Brick and Mortar Blues
09/04/19 07:06
Evan and I popped up to the mall yesterday on a rainy early afternoon to get him a takeout order from Buffalo Wild Wings. I wanted to stop into Best Buy while there to take a look at modems. I need an upgrade in order to take advantage of my upgraded service from Xfinity. I'm not a big comparison shopper but it makes sense to do just that when shopping for electronics that can also be found online and usually for less.
I compared prices by checking Amazon on my iPhone since they usually have the most competitive prices of any online retailer. It's as much about the reviews sometimes as it is about the price. And, if I can get a 20% discount by ordering the same item from Amazon then it makes sense to do just that. I wondered to myself as I whipped out my phone at Best Buy to see the prices and reviews as to whether or not an employee or two may have seen me looking at my phone and may have even thought to themselves that they were about to lose a sale.
They probably see that dozens of times a day and it has to be a little concerning when they see customer after customer turning around and walking out the door after going online with their phones but without making an in-store purchase. The last time I asked a retailer like Best Buy if they would be willing to match an online price they responded by giving me a somewhat confusing answer about not being able to compete with Amazon's Prime service. So, is it the Prime piece or, more generally, just Amazon?
It's not hard not to be loyal to these national big box stores although there is something to be said for being able to frequent a brick and mortar establishment. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I like to see, touch, and feel the merchandise I'm about to buy. Don't think for a moment that this is an aspect of the overall experience that is lost on retailers. It is not. And quite frankly, I would miss going to the stores were they all to disappear tomorrow. Whether or not malls themselves are destined for the dustbin of history is and should be up for debate.
So, now I wait. I can track my package but I know it's on the way and I trust Amazon to get it here as promised. I trust them because they've never let me down. They've never lost a package, they've always delivered on or before the promised due date, they make returning unwanted items easy peasy, and they are in a word, reliable.
Did I mention that they promised delivery in two days? It's no wonder, is it, that Jeff Bezos (Amazon) has become the richest man in the world. He built a better mousetrap and the world beat a path to his door. Who cares if he sends his girlfriend pictures of his Johnson? And what does that have to do with the price of rice in China? Not a fucking thing.
I'm glad that we had other business at the mall because had I only gone to Best Buy I would have had to factor in the cost of my time, gas, etc in making a buy-don't buy decision. I didn't say this to Evan but had I my druthers he wouldn't have ordered fried food for lunch. He eats far too much fried food and I cringe inside when I see him doing that. Why can't he make a sandwich for lunch like everyone else? If I thought he would eat it I would offer to make it for him.
I shouldn't say that. He has plenty of sandwiches although most are tuna and eating tuna all the time is not a good thing. Surely, you've heard all the stories about mercury in seafood. He does like an occasional caesar salad with chicken which is good. I could have picked up one of those up at Trader Joe's in the mall but I wasn't thinking. I was far too focused on something else and I lost sight of what might have worked better for him. I need to keep my head on straight when we're out and about.
I'm keeping after Evan, even now, as he plans to move into his own place this coming Thursday that he needs to make a list. If he's going to go food shopping then he should have a list. I just don't think he will do that and it will be to his detriment. I can stand there and talk to him about the things that I think he'll need until I'm blue in the face but he's going to do what he's going to do. And sometimes that is just nothing.
But here we are a day later and the sun is shining as I sit here at the computer at 8:53 am. The last two days have been miserably damp and cold for this time of the year. It's not going to be warm by any stretch but I promised myself to get on my bike and work off a bit of the rust I've been accumulating. Too many whoopee pies and not enough exercise. That is a recipe for disaster. We're heading over to the eagles nest later today to set up Evan's bed frame and he'll be heading out from there to do a little food shopping with Katie. She'll see to it that he gets what he needs.
We're of the mind that when Evan goes over to his new place that Nancy and I can get back on track with a lot of things we've maybe ignored or put off while concentrating on getting him squared away. That's a reasonable thought process and one I can see succeeding without too much effort.
It means eating better, getting more exercise, etc.. and not fretting or worrying as we always do whether or not what we're doing on any given day is inclusive or exclusive of our son's needs. I might even admit that it's liberating just thinking of the changes that are about to come our way. It isn't something I take particular pleasure in but as afterthoughts go it's entertaining at a minimum. That doesn't mean we'll stop worrying about him. We'll go to our graves doing that. Hopefully, later rather than sooner.
