Signalling a successful shopper
Given that I awoke before the rest of the house this morning (well, pretty much any morning), it only seemed fair that I take the car by myself and go off to the malls. Time to purchase a few pairs of pants that aren’t made from blue denim, in recognition of the approach of summer. It didn’t take long; by now I know what size I wear and what the price point should be, which left colour as the only variable. I was home again before they even missed me.
Of course, no good deed goes unrecognized, so within a couple of hours I was off again, this time with a son by my side. He, too, wanted new summer clothes. We returned to the shop where I’d had successful commerce earlier and there we hit a bump in the road. A style bump. My son informed me within a few minutes of fruitless search that this was an inappropriate shop for his needs. In ado terms, they only sold “clothes for old men”. My rebuttal fell on deaf ears, so we piled back into the comfort of our ride and headed further afield. This time, it was important to choose a place that marketed to the right demographic.
I’m not sure how an ado recognizes such a place; was it the younger clerks, or the fabrics with patterns, or the different pricing? He knew what I didn’t, so we shopped and bought. For the degree of input from a wiser older parent, I might as well have handed off the bank card and gone fishing.
What’s the deal on the anti-theft devices used by clothing stores, we managed to “ring” the alarm in three other stores, but only on the way in. Accompanied by staff on each occasion, we passed successfully back out. Perhaps these were alarms that signalled the approach of a “shopper that actually buys something”, as opposed to the “shopper without money”. A way to put the commissioned members of the workforce on a state of high alert. I want to know…
