The highs and lows of impulse shopping

I'M SO not used to being on my feet all day. Having just put in a full shift at the shop, my feet were singing to me.

So after locking up and driving home, it came as a huge relief to sit down for half an hour before going out to meet friends for dinner at the local watering hole. I couldn't stand up long enough to wait in the queue at the bar so husband took my place and got the wine ordered - quick as.

Throughout the day, I met, served and chatted with a huge cross section of customers, all there with one thing in common. To find something new for their lower extremities. It never fails to amaze me how people do their shopping for shoes. Some take an age and a day walking up and down the shop umm-ing and arr-ing while stroking their chins and glancing down at their tootsies. Others just try one shoe on and there's the occasional few that don't even try them on at all.

But on Saturday, a customer bought a pair of trainer-type slip ons. She was more than happy with them after a few strolls up and down the shopfloor's polished board runway and off she went with her new 'must-have'. During the course of the afternoon, some two hours later, she was back.
"I'd like a refund on these shoes I've just bought please" she declared. There was nothing faulty about them and from my years of shopping experience on the other side of the till, traders are not necessarily obliged to give a refund on non-faulty goods. She wasn't happy with the offer of a credit note as she said she was from out of the area and wouldn't be round these parts again.

Hmmm. I could see this was turning into a right sticky wicket. So I put on my most tactful and concerned face and pointed out that as there was, in fact, nothing wrong with them, I wasn't in a position to be able to offer her what she wanted. And that was her coinage back in her purse where it had come from.

At this point, the hairs on the back of her neck started to stick up, her nostrils flared and her mouth went all tight-lipped-like. Not an attractive look but if it got her her cash back, I don't think she cared. She pointed out that there was no sign up displaying the shop's return and refund policy and felt it was her God-given right to be able to change her mind as often as she changed her underwear.

I thought it was pretty obvious really. Only last week, I bought a piece of beef from the butchers. When I'd got it home, I'd gone off the idea but not once did the thought of taking it back to the boucher de quartier and exchanging it for a lamb chop spring to my mind. You just don't do it. And more importantly, you shouldn't expect it.

As a goodwill measure, my boss took over the fast-becoming-stalemate-situation and offered a refund, while re-enforcing the message that she really didn't have to do it. And she didn't. At the end of the day, she's running a business and providing a service.

It's the rash decisions that some people make that get right under one's skin. Mine for one.

Baby bore emerges

OVER the past few days, I've become what I always said I wouldn't.... a baby bore.

Only this time, it's not over my two boys. I've gone ga-ga over a new addition to the family. Not one of my own I must add. And no, I haven't gone all Angelina Jolie-esqe... we've just taken the plunge and bought a 9 week old puppy. A furniture-chewing-ankle-biting-furry-bearlike puppy.

Getting a dog is not a decision we've taken lightly. Before we moved out here, this was one of the two things on the children's promise list. The other is a pool but seeing as though that's going to be a wee while off, a puppy seemed to be the obvious compromise. And over past weeks, I've sat on the laptop doing tentative research into what life would be like with a new addition to the family.

We all had criteria to comply with. I wanted one that didn't moult. The boys wanted one that'd be playful and loving and husband's only request was that it didn't poo all over the place. Although the former two were relatively easy to get under our belt, the latter, however, wasn't.

But with a majority vote, we decided to opt for a Labradoodle. Not wanting to state the obvious, he's a cross between a labrador and a poodle and his name is Matlan. He was always Matlan. Even before we had him, he was always going to be Matlan.
It's a combination of the names of the boys' best friends they left behind in UK back in February and they concocted the name between them months ago. I was thrilled when they came up with this name, it's testament to the friendships that we find ourselves enjoying throughout our lives.

Friends and family have asked for the odd photograph of pup but I'm finding that a challenge in itself as I clamber down to his level and get my zoom lens ready. Only for it to be pounced on, licked and then chewed in a grapple-like bear-hug. I finally managed to grab a shot of him just before he settled down for a nap and sent it to a few friends. Some replied asking if I'd knitted him myself and another said he was like an extra from Planet of the Apes!

As I tap this out, he's lying on my feet and as I log off and re-start my housework, he'll be there with me every step of the way. Sweeping the floor suddenly got harder and we can't wait until he's all jabbed up and out walking the streets with us.
His 'freedom' will co-incide with the return of warmer weather so we're looking forward to getting him on the beach and in the sea. Not looking forward to the sand he'll trap in his woolly coat that'll deposit itself all over the house but I have to take the rough with the smooth after all...

Shoes are a lifesaver...

I FIND myself the new girl at the 'office' again this week. Twice in as many months. Only my new employment isn't the usual one I go for. It's as diverse as it can get.

Unhappy in my former role as a graphic designer at a local publishing company for one reason or another, I was coming home each night after a long days' work and searching the job websites for alternative roles.
I really wanted part time and I really wanted a job that I didn't dread going into each day. I've never been a clock-watcher but in the office job, this is exactly what I found myself doing. Willing the hours away until morning break. Praying for the clock to speed up for lunch and then so much looking forward to the strike of 5.30pm when I was bolting out the door, into the car and on the freeway back to Mornington and the boys in my life.

No sooner had I got home and had some dinner with them and it was pretty much time for their spellings practice and then bed. I just wasn't seeing them and I wasn't happy. I was exhausting the websites for an alternative office job. One receptionist role required the candidate to be fluent in Mandarin and another had to hold a forklift driving licence. I'm no stranger to multi-tasking but forklift driving while answering the phone in a business suit? Please.

So, husband suggested I tap in 'retail' as part of the search. With nothing to lose, I followed his advice and stumbled across a job that had my name written all over it.

It was local. It was part time. It was a better hourly rate. It offered commission. And it was every woman's dream ... in a shoe shop. This is such a diverse change for me. I've always felt comfortable in the confines of an office but it was more than time for a change and this opportunity was irresistible.

On the Wednesday, I sent over my resume and crossed my fingers. On the Thursday, I took a phone call asking to meet with the boss. On the Friday, we met and on the Saturday the doorbell at home rang and standing there, clutching flowers and a card, was one of my new colleagues. Although I didn't know this until I opened the card which contained the job offer. I was overwhelmed, delighted, relieved, over the moon and flattered.

To be taken on in the world of retail with absolutely no experience is gratifying. I'm no stranger to shopping and have spent countless hours on the other side of the counter but I've always been the one putting in the PIN number. But now it's my turn to see it from the other side. Having a nice boss speaks volumes in my book and loyalty works both ways.

I have a good feeling about this...