The lady at the counter

I am fuming with rage, anger, resentment, malice...(is there any other word to describe the fire that is threatening to erupt my very being?) I had a pretty rough day today, although this is not the reason i am this provoked. Well why should i? Why would anyone be angry if their youngest brother spends $100 from their credit card despite giving them the permission to spend $23! This matter was solved of course, however, this current state of mind is directed at Australia's retail giant Big W.

Technological advancement is at its peak as we all know. In fact, it has gotten so good that I'm toying with the idea of buying me a sexy robot man if ever i become available :). Since Technology has become this unstoppable force, why is it that each time you leave a store, they ask to search your bag. This is the most humiliating aspect of shopping i must confess. I have the most horrible hand bag to look in you see, however, i just love the feeling of walking straight up to security and opening my bag carefully, making sure they see the triumphant smile on my face as they search for an item that is obviously not there. Today of course was an exception, i went to Big W to purchase a book cover, it retails at $4.67, i went to the counter to pay for it, you know the drill, was given a receipt and i walked away. I had an hour and thirty minutes to kill before i had to come back because i had also printed out some photo's from mum's camera and i was to pick it up in a few hours time. By the time i was done with scanning and photocopying forms for uni my hour and thirty minutes was over and i had to go pick up my photo's. I paid $24.95 for them and as i was about to walk out, i had to open the bags i had... obviously, to have them searched. I had a big W shopping bag with the book cover carefully wrapped in it. I was asked very politely to open it and i smiled in obedience with yet another of my triumphant smiles carefully worn on my face. He looked into the bag and asked for a receipt for the book cover, without missing a bit i searched for the receipt in the bag but lo and behold it was nowhere to be found. I mean i thought i had left it in the bag but i obviously didn't. I calmly told the guy i could not find my receipt "what do we do next"? He goes over to the counter and asks somebody to help him scan the item to determine if it was "stolen" from them (he obviously didn't say that). I was not offended at all by that, what got me offended was that i had to wait 5 minutes for them to get back to me, i was furious. She got back to us alright with the news that i could not take my book cover home because it does look like a Big W item and if i didn't have a receipt there was no way i was taking it out, that's when i lost it! "If i had to steal any item from Big W why would its retail price only be $4.67, i can do better than that thank you very much"-i was saying. "I need to speak to somebody, can i have your manager, thank you! There is no way i am going home without that book cover!" I was tapping my foot in fury making sure they saw and heard it as i waited for them to get their store manager. She comes along and explains that under normal circumstances i would not be allowed to take the item home since i was unable to produce a receipt, however, its okay for me to go! I grabbed my book cover and stalked off without breathing thank you.

Isn't there a devise that could tell from an items bar code that its already been sold?!?!?! Isn't there also a security device that beeps if you leave a store with an item that was not previously purchased? You would think there would be something like that but there simply isn't. I know this is obviously not the first time I've had problems with keeping receipts in shops but in my defense i am an African woman and in Nigeria there was simply nothing like getting receipts for what you purchase, you just pay for an item and you take it with you...even if you have to come back for something else. In London you also don't have to produce receipts because if an item is sold, its just recorded as sold.

In my anger, i went to woolies on my way from Big W, i bought drinks and sugar and cookies and paid for them, kept my receipt in my purse and left. On getting home and about to start writing this post, i reached to get the cookie but realized that i had...to my credit left the bag with the cookie at the counter, hahahahahahha...i will never cease to amaze me! I ran back to the store, located the lady that served me, went straight to her, she looked at me, bent over and came up with the bag i was missing, i said thank you very much with a smile i just could not hold back and i walked the remaining three minutes to my house grinning. Hence, my anger is cured, although i still think Big W ought to re-access their security measures, that lady at Woolworth gave me the smile i lost when i walked into Big W.

Thank you :)