Perfume, white teeth and bad manners
by Carmen Stella
For many girls an outing to the mall is supposed to be a blissful experience, especially if you have money to spend.
However, this wasn’t the case when I set out to Takapuna mall last Saturday.
It was the first weekend in many that I did not have any dreaded assignments to procrastinate over, so I could actually go out…guilt free.
I could take my time browsing through each and every shop at leisure, basking in the full glory of shopping without that nagging voice telling me I should be at home starting my assignment that is due on Monday.
To make it even better, I, for once, actually had money to spend and was not confined to depressing window shopping.
Sadly, this joy was soon to be killed as I made my way into a pharmacy to treat myself to a bottle of my favourite perfume.
I entered unacknowledged by one of the shop assistants who, for the record, had way too much make up on.
I spent five minutes smelling the different scents while other, older, more ’sophisticated’ women entered the pharmacy, each one of them greeted by the assitant’s gleaming white teeth and a “how can I help you?” greeting.
By the time I’d seen that porcelain smile of hers for the umpteenth time, I started to get annoyed. Why was I still being ignored while these other women were attracting shop assistants like flies to effluent?
But the worst was still to come.
No matter which side of the perfume rack I moved to, out of the corner of my eye there always seemed to be a shop assistant trying to make herself look busy…but really watching me.
I felt as if I actually had a real life shadow, and still after over five minutes of waiting I was not offered any assistance.
The icing on the cake was when I overheard the manager whispering to my ‘shadow’ to keep an eye on me. What the hell? Who did they think I was?
I had reached boiling point. Why was I being treated like a criminal and not a customer?
Just because I go shopping in my casual jeans, minimal make up and no fake tan, it doesn’t mean I’m not a serious shopper.
I had $500 burning a hole in my pocket, and they lost out big time!
These people ruined my day.
My good mood was killed by their outright rudeness and I will never step foot into that shop again.
So much for Kiwi customer service.
I’ve been subjected to this level of surveillance myself on several occasions while shopping in malls. One classic episode involved an ‘undercover’ store detective ’shadowing’ me as I perused a stack of DVDs on a shelf. Out of the corner of my eye I could tell that I was being watched. Frustarted, I decided to confront my stalker: “Excuse me, but I can’t help but notice that you’re following me.” Stalker: “Sorry, was it obvious?” Me: “Well, yes! Stalker: “I was just wondering what you were doing on Saturday night…” Needless to say that I bolted it rather sharpish out of the store. Hello, Bunny boiler!