest....including my sister who picked up a harvest wreath for the front door and a scarecrow for the porch which resulted in me grumbling.
"Do you have to buy those things today? It's still August. Summer. +32C. Can't you wait until Harvest?" I questioned.
"Darling if I don't buy it now I'm not going to be able to find it later," she answered choosing a wreath.
Hmm, she had a point. When Harvest time rolls around Christmas decorations are released. I like Harvest Time but it isn't until October. Passing by the clothing department was no treat either. Every male, female and child mannequin were dressed in fashionable winter apparel. One of the mannequins was even holding a sign that read: ENROLL IN OUR NEW CHRISTMAS POINTS CLUB.
The Sears dept. store is one of 3 major stores anchored to the mall. A mall with over 250 stores. I was under the impression I would do my thing, big sister would do her thing and we would meet up somewhere in the mall at a set time. Yeah, not so much the case. She insisted she needed my input on which Foreman Grill to buy.
"Why do insist on putting me through this torture?" I asked standing in the housewares section.
Even though I am a girlie-girl to the core who loves her shopping there are certain things I don't like to shop for: anything that involves cooking and cleaning.
My sister [purposely I'm guessing] ignored my question and asked which one I liked?
Which one? There wasn't just 2 George Foreman Grills to choose from. There weren't even 4. There were at least 15 different frigging models. I decided to give her a short and quick answer:
"Which ever one matches the kitchen," I replied. "Okay? Bye."
"Not so fast," she said grabbing my hand. "You're not making the great escape just yet."
"But I need to go to the restroom," I said.
"No you don't need to go to the restroom," she said back.
"Oh? All of a sudden you've become an expert on my bladder? I really need to go," I said.
"Then I'll come with you."
"Why?"
"So you don't lose your way back here darling," A replied.
"Never mind," I mumbled. "I don't have to go anymore."
"Darling the stores in the mall aren't going anywhere. As soon as we're done here you can shop your heart out........Is it really "torture" for you to do this? Is it so much of a bother for you to spend just a little time helping me?"
"Yes and yes."
My reply left her with a strange kind of look on her face. Quite frankly I've never seen that look before. I continued.
"What? I'm being honest. Seriously why do you ask a question if you don't want to hear the answer?"
Ignoring me again she bent down to take a closer look at some of the models that were neatly stacked on the lower shelf. She didn't dare ask me to bend down with her knowing full well I would say, "I don't want to wrinkle my outfit." Instead she gave me a rundown on the models which included: a lean mean fryer, a portable grill you can take with you on camping trips, an indoor/outdoor grill and even one that grills AND roasts. Did you know you can roast up to 5lbs of chicken? I know this because I was conscious enough to hear that heart pounding little tid-bit. Another had a rectangular doomed shaped dish and some type of attachment that made melting cheese easier and quicker. The one that really excited my sister had all this packaged in one: quesadilla plates, a pancake griddle, a deep pizza pan AND you could still grill hamburgers and steak. I decided to give her my input.
"Why do you need one that has a pizza pan?"
"To make pizza darling," she replied.
"Or you could just call up Domino's."
"Wouldn't you rather have it home-made?"
"Why waste all that time and energy in the kitchen when someone else can make and deliver it for you in 20 minutes?"
"I don't mind putting in the effort," she stated.
Life is full of mystery: the pyramids, Stonehenge and my personal favorite, why my sister loves to cook. I kid you not she is like Martha Stewart and just like she, "A" is a super-fab cook. Where she inherited this particular "loves to cook gene" is a mystery because it certainly didn't come from our mom. Her heart was set on buying the one with the pizza pan and that is the one she bought: George Foreman 360 Grill. 35 minutes (Yes I was timing it) of my life I'll never get back. Freedom at last! Mall here I come! Again, not so much the case. She actually made me accompany her to the cash. I swear she was doing this on purpose. When I called her on it she replied,
"I have no idea what you mean darling."
Yeah Right!
As busy as it was in the Housewares section there was nobody working at the cash so we had to pay for the items in the hardware department which was on the other side of the store. As we made our way over there I'm walking with the scarecrow in one hand and a wreath in the other and my sister clutching tight to her shiny new toy asks,
"Whose scratch and save card should we use? Whose is more lucky, mine or yours?"
"Neither," I said back. "I think both cards are going to have the minimum, 5%."
As soon as we arrived at the cash a problem arose with one customer. The customer had bought a riding lawn mower and several pricey MasterCraft tools.The cashier totaled up the items which was well into the 1000s of dollars. When it came time to pay he handed the cashier his scratch and save card but here's the thing, he had scratched the card beforehand and his savings revealed 50% which explained his shopping spree. Scratching is suppose to be done at the time of purchase in the presence of the cashier. (Even I knew that my dear readers) The cashier in a very calm manner explained this to the customer and even showed him the back of the card where the rules and regulations were written. Any card that is scratched before is null and void. His argument: "She (the chipper young girl) said to scratch the card to reveal my savings. I scratched and saw my savings. She didn't say to scratch the card at cash." The cashier repeated the rules at least 5 times before he gave up and called the department manager. The customer kept giving him too the same excuse over and over and each time he did his voice got louder and louder, basically the entire second floor was brought to a halt. Next arrived the manager of the store and all three of them, the customer, the dept. manager and store manager left the area to discuss the situation privately. Whether or not he received his 50% savings, I don't know.
I guess it is possible the customer didn't know he wasn't suppose to scratch the card before paying but I think he knew and was trying to pull a fast one.
As for our cards, what was revealed when it was scratched?
I was right.
5%.
My loyal and dear readers it's finally Friday!
Whatever your plans are have a superb weekend.-x
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess
