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Monday, August 11, 2008

Loud, stinky stores

I'm really annoyed with stores that find it necessary to play music loud enough to make my brain tremble.
My daughter and I spent most of Saturday morning shopping at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. I knew she wanted to go to Hollister, but I really dreaded it.
For those tired old moms like me, a trip to Hollister is almost torturous: loud music, dim lights, overpowering perfume apparently sprayed throughout the store like Glade. But we went anyway. I took two Motrin in advance to ward off the inevitable headache.
Nothing had changed since our last visit to the store. The music was so loud that I couldn't comprehend what Anna was saying to me as we looked through stacks of sales clothes in the back of the shop. And when her daddy popped in to check on our progress, I told him where to meet us in a few minutes, knowing that he couldn't hear a word I was saying. Maybe I should have just sent him a text message!
Every few minutes, as the songs changed, there would be a few moments of silence. Anna said the silence was kind of spooky. I thought it was bliss.
Hollister wasn't the only offender on this trip. We were also clearance sale shopping at Abercrombie, which is apparently owned by the same company. Their music is equally obnoxious and their perfume equally offensive to my sensitive nose.
When we got back home, Anna took the new clothes to her room. Within an hour, her bedroom smelled like a perfume counter at department store. We stripped the clothes of their tags and washed them, using a laundry deodorizer to kill the aroma. I hung the clothes in the kitchen, which doubles as my laundry room. The next morning, my kitchen had that same perfume counter smell, even though the clothes had been washed!
Perhaps other families enjoy shopping in the dark while someone screams incomprehensible lyrics and having someone else choose their perfume. But it's not my favorite way to shop!