I compared prices by checking Amazon on my iPhone since they usually have the most competitive prices of any online retailer. It's as much about the reviews sometimes as it is about the price. And, if I can get a 20% discount by ordering the same item from Amazon then it makes sense to do just that. I wondered to myself as I whipped out my phone at Best Buy to see the prices and reviews as to whether or not an employee or two may have seen me looking at my phone and may have even thought to themselves that they were about to lose a sale.
They probably see that dozens of times a day and it has to be a little concerning when they see customer after customer turning around and walking out the door after going online with their phones but without making an in-store purchase. The last time I asked a retailer like Best Buy if they would be willing to match an online price they responded by giving me a somewhat confusing answer about not being able to compete with Amazon's Prime service. So, is it the Prime piece or, more generally, just Amazon?
It's not hard not to be loyal to these national big box stores although there is something to be said for being able to frequent a brick and mortar establishment. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I like to see, touch, and feel the merchandise I'm about to buy. Don't think for a moment that this is an aspect of the overall experience that is lost on retailers. It is not. And quite frankly, I would miss going to the stores were they all to disappear tomorrow. Whether or not malls themselves are destined for the dustbin of history is and should be up for debate.
So, now I wait. I can track my package but I know it's on the way and I trust Amazon to get it here as promised. I trust them because they've never let me down. They've never lost a package, they've always delivered on or before the promised due date, they make returning unwanted items easy peasy, and they are in a word, reliable.
Did I mention that they promised delivery in two days? It's no wonder, is it, that Jeff Bezos (Amazon) has become the richest man in the world. He built a better mousetrap and the world beat a path to his door. Who cares if he sends his girlfriend pictures of his Johnson? And what does that have to do with the price of rice in China? Not a fucking thing.
I'm glad that we had other business at the mall because had I only gone to Best Buy I would have had to factor in the cost of my time, gas, etc in making a buy-don't buy decision. I didn't say this to Evan but had I my druthers he wouldn't have ordered fried food for lunch. He eats far too much fried food and I cringe inside when I see him doing that. Why can't he make a sandwich for lunch like everyone else? If I thought he would eat it I would offer to make it for him.
I shouldn't say that. He has plenty of sandwiches although most are tuna and eating tuna all the time is not a good thing. Surely, you've heard all the stories about mercury in seafood. He does like an occasional caesar salad with chicken which is good. I could have picked up one of those up at Trader Joe's in the mall but I wasn't thinking. I was far too focused on something else and I lost sight of what might have worked better for him. I need to keep my head on straight when we're out and about.
I'm keeping after Evan, even now, as he plans to move into his own place this coming Thursday that he needs to make a list. If he's going to go food shopping then he should have a list. I just don't think he will do that and it will be to his detriment. I can stand there and talk to him about the things that I think he'll need until I'm blue in the face but he's going to do what he's going to do. And sometimes that is just nothing.
But here we are a day later and the sun is shining as I sit here at the computer at 8:53 am. The last two days have been miserably damp and cold for this time of the year. It's not going to be warm by any stretch but I promised myself to get on my bike and work off a bit of the rust I've been accumulating. Too many whoopee pies and not enough exercise. That is a recipe for disaster. We're heading over to the eagles nest later today to set up Evan's bed frame and he'll be heading out from there to do a little food shopping with Katie. She'll see to it that he gets what he needs.
We're of the mind that when Evan goes over to his new place that Nancy and I can get back on track with a lot of things we've maybe ignored or put off while concentrating on getting him squared away. That's a reasonable thought process and one I can see succeeding without too much effort.
It means eating better, getting more exercise, etc.. and not fretting or worrying as we always do whether or not what we're doing on any given day is inclusive or exclusive of our son's needs. I might even admit that it's liberating just thinking of the changes that are about to come our way. It isn't something I take particular pleasure in but as afterthoughts go it's entertaining at a minimum. That doesn't mean we'll stop worrying about him. We'll go to our graves doing that. Hopefully, later rather than sooner.