Price gouging
I payed $4.55 for a towel. Like, the kind that you use to wipe up water. Most often, water on your body after you take a shower. This is coming from the guy who is reluctant to spend the extra forty cents to "Biggie Size it!!!11!" (Wudju-liketo Biggisize dat? Canada, many years ago).
So I decided to do some "preventative maintenance" on Saturday, and clean up one of the vehicles at the limo place. They are required to be done every time they go out on a job. Since it had rained the few days prior when it had been out, it was necessary. Though it was not slated to leave, I thought it best to finish it before it was obligated to to go out. This was, indeed, the same Saturday that we went to Purgatory and back. As you might be able to imagine, going to purgatory was a taxing experience, and I was rather wiped out energy wise for the day.
Rolling up to the office to get the keys for the (not in the same area) garage, I got distracted by my boss who had just flown down to Florida in order to pick up his new toy, which he had won the auction for just recently. The Oldsmobile 442 was the exact make, model, and color that he had wanted since he was a kid. He's got the dollars for it alright. He lowered the roof, popped the hood, and began showing me the 455cc V8 and the all leather interior. The car was a light blue color with only a few minor dings in the body that could probably be tapped out. It had brand new tires on it, and the floor looked like it was very very soft.
After he finished showing off his new toy, I went inside to get the keys. There I found out that there was a new employee. So I had to meet the new weekend dispatcher.
All of this conspired against me to slyly slip my mind into forgetting to pick up a stack of towels to bring to the other garage for hand drying the cars. Thus, when I got there and after I washed the whole vehicle down, I realized that I only had one rather small towel that I left there from the last time for just such an occasion.
It was an early closing night due to there not being much business that day. I ran back to the office hoping that it would still be open. It was closed and locked up. I headed back towards the garage where there is a Sears Essentials nearby. I dread going in there. It reminds me of a ghetto Walmart. I was lost and disoriented for a minute, trying to find the towel section. I've never had occasion to locate and browse the towel section before. Who does? Who shops for towels? For all I knew, they just "existed" in houses. Never the less, I ran into the store, found the towel section and looked for a plain simple towel.
Who would have thought that there are so many choices? There were huge towels, medium towels, super fuzzy shaggy towels, colory towels. When I think of towel, I don't think of variety. I think of, just, a "towel". Even worse, the cheapest was $4.55. I ran around looking for a cheaper towel. There was none. Trying to hurry up, I grabbed the closest one.
I always feel like an idiot going through the checkout at Walmart or Sears, because all I ever buy is a single item and a bag of Doritos. This time was no different, except that I saw that I was wearing filthy stained clothes and was holding a lime green towel. And I didn't even have the Doritos.
How on earth can a towel cost that much? The material costs absolutely cannot be that high, and they are undoubtedly hand sewn in India, so that isn't a factor. They weigh next to nothing - cheap transport. Someone is making a bundle, here. Price gouging in the towel market. I would like to know where my money is headed.
*EDIT* - I forgot to mention that the towel didn't even work. What? A towel can't work? What the heck? Yeah, it doesn't work. The stupid thing is made up of some synthetic plastic-feeling stuff, so it doesn't even really pick up water. It just pushes it around and makes it look different. Absolutely ridiculous.
*Disclaimer: I do indeed believe that Purgatory exists, but I only believe in the terrestrial version :-)
So I decided to do some "preventative maintenance" on Saturday, and clean up one of the vehicles at the limo place. They are required to be done every time they go out on a job. Since it had rained the few days prior when it had been out, it was necessary. Though it was not slated to leave, I thought it best to finish it before it was obligated to to go out. This was, indeed, the same Saturday that we went to Purgatory and back. As you might be able to imagine, going to purgatory was a taxing experience, and I was rather wiped out energy wise for the day.
Rolling up to the office to get the keys for the (not in the same area) garage, I got distracted by my boss who had just flown down to Florida in order to pick up his new toy, which he had won the auction for just recently. The Oldsmobile 442 was the exact make, model, and color that he had wanted since he was a kid. He's got the dollars for it alright. He lowered the roof, popped the hood, and began showing me the 455cc V8 and the all leather interior. The car was a light blue color with only a few minor dings in the body that could probably be tapped out. It had brand new tires on it, and the floor looked like it was very very soft.
After he finished showing off his new toy, I went inside to get the keys. There I found out that there was a new employee. So I had to meet the new weekend dispatcher.
All of this conspired against me to slyly slip my mind into forgetting to pick up a stack of towels to bring to the other garage for hand drying the cars. Thus, when I got there and after I washed the whole vehicle down, I realized that I only had one rather small towel that I left there from the last time for just such an occasion.
It was an early closing night due to there not being much business that day. I ran back to the office hoping that it would still be open. It was closed and locked up. I headed back towards the garage where there is a Sears Essentials nearby. I dread going in there. It reminds me of a ghetto Walmart. I was lost and disoriented for a minute, trying to find the towel section. I've never had occasion to locate and browse the towel section before. Who does? Who shops for towels? For all I knew, they just "existed" in houses. Never the less, I ran into the store, found the towel section and looked for a plain simple towel.
Who would have thought that there are so many choices? There were huge towels, medium towels, super fuzzy shaggy towels, colory towels. When I think of towel, I don't think of variety. I think of, just, a "towel". Even worse, the cheapest was $4.55. I ran around looking for a cheaper towel. There was none. Trying to hurry up, I grabbed the closest one.
I always feel like an idiot going through the checkout at Walmart or Sears, because all I ever buy is a single item and a bag of Doritos. This time was no different, except that I saw that I was wearing filthy stained clothes and was holding a lime green towel. And I didn't even have the Doritos.
How on earth can a towel cost that much? The material costs absolutely cannot be that high, and they are undoubtedly hand sewn in India, so that isn't a factor. They weigh next to nothing - cheap transport. Someone is making a bundle, here. Price gouging in the towel market. I would like to know where my money is headed.
*EDIT* - I forgot to mention that the towel didn't even work. What? A towel can't work? What the heck? Yeah, it doesn't work. The stupid thing is made up of some synthetic plastic-feeling stuff, so it doesn't even really pick up water. It just pushes it around and makes it look different. Absolutely ridiculous.
*Disclaimer: I do indeed believe that Purgatory exists, but I only believe in the terrestrial version :-)
posted by Cyphoid at 8:51 PM
5 Comments:
I'm glad to see that your boss has good taste in cars. Who cares if it only gets 8-miles-to-the-gallon, that thing is sweet. (I actually stopped and looked at a '73 Buick Skylark the other day. A small car, but looked like a lot of fun.)
Ohhhhhh this made me laugh. :)
I think you should get josh and me towels for a wedding present.
har har.
my secret verification word is etmwbe, which sounds exotic... like... african maybe?
Your looking at this backwards, drew'. You are not to be needing to have a towel, but rather producing the overpriced towels. Or better yet, just harvest them from where they grow in house bathrooms and laundry rooms.
"uiijurix"
lhzcdstj
"lkvqfcz"
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