A personal shopper sounds nice
I used to laugh whenever I heard of people who hired personal shoppers. Now that I'm a mom, I think it might be a pretty wise idea sometimes. Not that I would ever actually hire one for myself (I'm not that "caliber," I don't think), but I can see why it'd be so easy to do so.
I used to work at Uptons, back in the mid-90s. Besides working part-time at a restaurant, Uptons was my first "real" job. I learned about professional attire, attitude, and aptitude. It launched me into the real, hard-core chaos of retail and all that it involves. Let me just say....looking at it from the sales clerk point of view is vastly different from when you are a shopper yourself. You have a birds-eye view into the weird, wild, and bizarre behaviors of those who are on a mission....as well as those who are rich, bored, and just go to stores to wander around and purchase items which they will then add to their absurdly growing collection of miscellaneous "stuff" at home (and at their vacation home, perhaps).
We had our share of personal shoppers who came into the store. Sometimes they'd pretend as if they were a spouse or relative of the person for whom they were shopping; other times, they'd flat-out tell us they were hired to find a certain item or items for someone. My innocence was shattered when I learned that there were actually people out there who were too busy to go shopping. Wow.
I saw this at the law firm where I used to work, too. I'd walk by offices of attorneys who would be saying on the phone, "Oh, I don't know what to get her, honey. Just give her an online certificate to Crabtree & Evelyn." (Feel free to interject any other high-dollar, low-usability brand where that one is placed in the sentence.) My own boss? Well, his personal shopper was his own mother. Yes, that's right. He was over 30 and married, but his mom still called him periodically to check on the length of his inseam because "she ran across a deal that just couldn't be passed by." Hm.
Yet a personal shopper would certainly come in handy on days like yesterday. I was out in the 90-plus degree summer heat trying to find one particular item for my son. It was not a necessity....it was merely one of those items which you want to find for your child simply because you love them and you think they'd really enjoy having it. Shopping with an infant who is crawling is difficult because 1) they can't walk yet, so they must be carried, 2) sometimes it seems easier to keep them in their carrier so you won't have to unbuckle every time, until you realize that they are now 19 pounds plus 5 pounds heavier because of the carrier, which you have slung over on your hip as you hobble into the store, and 3) the heat intensifies the aerobic workout you're already experiencing going from shopping center to shopping center.
Gardner, ever the cheery roadside companion, was gooing and gaaing as I dragged him all over town. I was on the verge of a heat stroke, though, by lunchtime, and I began to receive a sickening realization that perhaps I might never find this searched for item, and all of my efforts would therefore be in vain (I never did find it).
So, I am at home today, contemplating whether I want to go out and check the last 2 stores I have in mind, or whether just to order it online.
Or perhaps I can just send my personal shopper.
(P.S....don't think for one minute that I've already abandoned my pet story for today....I haven't. I will post it later.)
I used to work at Uptons, back in the mid-90s. Besides working part-time at a restaurant, Uptons was my first "real" job. I learned about professional attire, attitude, and aptitude. It launched me into the real, hard-core chaos of retail and all that it involves. Let me just say....looking at it from the sales clerk point of view is vastly different from when you are a shopper yourself. You have a birds-eye view into the weird, wild, and bizarre behaviors of those who are on a mission....as well as those who are rich, bored, and just go to stores to wander around and purchase items which they will then add to their absurdly growing collection of miscellaneous "stuff" at home (and at their vacation home, perhaps).
We had our share of personal shoppers who came into the store. Sometimes they'd pretend as if they were a spouse or relative of the person for whom they were shopping; other times, they'd flat-out tell us they were hired to find a certain item or items for someone. My innocence was shattered when I learned that there were actually people out there who were too busy to go shopping. Wow.
I saw this at the law firm where I used to work, too. I'd walk by offices of attorneys who would be saying on the phone, "Oh, I don't know what to get her, honey. Just give her an online certificate to Crabtree & Evelyn." (Feel free to interject any other high-dollar, low-usability brand where that one is placed in the sentence.) My own boss? Well, his personal shopper was his own mother. Yes, that's right. He was over 30 and married, but his mom still called him periodically to check on the length of his inseam because "she ran across a deal that just couldn't be passed by." Hm.
Yet a personal shopper would certainly come in handy on days like yesterday. I was out in the 90-plus degree summer heat trying to find one particular item for my son. It was not a necessity....it was merely one of those items which you want to find for your child simply because you love them and you think they'd really enjoy having it. Shopping with an infant who is crawling is difficult because 1) they can't walk yet, so they must be carried, 2) sometimes it seems easier to keep them in their carrier so you won't have to unbuckle every time, until you realize that they are now 19 pounds plus 5 pounds heavier because of the carrier, which you have slung over on your hip as you hobble into the store, and 3) the heat intensifies the aerobic workout you're already experiencing going from shopping center to shopping center.
Gardner, ever the cheery roadside companion, was gooing and gaaing as I dragged him all over town. I was on the verge of a heat stroke, though, by lunchtime, and I began to receive a sickening realization that perhaps I might never find this searched for item, and all of my efforts would therefore be in vain (I never did find it).
So, I am at home today, contemplating whether I want to go out and check the last 2 stores I have in mind, or whether just to order it online.
Or perhaps I can just send my personal shopper.
(P.S....don't think for one minute that I've already abandoned my pet story for today....I haven't. I will post it later.)
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