I was in a Big Box superstore the other day. I try not to go into these places too often as they confuse me. This one was bigger than my wee farmy. Much bigger. Filled with the most curious collection of useless objects. AND it had christmas music screeching and shoving me into a scurry. Christmas Carols In November make me want to Bite Someone’s Head Right Off!
I will tell you why I was in this Mammoth of a Store. You know I avoid them like the plague preferring their small familiar dusty predecessors. But I was on my travels last week, and I needed to buy a book. I cannot function unless I have a book. Words are like my air. Books are my television. My handbag has to be big enough to contain a book, a camera, a wallet and a lipstick. I read every day. I read before I go to sleep, while I am waiting in a cue, on the plane, in the bus, on the train, in the car (when I am a passenger of course), I can read and walk the dog at the same time. I can read and cook at the same time. Well, you get the picture. Now, I knew that that night I would finish my current book and I cannot sleep if I have just finished a book. I MUST start the next one first. This is just how it is. I was slightly panicked.
So I asked Third Son to take me to the book store. He told me the bad news. Both of the BIG book stores in his city had closed recently. There were no others in the town. No book stores at all. We stared silently at each other for a minute. He knew that this was not good. We would have to go to one of the big bad stores, maybe they would have books, he said hopefully. 
The second Big Scary Box Store we went to did have books, they had twelve books as a matter of fact, and I bought the two I had not read. Did I also mention that I am not a discriminating reader. I read anything I can lay my hands on.
So I took my two books to the check out and began what I imagined would be a simple transaction. The girl sharply scanned the books and then brightly asked did I want to sign up for a store credit card and receive eighteen percent off my current purchase? I said to the girl, who was a cheerful blowsy wee thing with heavily made up eyes. I said,” No thank you, I only buy something if I can pay for it.” She looked at me like I was spouting Greek.
She blinked. “But you would,” she spluttered, “with your credit card and you get eighteen percent off your current purchase” She looked at my two little books then back to me.
“So do you want to sign up for a credit card and receive eighteen percent off your current purchase?” she said again, more clearly this time.
” No, honey”, I told her gently “that is borrowing money. I don’t need to borrow money. I only buy something if I have the money to pay for it.”
” Oh,” she stared hard at her screen as though it would give her a prompt. Completely at a loss.
I said to her carefully “Why would I buy something I cannot afford.” Someone turned the volume up on the Christmas Carols.
The skinny lady behind me in the queue, shoved her over laden cart closer to me and started the queue shuffle. I whipped my head around to her and stilled her with one of The Looks.
“You know what I mean?” I said to the girl. She cast panicked looks around. “If I can’t afford it, why would I buy it?”
Skinny Lady began to loudly rummage in her handbag, bringing out her fat purse. Full of skinny credit cards no doubt.
“So you won’t be wanting to sign up for a store credit card and get eighteen percent off your current purchase?” the girl said hopefully. I shook my head and tried REALLY hard not to sigh.
“That will be 18.95” she squeaked and took a deep breath. “Would you like to purchase one of our store bags for 95 cents and receive a 5 cent discount every time you shop with us again?”
Her screen prompt was not helping her. She ran out of breath. Third Son wandered off towards the doors. The Christmas soundtrack paused between tracks. Suddenly I felt sorry for her. Maybe she wouldn’t spend her entire life in debt. Maybe she would resist the lure of The Card held out by a faceless myopic banker who would live off her interest for the rest of her life.
I took out a twenty and gave it to her. She gave me my change, concentrating hard on the palm of my hand. I smiled at the girl and then just for good measure I smiled slowly at the skinny lady. I jammed my new books into my handbag and turned to leave. Though I knew perfectly well that if there had been a bell on The Girls counter she would have been bashing at it in seconds desperately calling. NEXT! NEXT!
c
PS Above is the new rake for the hay! Well, new to us. It is looking lovely in the last of the light on a lovely Thanksgiving evening. Ni Night. Have a lovely Green Friday tomorrow.
