I was out walking the dog. We had made the run to PetSmart to buy wee wee pads, and Betty and I were wandering around, window shopping. I saw this really pretty bag in the window of a store, and a big 60% off sign…

You know I love a good bag, especially on sale…

So I went into the store and looked at the bag. It was a black saddle bag, roomy enough to fit an umbrella and iPad and camera if need be. I looked at the price tag- $195…

Or so I thought the tag said 195…

I asked the salesperson if the 195 was the sale price or the original price…

The salesperson literally laughed in my face.

“Oh no.” she said.

“How could you think the bag is 195 originally? Tee tee hee. This is Marimekko you know.” Shake of the tussled hair as she took the bag away. “It’s 60% off 495.” She started to wipe my cooties off the bag as she went to tell her co-worker about my blunder.

OK- you know my first thought was

What a …..

and my second thought was

If the bags were cheaper maybe they wouldn’t be on 60% off sale.

third thought:

I hope they go out of business

I know.

I know.

I’m a horrible uncharitable person. But I didn’t say any of these things- I just thought them and I’ve decreed that thinking is ok as long as you don’t act on your bad thoughts. I’m allowed to make that decree, right?

So a month later I was getting off the bus at the stop near the store. Guess what? The store was closing on December 24.

I felt a little bad- I don’t like to see anyone lose their job. Then I thought that maybe if they priced things more reasonably, and didn’t make fun of those who think 495 for a bag is a tad too much, they might have survived.

So there you have it. Sometimes people don’t treat me nicely and I harbor bad thoughts. I’m not proud of myself, but every day is a learning process…I can only try to be a better person tomorrow.

74 thoughts on “The One Where I Felt a Little Mean”

  3. Quite honestly I’m impressed with your restraint. I probably would have said something just because it’s so natural to come back with a retort. But how rude was your sales girl? And clearly the woman did not Take economics. The price of goods is always based on supply and demand. The cost of that purse evidently wasn’t worth even the 195. Not if the store went out of business.
    You aren’t a bad person for thinking thoughts or, in my opinion, enlightening a rude sales person and suggesting she take a class on good manners. She was rude. I love pocket books. I used to pay a fortune for designer bags. Now anything over $250. Is my limit. But sometimes I admit I’m tempted. However, I would have walked out of the store because of the disrespectful behavior of the salesperson. I would have been insulted and thought the same as you. However, I think I would have scolded her for her condescending attitude.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. I don’t blame you. Nothing is worth being treated like that. It was her loss not yours. Plus, You can probably go on line and find the same bag. During Covid I discovered that most brands have their own websites and they ALWAYS have sales.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Oh well… you know sometimes eBay and Amazon have new items. I had a pair of Democracy jeans I absolutely loved. They fit so well that I wanted to get them in another color. They were sold out on their own site but I found them on HSN and on Amazon. So I wound up getting another pair after all. Keep checking. ❤️ Good luck. In fact, I was unaware that QVC and HSN have many major brands. (who knew?) They even have Orla Kiely handbags with her iconic prints from the 70’s, Dooney, Patricia Nash etc. so you never know what might be available where you least expect it.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Your self control and verbal restraint amazes and convicts me. ( I would very probably have said some of those things you only thought of saying. Year ago, I had an encounter w/ a snarky guy behind the counter @ a local gas station. It was the end of a long day, I was tired and hungry, just wanted to get home. He (20 yrs my junior at least) got sarcastic w/ me when I gave him my check to pay. I’m not normally like this, but, the second his judgmental, sarcastic attitude hit me, the knives came out, and I responded in kind. Took both of us by surprise actually, but he backed down. saw a side of me that rarely makes an appearance. Just saying. You are so normally! Loved this glimpse into your life. DM

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  5. Pingback: A Tale of Two Visits: A Customer Service Fail – The World's Common Tater

  6. As I just said over at Tater’s, have people already forgotten the lesson to be learned from Pretty Woman? Very rude on their part, but you do unfortunately get that type of snooty salesperson in those stores. Why the companies keep employing them is beyond me. You displayed great restraint. Pity you missed out on the bag though.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  12. I agree with the others, $20 is a good price. Maybe $80 if you are treating yourself because of a super special occassion. The sales person’s treatment is appalling. When I worked for a living (in retail) I had a customer lose it. He told me he wished i ended up “unemployed and homeless.” I told him that was the most horrible thing I have ever be told, as I dialed 911 and had him arrested.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. In response to one of your other readers’ comments regarding Pretty Woman, you should have passed past the empty store and said, “BIG MISTAKE, HUGE!”

