Last night, I went to Circuit City to pick up some speakers for my home theater. I'd found them online for a good price (after watching them for a while), and decided yesterday was the day. I couldn't pick up everything I ordered at my normal store, so I selected another store in the area. After driving around trying to find the place for almost 90 minutes, I finally called the number listed on the pickup receipt to ask where they were at. There was an option on the VRS (voice response system) that listed "directions to the store", so I chose that.
Imagine my surprise when the directions turned out to be a very brief recording, directing me to a website!!!! If I'm calling you, on the phone, wouldn't it be a reasonable assumption that I don't have access to the frackin' web????
So after retrying and picking the option where I talk to a real-life wageslave, I find out that I'd known all along where the store was, if I'd not had a cranio-rectal inversion. It's the big, new Circuit City that's one of the anchor stores for the new open-air mall near my house. It was impressive when I walked in, and since I was doing merchandise pickup, I went straight to the customer service counter. Turns out, they were doing all the checkouts at the customer service desk, which given the number of customers, didn't seem to be much of a problem, although they seemed a bit disorganized.
I was pleasantly surprised that the store had a $20 lower price on the satellites/center channel set I was buying, so they credited my card with the difference, and I was feeling pretty good. Right up until I had to go back into the store to pick up some crimpable speaker lugs. I found the lugs, picked up two packages, and went back to customer service. By this point, there was one fellow working the desk. There was a pretty girl ahead of me, but she didn't seem to have anything in her hands (either to purchase or exchange), and a guy showed up behind me buying a full computer system (monitor, printer, CPU, the works). So, the customer service dude is helping the girl, and it's taking forever. One of the other employees starts stacking Mr. Computerbuyer's stuff behind the counter, and tells the customer that the customer service dude would take care of ringing him up. After a full 5 minutes (standing there, with two small packages of speaker lugs), I realized that the young lady was filling out a job application, and CustomerServiceDrone was giving her his undivided attention. Not that I blame him, she was attractive, and they were racially compatible, as it were. But, it started a slow burn in me. Then, as he was wrapping up with her, he started looking over Mr. Computerbuyer's stuff, and seemed to assume that since Mr. Computerbuyer was hanging out near his stuff (close to the service desk) while I was actually at the "wait here" line, that somehow, I was last in line.
To be fair, I don't know the whole story. I don't know if Mr. Computerbuyer had returned a different computer and was picking out the replacement (there was a cart with what looked like returned computer equipment in front of the service desk), or if it was a new purchase, but he clearly arrived in line after I did. CustomerServiceDrone, no doubt busy contemplating the idea of having the pretty girl as a co-worker, seemed to have no idea who was next (never mind that this particular CSD was the one who processed my speaker pickup not 15 minutes earlier). Luckily, either Mr. Computerbuyer figured it out, or just saw my slow burn starting to heat up, and suggested that the CSD take me next, since I seemed to have a very small purchase. 30 seconds later, I had my lugs, had my change, and was on my way, after making it a point to thank Mr. Computerbuyer.
Still, overall, I saved $80 on my purchases when the smoke cleared. I guess I'll call it a wash. I hope she gets the job, they seem to need the help.
Actually, that's not true. No fewer than three employees (at least two of which had been working the customer service desk when I was picking up the speakers) passed by the service desk as all this was going on. MIJM, but it seems like if you're not going to have any of the normal registers open, you could still find time to ring up a few purchases while someone fills out a job application.
I guess I still hope she gets the job, but more than that, I hope they get their crap straight. It's a big, gorgeous store, and I'd hate to avoid it because it's staffed with morons.
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