![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Door Busta!
So, as promised, I did some retail doorbusting today, doing quite a lot of shopping between 5 and 9 a.m. I can't release all of the details, because gift-getters may be reading this, but I'll try to give you a good idea of what happened.
I started things off at KB Toys by my house, since they had the earliest advertised opening time: 5:00 a.m. I got there about five minutes before opening, and there was a line. A sizable line. I hadn't been expecting this. Last year and the year before, early-morning shopping was usually pretty sedate until about 8 a.m. But, then again, there was a lot more advertising for early morning shopping. Most of the chains around here opened their doors at 6 a.m., and most of those had extreme markdowns on limited supplies until noon. So, I got into the end of the line and waited. Shortly, though a little bit late, the doors were open.
Now, I'd been planning my attack for a while, so I was hoping to get the items I wanted, get to the cashier line, and get out. That wasn't in the cards, however, because the KB employees had turned the store into a maze. Well, not really a maze, since there was really just one path, but the point wa, it was very difficult to move quickly through the store. I suppose this was designed for the many parents who wanted and needed a fair shot at getting some of the toys. It certainly appeared that some families were getting all of their toy shopping done in one swoop. But for someone who wanted to pick up a few deals and get out, it was a bit more annoying. I managed to work my way around many slower shoppers and get to the cashier line in about fifteen minutes. Unfortunately the line was very slow. This was not the fault of the staff, who seemed pretty chirpy; the blame lies on the aforementioned parents who just had huge orders. They weren't even complicated ones, really, just big. After a while, though, the big orders got through, and a wave of smaller purchases (including me) began to whiz through. I got out of there a little after 5:30. Slower than I'd hoped, but still pretty good.
I had hoped to Kohls' opening at 5:30, but the maze had put me behind schedule. I decided to change my plan and hit a different store at 6:00 a.m. (name withheld to increase mysteriousness). Again, there was a line. However, this store had no maze, and I was out of there at 6:15. That felt good.
So, I went to Kohls, getting slightly lost in the mall parking lot. It's been redone since I was there last, and frankly, I didn't know where they'd putt the Kohls. But I did find it. I got the items I needed, but it took a while, since the store was spread out and I wasn't used to it. Then, when I headed out, I got caught in an inevitably painful check-out line. There were just too many people ahead of me with too many things. Again, the clerks seemed awake and competent, but things just moved slowly. When I left there, it was about 7:15.
By now, I had most of my gift purchases done, so I went to Big 5 for some personal purchases. See, Big 5 was having a shoe sale, and I needed shoes. Specifically, I needed a nice pair of new, waterproof hiking boots. And Big 5 had some. I was worried when they weren't on display, but a helpful person looked at the newspaper ad, ran into the back, and found a pair for me. They're nice. And, as a bonus, I also found a nice pair of black casual sneakers. Moreover, I got a new pair of training sweat pants I can wear when running in the mornings. And the store didn't seem that much more busy than usual. A wonderful experience. I left at about 7:50.
Next, I felt embarrassed, because I'd forgotten to swing by Target to pick up some items. Why embarrassed? Because it's next door to Kohls. But I drive back, and breeze through Target easily. It was busy but not overly crowded, so I took my time checking to see if there was anything else I wanted. There were a few things that might be good gifts, but they weren't on sale. I figure I can buy things not on sale any time, so I skipped them for now. There was no line for checkout, and I was out of there at 8:10.
So now, pretty much everything was done except one thing: pants. I needed some pants, and I didn't think I could quite last till Christmas without new ones. So I went into Robinsons-May. They had pants, and the pants were on sale. I picked up two pair, tried them on, and they fit. Hooray! However, my luck with check-out clerks failed when the one I got in line for turned out to be completely incapable of doing anything, including scanning bar codes. So I got to stare at mostly boring ties until 8:50.
Before heading home, I took a quick walk around the mall looking for sales. I didn't find many, but I did find Gamestop's "Buy Two Used Games, Get One Free" offer, so I took them up on it. The games I purchased, and the percentage of them that will remain with me will not be mentioned. In fact, I wouldn't have mentioned this stop at all except that it can be a nice deal if the Gamestop has a good stock, and the offer continues through Sunday. The time on the receipt reads 9:07.
Wait a minute, it's after nine? And I'm in the West Valley? Well, then I am compelled to go to Cavaretta's and purchase a luscious six-inch sub and some fresh bread. This will go great with the massive tub of hummus my parents foisted on me after Thanksgiving. (I didn't object much; it's yummy hummus.)
One last stop, while I'm in the area, a hobby shop. I haven't gone serious game shopping since The Game Keeper closed, and I needed to check in on places to buy non-Milton Bradley games. Sadly, All Ways Gaming doesn't open until noon, so I was unable to shop there today, and I probably won't be shopping there any time soon.
And then, I came home. Woo!
I was very cheerful today. I enjoy driving before dawn. Being on the road early in the morning is somehow different from being on the road late at night. It feels cleaner, clearer. It feels like I'm behind the scenes of life. And it's even better when I'm actually doing something useful.
