Well, we had to go to Wal-Mart tonight. Okay, we didn't have to. I don't think it's in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I'm getting off point here. I took the kids to the toys while Sarah and did the actual shopping. They want everything in the store for Christmas, in case you were wondering what to get them.
As we were browsing about, two women came up to us and asked if we knew where the Dora stuff was. I turned to them and was about to tell them that I didn't work there, when I noticed that they were wearing Wal-Mart name badges. Employees of the store were asking us where their merchandise was. Rachel piped up and said "I know were Dora is!" She took them right to all the Dora toys. High fives were flying everywhere. I wonder if she has to join their union now.
We went to check out, and Sarah took the kids out the car while I paid for everything. The cashier began ringing everything up. Then she came across a bag of apples. There was a price sticker on the bag denoting $3.12, but there was no UPC on this bag, nor was there any kind of PLU. These are vital pieces of information for a computerized inventory system. She asked the cashier in the next lane how to ring it up, and she recommended that it be put in as an item from the "produce" department, which makes sense to me. So, my cashier began that process, and when the computer asked for the unit price, she entered the price from the sticker. The computer assumed this was the price per pound, and charged me about ten dollars for a three dollar bag of apples. This would not do. The cashier valiantly tried to correct the mistake. She even enlisted the assistance of the other cashier. Neither of them could figure out how to remove the item. This went on for five minutes. The cashier finally gave up and flipped her light so it was blinking, indicating that she's hit an iceberg and is slowly taking on water.
Time passes. No manager arrives. She decides to finish ringing me up so that when the manager comes we can quickly finish the transaction and I can get the hell out. Still no manager. Lines are forming and people are getting ready to riot. The cashier finally walks to the manager's office and gets someone. The manager tries a few things to remove the item, then says "I don't know. You'll have to do it over." She then voids the entire transaction.
If Sarah didn't need the blank DVDs for her school project, I would have walked. I would have just said "Have a nice night" and left the damn store. The cashier and I worked together to get everything entered again. Sarah called during this and asked me if I was planning on leaving the store sometime soon. I think the whole process took twenty minutes.
When we got home, Rachel confessed something. "I stole something" she said. I asked her what she stole, thinking she picked up some paper or a brochure or something. She said "A phone". I took off her coat, and sure as shit there's a toy cell phone stuffed down her shirt. I told her that we're going to Wal-Mart tomorrow so she can give it back and apologize. Of course she freaked out. They were going to "lock her up in the jail". And she knew she was in trouble. I don't think she'll be doing this again anytime soon.
So, what did you do today?