It was late morning on Sunday, Dec. 1 when I wandered into the Beauty Boutique at Shoppers Drug Mart. As you might suspect, I wasn’t there for myself but rather I was looking to knock a couple of items off my wife’s Christmas list.
Before I go on, I should clarify that the list is far from a set of demands, but instead is a road map to help a shopping-challenged husband (and son) safely navigate the holiday season. It might take some of the surprise out of Christmas morning, but it also eliminates the chance of an epic failure.
The list had been texted to me (and to my son, who was in tow on this Sunday morning), complete with a link for each item, so all I’ve got to do is click to figure out where I need to go and once I’m at the store, I just click again, present my phone to the sales clerk and the desired item should magically appear.
I must say the list is infinitely more helpful than the “socks and a wallet” response I gave my wife when she asked what I wanted for Christmas, neither of which, I should mention, came with any links. When I was told the socks I wanted were more readily available in warmer months, I helpfully replied, “Well, I’ve given you quite the challenge, haven’t I?”
After arriving at the Beauty Boutique, I made a beeline, with phone in hand, to the first available clerk, who couldn’t immediately find the lip gloss set I was after. She poked around the counters and in the cabinets below, but upon drawing a blank, she made a couple of comments that made me think she wasn’t completely in tune with the psyche of the male shopper.
I can’t remember exactly what she said, but it had something to do with inventory being picked over and how I should have been here in October when it was more plentiful. As far as I’m concerned, if I’m doing Christmas shopping on the first day of December, my calendar shows that I’m three weeks early, not more than a month late.
She then suggested that we go off-script and get something close to what’s on the list, at which point I had to set her straight, explaining that close might work with horseshoes and grenades but it really doesn't cut it when it comes to Christmas lists.
After I emphasized that going rogue wasn’t the answer, she conferred with another staff member who was not only able to locate the first item on the list, but the second one as well. It was then suggested that we buy a third item from the same cosmetic family, which we did, primarily because we’re stupid and gullible, but also to test the theory that nothing good can possibly come out of varying from the list.
It will be another couple of weeks before we find out the answer on that front, so in the meantime I’ll be doing more clicking and crossing my fingers that what pops up on my phone will still be in stock.
