Breaking all the rules

 
It probably seems like fun, going to a lot of estate sales and buying Christmas ornaments. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's more like it was on Friday, when the company running the estate sale seemed intent on breaking every rule in the book.

 
I spotted some ornaments right away. They had no price tags. (Rule #1: Put a price on the merchandise.) A man standing near the table seemed like he might be working there, since he was standing there doing nothing but stuffing Cheez-Its in his mouth.

Me: "Are you working here?"
Him: (munch, munch) "Yep."

(Rule #2: Show initiative. Rule #3: Don't talk with your mouth full.)

 
Also, just as a general life rule, it's best not to annoy people. You know what's really annoying? Other than people who talk with their mouth full? The sound of a hand scrabbling through a mostly empty box of Cheez-Its. And loud crunching. And the smell of Cheez-Its.

(As an aside: Cheez-Its only smell bad when you aren't the one eating them. If you're eating them, they smell absolutely delicious. The same is true of Doritos, which is why this phenomenon is sometimes called the Dorito Effect.)
 
I try once again to enlist the help of Mr. Cheez-Its.

Me: "Do you know how much these ornaments are?"
Him: (munch, munch) "Nope."

(Again, refer to Rule #2: Show initiative.)

Me: "Is that something you could find out?"
Him: (munch, munch) "Okay."

One of his coworkers appeared and quoted a price - it was an OK price for a decent box of ornaments, but not a good price for most of the boxes, which consisted of one desirable ornament and 11 really bad ones.

Me: "Can I make up my own box?"
Other guy, clearly offended: "No."

Which was fine by me. There weren't any ornaments I couldn't live without, and I'm betting most of those boxes are going to be sitting there unsold at the end of the sale. But it just seems to me that if you're a good few hours into a sale, and you've only got one customer, and they're interested in buying something, it's in your best interests to at least try to work out a deal. But the whole sale was like that. There was an entire room of stuff - for the sake of discussion, let's say it was model train stuff - and the sales team would only sell it as one big lot, not by the individual piece. You couldn't buy one book for a dollar. You had to buy a set of books for $10. So I was more than happy to be leaving with my five little boxes of ornaments, but my progress was thwarted. At the very moment I am about to reach for my wallet, the staff takes up a discussion of lunch. The cashier looks at me and says, "We're going to order pizza." And rather than wait on me, the one and only person in line, she throws herself into the midst of the rather lengthy pizza negotiations. While I stand there.

(Rule #4: Wait on customers. Then order lunch.)

Mr. Cheez-Its has arrived on the scene to weigh in on the pizza discussion. Meanwhile, I've put aside a little manger scene I was going to buy but decide not to in a passive-aggressive show of my displeasure. The pizza issue settled (one plain, one pepperoni), I finally pay for the ornaments. And just as the cashier hands me the receipt, Mr. Cheez-Its points at me (Rule #5: It is so rude to point!) and chortles. "See!" he yells. "I told you somebody would buy those ornaments!"

(Rule #6: Wait until the customer leaves the premises before insulting them.)

 
At least the ornaments are pretty.

But it's going to be a long time before I can look at a box of Cheez-Its.

Comments

[Ruthann]

Oh my goodness! If the ornaments weren't so beautiful I might have left - but then, maybe not. I went to a couple of shops today and found not one thing. And Christmas stuff was 25% off. One plastic bag looked like it might have one or two items in it, but there were so many broken ornaments clinking around that I put it back. Who puts glass ornaments in a plastic bag with other stuff, anyway?

[Shara @ monkeybox]

Every time my son eats Doritoes/FunYuns/Fritoes, I say, "My GAWD those things STINK. Give me one." Then, once I've eaten one, they don't stink at all.

The ornies are lovely. Mr. Cheez-it sounds not so lovely.

[Into Vintage]

Sounds like Mr Cheeze-Its doesn't work for a commission. If at all. I think those ornaments must be extremely relieved to have been rescued by you.

[Kathy Uhrig]

I think your ornament score was worth the aggravation but, good grief, you have to wonder how some folks stay in business. When the prices are really high or lot priced I always wonder if they made some deal where they "bid" on what's left and figure the owner will take anything at that point. Gotta wonder.

[Lisa W.]

I especially love it when a "Mr. Cheez-Its" grabs the item to decide how much to charge you for it.... Yuk ! Thanks for sharing your adventure . And what great ornaments !

[Martha]

I do appreciate all you have to put up with to bring us these treasures, although from my point of view, it's always a win-win situation -- fabulous vintage items to drool over, and a great story as well.

[Retromamaramblings.blogspot.com]

I love your stories! And the decorations seem worth it!

[Carol @ Old Glory Cottage]

Just be glad you didn't get there after they had their pizza, because then Mr. Cheez-It would have had pepperoni breath on top of the Cheez-It breath!

[acorn hollow]

thanks for the visit i in no way keep up with you on the ornaments but I did score pretty good.
cathy
p.s. I hate cheese-its they even taste bad.

[Hope G]

There is no way in heck I would have bought one bloody thing from that sale. Customer service is #1 in my book and what you got there was rock-bottom.

i was in a charity shop last week and there was lady trying to ask the clerk about a coat in the front window. The clerk was unable to tell the lady the size and rather than offer to find out, just turned her back on the customer. The customer then asked if she could find out the size and the manager then informed her that she didn't know the size and didn't have time to look. I put down what I had in my hand, gave the workers a rather nasty look, and walked out. I will never go back.

Kindness is easy and if you don't like people and aren't prepared to answer a few questions, then you need to rethink your career...lol.

[Amy]

This post had me laughing (sorry). Why are some people so clueless?

[Kate]

Wow you have posted a lot since my last visit. How do you do it? Each and every post is so engaging and creative. What I'm trying to say is I admire you. You're funny and take really great pictures.
The cheez-it guy sounds really gross. The ornaments deserve a good home, and I think yours must be the most splendid Christmas house for them.

[Lena]

Oh goodness, I would have left. I can't stand rude people, and these people were extremely so. Just recently, my father-in-law and I were discussing the lack of manners in today's society, and the lack of service. I insist on it. I've actually been known to just walk away from a full cart of groceries, or leave something on the counter, if I encounter rude people. Then, I ask to speak with the manager. I worked in service industries for years, so maybe that is partly why I'm particular, but I would much rather give my money to someone who deserves it.

[Gina]

OMG, that cracked me up! The Cheez-it paragraph was especially funny. At least you got the last laugh with those pretty ornaments!
PS. I'm a Dorito gal myself, but the Cheddar Jack Cheez-its are pretty addictive.

[Brenda Kula]

You should write a book about your estate sale ventures. And the annoyances of silly individuals put forth as marketing their wares. Hilarious story! And I don't think I'll want to look at any for awhile myself.
Brenda

[black eyed susans kitchen]

You know, I was in the worst mood, and yet you made me laugh...really laugh...and now I am smiling! Seriously, you should have given them a ticket or something...they needed to go to yard sale school! Good finds though.
♥, Susan

[Shelley Germann]

I've been anxiously waiting for this post since you gave us the teaser. It did not disappoint. What are people thinking? Oh yeah, they aren't! Sounds like you took it better than I would. Those kind of people make me cranky!