Sale Tale

Okay, I'll be honest about this. What started as an FB status update stretched into a full-fledged rant, warranting it to be compiled as a post. That too the first post of the year.
So what are we raving about today?
The over-the-top sale season that has the whole country in its mob-frenzy sway! And who better than a citizen reporter who's been there, done that, to report the very interesting goings-on of all this frenetic retail activity! Yes, yours truly admits being a part of the retinue of shopaholics in this grand melee and shall spare no detail of this grand adventure.

 Image source: Pixabay

The past week has seen some heavy advertising, announcing the beginning of the magnum opus sale in practically all dimensions - physical and virtual, whetting the appetites of everyone, working or not. Tantalizing snippets of sale products and magical words like FLAT 50% flashing in every newspaper, television ads, billboards, email newsletters and what-nots. There was simply no escaping this! 

I realized the eventuality of this. Past experiences of missing out on the mother-of-all sales and having to hear about it from all and sundry made me chart out a plan-of-action for THAT DAY!
Credit/Debit card, mobile wallet, checked and double-checked, fuel the engine...err...sufficiently well-feed self for the onslaught ahead, mobile fully charged, strategically instruct kid to fend for himself post school, wear comfortable footwear and voila there I was - The energetic, super-pepped shopper, accompanied by my faithful sidekick in training, Junior.

The ads informed us that the sale began at 9.00 a.m. Well, obviously we weren't that desperate! What with all the preps we had to do, we landed at our destination around 11.00 a.m. And would you believe it? It was jam-packed on a Friday! Haven't people better things to do? Obviously not! And before you start dismissing this as just another outing for the deemed jobless, mind your words! A considerable percentage of the crowd comprised of office-goers! The excitement in the air was palpable and infectious!

Junior: I told you we should have reached here earlier. All the good stuff's been taken :(
Me: (Knowledgeably) No, no...the sale is on for three days, they'll be constantly upgrading the inventory.

Anyway we bustled along, consciously loading our shopping bags with the best deals we could scout for across all sections. Once done, we reassessed the purchase and decided to dump the whole trash we'd picked up when we saw better stuff...yeah it was an enormously time-consuming, test of patience and endurance kind of experience.

Did I mention the store we checked into had a unique offer on? Buy products totalling a magical Rs X and pay only Rs X/2, plus get free merchandise worth Rs Y from the special promotional merchandise counter/bin and, and, and, free shopping vouchers on future purchases worth a minimum Rs X. And the piece-de-resistance in this sales coup? No trial, no alterations, no exchange - Take it or leave it, simple and potent!

Platoons of women with determination, grit and glee written all over were working tirelessly to fill their shopping bags with the best they could lay their hands on, simultaneously tallying the expenses on their mobile calculators to check whether they had reached Rs X. Some of these well-informed consumers sorted out issues about the offer intricacies to lesser mortals like moi while the staff watched on dazedly. Sheer bonhomie, I tell you!

Meanwhile lost-looking husbands straddled with cranky kids riddled odd corners of the store. Youngsters in droves livened the atmosphere by trying out the clothes over their existing ones, remember the no trial room clause? Notable to observe was the feverish hustle and pace in the free promotional merchandise area which had multiple bins containing clothes that were to be given free of cost if you made your overall purchases to the magical Rs X figure! I ventured into the jamboree and came away with scraps for which I should be paid for taking them off the store perimeter.

So, junior and I managed to sufficiently fill our bags with stuff that we could use for the next few years. We did feel discouraged when we still hadn't reached our target to qualify for the magical sum, but took heart when we saw others around us so involved and single-minded in their approach to the task at hand. Mentally chanting, 'Baar baar haan, bolo yaar haan, apni jeet ho...' we charged on.

Well, eventually we fulfilled that target; a tad doubtfully wondering whether we would fit into the clothes we had picked up without trials but all the same relieved that we'd be qualifying for the super discounts!

The store had foreseen the rampage it would be witnessing and thus planned for it. 
They had created serpentine zig-zag waiting queues vis-a-vis an airport terminal or more relatable, the recent bank queues. People standing in the queues exhausted after hours scouring the various aisles for the best loot were offered bottled water. Store managers, GM's and more were around to settle issues if any arose. Yes, very admirable processes in place to allow people to splurge in peace.

To cut a long queue short, we came away triumphant, loaded with the battle spoils, aching feet and dazzle-weary eyes. Some purchases were perfect fits, some nearly there while others fell pretty loose, but hey, better loose than tight, right? We firmly believe in scope for expansion!

Aww, anti-climax was it? But what did you expect would happen? A scuffle, a tumble or a shop-lift at least? Well, none of that happened, just a regular kinda day you know where a lady has a good time and wants to brag about it!
I am content to snobbishly gloat to those of you who haven't put in an oar yet, put my feet up clad in my brand new polka-PJ's and regale you with my successful exploit! Go green :)
Yes, this would definitely not qualify for an FB status update! 




Linking this post to @Blogchatter's Wednesday Prompt 'That Day'

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