Christmas Mayhem

I hate shopping. I *really* hate shopping around Christmas. And one of the stores I visited while hating my Christmas shopping, was Tony & Guy Hairdressing. I was there to buy a gift certificate for a cousin of mine. Upon entering their mall location and taking that first, unfortunate breath, I knew that I had just inhaled a thousand airborne and cancer-causing chemicals which would soon be made illegal. Future generations of children would learn of these chemicals and our liberal use of them, and laugh at our ignorance and wonder how it is that we didn't know.

I asked, "How much does one typically spend here?". She was clearly not prepared for that question. Maybe it was a bit vague. She asked, "What are you looking to have done? Some coloring?"Some coloring?! What's wrong with the color of my hair!!"I want to buy a gift certificate and I don't know how much is appropriate." Much to my surprise, she just looked up the recipient in the computer and told me how much she typically spends. She spends HOW MUCH?! For one hair-cut?? How cool is that?

I bought a nice watch by Festina (they have a really annoying web site; don't go there) around May of 2001 from It's About Time. I was also suckered in to their Batteries For Life deal ... which is exactly what it sounds like: as long as I'm alive and have the watch (and the tiny little card, as it turns out), they'll replace the batteries as needed. I explained to the guy behind the counter of the gimmick for which I had fallen, and my need, now, to cash in on it. He explained that I needed the card (and used his fingers to depict what must have been a very tiny card) as proof. The tiny little card was probably lost with the original packaging, minutes after I got home from the mall, nearly five years ago. Oh well. I guess they earned a nice profit on that $50. It's their own little way of doing the BestBuy Mail-in-Rebate thing. Why couldn't *they* just look it up on their computer? Pathetic. If you are an executive from It's About Time, give me a call ... I want to write some software for you (for free ... with a mail-in rebate, of course).

Update: It was their North Point Mall location that wanted the proof, while their Perimeter Mall location (from which I actually purchased the watch) happily replaced the battery for free.