Can I Help You?

Yesterday my darling daughter and I braved the floors of Macy’s Herald Square.  Our mission?  To find a new perfume for my wife for Christmas.  Our challenge?  Everyone else and their freaking kids, mothers, fathers, uncles, etc. decided that December 7^th would be the perfect day for them to also go to Macy’s Herald Square.  I know this kind of traffic is seasonal but man, if yesterday is any indication, retail sales are booming.

OK, the timing was not great for crowd management but sometimes you just need to use the time you have.  Now it is been many years since I shopped for a fragrance for myself or anyone else.  But boy, is that a scene.  There are easily 15-20 different fragrance counters squeezed into the first floor of Macy’s.  They all have huge signs with designer names.  Chanel, Gucci, etc.  They are all there.  But the other thing that really struck me as a throwback is that each fragrance counter was staffed by at least two people.  And they are all so eager to make a sale that if you so much as slow your pace or look their direction, you are instantly attacked.

“Can I help you?”  No thanks, we’re just looking.

“We’ve got a 15% off sale today!”  No kidding.  They ALL had a 15% off sale yesterday.  How do I know?  Because every counter felt the need to share that information.

“You should try this scent. (Sprays it on a little card and thrusts it in our faces)  It is our new scent for this season.”  My daughter and I dutifully smelled it and compared notes.  Too sweet.  Too much citrus.  Too powdery.  Too grandmotherly.  This was harder than it sounded.

Ultimately, we selected something we think my wife will like.  I can’t tell you what it is in case she reads this blog before Christmas.  Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading!

Frosty