Fucking Americans

Alright, so, if you didn't already know, I work in an upscale flag store. The flags we make and sell are made with the best, fade-resistant nylon fabric available, and they are all hand-sewed locally by very talented seamstresses. Granted, these flags aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for. The flags average at $99.95, and they can last fifteen years (that's the oldest one I've come across to date) if you take care of them properly.

Having said all that, one can easily go to a craft store and get some printed fabric that resembles a flag, and I'll guarantee it was made in China. They cost about fifteen bucks, and, like I said, you get what you pay for. These flags don't last longer than a year on average because they're poorly made with crappy material.

So I get this phone call yesterday. This lady is asking about our line of garden flags (a smaller flag about 14 inches x 36 inches) which sell for $24.95. She asks if we have several flags, and I told her I'd check. I also explain to her that since the demand for the standard size flags and our custom flags is so high, we have discontinued our garden flag line. I tell her that we did have most of them in stock and available, and the ones we did not have were available for purchase for $39.95 since they had to be made especially for the customer.

Now, this lady asks me if she could have a discount... on four flags... as a private citizen. I explain that we only normally give discounts when a customer orders in bulk, and she says, "Well since you don't have them, doesn't that mean something?" To which I reply, "No ma'am" and I explain to her, again, how the situation would work. This lady gets rude with me, and she used a tone that sounds, to me, like she deserves a discount.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love a good discount (and who doesn't), but I mean, would you walk into a restaurant and ask for a discount if you bought four dinners? No. Would you ask for a discount if you went to a clothing store and bought four shirts? No.

This is, in my opinion, classic American mindset. "Inconvenience me, and I should be rewarded." (The only inconvenience here is the fact that someone else bought them before she did, by the way). And while that may rarely be the case (i.e. - extremely horrible service at a restaurant), it is certainly not the case here. I got the feeling that this woman has two chubby children running around in designer outfits, and I only say that because she tried to throw the imported alternative flags in my face by saying, "Well I can go to Ben Franklin and get a flag for ten dollars." I countered with, "Well ma'am, that's because the manufacturer of that flag is in China where they pay their seamstresses about ten cents per flag, and those flags disintegrate pretty quickly compared to what we have to offer." Essentially saying, you get what you pay for.

Another case of unwarranted discount requests -- A lady came in and asked for one of our Monarch Butterfly flags (a very beautiful and popular flag). I told her I would go look in our stock and find it, and when I saw we didn't have any, I explained that she could have the one we had on display. She said, in all seriousness, "Well don't I get a discount?" And I looked at her like, WTF did you just say? So she says, "It's been on display. I should get a discount." So I told her that I had put that flag up the week prior, and it had been out for five days, so I would give her five dollars. She scoffed. To myself I said, "Would you walk into a car dealership and ask for a discount on a car since it's been outside?" I mean, honestly.

Can someone pass me some aspirin?