Why I hate Black Friday

[Kanalah]

Backstory: I owned (as in used to) a small mom-and-pop style toy store. It was awesome and I loved it, but my landlord was a jerk. He basically doubled my rent every 6 months until I was forced to go under. Blah. Anyways, now I mainly travel around various craft shows in my state selling my handmade quilts.

So lady, (and I use the term loosely)

I appreciate that you just looooove my quilts, and that you're such a huuuuge fan of mine. But for the love of all that is holy, why did you call me at 5:30 in the farking morning on Black Friday?! You were at my last show. I told you I work out of my house, you understood this - at least I thought. And then while I was still in a hibernating stuper you asked if any of my quilts are half off today. O_o Uhm, no. Hell no.

Dear sir,

No I do not sell model trains anymore. Yes I used to...seven years ago. And again thank you for calling at 6am and asking for a discount.

Dear sir again,

No I also don't sell slot cars anymore. No I do not have any "laying around my house" which I will sell to you.

Dear slightly nicer lady,

Yes I absolutely love the line of wooden toys I used to sell. I buy them for my children - from the nice little mom-and-pop store in town. Yes tell them I say hello.

*sigh*

[Shalom]

No I do not sell model trains anymore. Yes I used to...seven years ago.

I only did this to somebody once, and it wasn't at o-dark-thirty in the morning.

Got a camera (Kowa/Graflex Century 35 rangefinder) from fleaBay that needed some work done on the shutter. There was a sticker inside the film compartment saying that the camera had been serviced by Photo Equipment Service Co., West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 1976.

Just for the hell of it, I called them, figuring that if they were still in business I should give them first crack at servicing the camera. (Took some research to find out the current name of the company, and to verify that it was still run by the same guy.) Their response was basically that they were now a video editing service exclusively, they haven't repaired cameras since before that receptionist was born, and that they were flabbergasted that someone remembered that they used to be a camera repair shop...

(I wound up having the camera serviced by Mrs Miller at Flutot's instead. She's highly recommended if you have shutters or non-digital cameras that need fixing, although not if you're in a hurry, as she's got a few months long waiting list. Also she doesn't do Nikons or Hasselblads, but I've never owned (nor been able to afford) either of those.)

[depechemodefan]

But for the love of all that is holy, why did you call me at 5:30 in the farking morning on Black Friday?!

really. Wouldn't a sane person think you were either asleep, on the way to work or on the way to the mall? eh, guess I answered my own question.

And then while I was still in a hibernating stuper you asked if any of my quilts are half off today. O_o Uhm, no. Hell no.

oh, she confused you with Wal-mart. Maybe she should get her ass to Wal-mart.

[Kanalah]

Apparently a lot of people confuse me with Wal-Mart for some reason. I keep hearing "Oh but Wal-mart has this exact quilt for $20!"

Or the hagglers.

But to be woken up like that (And I am not a morning person, not in the slightest!) It's never happened before. I pray it never happens again.

[infinitemonkies]

Yes I absolutely love the line of wooden toys I used to sell. I buy them for my children - from the nice little mom-and-pop store in town. Yes tell them I say hello.

Was it Brio? My grandfather was Swedish and got me a set back when the company started up. I loved those.

[EricKei]

Apparently a lot of people confuse me with Wal-Mart for some reason. I keep hearing "Oh but Wal-mart has this exact quilt for $20!"

I can pretty much guarantee you, in this case, that their definition of "exact [same] quilt" means "Kanalah's hand-made item with the cool pattern that includes a lot of blue and the cheap blue print from WM both contain blue, therefore they must be the SAME THING" >_<

As for the absurd hours on the calls....Maybe just don't pick up if you can help it...Doesn't change the fact that you're still being woken up at a bad hour, unfortunately.

PS, welcome to CS!

[corporate_food_slave]

So are you going to turn the phone's ringer off next 'black thursday' (thanksgiving) night, so you don't get woken up on black friday morning again?

[Magpie]

I did the "wake the small businessperson up at 5:30 am" once because I didn't know it was a cellphone. However, I was hoping to NOT get an answer, because when you call contractors to tell them that you won't give them the info they want, they get upset. I figured that calling three time zones west as soon as I got in was a safe call to make.

However, he woke up enough to start haggling with me very quickly, so I feel much less sorry for him than for you.

[Kanalah]

infinatemonkies it was a company called "Melissa and Doug". I did sell Brio though too.

Actually for the past 2 years my business card only has my email on it. So this lady managed to get a hold of one of my business cards from 3 or more years ago. Odds are that the quilt she loved so much was sold 3 or more years ago.

I actually have my last 2 shows this week and then I'm done and I get to hide in my house making quilts again. I'm eyeballing some awesome purple and cream fabric atm.

[Ironclad Alibi]

And then while I was still in a hibernating stuper you asked if any of my quilts are half off today.

Response: Why would you want half a quilt?

[PhotoChick]

Response: Why would you want half a quilt?

Cause I only like the quilt covering my middles? (Otherwise I get way hot. New BF is a battery)