the thing about working at a thrift store is i love it. my manager told me that they will always have a place for me there. nothing like feeling you belong and are needed. and nothing like getting a discount on already cheap treasures.
there are so many regulars, and i'm talking about every single day regulars. it surprised me at first, but now i understand that the more you go, the better your chances are of hitting the jackpot. so what i really don't understand is how so many people have so much free time?
oh but i get so happy for people when they do hit the jackpot. a woman paying for a beautiful formal gown told me it was for her daughter, who is getting married and had ordered that EXACT gown for her bridesmaids! one of the girl's dresses was too tight, but this size was perfect - especially with a $7.50 pricetag. plus since her daughter is marrying a military man and moving to alaska, she can wear the dress for one of many future military balls too.
another mom found a cuuute j.crew cardigan and it was funny listening to her trying to explain to her young daughter what a steal it was. she looked to be a size zero, so it was easy to be happy for her because i knew it wouldn't fit me. a few times today i wanted to "accidentally" drop a few articles of clothing on the floor as i was ringing the people out because i reallly wanted what they were buying, tehe - but don't worry, i am a squeaky clean honest employee.
one "regular" in particular has my full attention. i know her by name not because we chat at the register, but because she has to use multiple credit cards to pay for her purchases. when one is declined she'll go for another. and she recently began using a credit card under a different name - what could this be about??
she - let's call her penelope calhoun, which is not her real name, for privacy sake - comes in almost every day and buys a TON of stuff. penelope calhoun gets awesome stuff, which is probably why i first noticed her.
i generally gush when i ring penelope calhoun up, because she manages to find everything free people, anthropologie, etc etc in our little shop. it's one thing to find ann taylor and gap, but the brands she finds - she has skills. well, that and a lifestyle that allows her to spend a large chunk of time thrifting nearly every day of the week.
penelope calhoun dresses kinda bummy when she shops, which i am certainly not judging because i almost always run errands (and even go to class, ha!) in my gym clothes. no biggy, but the fact that shopping is penelope calhoun's life and she buys such a lucrative amount of clothing makes me wonder when she ever gets a chance to wear it all?
one day i played a little trick on penelope calhoun, sortof unintentionally - i was just doing my job. when i saw a stash of anthro, freepeople and jcrew jammed together in the wrong area of the store, i wondered why penelope calhoun did not buy these? she had just been in earlier - did she change her mind and stuff them in this spot in the back? doubtful ... so i put them all back where they belonged and sure enough a few hours later i saw her running across the parking lot (not even kidding!) and darting to the back of the store ... only to discover that her stuff had all been returned by some overachieving employee. so she got a cart, scoured the store and filled it up.
you might argue that penelope calhoun is buying everything to sell it - a legitimate possibility except for her credit card shenanigans. and the way she avoids all eye contact. i naively thought shopaholics like that went more upscale. with penelope calhoun i have to wonder if she started upscale and has been forced to this as the result of a prior addiction.
ohh penelope calhoun, i really want to know your story ... and ransack your closets.
there are so many regulars, and i'm talking about every single day regulars. it surprised me at first, but now i understand that the more you go, the better your chances are of hitting the jackpot. so what i really don't understand is how so many people have so much free time?
oh but i get so happy for people when they do hit the jackpot. a woman paying for a beautiful formal gown told me it was for her daughter, who is getting married and had ordered that EXACT gown for her bridesmaids! one of the girl's dresses was too tight, but this size was perfect - especially with a $7.50 pricetag. plus since her daughter is marrying a military man and moving to alaska, she can wear the dress for one of many future military balls too.
another mom found a cuuute j.crew cardigan and it was funny listening to her trying to explain to her young daughter what a steal it was. she looked to be a size zero, so it was easy to be happy for her because i knew it wouldn't fit me. a few times today i wanted to "accidentally" drop a few articles of clothing on the floor as i was ringing the people out because i reallly wanted what they were buying, tehe - but don't worry, i am a squeaky clean honest employee.
one "regular" in particular has my full attention. i know her by name not because we chat at the register, but because she has to use multiple credit cards to pay for her purchases. when one is declined she'll go for another. and she recently began using a credit card under a different name - what could this be about??
she - let's call her penelope calhoun, which is not her real name, for privacy sake - comes in almost every day and buys a TON of stuff. penelope calhoun gets awesome stuff, which is probably why i first noticed her.
i generally gush when i ring penelope calhoun up, because she manages to find everything free people, anthropologie, etc etc in our little shop. it's one thing to find ann taylor and gap, but the brands she finds - she has skills. well, that and a lifestyle that allows her to spend a large chunk of time thrifting nearly every day of the week.
penelope calhoun dresses kinda bummy when she shops, which i am certainly not judging because i almost always run errands (and even go to class, ha!) in my gym clothes. no biggy, but the fact that shopping is penelope calhoun's life and she buys such a lucrative amount of clothing makes me wonder when she ever gets a chance to wear it all?
one day i played a little trick on penelope calhoun, sortof unintentionally - i was just doing my job. when i saw a stash of anthro, freepeople and jcrew jammed together in the wrong area of the store, i wondered why penelope calhoun did not buy these? she had just been in earlier - did she change her mind and stuff them in this spot in the back? doubtful ... so i put them all back where they belonged and sure enough a few hours later i saw her running across the parking lot (not even kidding!) and darting to the back of the store ... only to discover that her stuff had all been returned by some overachieving employee. so she got a cart, scoured the store and filled it up.
you might argue that penelope calhoun is buying everything to sell it - a legitimate possibility except for her credit card shenanigans. and the way she avoids all eye contact. i naively thought shopaholics like that went more upscale. with penelope calhoun i have to wonder if she started upscale and has been forced to this as the result of a prior addiction.
ohh penelope calhoun, i really want to know your story ... and ransack your closets.
2 comments:
okay. so what in the world store are you working at? please.do.tell. i will come and visit with my 5 kids. :) and you can secretly stash any large size anthroplogie clothing (for a new again, nursing, mommy who is not NEARLY close to fitting in any ~regular~ size clothing) into a different corner of the store, until i get there. ha. i love it. great style. and thanks so much for the note...you rock. :) mis.
ha love it! :) i love people watching! and i too want to come visit sometime! ;)
Post a Comment