Things started well. I had my haircut - and ended up looking considerably better than I have for some months. Then I went to the Post Office to renew my licence. While I was standing in the queue I noticed a 16 GB USB stick on sale. Half price and just what I was looking for. Brilliant. I handed over my money and lined up to have my photo taken and sign the form.
With my USB stick in my handbag I set off to make my other purchases before catching up with my friend. As I went into the supermarket the alarm screamed. I didn't take much notice because I wasn't the only one going through at the time. I wandered off to find the moisturiser I needed. No luck. Okay, I'll try somewhere else and besides I need to put some prescriptions in at the pharmacy. I go past the alarm which screams again. Why? I have nothing from the shop. Oh well. The girl on the checkout ignores the noise and waves me through.
I walk across to the pharmacy and the alarm screams. This is getting ridiculous. I leave my prescriptions - and find they don't have the moisturiser I want either. There's a space for it on the shelf but there's none there. So I decide to try the other pharmacy - and as I leave the alarm ... Well, I'm sure you know what it does. I'm a regular customer so they wave me through anyway.
You can guess what happens at the second pharmacy, can't you. Screaming alarm, no sign of the specific moisturiser I want but helpful suggestions as to where else I might try and more screaming alarm as I leave.
Okay there's still Big W to try. Nope, they don't have it, either, but they do have alarms. I'm fed up by now and head off to meet my friend for lunch at David Jones restaurant and, guess what? Yep, more alarms, but at least I'm going in so no-one's interested. I'm sitting there telling my friend my tale of woe when it hits me. It's the USB packaging. For some reason the barcode is setting off the alarms. Oh goody. Okay I'll take off the packaging and leave it inside the shop and it'll be fine, won't it. Except there are instructions on the inside of the packaging and I'll need them when I get home - and I still have at least two shops I need to go to before I go home.
Finally I decide to take out the packaging whenever I go into a shop and show whoever is on the checkout the problem. It works and then the wonderful lady on the checkout at one shop says, "I know something that works sometimes.' She performs a little sleight of hand using her barcode register then tests it on the alarm and magically it's stopped. The relief - although I still haven't found the one essential product I've been looking for.
I go back to the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions and no noise. Bliss. Maybe I should ask if they have the moisturiser I couldn't find before out the back. 'Yes, we have that. Here it is' and where before there was an empty space there it is. Success at last and I can go home.
2 comments:
What a story. I think that must have been so frustrating. I am surprised you didn't realise it was the USB stick in the beginning, you must have been thinking about lots of other stuff, like the cream. And then to find the cream in the first place after all, funny.
It was a bizarre day, Jo.
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