I hate waiting in line

Today I went to Marshalls. Bad idea. I figured that I was pretty safe going there at 1:30 on a Monday afternoon - I figured everyone would be working. I was so wrong.

So wrong that not even the employees at Marshalls were working.

How many people have to be in line to prompt a cashier to get on the loudspeaker and request back up? Is there a rule of thumb? (Why do they call it back up anyway? - If there were an ample amount of cashiers working to begin with, the line wouldn't get backed up - making it necessary to call back up.) 5 registers, peak Christmastime shopping, city of Chicago...why weren't there already staffed with 5 cashiers? Where is the damn manager?

I got way off track.

So, anyway - I went there to return an item I purchased a while ago. I even had the receipt. They have 2 lines corralling people into either the "purchase line" or the "return line." Since I got off the elevator (which has to be the slowest elevator in Chicago - please debate me if you have a slower elevator) and not the escalator (half the time it is broken and you have to walk up - or down, which ever the case may be) I stepped out into Christmas 1/2 price land.

I gathered some items and made my way to the cashier(s) all 5 of them. I debated for about 2 seconds which line to get in. The purchase line - since I did have new items to purchase; or the return line - once again, I did have something to return. I analyzed the line length and chose the return line. Is was shorter. The purchase line had at least 25 people in line. Seriously - not kidding.

So there I was - waiting in my shorter, but still people filled line. By the time it was my turn I placed my return on the counter, presented my receipt and proceeded to wait for my return transaction to go through. After I signed - I looked at the cashier and he looked at me. Then I looked at my Christmas items on the counter and then looked at him. We did this game for about 32 seconds. Finally - I asked him to please ring my items up. "Sorry ma'am, you are in the wrong line." First - I am no ma'am. Second, I waited in this line - the return line - for 25 minutes. "Can you please just ring up my 5 items?" He said "No."
No!
Are you kidding me? You want me to get back in line - the long one, and wait another 25-40 minutes to ring up my purchase. "Yes, he said." "Nope, not going to do it, I said." Then he said I had to. I had to? Then a little light went on in my head. "So, if I return my item for a return on my credit card, the transaction is done right?" "Yes, he said." Then I said, "I want to purchase my items with credit from my return." He rolled his eyes - said something to the gal next to him - and then begrudgingly rang up my purchase.
Victory! Yes, a small one, but I deserved it.

I then got back on the elevator to ride up one measly level to my car - and fate stepped in. I rode down 2 levels to the basement - where a family of 5 (smelly big people) got on (seriously the elevator beepy beep sound should have gone off), and then back up 3 more levels - stopping each time to let on more people - to finally get off at Parking level 2 - alas, my car.

I got home and realized that I never bought what I went there in the first place to get - slippers for my husband. So - I will be returning tomorrow - hoping not to get the same cashier. Ugh.

Yep - I've finally done it.

Blah, blah, blah, blog.

OK, I finally have a blog. It's not as if people are oiling up their RSS feeds to read it, but I do feel more in touch with my Web 2.0 self for now.

My husband says I'm the like the Mrs. Kravitz of the 'hood. It's not really that I'm nosy - it's that we live in a condo building - in a neighborhood of 100,000 people - in a city of over 6 million people. And, well, I am just inquisitive. One might say a keen observer...and my computer overlooks a window that overlooks a lot.

So, I figured instead of me wondering to myself (or to my oh-so sensitive husband - who has all but lost the ability to hide the boredom from his face when I'm telling him about my last trip to the post office) about all of the stuff I see and encounter each day - I would just blog about them.

Yep - that's it. Blah, blah, blah, blog.