    I’d have felt the same way you did, and I used to believe that Karma operated in this way, but it doesn’t, surprisingly. People can’t afford to buy $500 handbags when unemployment is at an all-time high in a worldwide pandemic, therefore the store went out of business, as you already know.

    But seeing the sign in the window would have put a spring in my step. It is good with my soul. 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  19. I get that! At the end of a long day, I wished the lady directing traffic mean thoughts as she let me wait forever and then denied me access to turning left. Who gives a f…..was my response on a Thursday waiting to get home after a week from heck.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. I once read a story about an under-dressed woman who didn’t look like she “belonged” going into a high-end leather good store in Paris. There was a bag she was particularly interested in, out of reach, behind the salespeople. In this place there weren’t even price tags… So she asked how much it was. The salespeople felt it wasn’t the bag for her. She asked again. The salespeople didn’t feel she could afford it. Guess who that person was? Oprah Winfrey. She could afford to buy the store 🙂

    I’ve never looked up if this is a true story or not, but it stuck with me. What did they say about judging books by their covers?…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  21. On the flip side, I went shopping in a department store for some Fiestaware. I’m not really a shopper so when I saw the price I was delighted that I could get the number of pieces I wanted for an event involving out of town company. I was SO embarrassed when the salesperson understood my mistake and gently explained without condescension that the price was for one place setting. That made the purchase way out of my budget for the event. Despite my embarrassment, I realized at the time that she could have made it so much worse for me. A little kindness goes a long way, and I will always remember that act of kindness.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. She was insulting and belittling you. Why wouldn’t you harbor a few bad thoughts? We went with our neighbors downtown Carefree, AZ for an art show. My husband saw a statue he thought was a Remington (which he loves.) It turned out to be a local artist and only 10 produced. My husband thought the price tag said $900 and he started negotiating with the gallery owner. The price was $5,999! It was funny too watch the gallery owners face when he offered $750 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. You did absolutely nothing wrong by harboring a few “bad thoughts” I promise. As for them going out of business? That was 100% nothing but their KARMA coming back on them. For having employee’s who make-fun of customers, in whom I’m most surely made the same mistake you did, for not knowing the full price of whatever kind of purse they were trying to sell. You thinking those “bad thoughts” isn’t what ran them out of business. Don’t feel bad. You didn’t act on voicing them. No harm done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Just normal thoughts anyone would have after such an encounter. I hate snobbery in stores. I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $60 for a purse, because they all eventually get worn looking and the insides torn or the outside if it’s too soft leather. Having said that I looked the other day for a new spring purse and prices have really gone up since I last bought one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. To be fair, I have a long champ purse I bought in Paris 25 years ago. Except for a little piece my cat chewed on, it still looks amazing. But it was bought at a relevant bargain with the exchange rate being in my favor. However, I tend to agree that prices have gotten nuts

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  26. Your mistake was an honest one, and the salesperson had no right to laugh about it. I’m not surprised they went out of business. There’s no shortage of people willing to pay far too much for a purse, but there is a distinct shortage of people willing to be laughed at by a sales clerk. (And along those same lines, when I was very young and first-time home owner, I went to an antique shop looking for a stained glass window to replace a cracked one in our new house. The price tag was $7.95, or so I thought when I asked the salesclerk to get it down for me. When I discovered the price was actually $795.00, he graciously replaced the window without laughing at all. THAT’S how classy people do it!)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  29. You are such a good person. I too have thought things that I regretted later. But at least we care and they are just thoughts, not actions. I was raised with a conscience too. I know where of you speak.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  30. You didn’t think anything that I wouldn’t have thought! And I think your thoughts were kinder than mine would have been about that rude saleslady! Yes, I think we all have sides of ourselves that come out at certain times, but good for you in staying calm! At least on the outside. I think my walking would have been more like speed walking out of that store and continuing to walk at that pace til I reached home. LOL!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  31. The typical saying comes to mind, “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” Pretty sure there was no reason to act the way she did. I would have had the same thoughts you did.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s