Anybody else feeling in the Christmas spirit???
So, my wife and I have been pretty avid shoppers for almost the last year. We started couponing back in April to try and survive on just my income (and trust me folks, it’s not an easy task). We recently upgraded to a full zipper binder with several different categories to (hopefully) cover everything in your average grocery store. Needless to say, if we go shopping anywhere, we try and go together. And why not? It’s fun.
Which brings us to Black Friday.
Ever since Fox 8 started posting the Black Friday ads, we had been eyeing all the stores like a hawk. Which store will have the best deals on DVDs? What would our game plan to be to get the most bang for our buck? And where the heck are we going to get a big flat screen TV for our living room?
Side note: Our living room is a very quiet space. It has been fantastic when it comes to visiting with guests, but there has been a slight void where T’s big screen TV used to be. And besides, what guy doesn’t dream about coming home, cracking open a beer (or Mountain Dew in my case) and watching football on a big screen?
Our best bet was to go to Best Buy and try to get a flatscreen 42″ for $199. The plan was to get to the store at 6 PM on Thanksgiving and wait it out. As soon as K saw the Best Buy ad and noticed “Minimum 10 per store” in small print, she launched into action. She dropped me off at Best Buy at 4 PM and the line had already begun. I was approximately number 52 in line. After 8 hours of back numbing, cold inducing mayhem, I finally made it into the store.
Oh wait, I almost forgot. Best Buy gave out tickets prior to opening the doors at midnight. I heard everything from laptops to tablets and cameras. I never heard anything about TV’s. Which meant that more than likely, the people in front of me got everything. Well played, crazy shoppers…
Anyway, I make it in the store and immediately grabbed a few DVD’s. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to go home with my tail tucked between my legs because I didn’t get the BIG deal. So I grabbed several things, including a printer which acted like my battering ram to knock the crazy people out of the way. I got about 100 bucks worth of stuff, so all I had to do was wait for my check to go in.
So I waited…
And waited…
And waited some more.
2:00 AM: Still no check.
I had not taken my medicine, been up since about 8 am the day before, and had not had food since 2 PM with the family. I called my wife, who was next door at Target fighting the ugly mob there. I told her I was throwing in the towel. I put everything back somewhat and walked next door. She could tell by my face that I was livid. I even scared a couple of our friends. They check out and then we walk outside. I kept pacing and calling my bank, then finally decided to give it one more go. I wasn’t going to get EVERYTHING I wanted to get, but I could at least take care of a good portion of my wife’s Christmas. I went back into Best Buy with my friend B. We stood at the back of the line, which circled a good 3/4 of the entire store.
Finally at the halfway point, my check went in. 
I didn’t go back to get the other stuff I had picked up earlier. That could wait for another time.
I walked to the truck, tossed my right leg in, and screamed bloody murder as the rest of me got to sit down after a gruelling 11 hours of not sitting hardly at all. I went to Sheetz for some breakfast and caffeine, then went home to check on all the animals (including T’s). I took my medicine and then attempted to lay down around 6:30 for a brief nap. I was hoping that all the girls would come in the house and be so noisy they would wake me up.
8 AM: K wakes me up. I had a missed call. I pulled myself together enough to understand the situation at work, which prompted me to quickly get dressed. Not even 20 minutes later, K was passed out.
I made it through the work day well enough. I finally went home around 4 PM. K was still asleep (or at least I think she was. She looked at me a few times through squinted eyes but didn’t respond when I said “Hey sugar”.) I went out to her car, grabbed the tree she purchased and started attempting to decorate the house.
The next 4 hours were a blur. Between my tension headache, lack of sleep, and trying to keep quiet while K was asleep, I had a time. She woke up around 7 pm. We talked for a while about our misadventures from the night before (or was it earlier in the day? I forget which). Then decided to go to Wal-Mart for a few other things.
The debris and carnage was not a surprise once we entered the store. We grabbed food from Subway and I tried to will my headache away (with a little help from some meds in K’s purse). We got what we needed then proceeded towards checkout. Lane number 12 was open but no one was standing around. So, I started unloading the cart as a worker named “Daryl” appeared out of nowhere. No greeting, no salutation, not even a meep. He scanned the items, put a few items in bags (except for a small bag of cat food. I never knew cat food was too big for Wal-Mart’s plastic bags…) and then hit the total button. He tapped on the counter as a signal that the transaction was done. I handed him the money, and he started scanning our two $20 bills as though we were Bonnie and Clyde on a counterfit shopping spree.
As he pecked our cash into the register, the only words out of his mouth were the following:
“I ain’t got any ones. You want quarters??”
Never even called customer service for ones. K and I exchanged looks as we tossed the cat food into a plastic bag and walked towards the door. We passed the customer service desk as two employees were talking about anything but work. As we walked by, one of the ladies said “Sir, THAT door is closed.” Then went back to talking to her co-worker. I don’t remember hearing an announcement about that exit being closed. And her attitude made me want to smack her across the face.
K and I looked at each other. I said “Manager??”
She blinked, nodded, and said “Yuuup. Manager.”
We stood by the Coinstar machine and waited for a good 5 minutes while the two co-workers continued to converse. Finally the one that spoke to us earlier turned and said “Y’all need help with something?!?!”
We said “Yes, we need to speak to a manager. Please.”
We explained the situation to the manager, who was more than happy to help us. He grinned as he said “Oh, don’t worry…I’ll take care of this.”
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