Friday, June 13, 2008

Cashiers, Clerks and Customers (part II)

First a side note- Sorry this is so late (early?) You regulars may remember that I had a particularly troublesome client last February? Well, in spite of my better judgement I allowed my self to be sweet talked into going back. I guess it is a lot like relationships you have ended. After some time the sharp memories fade and the promises of "never again" seem believable so you decide to give it another chance. Then you wonder what the hell ever made you think it could change!?

I went out there today and just finished a 16 hour day that I KNOW I wont get paid for (they always have excuses). They do not know it yet but I will never again darken their door. NEVER!

So now to finish up my shopping day stories...

I left Wal-Mart and made it to water Aerobics just in the nick of time. After my workout I had one more errand to run. I needed some spare house keys made so I zipped up to our local Ace Hardware.

They had the little key-making center at the service desk. I handed the clerk the 4 keys I wanted duplicated. I was leaning up against the desk while he made my keys. My eye caught on this “ink blotter” type of ad they had on the desktop.

The ad said, “Starting in 1999 many cars started coming with transponder (security chip) keys. Until now these keys could only be made at the dealership and they cost from $80 to $150 there! Now Ace can make your transponder keys for $20 to $50. Why pay more at your dealership?”

Now that is a GREAT ad! My 2005 Escape has one of those keys and when I bought it the salesman gave me two keys and warned me not to loose them as they cost $125 to replace! I have been meaning to get a spare to stash in the car but the dealership is just out of the way and somehow I never manage to get there and isn’t this just providence that I am already here and they can make me that spare.

So I said to the clerk that was already making my house keys! “Ooooo, I want to get a truck key made while I am here!”
“What year is it?”
“2005”
“Oh, that’s a transponder key, we can’t make those.“
“Huh?” Taping the ad with my finger I ask, “What about this sign right here on YOUR desk saying you can make them?”
He leans over and looks at the same ad I am looking at and says, “Oh wow, I did not know that." Let me call the manager”

It’s Deja Vue all over again. :)

So the manager comes over and explains that I will have to come back during the day as the only guy who knows how to make transponder keys works on day shift. However, he continues, let’s look it up and make sure we have a blank here for your vehicle. …

So after a few minutes of digging around he finally announces that they don’t have a blank for my vehicle they will have to order it. I need to pay in advance and it’s $85.
“Huh?” Taping the ad with my finger yet again I ask, “What about this sign right here on YOUR desk saying they are $20 to $50?”
“Uh, well yours costs more.”
Oh, well *that* explains it! I mean as long as you can justify it and everything! So I did not buy a new key after all.

Which turned out to be a smart thing because when I got home not a single one of the 4 house keys they made worked. Not a one of them.

And people wonder why men hate to shop!

11 comments:

House of Jules said...

You'd be having a lot more fun with the whole shopping thing if your objective was different. Try cute shoes or lip gloss.
Jules
House of Jules

kat said...

Don't worry Rob, women have equally crappy shopping experiences. Sometimes I feel like I entered the 'world of dunces' when I am forced to speak with cashiers or shop girls/boys but then again (and this may sound really arrogant) there is a reason they work in a store and aren't rocket scientists. ROFL

AutoSysGene said...

Ack! First Walmart and then this? I'm pretty sure I would have lost my mind. Funny, I was pretty much thinking that when you got home the keys wouldn't work. I have so been there and done that....

kay said...

ugh!!! i hate incompetent employees!!! i just want to smack them. and that stinks about your car key. just the man trying to stick it to us anyway he can.

tammy said...

I'm thinking you shoulda just stayed in bed that day.

At least you can go tell Brittany-fish you found her long lost brother at the Ace Hardware store.

blog author said...

were the wal-mart and ACE hardware adjacent to each other? maybe some of the wal mart idiocy floated over and infected the Ace workers. what a pain. i'm always afraid my key wont work when i have it duplicated. how friggin hard is it? put one in, and the MACHINE does the work. all he had to do was push a button. which in my book, makes him dumber than Brittany fish.

Crazymamaof6 said...

my spare keys NEVER work either. NEVER! and yet when i worked at a hardware store they all worked when I made them. makes me want to make my own. people are stupid. or should i say stupid people suck? and not in the good way.

Andie said...

damn you almost got my hopes up because I need a spare key for my car (transponder) and the damn thing is $100 at the dealership. GAH!

and jules is on to something, ya know. you can't go wrong with shoes!

Jenifer said...

Okay, I literally just had three keys made at Ace and none of them worked. I guess we should stop getting keys there.

Dizzy Ms. Lizzy said...

You put the key in one side of the machine. You put the new key form in the other side. You turn the machine on. It does all the work for them.

*sheesh*

It's not rocket science! :-)

Crazy Charlene said...

~~~PLAWYK~~~~~enjoyed my time here and look forward to when i come back~~~~
~C~