Shop until you complete the assignment
Maybe I should stick to ordinary presents, but sometimes the need to meet an obligation goes along with a sense of adventure. This year, my search for the original gift has shown me that perseverence will lead to success. As long as the gift is appreciated; maybe even if it isn’t (but I don’t want feedback), my efforts won’t be in vain.
I decided, after careful reflection, that my goal involved a particular merchant with a large catalogue, true brick and mortar presence in the city, an online shopping model and a help desk. Using their “inventory query” tool, I decided to go to the store during rush hour and make my purchase the traditional way. Except that my gift is seasonal, and when the clerk went into discovery mode, nothing was found. No matter; there was the online wing at my service.
I placed my order, provided electronic payment details and waited. And waited. Remember that there are deadlines involved here. No sense in showing desperation, but the toll-free number put me at the mercy of a help desk jockey who reassured me that my order was ready for shipment and would arrive in twelve to twenty-four days. Hours? Days, sir. What about in-store pickup (which is what I had originally requested)? That, sir, will work wonderfully if you can arrive in the next forty-eight… Days? Hours, sir.
This evening I made a second visit, with the necessary bus-to-bus routing. Customer service was running at 100% efficiency, and I had the whole thing under control in minutes. The only unexpected detail is that the gift was physically larger than expected, and it bore a strange resemblance to a weapon (sub-machine variety) in my bag as I headed back across the city to home.