The Kitchen's Garden 
80 responses to “barn windows.. and staying out of debt.”
So hilarious! I could see the whole thing in front of my eyes while reading, you must have totally messed with her programming, poor thing lol
I know mimo, I was ready for that robotic response, Does Not Compute! Does Not Compute!.. what was the name of that programme?.. c
Lost in Space.
This is funny, Good Post and good for you !!!
I was just trying to make the point that credit cards are not magic. We still have to pay! And if we cannot afford to pay for it, how is a credit card going to help in the long run. thank you for commenting.. c
With all due respect, a little compassion for the clerk. She is required to ask you that question. She and her manager will be in trouble if she does not. Retail clerks are required to do and say a lot of things they too find utterly idiotic — like they have to offer you that credit card up to three times — or they are in trouble. They are measured on many metrics that sensible people find absurd.
Thank you, my point exactly. This was her panic. Their next series of training should be how much the interest is on said credit cards so i don’t sue them when i get that bill. Like all the warnings on medications. c
‘Fraid Broadside’s right, she could have been fired for not offering it to you a certain number of times. I bought a few items of clothing before my trip, and the clerk started wrapping everything in tissue – LOTS of tissue. I said,” You don’t have to do that…” She pointed to the camera over the register, and said,”Yes, I do…they check.”
Absurd? You bet. Annoying? That too. But they have jobs, and need to keep them.
It is absurd what people have to do to keep their jobs, like lots of little lost in space robots. Are these stores little police states? c
Celi, we are nearly the same. I will read anything, anywhere. But I cannot start one book as soon as I have finished another – I need time in between to just savour the book a bit 🙂 (or imagine a better ending)
My Mother in Law always reads the last chapter twice, which I think is lovely and i should do it I should, and I agree completely about savouring the ending. But i am compulsive, like a collie with a frisbee. It is a terrible thing Tandy. c
Nope, I will not have a credit card. Yes, I become totally discombobulated If I have no book on the go. Yes my current book accompanies me everywhere, including the loo. Yes, I loathe the moronic training they give those poor checkout girls. I think we are kindred spirits.
Make sure that lovely new-ish gadget gets under cover before it rains!
It will be stored in the rat house, just as soon as i get john to drag the chipper out and relocate it in the big barn.. which hopefully will be this weekend.. We are kindred spirits aren’t we! c
You neatly side stepped the slippery slope – beautifully put together and reminiscent of check out girls in England. As they don’t appear to have credit cards in France, cash is God, books are too expensive to buy (you’d be better off writing one as you cook or walk the dog) and the chances of being a offered a plastic bag are zero you would have no fear of similar behaviour in the “pleine campagne” in which we live. Love your words.
Poor girls, and interesting that france is a cash society, i think this would place a very different emphasis on transactions,a) you would buy less because you can SEE your money leaving your wallet and b) the whole dogged electronic tracking of every movement of everybody by the state would cease. When i was in Paris I did buy books with my hard earned cash and nearly went broke!! Thank you Roger.. c
As Roger says, Spain is still rather like France so credit cards are not a huge deal here yet. I chuckled though at all your words…no credit cards for me please and I have to start a new book as soon as I finish one. I confess to reading a chapter and mostly (I find it hard to resist) reading the last few pages just in case for some horrible reason I don´t make it to the end of a book. How odd am I?!
I know someone else who does that. Reads the ending first. I screech in horror, Don’t look Don’t look!! c
I think the whole money, debt, credit thing is such a morass for many people, children in particular, are growing up with no understanding of how it works too often.
I didn’t know the checkout staff are filmed, poor people. They are withdrawing tradtional cheque books completely soon here in the UK, limiting peoplle’s options, making it harder for small businesses, older folk and people who can’t remember pins and so on.
