Baby's ok (0 comments)
"Baby" is the name of Mel's car. It broke down on Monday when she was on her way to help a friend choose a wedding dress, so I got to wait with her for a tow and took her to the bridal store in town.
I'd forgotten quite how aggravating I found the bridal industry. While I waited for Tim to rescue me, I overheard more of the same bilking tactics.
Salesgirl: Do you have all your bridesmaids' shoe sizes?
Bride-to-Be: No, just the sizes from their dress fittings.
Salesgirl: Well you can't order the dresses before the shoes. If you wait on the shoes, They'll use a different dye lot.
Bride-to-be:: Ok, I'll get that. It shouldn't take more than a week.
Salesgirl: When's your wedding?
Bride-to-Be: [some day in September]
Salesgirl: That's coming up fast. If you wait until next week, we'll have to rush the dresses, and that'll cost $30 each.
Bride-to-Be: Ok... can I pay the rush fee for my girls so they aren't surprised by this?
Salesgirl: Sure, would you like to take care of that now?
The bride-to-be was being really nice to her friends, but I still hate that she got suckered. Given modern manufacturing techniques and the scale at which all of this stuff is produced, I have to think it's probably intentional that they cycle through slightly different dye colors just so they can get more money out of these girls. The sad part is that I can't imagine the girls involved ever saying "That's bullshit. If you can't get consistent dyes, you're using the wrong suppliers," so the cycle will continue.
But I got to play some good tennis and eventually (yesterday), Mel's car got a new fuel pump and is running much better.
In a stunning blow to my productivity, Jorie sent me links to some service job blogs. I particularly like the bouncer and the waiter.