I am in the process of putting together a new compact home office and have made several trips lately to our local Walmart, especially to the office/school supplies aisle. And, because the new school year is almost here, this aisle is very popular right now, buzzing with parents and children with their lists in hand, stocking up on brand new school supplies.
I witnessed two separate incidences this week. They both gave me something to think about, something to smile about, and most importantly something to blog about.
As I rounded the corner and entered the aisle during one of my trips, I saw a lady standing in front of the calculators looking a bit dazed and confused. She seemed relieved to see another person and wasted no time in asking me for my help. I glanced down at my shirt to see if it was blue, thinking maybe she mistook me for an employee, but then quickly realized that she was desperate and didn’t care whether I was employee or not. She held two things in her hands: the LIST and a calculator. She told me she needed a five function calculator and asked me if I thought the one she had chosen would be ok. Glancing at her choice, I seriously doubted it so I asked her what kind of math her child would be taking, and she told me pre-algebra. Most of the packaging was labeled so I pointed out several for her to choose from. ( I feel certain she could have figured this out on her own, but remember, by the time I got to her she was dazed and confused.) I even got one down and handed it to her. She was very appreciative and thanked me for my help. As she replaced the calculator on the hanger, she looked at me and said, “I will have to wait until payday before I can make this purchase.”
The next incident just made me smile! This time I was walking out of the aisle and away from all calculators big and small. A man was helping what appeared to be his pre-teen daughter to decide which one she needed. I could tell (can‘t really explain why, but just knew) that he was trying very hard to impress her with his “calculator knowledge.” “Ok, it adds, that’s good”, he said as he held it close to his face and studied it. “Yes, and I see it subtracts, so that’s good too”. Trust me when I tell you he was not trying to be cute or funny. Seriously!
When my husband was in college (many, many moons ago) he needed to purchase a scientific calculator. I think I remember taking out a loan. Then just a few short years ago, my son and daughter also needed one of those fancy, smancy ones for high school. You know how you just KNOW when you go to purchase something and the product you need is chained down or locked up that it‘s not going to be cheap? Yea, well, it took a store manager, a key, and a serious chunk out of my bank account to purchase both of their calculators!
So, my recent calculator related incidences have left this inquiring mind wanting to know something. With technology advancing faster than the speed of sound, and knowing that the same t.v. and computer you could buy today would be smaller, faster, better, and cheaper before you could ever get it carted out of the store, hauled home, and installed, why for crying out loud are calculators still so expensive? I mean I know they can do practically everything except talk , but dadgummit even a computer and t.v. can do that, as well as, add, subtract, divide and multiply.
GO FIGURE!!
“Attention WalMart shoppers: A calculator purchasing seminar will take place in just ten minutes in the conference room. Our team of well qualified associates will be there to help walk you through the process of purchasing your new calculator, as well as, to answer any questions you may have. Financial aid will also be available. Hope you enjoy your day and thank you again for shopping your friendly Walmart store.”
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