Have you looked at e books? i am experimenting with them, haven’t made my mind up if I like them yet. 🙂
Wow, no cheque books, but how would you pay your bills if you did not have a computer. Or a credit card. I guess everyone would have to have a cash card then. This is what I have. I know that the ebooks will get me. But so far i feel like I am copping out if i succomb. I Hate the demise of the book shop. That is terrible. So i think I will next go to some of the smaller online books stores and get books delivered. I love OWNING books. Though miserably I cannot buy a book by its cover then, i have to think about what i am buying!! c
12 books!!!!! I could weep!
Tell me about it, and i had almost all of them.. like years ago!! c
I witnessed first-hand, albeit from a distance, the impact of big box stores in the small communities where my family resides. One by one the little shops close and with them go variety and reliable customer service. Some progress, eh?
And they did not need to film the check out girls either to prevent stealing or fake swipes for friends or whatever else.. and here our little towns have been decimated by the local big stores. Whole main roads are ghost towns now.. However the local people have CHOSEN to drive 30 minutes to buy their groceries rather than go to the corner and buy from the little store. People are CHOOSING to be in debt using credit cards rather than stay within their means. So really who do we blame. c
I always love your ramblings, but this one is a little sad since it speaks volumes on the direction our country has taken. So sad that clerks cannot smile and make small talk – and instead have to encourage everyone to go down the credit card avenue!
It is true and also i discovered from another girl at that store.. they are timed, from the moment your purchases go over the belt they are timed. There is a stopwatch on them.. Surely it cannot go on. they have no choices at all.. c
I bought the dog a 6 kilo bag of dry food the other day. The girl asked me if I wanted a bag. “A bag for a bag?” I asked. “No thanks.” She nodded and then asked if I wanted to buy a bag. I mean, huh? I swear, it must be something in the air because everyone I encounter lately is as dumb as a sponge. Or maybe it’s eggnog…
You made me laugh out loud in an empty house.. What are they like? those poor girls, maybe we should kidnap them and put them through a programme to free them from the brainwashing !
The area closest to where we live is a smallish, formally sleepy and now arty part of town in a metro area (technically a separate town), and now that more folks are interested in coming to the area for the arty, locally owned shops where you know everyone by name, a big box store is moving in and will mow down a whole section of individually owned stores so that they can have parking. Our remaining local stores are threatened and this will cause more of a traffic problem and diminished property values for the neighborhood due to the change in commercial zoning. Down with Big Box Stores!
This is one of those scary stories, how did they manage to buy all those little businesses so they could bulldoze them.. how awful..The dreadful thing is that in 15 years they will have moved on and it will be a concrete wasteland. Out here there are piles of them, empty superstores and their weedy carparks.. I should do a series on them really.. c
You’re so right about 15 years down the road, Cecilia. Alas, the city government “sold out” the neighborhood and the businesses before anyone knew what was happening and could rally to stop them. They sold the center and land out from under them, forcing them to close or try and move. This is the biggest of the box stores and they seem to always get what they want. It’s criminal, really.
It seems there are more and more people in the world who are turning their backs on credit and consumerism. How liberating it is. Maybe your encounter in the big box store will open someone else’s eyes.
I don’t know. You know i have never thought of it as turning my back on credit. I have always managed with a cash card. But that store was full to the brim with imported junk. And people are going into debt to buy it. It is mindless and very frightening. We need to take control of our own finances. Thank you bella.. c
Great post, Celia. My parents are small business owners with the big W seven miles away. My Dad is relentlessly stubborn, however, and is an amazing competitor. Despite big savings, people love the familiarity and small town relationships offered in his and my mother’s shops. It’s taken his 20-something years, but he’s become his own brand of sorts and it’s the reputation that continues to bless their businesses. I cannot imagine Sam Walton carrying out people’s bags like my Dad! 🙂
I would shop at your dads store every time. And good for him fighting the good fight and competing. That takes guts! I love hearing stories like this.. tell him and your Mum that i think they are great! c