No work tonight. No official work, that is. There's plenty I have to do. Not the least of which is wrapping.
FriNYTX: 19. 1 error.
I started things off at KB Toys by my house, since they had the earliest advertised opening time: 5:00 a.m. I got there about five minutes before opening, and there was a line. A sizable line. I hadn't been expecting this. Last year and the year before, early-morning shopping was usually pretty sedate until about 8 a.m. But, then again, there was a lot more advertising for early morning shopping. Most of the chains around here opened their doors at 6 a.m., and most of those had extreme markdowns on limited supplies until noon. So, I got into the end of the line and waited. Shortly, though a little bit late, the doors were open.
Now, I'd been planning my attack for a while, so I was hoping to get the items I wanted, get to the cashier line, and get out. That wasn't in the cards, however, because the KB employees had turned the store into a maze. Well, not really a maze, since there was really just one path, but the point wa, it was very difficult to move quickly through the store. I suppose this was designed for the many parents who wanted and needed a fair shot at getting some of the toys. It certainly appeared that some families were getting all of their toy shopping done in one swoop. But for someone who wanted to pick up a few deals and get out, it was a bit more annoying. I managed to work my way around many slower shoppers and get to the cashier line in about fifteen minutes. Unfortunately the line was very slow. This was not the fault of the staff, who seemed pretty chirpy; the blame lies on the aforementioned parents who just had huge orders. They weren't even complicated ones, really, just big. After a while, though, the big orders got through, and a wave of smaller purchases (including me) began to whiz through. I got out of there a little after 5:30. Slower than I'd hoped, but still pretty good.
I had hoped to Kohls' opening at 5:30, but the maze had put me behind schedule. I decided to change my plan and hit a different store at 6:00 a.m. (name withheld to increase mysteriousness). Again, there was a line. However, this store had no maze, and I was out of there at 6:15. That felt good.
So, I went to Kohls, getting slightly lost in the mall parking lot. It's been redone since I was there last, and frankly, I didn't know where they'd putt the Kohls. But I did find it. I got the items I needed, but it took a while, since the store was spread out and I wasn't used to it. Then, when I headed out, I got caught in an inevitably painful check-out line. There were just too many people ahead of me with too many things. Again, the clerks seemed awake and competent, but things just moved slowly. When I left there, it was about 7:15.
By now, I had most of my gift purchases done, so I went to Big 5 for some personal purchases. See, Big 5 was having a shoe sale, and I needed shoes. Specifically, I needed a nice pair of new, waterproof hiking boots. And Big 5 had some. I was worried when they weren't on display, but a helpful person looked at the newspaper ad, ran into the back, and found a pair for me. They're nice. And, as a bonus, I also found a nice pair of black casual sneakers. Moreover, I got a new pair of training sweat pants I can wear when running in the mornings. And the store didn't seem that much more busy than usual. A wonderful experience. I left at about 7:50.
Next, I felt embarrassed, because I'd forgotten to swing by Target to pick up some items. Why embarrassed? Because it's next door to Kohls. But I drive back, and breeze through Target easily. It was busy but not overly crowded, so I took my time checking to see if there was anything else I wanted. There were a few things that might be good gifts, but they weren't on sale. I figure I can buy things not on sale any time, so I skipped them for now. There was no line for checkout, and I was out of there at 8:10.
So now, pretty much everything was done except one thing: pants. I needed some pants, and I didn't think I could quite last till Christmas without new ones. So I went into Robinsons-May. They had pants, and the pants were on sale. I picked up two pair, tried them on, and they fit. Hooray! However, my luck with check-out clerks failed when the one I got in line for turned out to be completely incapable of doing anything, including scanning bar codes. So I got to stare at mostly boring ties until 8:50.
Before heading home, I took a quick walk around the mall looking for sales. I didn't find many, but I did find Gamestop's "Buy Two Used Games, Get One Free" offer, so I took them up on it. The games I purchased, and the percentage of them that will remain with me will not be mentioned. In fact, I wouldn't have mentioned this stop at all except that it can be a nice deal if the Gamestop has a good stock, and the offer continues through Sunday. The time on the receipt reads 9:07.
Wait a minute, it's after nine? And I'm in the West Valley? Well, then I am compelled to go to Cavaretta's and purchase a luscious six-inch sub and some fresh bread. This will go great with the massive tub of hummus my parents foisted on me after Thanksgiving. (I didn't object much; it's yummy hummus.)
One last stop, while I'm in the area, a hobby shop. I haven't gone serious game shopping since The Game Keeper closed, and I needed to check in on places to buy non-Milton Bradley games. Sadly, All Ways Gaming doesn't open until noon, so I was unable to shop there today, and I probably won't be shopping there any time soon.
And then, I came home. Woo!
I was very cheerful today. I enjoy driving before dawn. Being on the road early in the morning is somehow different from being on the road late at night. It feels cleaner, clearer. It feels like I'm behind the scenes of life. And it's even better when I'm actually doing something useful.
No work tonight. No official work, that is. There's plenty I have to do. Not the least of which is wrapping.
FriNYTX: 19. 1 error.
no subject